You missed my point...Bryant did not, ‘just’, fall down...He carried the ball from the 5 to the half yard line...Unless you are going to acknowledge that a player can, ‘fall down’, in 4.5 yards, then it has to be acknowledged that he actually, ‘carried’, the ball those 4.5 yards...the origin of this rule was the sidelines and back of endzones plays where the player caught the ball and then immediately went out of bounds. It was not considered a catch unless the receiver maintained control the entire time. In this case he, ‘carried’, the ball 4.5 yards. There are guys in the football hall of fame who averaged 4.5 yards per carry. They over officiated the play...It really is that simple...
The rule is clear. And, frankly, I don't understand why so many fail to grasp it.
WHAT IS A CATCH?
Observers too often are fooled by a receiver having two feet down or what seems like possession for an eternity.
Apparently 4.5 yards seems like an eternity. Not to me, but to some.
If the receiver falls after the catch, he must hold on to the ball after hitting the ground or it is an incompletion. “The ground can’t cause a fumble unless the runner is not down by contact, but the ground can definitely cause an incompletion,” Pereira said. “If the ground jars the ball loose, it’s not a catch.”
~Mike Pereira, the former NFL VP of officiating
http://nypost.com/2011/09/07/nfl-official-explains-tough-rules/
You can have your own opinion, but when it comes to your argument against the former NFL Vice President of officiating, I'll take his word every time.