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09-13-2018, 04:06 AM
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 Roquan Smit
Walt Coleman doesn’t see the revamped catch rule as a big change for NFL game officials because the veteran referee believes they’ve already been calling catches the new way.
If anything Nick Perry Jersey , Coleman figures there will be fewer reviews of their rulings. ”Most of the calls that seemed to create the most controversy, we ruled them correctly and then they were overturned on replay,” Coleman said Friday as officials gathered for their annual preseason meeting in the Dallas area. ”From our standpoint, we’re just going to continue to officiate the plays like we have.” League owners unanimously approved the changes in April – more than three years after Dez Bryant’s infamous catch that wasn’t in Dallas’ playoff loss at Green Bay, and just a few months since Pittsburgh’s Jesse James had a late go-ahead touchdown taken away in a loss to New England that damaged the Steelers‘ hopes for the AFC’s top seed. Essentially, the new rule eliminates the ground as a factor on catches while establishing three main criteria: -having control of the ball; -getting two feet down or another body part; -making a football move, such as taking a third step or extending the ball. On the plays involving Bryant and James, the ball moved slightly after hitting the ground as they extended it forward, even though they never lost control of it. Both were ruled catches and overturned on review. ”I don’t think it was one thing,” senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron said. ”I think we got to a point where fans, the office, coaches, players, wanted to see more exciting plays. How do we make this particular play a catch? How do we take the Dez Bryant play and make it a catch?” Riveron said the competition committee consulted with coaches, former players, game officials and supervisors Demetri Goodson Jersey , among others, to reach the rule change that was approved. The committee cited overturned receptions by James and fellow tight end Zach Miller of Chicago last season among the dozens of plays they reviewed ”dozens of times,” according to committee chairman Rick McKay, president of the Atlanta Falcons. Ron Torbert, going into his fifth season as a referee and ninth overall as a game official, doesn’t think the new rule is just about simplicity. ”We had a good idea of what it was and how to officiate it,” Torbert said. ”We certainly understand that the way it was written, plays that people wanted to be a catch weren’t a catch under the older rule. We understand that.” And while game officials are hesitant to share opinions on anything related to their role, they can see where fans sit with the catch rule. ”I think fans will like it more because we’ve got some of the greatest athletes in the world who can do things that no one else can do,” Torbert said. ”To be able to see them rewarded with a catch when under the old rule, it may not have been a catch, I think from that standpoint the fans will enjoy the game more.” Coleman, getting ready for his 30th NFL season, was in his third year as a referee when he called the reversal in the ”tuck rule” game during the playoffs following the 2001 season. He changed what had been ruled a fumble by New England quarterback Tom Brady to an incompletion, leading to a winning field goal that sent the Patriots on their way to the first of five Super Bowl titles. While he didn’t make the call on the Bryant catch that was overturned (recently retired Gene Steratore did), Coleman saw similarities in how reactions to the two calls lingered for years. And he certainly heard from fans on the catch rule in general . ”People just didn’t understand that you had to hold on to the ball going to the ground Derrick Nnadi Jersey ,” Coleman said. ”When you catch the ball and you reach out, everybody thought that should be a catch. The way the rule was written, it wasn’t.” And now the way the rule is written, it is. — Not even the interceptions seem to frustrate quarterback Mitchell Trubisky right now. Rather than worry about those picks, he’s busy picking up the nuances of the offense under new coach Matt Nagy. Trubisky is throwing deeper in training camp more consistently, and any interceptions are all a part of the process as he gets used to a variety of new targets. ”I mean, what’s not to like about this offense?” Trubisky said. ”I love it. There’s a lot of options. We throw the ball around a lot and we’re going to balance it with a great running game.” Trubisky’s passes haven’t always found the target, as Thursday night’s preseason opener with Baltimore in the Hall of Fame Game approaches. For instance, he threw two interceptions in three plays earlier in the week to cornerback Prince Amukamara. Deiondre’ Hall intercepted another pass Friday. Trubisky, however, feels throwing it deep now to build timing will only make big plays easier later. And he credits Nagy’s practice approach for instilling confidence. ”Lets me go out and play and be myself and not worry about mistakes,” Trubisky said. ”But we do go in the film room and correct them. ”There is a big emphasis on not making the same mistake twice. Just go out there and play freely and let your instincts take over. And then when we make mistakes, just go back and learn from it. It allows me to go out there and be myself and play freely,” he said. Trubisky doesn’t want to convey the impression he’s laughing off practice interceptions. ”I’m always mad when I throw an interception, but at the same time I don’t care what anybody thinks,” Trubisky said. ”I know what I’ve got to do. I made a lot of great throws. I made some bad throws and we’re testing and we’re getting better every day. ”Those (practice) mistakes are going to come – as long as we learn from them. It’s not a game Jason Spriggs Jersey , so it doesn’t really matter what everybody thinks and what everybody sees,” he said. When Trubisky broke into the lineup in Week 5 last year under former coach John Fox, the emphasis was on playing it safe and operating a basic offense. His final yards-per-pass attempt average of 6.6 ranked 45th among all NFL passers. It’s changing for Trubisky, the second pick in the 2017 draft, as he learns aspects of a more complex passing attack on daily basis. ”We’re throwing so much at these guys, where it almost feels like they’re in a tornado right now,” Nagy said. ”There’s so many things being thrown at him.” Nagy liked the way Trubisky handled making several checks at the line of scrimmage in Friday’s practice. ”He’s adjusting to any negative-type plays, so if there’s an interception, there’s a screw-up in the play call, in the huddle he calls the wrong play, he regroups,” Nagy said. Trubisky has just 25 starts as a quarterback since he played high school ball, so the inexperience factor must be overcome. Bears receivers say they’re seeing a passer more composed under pressure than could be expected from someone with little experience. ”He’s not frantic and things like that even when you get zero blitz and he’s throwing to the hot read,” wide receiver Taylor Gabriel said. ”I’m impressed and I’m excited.” There’s plenty to pick up in the attack for everyone. Many of Trubisky’s targets might line up at a number of positions, further complicating the assignment. Gabriel, running back Tarik Cohen and tight end Trey Burton all have plays from the backfield Josh Hill Jersey , split out wide or in the slot. Burton, a member of last year’s Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, is encouraged by the way Trubisky and the receivers have built a rapport. ”Not as many mental errors as I would expect from my previous offenses,” Burton said. It’s a relatively slow process overall, nonetheless, and the bulk of the pressure is going to be on Trubisky to be ready for the Sept. 9 opener at Green Bay. ”We’re building this puzzle right now, and each day we’re trying to take one piece of the puzzle and put it up there and then before you know it, at the end of this thing, you have that puzzle put together,” Nagy said. NOTES: Rookie pass rusher Kylie Fitts missed practice time Friday with an arm injury. … G Kyle Long was given the day off to rest. … LB Jonathan Anderson and OL Dejon Allen engaged in the first fight of camp before being separated. … First-round pick LB Roquan Smith remains unsigned. Former Bears coach Dave Wannstedt visited Bourbonnais for the first time and called Smith’s holdout a selfish act. ”For a rookie to hold out because of some of the fine print (in a contract) it’s pretty selfish, I think, from an agent standpoint to do that,” Wannstedt said. ”I mean, this kid needs to be here. He needs to be practicing. These are valuable days. They play a preseason game a week from now. And you do not get these days back.” — Authentic Womens Taron Johnson Jersey |
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