Wrong.
Pay close attention to the bold part. He was no longer in the act of catching the pass. He had gained possession, and WAS NOW A RUNNER, when he broke the plane.
NoDak (and the refs interpretation) is that Ertz was never going to the ground, but voluntarily chose to dive...therefore, your above rule never comes into play.
You really haven't been paying attention to how they have been enforcing that rule, have you? Either that, or you are ignoring it to try to make a point.
You mean, like Dez was?
Yeah, I have. He was no longer a receiver trying to gain possession. He took three steps and became a runner.
You mean, Like Dez was?
If I had ever contended that Dez didn't catch it, which I haven't, you'd have a point. But I haven't, so you don't.
This rule is stupid, and it's stupid we are arguing about it, but Dez absolutely had balance and was "by rule" a runner.
