Jesse James' non-catch would be a reception under proposed rule changes

Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay, who is chairman of the NFL’s competition committee that will propose rule changes to league owners, said the non-catch by Steelers tight end Jesse James at the goal line in December against the New England Patriots would be a legal reception and touchdown under the new rule being advanced.

League owners will vote on the proposal at the NFL’s annual meetings that begin Sunday in Orlando, Fla.

“Jesse James [catch] would be a touchdown,” McKay said Friday on a conference call. “We tried to simplify the rule, tried to make it a very definable three-step process — a clean catch, with two feet down and do anything with the ball that shows it’s a football act,…