The NFL competition committee has been looking at what rules changes they will consider making for the upcoming NFL season, and of course one of the most popular rules that was up for debate was the “Calvin Johnson” rule that says a player must maintain the possession of the ball through the entirety of the play. This rule controversially impacted the outcome of a an NFC divison round playoff game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers. On a 4th and 2 play in the 4th quarter of a tight ball game, it appeared Dez made one of the all-time great clutch catches, only to be overruled after seeing that the ball popped out as he dove for the end zone. The longer removed from this play, the more I realize that Dez Bryant probably did his team a disservice by trying to do too much in that situation and not properly securing the ball on a critical 4th down. The spirit of the rule may not have been properly applied, but by the letter of the law, NFL still saying it’s not a catch.
Dean Blandino says the NFL has clarified the catch rule, not changed it. Receiver needs to establish himself as a runner. Says Dez didn’t.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 23, 2015
See the video below for the 1000th time to decide for yourself whether that should have been ruled a catch or not.