In the end, it passed without a whisper of dissent. NFL owners on Tuesday unanimously approved the simplified, common sense-ified catch rule at the league's annual meetings in Orlando.
Prepare to debate what "or the ability to perform such an act" means.
The Catch Rule was just one of a package of rules that received the official rubber stamp.
One rule that was not approved was the Josh McDaniels rule. The rule was dubbed such a way after the Patriots offensive coordinator agreed to become the Indianapolis Colts head coach in mid-January but then changed his mind in the weeks between his informal acceptance could turn into a formal acceptance, as NFL rules currently required the Patriots to complete their playoff run before McDaniels could accept his new job. The new proposal would have allowed the Colts to announce McDaniels at the moment he accepted.
The Colts hired Frank Reich away from the Eagles instead.