Note: I was planning on posting this a few days ago but never got around to it. Even so, better late than never. Plus, this will serve as a final wrap up of the Calvin Johnson no catch news, as I am personally getting sick of this story and am more than ready to move on.
- Bill Ford Jr. said during an interview that he spoke to the NFL about the rule and said that it "really has to be revised." He also said that it's "more cryptic than the Dead Sea Scrolls," which I certainly can't disagree with. The rule is just one big gray area and needs to at the very least be clarified if it isn't going to be changed.
- Jim Schwartz originally didn't say a whole lot about the call, but after getting a chance to look it over, he came out and plainly said that it was a catch.
"But everybody knows that it was a catch. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to look at that and say it was a catch. Now, it's also ruled an incompletion because of the rule. I think if 100 people look at it, 100 people say, 'Yeah, Calvin [Johnson] caught that ball.' Calvin made a great play on that play. Shaun [Hill] made a great throw, Calvin made a great play. That stands. There's no way that you can take that away from him other than a technicality in the rulebook."
Can't disagree with that assessment. - Johnson also made it clear that it was a catch in his view.
- Johnson would have had a catch in the CFL, UFL, Arena Football League, MHSAA and even the Lingerie Football League.
- Although former NFL Vice President of Officiating Mike Pereira said the referees made the right call, he also said the rule is "certainly suspect" and said it "doesn't pass the smell test."
- The new Vice President of Officiating apparently doesn't want to change the rule, which is just stupid.
- Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio made perhaps one of the best arguments about the call, saying officials simply need to use "common sense."
- Perhaps the best take on how dumb this rule is came from The Onion, which had two great articles parodying the situation.