Rules on down by contact

Lots of discussion about the rules is going to be going on this week and while I think the hitting below the knee rule should and will be talked about alot I want to touch on something else from yesterday's game. It was on the play where the Rams receiver slipped after catch a quick five yard pass. I honestly don't remember if it was Britt or Austin or some other WR but that isn't the main point. He slipped and had one knee on the ground if not more of his body and was in the process of getting back to his feet. Now what does he have to do to reestablish him? Is it any type of football move? Is it moving forward? is it just the act of getting up?

The reason I ask is we have all witnessed the wrong end of a down by contact play where just the bare grazing of the player is used to rule down by contact so during the play in question Jarvis Jones touches him as he is getting back to his feet and then proceeds to gain ten yards before being stopped. If the receiver's knee is still touching the ground isn't it down by contact?

 

He doesn't need to do anything to re-establish himself as he's never down. He's only down by contact if a defensive player touches him on the way down, or touches him while he's on the ground (knee, elbow, shoulder, etc). If he slips, gets back up and then is touched by a defensive player, the play is still live and he is not down by contact

 

Yes if touched he would be down and I thought Tomlin should have challenged that play.

 

Never touched. Never down.


Now if you want to talk about what is an actual catch anymore, I think we could have a very lengthy discussion on that topic, cause I honestly don't know.

 

There was another play yesterday that could have gone against us - Bell was carrying - was tackled, ball came loose in the air, he regained temporary control and then the ball squirted out when he hit the ground and I believe the Rams recovered. Refs ruled he was down by contact and the ground caused the fumble. In super slo-motion it seemed to be as the refs called it but in regular speed, which should carry some weight, it sure looked like a fumble. There was no challenge and no review. Lucky us.

 

That's what I was thinking, it happened so quickly that I wasn't sure if his knee was still touching as Jones over runs him but still manages to tap him on the way by. Hence the question when is it down by contact and how do you determine it.

 

The play itself was so quick it is hard to judge but I don't think he was clearly up before Jones touches him and as I said in the original I have seen far less ruled as down by contact such as tripping over your own feet and falling the opposite way of the ball carrier but barely having your toes touch theirs. So it is a area with some wiggle room.

 

There is no wiggle room whatsover. It's very black and white actually. If his knee is down while a defender touches him, he's down. If knee/elbow are off the ground when touched, then he's not down and the play continues. The rule itself is clear as day. What isn't always clear is how the refs see it. Plays happen so fast and there's often so many bodies around that the refs don't always get a good look at it. That's what challenges are for though. There is no wiggle room in the rule, but what we see in slow motion isn't how it's seen by the refs.

 

I agree that the speed of the game obscures things greatly. I used to always think it was the absolute dumbest thing in the history of humanity that the NFL didn't have a replay system. There were actually tons of analysts that were opposed to it. What's sad is that sometimes they STILL get it wrong.

 

You are right the rule is black and white and I'd agree with the rest as well very nicely put.