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Goodell: 'I am concerned' about ambiguity of catch rule

Joe Sargent / Getty Images Sport / Getty

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the league's fans are actually on the same page about something - the catch rule needs fixing.

Again in 2017, the question of "what is a catch?" was a major topic of discussion - particularly in the Pittsburgh Steelers-New England Patriots intense Week 14 meeting - and the matter didn't go unnoticed by the commissioner.

Related: Tomlin wants catch rule to be revisited in offseason

"I'm not just somewhat concerned. I am concerned," Goodell told FOX Sports' Colin Cowherd on Monday about the lack of clarity with the rule. "We just had five Hall of Fame receivers and several coaches come in just two weeks ago to focus on the catch, no-catch rule - how we bring clarity. And this is where the balance comes in ...

"You want there to be clarity from an officiating standpoint, a coaching and player standpoint - they know what it is or isn't. And so they draft the rule, the Competition Committee looks at it, they bring it to the membership, and they want that clarity. I think here you might have clarity in a large element of it, but then it's not the rule that people really want."

Goodell said the recent meeting involving coaches and Hall of Famers was very productive and that he hopes the Competition Committee can use what was learned to improve the rule at further meetings in February and March.

He also mentioned that one of the Hall of Fame receivers told him, "Fans want catches."

- with h/t to NFL.com

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