After years of tweaking the rules, the NFL finally figured out how to properly define a catch. Now, the NFL has made a minor fix to something that was no longer broken.
The NFL’s “back of the book” rule-change process has introduced a tweak to the rule regarding the establishment of possession of the ball.
It appears in the definition of a “football move,” which is specifically referred to in the rulebook as “any act common to the game.” As of last year, that term was followed by several examples: “tuck the ball away, extend it forward, take an additional step, turn upfield, or avoid or ward off an opponent.”
This year, it has changed. The examples of performing “any act common to the game” now read like this: “extend the ball forward, take an additional step, tuck the ball away and turn upfield, or avoid or ward off an opponent.”
It’s subtle, but it’s unmistakable. Before 2005 a “football move” could be accomplished by tucking the ball away _or_ turning upfield. Now, it happens only if the player both tucks the ball away _and_ turns upfield.
It basically combines two football moves into one. Which means it’s no longer enough to tuck the ball away or turn upfield. Both must be accomplished to constitute a football move.
What will it mean during games? Who knows? For now, all we know is that the rule, for whatever reason, was quietly — but clearly — revised.