AP

With the NFL unlikely to change the catch rule, the league is attempting to explain the rule in a way that fans can understand.

Toward that end, the league has posted a video in which V.P. of Officiating Dean Blandino runs through what constitutes a catch. Basically, a catch is when a receiver:

1. secures control of the ball in his hands or arms prior to the ball touching the ground; and

2. touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands; and

3. maintains control of the ball after controlling the ball and touching the ground with both feet or any part of his body other than his hands, until he has clearly become a runner.

Is that simple? Understandable? Probably not, because if it were, we wouldn’t all be arguing about what constitutes a catch so often.

If the NFL isn’t going to change the catch rule, explaining it well enough that players, coaches, officials and fans understand it is the next-best thing. But that’s an uphill climb.