The Browns May have found themselves on the wrong end of a few bad calls (the Derek Carr no-fumble was egregious), but the worst roughing the passer penalty of the year was undoubtedly was called against the Raiders on Sunday.
The play occurred early in the first quarter and while it didn’t necessarily extend the Browns drive (which ended with a FG), it should be concerning to the league that players are being penalized for trying to avoid hitting the quarterback. In fact, Arden Key did everything possible to avoid a penalty for hitting the quarterback and still drew a flag.
https://twitter.com/jasonrmcintyre/status/1046503116361723904?s=12
One theory that was mentioned by ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio was the idea that the flag was justified because of helmet-to-helmet contact between Key and Baker Mayfield.
But here’s the problem.
If the NFL is flagging defensive players for every example of a quarterback’s helmet being touched, it opens up a can of worms that the league should probably want to avoid. Why stop at quarterbacks? Are their heads any less resistant to concussion than a running back?
How can the league with extreme excess protect one player’s head but not another? What will lawyers in 10 years be saying about a running back who absorbs hundreds of more dangerous but “legal” hits in his NFL career?
It’s a slippery slope the league is balancing on how to tackle (or in this case touch) a quarterback. By all means take as many big hits away from quarterbacks as possible, but Sunday’s example of roughing the passer is just the latest example of why officiating crews (and the NFL) are being given too many opportunities to control the outcome of games. It’s not good for the game now and eventually it might come back to haunt the league in the court room, as well.
twitter: @raidersbeat
Oh my God he barely touch the quarterback. It’s hilarious how freaking stupid the referees are. It’s almost like they all got lobotomized at the psych ward in the off-season and now they’re just drones operating with very low Braincel capacity to form conscious thoughts of their own.
Amazing sports media outlets are talking about the Derek Carr play that should have been a fumble but said nothing about this Arden Key roughing the passer call that shouldn’t have been or the run Lynch could have had that got called back cause he wasn’t down. They wanted Baker to win but he didn’t so it’s the refs fault
You can’t blame the ref’s for following every stupid rule the league puts in to protect their income @ the gate and viewership. The league is also shortsighted when trying to stave off lawsuits also….. Next the will put tewo flags on the QB’s and say pull one off for a sack…….