“The GB player CLEARLY had possession all the way down and even had the ball after he hit the ground when the play is supposed to be dead.”
Thats the hard thing for people to understand. All that can be true and it still doesn’t matter as long as the receiver established even partial control prior to both of the defenders feet coming down. It doesn’t matter the defender got it first-It doesn’t matter the defender kept it in his hands all the way down-It doesn’t matter that he still was holding it after the play is dead-IF IF IF the receiver in any way got his hands on the ball before BOTH the defenders feet came down.
Here is the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hTFMD5NX1Q Freeze frame it at the following points: At :46 the defender clearly has the ball first but his feet are not down. At :47 Tate clearly has his hands on the ball while both defenders feet are way up in the air. At :48 Tate can be seen pulling at the ball as the first foot of the defender lands. At :49 Tate can be seen arching his back trying to pull the ball out of the hands of the defender who’s other foot then finally lands. At THAT point it is IMHO a simultaneous catch and by rule the catch goes to the passing team.
No dog in this fight, just interesting debate.
Oh Ya? Then why is it that the ref who came over and bent down called it a touchback? Then the other ref who was away from the play comes in and calls it a touchdown?
Then the question comes, Pete Carroll is down the field lobbying the refs for a touchdown. Those coaches are not allowed beyond a specific point on the field.
If the NFL had any amount of honor, they would come out tomorrow and call the game for Green Bay. Three infractions. The push off, the interception and the coach down the field lobbying the refs.
Rule 8 - Section 3 - Article 1 - Item 5: Simultaneous Catch. If a pass is caught simultaneously by two eligible opponents, and both players retain it, the ball belongs to the passers. It is not a simultaneous catch if a player gains control first and an opponent subsequently gains joint control. If the ball is muffed after simultaneous touching by two such players, all the players of the passing team become eligible to catch the loose ball.
I understand your argument about 'both feet down' on the defensive interceptor and one-hand catches.
However, that was not in any way joint control on the part of the intended receiver because Golden Tate did not A) simultaneously catch the ball regardless of Jennings being in mid-air and B) he did not retain it whereas Jennings retained the ball from the air to the ground, and finally, C) If Jennings hadn't have been present, Tate wouldn't have been credited with a touchdown by his own action alone. It would have been ruled incomplete.
In short, you can't merely touch the ball in the end zone as it's being picked off by a defender, then lose whatever slim retention you have with the ball and have it be ruled a touchdown. The ball is not like the magic imaginary plane of the end zone for rushers where any microscopic contact with it is ruled a scoring goal. The ball must remain controlled. Tate didn't accomplish that. That's the reason that sports professionals all over the nation are uniformly calling bullshit on this awful ruling.
However, your opinion is the one that ended up making the sports history books nevertheless. I will say that.