Reading the Rulebook and watching the replay again this morning, I still think that you could interpret the play as a simultaneous catch. I say this after thinking last night that it was the incorrect call. The rule book says:
Quote:
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.
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I think what is argued is that Jennings gained control of the ball first, so it shouldn't be a simultaneous catch. However, looking at the replay, Tate had one hand on the ball at the very same time, and that hand never comes off the ball. We obviously know that a player can have control of the ball having only touched the ball with one hand (a one handed catch happens all the time). There is nothing in the rule that says anything about one player having "more control" than the other player. Jennings certainly has "more control" of the ball than Tate, but that doesn't make any difference according to the rule book. They both catch the ball at the same time (Jennings with both hands and Tate with one hand) and both maintain control until they are both down by contact in the end zone.
Quote:
PLAYER POSSESSION
Article 7
Item 1: Player in Possession. A player is in possession when he is in firm grip and control of the ball inbounds.
Item 2: Possession of Loose Ball. To gain possession of a loose ball that has been caught, intercepted, or recovered.
a player must have complete control of the ball and have both feet or any other part of his body, other than his hands,
completely on the ground inbounds, and maintain control of the ball long enough to perform any act common to the
game. If the player loses the ball while simultaneously touching both feet or any other part of his body to the ground
or if there is any doubt that the acts were simultaneous, there is no possession. This rule applies in the field of play
and in the end zone.
The terms catch, intercept, recover, advance, and fumble denote player possession (as distinguished from touching or
muffing).
Note 1: A player who goes to the ground in the process of attempting to secure possession of a loose ball (with or without
contact by an opponent) must maintain control of the ball throughout the process of contacting the ground, whether in the
field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control,
there is no possession. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, it is a catch, interception, or recovery.
Note 2: If a player goes to the ground out-of-bounds (with or without contact by an opponent) in the process of attempting to
secure possession of a loose ball at the sideline, he must maintain complete and continuous control of the ball throughout
the process of contacting the ground, or there is no possession.
Note 3: If a player has control of the ball, a slight movement of the ball will not be considered loss of possession. He must lose
control of the ball in order to rule that there has been a loss of possession.
CATCH
A catch is made when a player inbounds secures possession of a pass, kick, or fumble in flight (See 8-1-3).
Note 1: It is a catch if in the process of attempting to catch the ball, a player secures control of the ball prior to the ball touching
the ground and that control is maintained after the ball has touched the ground.
Note 2: In the field of play, if a catch of a forward pass has been completed, and there is contact by a defender causing the
ball to come loose before the runner is down by contact, it is a fumble, and the ball remains alive. In the end zone, the
same action is a touchdown, since the receiver completed the catch beyond the goa/line prior to the loss of possession,
and the ball is dead when the catch is completed.
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The rules talk about in control of the ball, but there is no definition of what "control" is in the rule book. Again, we can't say from the rule book that Tate doesn't have control just because he only has one hand on the ball. The rule talks about whoever has control first, but in this case, both players have control at the same time, and it matters not who has "more control." Neither does it matter who wrestles the ball away from the other after they are both already down by contact.
Really it comes down to the definition of control, which we don't have. I don't think anyone can say that Tate absolutely did not have control of the ball. He has a grip of the ball with his right hand throughout the whole play.
As I said in my post last night (and I wavered on what I thought of the play after that), Simultaneous catch is such a gray area. The way the rules are written, I think that you can argue that anytime an offensive player gets at least one hand on the ball, you have to call the play at least a simultaneous catch (provided that that one hand remains on the ball until the end of the play) I don't see how it matters if a defender has two hands on the ball and even has it tucked, as long as the offensive player has one hand gripping the ball, and that one hand gripped the ball at at least the same time as the defender's hands, it has to be a simultaneous catch.
A simultaneous catch ruling cannot be reviewed (is that confirmed?), so I don't know how the play could be considered a wrong call. Niether does that make it the right call, but I can't come to the conclusion after watching the replay closely this morning, and looking at the rules, that the WRONG call was made.
Of course, all of that doesn't excuse missing the obvious offensive pass interference. But that wasn't called, and is non reviewable.