Quote:
Originally Posted by Skinzman
The ball doesnt have to touch the ground. The call is that RG3 gained possession when he was out of bounds. Which means no possession and the ruling that the fumble happened prior to crossing the goal line, then the ball proceeded to cross the goal line and go out of bounds so was ruled a touchback.
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That doesn't make sense with the rule that was quoted:
Quote:
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"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."
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This is the operable phrase, I think. Griffin had possession, lost it and was attempting to re-secure it. He dragged his feet inbounds with the ball in his grasp (screen grab is out there), then fell to the ground. If he loses control of the ball (which he did) AND the ball touches the ground(which no angle I've seen shows) then maybe the ruling was correct. But the ruling on the field was a TD, so you need incontrovertible evidence to overturn it. I don't think that existed.
Who knows what would have happened from that point, but I just think it's another case this year (not just with the Redskins) of the officiating being worse than ever.