The awkward exchange when the ref explains the Cotchery non-catch logic
"Inside the NFL" had Clete Blakeman and Ron Rivera mic'd up and it will only make Panthers fans feel worse.
By
Will Brinson
•
2 min read
The Super Bowl didn't swing on one play. But if you had to pick one incident where the game quickly turned, how about the controversial first-quarter catch play involving Jerricho Cotchery. On first down from the Panthers' 15-yard line, Cam Newton threw a strike about 20 yards down the field to his wide receiver.
Cotchery juggled the ball and it was ruled incomplete because the ball "touched the ground and slid up his body." Ron Rivera challenged the ruling and lost, to the surprise of many -- it sure did look like Cotchery caught the ball.
It was a brutal flip of the script because two plays later Newton was strip-sacked by Von Miller, fumbling the ball backward, with Malik Jackson recovering it in the end zone for the game's first touchdown, giving the Broncos a 10-0 lead.
Many Panthers fans felt like they got a raw deal. They won't feel any better after watching Inside the NFL with a mic'd up Ron Rivera and Clete Blakeman conversation where the Panthers coach is told by the official if the play had been ruled complete in the first place it wouldn't have been overturned to incomplete.
"There was not enough confirmation ..."
RR: "That's the problem with there's not enough confirmation, he had his hand under the ball."
CB: "We couldn't overturn it because ..."
RR: "Right -- if we had called it complete it'd stay complete right?"
CB: "Yes."
Piped in right after that is Panthers announcer Mick Mixon saying "Brutal," an accurate description of the ruling.
In his explanation on Twitter, Dean Blandino said the ball touched the ground. (He also said there wasn't enough evidence to overturn the call.) But if the ball hit the ground, how can Blakeman say it could've been ruled complete depending on what happened with the initial ruling? That makes no sense.
Ostensibly it comes down to this moment, when the ball appears to touch the ground:
Except Cotchery had control of the ball. Again: If the ruling on the field was complete, it would've been upheld according to Blakeman.
As he rolled over, Cotchery made sure not to let the ball go -- he's clearly got possession and it never touches the ground.
So think about this. What we have is a situation where something can simultaneously be a catch and not a catch.
It all hinges on what the initial ruling was. Which is how it has worked in football for a while now.
But with all the replay angles and slow motion available in today's NFL world, it doesn't make any sense not to have a more concrete system for determining the outcome of a play that can flip a game.
