Under NFL rules, Lions receiver Calvin Johnson did not catch the pass in the end zone late in Sunday's loss to the Bears, even though he had the ball in his hand as he went to the ground. But under the rules of almost every other football league across North America, Johnson's catch was a touchdown.
The Detroit Free Press did a great job of rounding up comments from the Canadian Football League, Arena Football League, Lingerie League, college officials and even the Western Suburban Junior Football League (where I was once a player on the Plymouth Steelers). Officials from all those leagues said that under their rules, Johnson caught the ball.
Some of the quotes from the Free Press:
"Our on-field official hopefully would have called it a touchdown," said Tom Higgins, the CFL's director of officiating.
"In college football, yes, that's a touchdown," said Mike Kavulich, a college official.
"At our level, that's a catch," said Mark Uyl, assistant director of the Michigan High School Athletic Association who oversees officiating.
"Yes it would have been a TD in our league, and it would have been a TD in every other league in the United States," said Leonard Isaac, rules chairman for the Western Suburban Junior Football League in Michigan.
"It would have indeed been a catch in our game," said Jerry B. Kurz, Arena Football League commissioner.
"Yes, in the LFL, that would constitute a catch and touchdown," said Stephon McMillen, Lingerie Football League media director.
The only league that says it would go along with what the NFL did is the United Football League, which follows the same convoluted rules about possession that the NFL follows. It's time for the NFL to clarify the rules and the UFL to follow suit, so that across North America every football fan knows that a catch is a catch.
From Juniors to CFL, Calvin Johnson's Non-Catch Was a Catch
Sep 14, 2010 – 1:51 PM
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