More NFL rules stupidity

The Detroit Lions Calvin Johnson made a great catch yesterday which should have won the game for his team. But the NFL rule book says that you must have control of the ball through the entire process of the catch, whatever that means, or it's not a catch. The ball touched the ground after both of Johnson's feet hit the turf with control of it. He had control of it even after a knee and elbow had hit the paydirt. But because the ball hit the ground while in his other hand, the refs ruled the pass incomplete.

Football rules simply lack integrity in so many areas. Some of them appear downright contradictory: when running with the ball, the ground cannot cause a fumble. Yet when catching it, the ground apparently can cause an incomplete pass. That's just a dumb inconsistency.

When running with the ball, it's a touchdown as soon as the ball breaks the plane of the goal line. Yet when catching it already inside the stripe, a point at which you would think the plane not merely broken but downright shattered, it's not necessarily a touchdown. Ridiculous.

These interpretations are as bad as spiking the ball to stop the clock while getting no penalty for grounding. The NFL must revise its rule book on these and likely many other areas if football is to have any real integrity. As it is now, it's a joke. It's unfair and unsportsmanlike, and must change its attitude and alter its rules if it is to be seen as a decent sport.