I heard the Sunday Night Football crew discussing the review of a catch and fumble. They made reference to "the receiver must have possession, control and make a football move." Could you define "a football move" as it relates to a catch? --Steve Supica, Canton, Mich.
When a catch is made by a receiver who comes down with both feet on the ground, the "football move" would be: stretching for a first down, diving out-of-bounds or running with the ball. If the "football move" is accomplished, and the receiver is then hit and the ball comes out, it is ruled a catch and fumble, instead of an incomplete forward pass.
Source:Jerry Markbreit former NFL umpire
I wish Shannon Sharpe and the rest of the NFL "analysts" would learn this rule before going off half cocked and saying the Steelers were screwed.
Sometimes the rules results in calls that seem counterintuitive - the tuck rule was a good example.
In this case, stumbling to the ground is not considered a football move. From what I gathered from the explanation on the field, the defender could not make a football move until his knees were off of the ground. That was a nuance that I was unaware of, but I am assuming that the guys in the booth had the rule book with them and plenty of time to figure it out.
It's one thing to rag the officials on judgment calls that they obvious missed, but NFL analysts should not blame the officials when an obscure rule comes into play and the NFL analysts on TV don't understand it.