The roughing the passer call on Tom Brady was questionable. 0:47
Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said he was in disbelief when he was flagged for roughing the passer in the fourth quarter of the Falcons' loss to the Buccaneers.
On his weekly appearance on The Fan in Atlanta, Jarrett spoke for the first time since the game, when he said he was too emotional to speak about what had happened.
He didn't know what he was supposed to do.
"Just looking back at it, I'm still confused," he said. What should I do in that situation?
Brady was brought down by Jarrett after he wrapped him up. After making contact with the ground, he turned over and finished the sack. According to a pool report after the game, Brady was thrown to the ground by Jarrett.
The play was not commented on by the National Football League. The rule regarding roughing the passer is not expected to be changed during the season according to The Associated Press.
Each week, teams can submit plays to the league for questions, and the league reviews every play after the game and judges officials by their performance.
In-game reviews on roughing the passer calls would be a step in the right direction, according to Jarrett. Chris Jones was flagged for roughing the passer while sacked by the Kansas City defensive lineman.
Atlanta would have forced a fourth down and gotten the ball back if Jarrett had not been flagged.
"I saw Chris' sack last night and that was questionable as well." It cost us an opportunity to win the game and if it's costing people games, it's going to cost them their jobs. It is going to cost people their opportunities. Nobody knows who is going to make a crazy play.
"Obviously this happened to us, the Falcons, but forget about that and focus on the sport." When people watch us to be entertained, to see some game-winning drives and then when you do it right, the right way, that's what makes it so frustrating. The best product we can put on the field is what the game is owed.
He would like to see review involved because it could be difficult to tell intent at full speed.
He is all for protecting quarterbacks. Their value is not only to their teams but also to their franchise and sometimes cities. He doesn't advocate roughing the passer to leave, just for help in how it's called.
"We don't want to go in there and hurt people," said Jarrett. I don't think you should be punished for it.
It's emotional and we don't want it to go down like that. Change can happen as a result of this.
"Look, you see him now," he told the official when he spoke about the appearance of Brady kicking him. Let's take care of it. I'm saying something. At the end of the game, it occurred again. So we're going to let this go?
The rule change to where players can be hit on tackles has changed his thought process in how he tackles, and it's something you have to think about as you approach the quarterback.
He doesn't think it's fair for offenses to change when a sack is called because there are too many quarterbacks who can break tackles.
He thinks review could come in that location.
"If it's going to be a different rule for different players, then I feel like you do review some things," he said. It's just getting to the point where it's deciding games and extra unearned downs and stuff like that, so maybe you make judgments on intent and certain things.
The flag cost the Falcons a chance to win the division. The Falcons would have been over.500 for the first time in over a year if they had won.
The thing that hurt me the most was that my team didn't have the chance to do what they needed to do. Nobody knows if we're going to get a touchdown. I'm not blaming that for the loss of the game.
All we wanted was an opportunity that we, as a whole team, staff and organization, earned. It was unfortunate that it had to go down that way.
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