Patriots Country

Patriots Bill Belichick: Still 'No Consensus' About NFL Catches

In the wake of the crucial overturn of Hunter Henry's touchdown against Minnesota, the Patriots - and former All-Pro receivers - remained miffed about what is and isn't a catch in the NFL.

Richie Whitt

The New England Patriots are seeing red these days.

They're mad at opponents. Angry about losing a winnable game on Thanksgiving. Peeved - inexplicably - with the media. Disappointed in their frustrating Red-Zone offense, which ranks 31st in the NFL.

And, on a lighter, more positive note, looking forward to a red uniform throwback Thursday night in their AFC East showdown against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium.

Before the team can focus on Buffalo, players, a former NFL star and even Bill Belichick on Monday morning took one last fuming glance back at the pivotal play in the seven-point loss to the Minnesota Vikings last Thursday.

In a 23-23 game in the fourth quarter in Minneapolis, quarterback Mac Jones hit tight end Hunter Henry with what was initially ruled a 6-yard touchdown. After replay, however, it was overturned into an incompletion. New England settled for a field goal and a 26-23 lead before the Vikings scored the game's final 10 points.

For his part, Henry was miffed at the overturn. He clearly caught the pass, had two feet on the ground and reached the ball over the goal line. But the review determined he jostled the ball as he fell into the end zone, thereby not "completing the catch" and "surviving the ground."

Said Henry, "I believe I caught it."

He has company. And not just amongst Patriots Nation.

Former Dallas Cowboys All-Pro receiver Dez Bryant - who knows a thing about controversial catches being overturned by replay - was livid on social media about the ruling on Henry's play. Bryant's catch in a 2015 playoff game at Lambeau Field was overturned, leading a rules change about what is and isn't a catch.

He took his frustrations to Twitter during the game, indicating he thought Henry and the Pats should be awarded the touchdown rather than an incompletion.

Belichick, who famously loves to simply "move on ... " to the next opponent, took time Monday to re-visit the play. He said despite the annual NFL reviews of the rules and process, there still is no clear consensus of what is and isn't a catch in the league.

"I think we all sit in the room and I don’t think there is a consensus," Belichick during his weekly appearance on WEEI's Greg Hill Show. "They’re close plays, it’s hard to reach a consensus on a lot of plays. So, what the rule is and what you actually see on the video that they show, sometimes it’s not clear to everybody what exactly it is we’re seeing. ... It doesn’t matter what you think or what I think, the only thing that matters is what (the referees) think and what they say. What they saw, that’s what we all have to live by.”

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Richie Whitt
RICHIE WHITT

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