Under current rules on receptions though, I see no way they could rule that a catch; he had it in his hands so briefly it is hard to argue he had control rather than just possession, which is no longer enough. The rule was actually altered to eliminate discussions like these by eliminating judgement calls by officials; now receivers have to move the ball or move with the ball in their possession. Thus "possession AND control."

Given all the ADVANTAGES receivers have been given in the past few years (e.g. the Bert Emmanuel rule, or the James Harrison rule putting an end to just hitting receivers hard enough they drop balls right after catching them) that new disadvantage does not bother me as much as it once did. That receivers must maintain control all they way to the ground when they go down bothers me more.

As far as "equal protection under the rules" I am FAR more annoyed by the absence of a running back equivalent of a James Harrison rule or anything like the protection quarterbacks enjoy. That the pounding running backs get prematurely shortens their careers is an NFL axiom, yet no one is wringing their hands over "hitting a defenseless running back." If a receiver gets a forearm to the head right as the ball arrives it is a fifteen yard penalty, fine and, if it has happened before, a suspension. If it happens to a running back taking a handoff, it is a "great hit" that causes a fumble. The difference between a suspension and a highlight reel is apparently whether you hit a receiver or a back. Gee, I wonder why offense is so explosive now; maybe it has something to do with the fact you can just throw the ball up and, even if it is not a catch, have a good chance of a first down by penalty.

Basically, the NFL plays flag arena football now, unless you are a running back, in which case you will go down in a pile. The League has encouraged this so far because more scoring means more excitement and larger audiences, but expect them to retreat from that soon as the disgust of long time fans grows. More scoring gets 16 year old HS girls to watch the fourth quarter on TV 'cos the guy on the GQ cover is hot; guys wearing their twenty year old Payton jersey to games and buying foam fingers, beer and hot dogs are starting to wonder if rugby is fun to watch.