Thanks for the replies on the phantom "morphed into a runner" argument. I knew it was ridiculous but the posts here helped me articulate my response, which was as follows:
One of my first thoughts after the initial five minutes of delirium following the Rowe-Harmon pick was that the salty tears of the Pats haters were going to be delicious. The sum total of the Ed Bouchettes, Max Kellermans, Brian Billicks, NY backpages and various whiny ass fans of various teams has way exceeded my hopes. I should have known it would be this level of stupidity, as abject hatred knows no bounds.
As a fan of the Pats since Plunkett, I still keep waiting to wake up from this ridiculously awesome dream.
And PS: I know that the catch rule applies regardless of where on the field the receiver landed. What I wrote above could imply that I think otherwise.
Really, this otherwise intelligent Giants fan (I know, that takes a bit of a leap, but I am confident that he is just that), is (a) just butt hurt that his team is out and (b) incapable of admitting when he is wrong, so I suspect that he will continue to maintain that a football move was made. If and when that happens, I will have nothing left in the tank, because it's pure fantasy.I do not know if you care. This probably has more to do with being right. Though after mentioning that Brady lost within 7 seconds of seeing me for the first time in over a month, maybe you do care! But let's put that to the side, as it is indeed a side point. Similarly, whether this rule needs to be changed is of no concern to me in that I am dealing with what is, not what should be. To the main point, you continue to be spectacularly wrong about the James play. We don't need to speculate about the rule. Thanks to the internet, we have it right here: "A player has the ball long enough to clearly become a runner when, after his second foot is on the ground, he is capable of avoiding or warding off impending contact of an opponent, tucking the ball away, turning up field, or taking additional steps." Read that, take a deep breath, and tell me how James made a football move and thereby converted into a runner. Hint: Only a fan with a vested interest in the answer could conclude anything other than James remained a receiver. Last: I continue to get that it's just weird that when a runner crosses the goal line, he scores even if he later drops the ball, while a receiver only scores if he avoids the ground causing the ball to move AFTER he crosses the goal line. THAT should be your problem with this play, not some hocus pocus about James morhping into a runner.
One of my first thoughts after the initial five minutes of delirium following the Rowe-Harmon pick was that the salty tears of the Pats haters were going to be delicious. The sum total of the Ed Bouchettes, Max Kellermans, Brian Billicks, NY backpages and various whiny ass fans of various teams has way exceeded my hopes. I should have known it would be this level of stupidity, as abject hatred knows no bounds.
As a fan of the Pats since Plunkett, I still keep waiting to wake up from this ridiculously awesome dream.
And PS: I know that the catch rule applies regardless of where on the field the receiver landed. What I wrote above could imply that I think otherwise.