The league has to do something about roughing the passer

[Chuck 54]

I thought for certain they were going to flag us on the defensive TD. They even threw the flag but picked it up thankfully.

I miss the days when you could actually hit the QB. Why are they so protected? Because they make a lot of money? You can do most anything to RB's and WR's who, these days, are smaller than most of the QB's in the league. As long as you aren't doing something that appears to be intentionally trying to cause injury you should be able to hit the QB like any other player.

It’s about the money the league is making. For example, any team without a defense like Dallas would be losing every game behind a backup like Rush. That would kill TV ratings. There aren’t enough QBs to even have decent starters, much less backups. The QB is a totally defenseless player standing in the pocket, looking downfield while 270-300 lb defenders are coming at them from all angles full speed.

I think Parsons gets it. I’ve been surprised that as often as he gets a free run, he has never even laid a big legal hit on a QB….he seems to wrap them and lay them down gently…..lol.

 

[RonnieT24]

I thought for certain they were going to flag us on the defensive TD. They even threw the flag but picked it up thankfully.

I miss the days when you could actually hit the QB. Why are they so protected? Because they make a lot of money? You can do most anything to RB's and WR's who, these days, are smaller than most of the QB's in the league. As long as you aren't doing something that appears to be intentionally trying to cause injury you should be able to hit the QB like any other player.

This is part of it.. but it's also about how the league markets itself. Every Sunday if you watch the pregame shows they have a bunch of ex-QBs repeating the same tired trope.. "It's a QB driven league..." Ever since they started saying that crap QBs have gotten more and more protected.. Hell what am I saying? Coddled is more like it. Ironically the more athletic QBs don't seem to get that same protection whether in the pocket or not. It seems like its open season on guys like Dak, Hurts, Cam, Murray, Mariota, Jackson and the like. I don't watch enough Bills games to tell if they are protecting Allen.. and I can't tell if the bogus calls Daniel Jones got against us was him being protected or the refs executing the directive to screw the Cowboys. To the league's credit they HAVE corrected it in the past when they have gone overboard with protecting QBs with the stupid "in the grasp" rule. So hopefully they can fix this nonsense too.

 

[McKDaddy]

which is why I wish there was a rules expert in the booth of every game viewing the replays that we see from the networks

They could fix it. they don't want to. It will take a large lever to move them which is why I suggest something like walking off the field. If any person or small group complains, they will just squash them. If the entire league revolted, then you get their attention.

I have proposed a three person team at each game that isn't under the control of the league. Teams rotate members so that it would be very difficult for anyone to collude.

 

[CowboysRule]

This is part of it.. but it's also about how the league markets itself. Every Sunday if you watch the pregame shows they have a bunch of ex-QBs repeating the same tired trope.. "It's a QB driven league..." Ever since they started saying that crap QBs have gotten more and more protected.. Hell what am I saying? Coddled is more like it. Ironically the more athletic QBs don't seem to get that same protection whether in the pocket or not. It seems like its open season on guys like Dak, Hurts, Cam, Murray, Mariota, Jackson and the like. I don't watch enough Bills games to tell if they are protecting Allen.. and I can't tell if the bogus calls Daniel Jones got against us was him being protected or the refs executing the directive to screw the Cowboys. To the league's credit they HAVE corrected it in the past when they have gone overboard with protecting QBs with the stupid "in the grasp" rule. So hopefully they can fix this nonsense too.

I remember a play from years back involving Daunte Culpepper who, if you recall, was just a massive dude. He was standing in the pocket with a little guy, on the ground, hanging on to his leg. I'm not even sure he realized the guy was there. The refs ruled it a sack as he was "in the grasp." He was livid.

I'm not entirely certain it's been corrected though. They blew the whistle on a Mahomes sack last night about as soon as the defender had hands on him.

 

[Oz-of-Cowboy-Country]

You mean they need to take the dressings off and reassess the situation. I wonder what would happen if someone accidentally said dresses instead of dressings?

 

[foofighters]

After Grady Jarrett's bad call on Brady, the Chris Jones penalty was a real stretch too.

I bring this up here given that as one of the better pass rushes in the NFL, we are going to hit the QB a lot. There likely isn't a solution this year but maybe in the offseason they need to look at replay for roughing the passer calls.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/34772852/chiefs-baffled-roughing-passer-penalty-chris-jones

This is why I don't watch many games outside of Cowboys games. It's difficult to watch the defense not being allowed to play defense. That put pads on for a reason. Those QB's are paid A LOT of money. They should understand the risk.

 

[DoctorChicken]

Absolutely. The call last night was one of the most laughable calls I’ve ever seen.

I understand the NFL wants to protect QBs. No one wants to see a beloved QB like Mahomes or whoever take a shot that ends their season. I get that. But there has to be a middle ground.

 

[kskboys]

I am more worried that Parsons and Lawrence voiced their displeasure. You just know the officials will be looking extra closely at them Sunday night.

Bad mistake.

 

[Doomsday101]

 

[phildadon86]

Bad mistake.

Yup exactly what I thought. Biggest game of the season Sunday and now the refs are going to be looking at you. Better bring a pillow to put under Hurts if you hit him.

 

[aikemirv]

The officiating in this league is broken period. Arbitrary and inconsistent as hell. I have zero faith Goodell will fix it but will pleasantly surprised with any positive progress they make towards making the game more fair and competitive

I am always amazed at the poor officiating in the NFL. When you watch premier league soccer it is amazing how often they get extremely close calls correct and you don't even see it on TV. There review process is pretty precise as well. NFL officials really suck!

 

[aikemirv]

Yeah that was terrible too!

 

[fivetwos]

After Grady Jarrett's bad call on Brady, the Chris Jones penalty was a real stretch too.

I bring this up here given that as one of the better pass rushes in the NFL, we are going to hit the QB a lot. There likely isn't a solution this year but maybe in the offseason they need to look at replay for roughing the passer calls.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/34772852/chiefs-baffled-roughing-passer-penalty-chris-jones

Definitely true, but I would speculate that if anything, the league wants defenders knowing that they may get flagged for anything close.

Certainly they don’t want a January full of default QBs due to injury.

The call on Brady was beyond ridiculous though. It makes one at least consider the idea of the fix being in.

Either way, I wouldn’t expect it to be mentioned, let alone actually addressed.

 

[aikemirv]

Jones did have his weight on Carr last night and that is listed as a no-no. That's what put Romo out one season.

Jarrett's was ridiculous, that's tackle football.

However, the money is in the QB's and the owners are changing nothing. The officials are acting at their behest in enforcing this protect the franchise rule.

If you've watched how the promoting has changed, this is no longer about teams facing off. Did you catch those graphics last night with Mahomes instead of the team? It was all about the QB, not the team. It's the same with Allen, Herbert, Rodgers and reason DEN gave up the farm for Wilson and CLE did for Watson.

They have made the game all about the QB and they're not about to let the golden goose get hammered. 20-25% of the cap is going to that one player.

Jones had the ball in one arm and he did put the hand down to brace with the other. Sometimes some weight is going to go down on the QB - atrocious call.

They are going to have to start reviewing these calls. Some of them are just part of tackle football you can't take away from the game!

 

[aikemirv]

Refs are blowing calls left and right, but they have been really bad lately trying to protect QBs.

Yeah and last night the whole second half they were in makeup call mode for the one they called on Jones. It's just stupid!

 

[Creeper]

I thought the one on Jones was legitimate according the rules, and Randy Gregory got called for exactly the same thing last year, if I recall correctly. A defender cannot leave his feet so his full body weight lands on the QB.

The one on Jarrett was a joke. I have no idea what rule that violated except it looked like the same type of tackle that hurt Tua. But the one on Tua was much more violent.

 

[bigdnlaca]

Not really an nfl problem but I could see the refs will be calling it more due to what happened to Tua.

However, Boger is the problem with calling 2 roughing the passers that both decided the game when they weren’t.

 

[CouchCoach]

Jones had the ball in one arm and he did put the hand down to brace with the other. Sometimes some weight is going to go down on the QB - atrocious call.

They are going to have to start reviewing these calls. Some of them are just part of tackle football you can't take away from the game!

But from the ref’s view, could he see that or did he see body weight on the QB? It is not a reviewable call at this time.

The refs are doing what they’ve been told to do.

 

[RonnieT24]

Not really an nfl problem but I could see the refs will be calling it more due to what happened to Tua.

However, Boger is the problem with calling 2 roughing the passers that both decided the game when they weren’t.

Just because the refs' cheating didn't work doesn't mean they weren't trying.. LOL!

 

[dreghorn2]

But from the ref’s view, could he see that or did he see body weight on the QB? It is not a reviewable call at this time.

The refs are doing what they’ve been told to do.

I honestly thought Aikman and Buck were going completely overboard last night and i was disappointed in McCauley buying into the rhetoric with his lame 'he appears to be cushioning the blow with his left arm' nonsense.

I don't like it but that has been a roughing the passer for some time now, if that was Rodgers, Mahomes etc.. on the receiving end of that tackle nobody would have said boo.

The shame is that it was the worst thing that could have happened to the Raiders, they were called for eight penalties the rest of the way, allowed Mahomes' line to hold like mad and even dusted off the old holding by the defense on a field goal attempt last called in 2015.