NFL’s Roughing the Passer Rule Causes Confusion

The NFL’s competition committee is scheduled for a conference call next week about the changes to the “roughing the passer rule,” two sources told ESPN Tuesday.

NFL Could Change Roughing The Passer Rule

“There’s some concern that the officials are going a little bit too far with some of these calls,” one of the sources said.

According to ESPN, through three weeks, there have been 34 roughing the passer calls. Through three weeks last year, there had been 16, and after three weeks in 2016, there were 20.

NFL.com‘s Judy Battista said, “I’m told this morning a number of members of the Competition Committee are uncomfortable with the roughing the passer calls, particularly the Clay Matthews one from the Vikings game.” She added: “Committee call next week, but members are unsure if anything will change this year.”

The issue with the 23-year-old rule comes after the league made a “point of emphasis” on the part that prohibits defenders from landing on the quarterback with their full body weight or driving him into the ground with excessive force. The NFL says that rule has been on the books since 1995 (Rule 12 , Section 2, Article 9) and that it made it a point of emphasis this season after hearing complaints from coaching staffs that it wasn’t being enforced.

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The competition committee also issued the recommendation that “the Officiating department emphasize that the defender is responsible to avoid landing on the quarterback when taking him to the ground. The Committee also recommended that video be shown to players, coaches, and officials during the offseason to demonstrate legal and illegal plays. Examples of rushing defenders getting their bodies to the side during the contact and avoiding putting their body weight on the quarterback must be included so that coaches can teach proper technique.”

According to The Washington Post‘s Mark Maske, “it is expected that the roughing-the-passer rule will be called differently, with the shift in emphasis becoming clear through officiating videos distributed by the league.”

After his second straight week with a roughing the passer penalty, Matthews called the hit “a football play.” It was then put on the league’s weekly teaching tape as an example of how not to sack the quarterback, but one of the sources said the competition committee was confused about whether that penalty should have been called. Here are the plays, along with the NFL’s response.

Article by Bill Piersa