Roger Goodell: Time to 'start over again' on catch rule

Who killed JFK? Are we alone in the universe? What on earth constitutes a catch?

Three equally beguiling mysteries of the human experience.

On Wednesday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell addressed one of those thorny paradoxes -- the one about the NFL's head-spinning, brain-bending catch rule.

"From our standpoint, I would like to start back, instead of adding to the rule, subtracting the rule. Start over again and look at the rule fundamentally from the start," Goodell said during his annual Super Bowl Week presser. "Because I think when you add or subtract things you can still lead to confusion. These rules are very complex -- you have to look at what the unintended consequences are of making a change, which is what the Competition Committee, in my view, does so well and with so much thought."

Said Goodell: "We're trying to supplement that here a little bit by ... giving them some thought [and] starters of the ideas we think we can focus on. ... Clearly catch, no-catch has been a lot of discussion and a lot of disagreement ... and I think we can clarify this rule and I think we can do it with a lot of hard work [and] focus and get to a place where -- I'm not going to tell you there won't be controversy, but I believe we can get to a much better place."

Goodell also shared on a recent meeting that saw five Hall of Fame receivers and a handful of coaches weigh on what is -- and what isn't -- a catch.

"When we went through these 150 plays just a couple of weeks ago, we had Hall of Famers in there and when you say it makes sense, there are a lot of people who have different perspectives on that. There's a lot of disagreement in the room on what a catch was and wasn't," Goodell said. "People with great football experience can disagree on that."

Goodell addressed the catch rule for the second time in a week after acknowledging on Monday that it's heavily on his radar.

"I'm not just somewhat concerned. I am concerned," Goodell told Colin Cowherd of FOX Sports.

The best news here -- and the most promising idea by Goodell and friends -- is burning the rule to the ground and reconstructing it from scratch.

Don't hold your breath for that to happen, but at least Goodell sees what we all see: The ultra-hazy catch rule, as it stands today, is a detriment to enjoying this game we love.

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