2 Points?

Was the Lance Moore drop that was reversed on instant replay for the Saints' two point conversion really the right call.

From the NFL's VP of Officiating via TMQ:

Adventures in Officiating: Zebras on the field called the New Orleans deuce attempt incomplete, then during a TV timeout, reversed it. Lance Moore was juggling the ball and never seemed to control it, then the ball bounced when he hit the ground. NFL vice president of officiating Mike Pereira (who recently announced his retirement) said afterward the two points should have been scored because once there is any possession in the end zone or above the white line, the play ends, so it doesn't matter if the receiver loses the ball as he hits the ground, which normally means incompletion. That's not how I read the rule -- and remember, the NFL wasn't shy about misquoting its own rules to justify the ending of the Packers at Cardinals playoff game.

What makes the NFL's explanation unusual is the apparent distinction they refs and the league used to make between catches in the endzone that result in TDs and those at the goal line that cross the plane and are ruled TDs - or in this case two point conversions.

I believe the rule for end zone catches is that the receiver must retain possession ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE CATCH - even after the receiver lands and/or rolls out of bounds regardless of whether he had possession at any point in the field of play (end zone). But Pereira says that is not the case anymore.

The league's ruling with respect to Moore's catch seems to be that the receiver can lose possession of the ball at any point after the ball crosses the plane of the goal line. Maybe they changed the rule for end zone catches cause it favored catches made outside the end zone at the expense of those made in it.

Of course, this could all be cleared up if the NFL rulebook were publicly available, like on their website. But it's not for some inexplicable reason.