Stephen A. Smith doesn't like the roughing of the passer penalties. There is a time and a place for it.
There were two flags for roughing the passer and one concussive quarterback. The first feeding frenzy of the season happened because of that.
There is no evidence that Tua Tagovailoa's concussion is connected to the two penalty flags that sparked a leaguewide discussion. It makes for an easy narrative, but it's not supported by any concrete evidence.
There has been no order to protect quarterbacks following the Tagovailoa incident, according to multiple sources. John Parry, a retired referee who is an analyst with the league's officiating department, said there had been no instructions to change anything.
What's happening here? Why did the Atlanta Falcons defensive linemen get a 15-yard penalty for throwing Tom Brady to the ground? Cheffers said in a later pool report that he threw a flag on Chris Jones for landing on Carr with his full body weight.
The roughing of the passer will be a topic of discussion when the owners meet in New York next week.
The revelation that roughing the passer penalties have plummeted this season, before considering possible solutions, is part of a deeper look at the situation.
I agree. There have been 29 roughing penalties this year. From 54 through Week 5 last season to 41 in 2020 and 59 in 2010 that's down.
There were too many flags thrown for roughing the passer in 2021. There was a 12% increase in the total. The committee found a lot of flags for mild or accidental contact in the video they reviewed. The committee reminded officials that the rules requirecible contact to merit a flag.
The flags from Boger and Cheffers are related to the issue of "forcible" contact that the competition committee explained this spring. The amended roughing the passer rule doesn't allow defenders to "stuff a passer into the ground or unnecessarily wrestle or drive him down after the passer has thrown the ball."
The rule says a defender must try to fall to the side of the quarterback's body or to brace his fall with his arms to avoid landing on the quarterback.
After issuing its clarification this spring, the competition committee told officials it was satisfied with how they were calling the body weight component of the rule.
The lead referee is mostly responsible for calling roughing the passer penalties because it's a judgement call.
This isn't the first time this season we've seen a flag thrown for roughing the passer, and it wouldn't be the last. You only have to go back to Week 4 of the season, when the Baltimore Ravens were fined for making contact with the head of Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Allen was hit in the chest with the replays.
The ball came loose as Jones and Carr fell. Jones used one arm to grab the ball, limiting his ability to roll or fall. Cheffers said in the pool report that he thought Jones landed on Carr. The situation for Jones was complicated by the fumbled ball.
The roughing of the passer will be reviewed by the league. Every play of the season is reviewed by the league after it is over. The league tries to avoid overreacting to a few high-profile calls, so there is no indication that it will change anything in the short term. There is no precedent for changing the written terms of a subjective judgement call during the course of a season.
Three options are being considered by the league.
The first thing it could do was not do anything.
The standard for throwing a flag for the body weight/unnecessarily throwing component of roughing the passer could be raised. The league doesn't change rules to make it easier to protect quarterbacks. It can be done through a directive to officials during the season or a rule change during the off-season. There is no indication that the league is going to make any changes this season.
It could make roughing the passer a crime.
Yes, that's right.
The calls can have a significant impact on the outcome of a game. The one-year exception of pass interference is one of the reasons why the owners of the National Football League don't want to make subjective judgement calls part of replay review.
Adding roughing the passer to replay review would have to be approved by 24 of 32 owners.
Adams and Pederson are a dynamic duo.
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