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NFL Kickoff Week: Is the horse-collar the new catch rule with expansion?
Patriots RB LaGarrette Blount blasts through the Jaguars Peyton Thompson on his way to a 17-yard gain in the third quarter on September 27, 2015. Thompson was also flagged for a horse collar tackle penalty at the conclusion of the play, giving New England a first and ten from the Jacksonville 15 yard line. Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

NFL Kickoff Week: Is the horse-collar the new catch rule with expansion?

Welcome to the Yardbarker NFL Roundtable, a place where our most fervent football contributors can kickback, relax and look at the fun (and sometimes not-so-fun) parts of the biggest league in America; the massive behemoth that is the National Football League.  

Rule changes. Few things create more confusion among fans, commentators, coaches and even officials in during the first few weeks of every new season. 

During the offseason, the NFL expanded the rule around horse-collar tackles. Rule 12, Section 12, Article 15 now reads: 

No player shall grab the inside collar of the back or the side of the shoulder pads or jersey, or grab the jersey at the name plate or above, and pull the runner toward the ground. This does not apply to a runner who is in the tackle box or to a quarterback who is in the pocket. 
Note: It is not necessary for a player to pull the runner completely to the ground in order for the act to be illegal. If his knees are buckled by the action, it is a foul, even if the runner is not pulled completely to the ground. 
Penalty: For a Horse-Collar Tackle: Loss of 15 yards and an automatic first down.

So we have to ask:

Is the horse-collar the new catch rule with expansion?  

Mike Tunison

Probably not since the penalties won't be subject to review, though there will almost certainly be instances where the application of the new rule will be controversial or even incorrect. Since the horse-collar is still allowed on a runner inside the tackle box, expect a lot of casual fans to have to become familiar with that concept this season.

Sam Greszes

I'm going to say no, but with a caveat. In a perfect world, with perfect refs, expanding the horse-collar penalty to include all tackles made by grabbing the jersey above the nameplate wouldn't be a big deal. Unlike the old (and current) catch rules in the NFL, there's a clear demarcation of what is and isn't a horse-collar tackle, which is a very, very good thing. That said, given the fact that refs aren't perfect, and that horse-collar penalties won't be reviewable using replay, the door is wide open for a whole bunch of controversy if a call is missed. Personally, I don't think it'll really affect on-field play that much since most tackles happen at chest level or lower.

Daniel Tran

I don't think we'll be seeing the same hubbub with the horse-collar rule as there is with the catch rule. Nothing will ever cause "Matrix Revolutions" levels of confusion between analysts, fans and even refs like the catch rule. The new horse-collar tackle expansion says players can't tackle from the the nameplate or above. For referees who are trained to look for it, that's one to two full seconds to make a determination when some calls are split second judgements. The horse-collar expansion will certainly cause some headaches since it isn't challengeable, but the catch rule is controversial even with instant replay review.

Joe Boland

I honestly have no idea what defenders are and are not allowed to do anymore. With horse-collar tackles expanded, I expect to see a flag on every other hit, and while I understand player safety, at what point do we draw the line? I'm pretty sure defenders aren't thinking about what they grab near the top of the jersey, and given the automatic ejections for multiple personal fouls, this could actually take the catch rule controversy and quadruple it. I mean, what if a player barely grabs a ball carrier by his letters after already drawing a personal foul? Does he get ejected? This one could get ugly in more ways than one. 

Shiloh Carder

I hate that the rule of reviewing penalties didn't pass – I've been saying that for years. Because if a ref calls this horse-collar penalty and we see in hindsight that the tackle was below the nameplate, there will be quite the furor. At least the "catch rule" gets reviewed; this won't. With officials having to call this at real speed, there will be some mistakes made. 

Demetrius Bell

This totally seems like the type of rule that will end up costing a team at an extremely inopportune time during the playoffs. I'm not looking forward to a week of the football world poring over a video clip of a "controversial" tackle and whether or not it was actually a horse-collar tackle under the new rules. I'd much rather talk about the actual game instead of wondering whether or not the refs are applying a rule correctly – especially in a big game at the end of the season when this rule is supposed to be clarified and everybody is clear on it. Hopefully that won't be the case, but if the NFL managed to somehow muddy the waters on what's considered a proper catch, then anything is possible. 

David Matthews

The catch rule is a joke. Seeing playoff games affected by it has been a huge blow to several fan bases and, as a viewer, it hasn't been much fun to see a referee try to study a replay like the Talmud. If anything, a catch should be like Justice Stewart's famous phrase: a referee should know it when he or she sees it. The Cowboys can kick rocks, but Dez Bryant caught that one. 

That said, the expanded horse-collar rule is probably going to draw some eye rolling this season until everyone gets used to it. However, along with the elimination of chop blocks, the beefed-up horse-collar rule is going to make the game marginally safer. Dudes are still going to be hurtling themselves into each other at ferocious speeds, but this safeguard will hopefully result in reduced injuries. A player only does a horse-collar tackle, or grabs above the nameplate, because they're seeing, or about to, the back of a jersey. That defender got beat. Unlike the catch rule, the expanded horse-collar rule will actually help boost offenses because defenders will eventually become hesitant of a 15-yard penalty and not try to whip a runner down. YAC monsters and running backs who get into the open field with regularity are going to feast. I like seeing players do amazing things. The catch rule goes out of its way to disappear those amazing things from the game log. The expanded horse-collar rule is going to do the opposite. 

Vincent Frank

It is. How do you police something with this wide-ranging definition. Defensive players can now be called for a penalty of they pull the opponent down at the name plate or above. Short of the NFL instituting some sort of a review on the play, there's going to be a ton issues with consistency here. In and of itself, that's going to lead to bad calls throughout the season. 

Jamie Neal

Horse-collar is all about player safety and there is no reason it shouldn't be top of mind and top priority for the league. The definition of the new horse-collar tackle is still clear enough that it isn't a judgment call and Mr. Arm Chair QB can still understand the reason it's being called. The catch rule is so convoluted that it's still unclear whether Dez Bryant caught that ball against Green Bay or not.

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