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[QUOTE="Forza Azzurri, post: 3045133, member: 1452"]
Well, offsides does get more complicated than that...

Was the players in an offside position and came back onsides to receive the ball?
Was the ball deliberately played by a member of the opposing team and the ball was intercepted by a player in an offsides position?
Is the player beyond the last defender in his own half?
Is the ball in front of the player?
Is the player involved in the play or a passive participant?

And the rule is actually not the last defender.  The rule is that the second-to-last defender must be even with or between the goal and the offensive player.  People take the keeper for granted but there are times when a player is between the keeper and the goal and then it looks to the last two field players.

Having said all that, if you understand the rules, it is very black and white and easy to adjudicate...other than the involved in the play one where there has to be interpretation...

I would argue that what constitutes a catch in the NFL is infinitely more complicated than either the offsides rule or the hand-ball rule...

I can watch instant replay in the NFL and have no idea whether the official is going to call it a catch or not. And neither do the announcers or the "rules expert" that they now have for every game...
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