Roughing the passer?

[Bill B.]

Is this the Brady rule coming back to bite us? The first roughing the passer call in the endzone was horrible. The hit was on the thighs and Wilfork started his move while the QB stil had the ball. I thought that when I saw the flag that it was intentional grounding. The second one was also pretty lame. The QB was still trying to break the tackle and when Thomas was bringing him down, he let go before he hit the ground. Those two calls definitely helped the Bills tonight. Was Ben Drieth calling this game?

 

[diggemsmack]

the 2nd one i could see why they called it although it was kinda lame but the first one was total crap. refs should be fined.

 

[signbabybrady]

Wilforks one really pissed me off....If a QB frantically dumps the ball away it should have to be brutal for it to be roughing.

The second one I thought was terrible on Thomas' part as you know how much they protect the QB and I thought he really threw him down pretty hard but when I got home and saw a replay it didn't look as bad still haven't heard a whistle on the play either so this could have been BS too but this is what the owners want they don't the franchise QB getting hurt.

As a fan all I want is to win and to see some brutal contact everything else is the means to the end. I don't want to see injuries to anybody but if panzy football is the way to reduce injury I dont want that either.

 

[patchick]

What really gets me is that they're not calling the "in the grasp" rule. So the whistle doesn't blow, the defender has to keep wrestling the QB, then if you throw him to the ground a little roughly or finish your tackle a fraction of a second late it's a penalty. The penalty on AD struck me as more of a function of the official being hesitant to blow the whistle than anything else.

 

[Modest]

Either we'll be playing flag football next season or they'll wise up and revise the rule for more leniency.

 

[Lord_Reginald_III]

the 2nd one i could see why they called it although it was kinda lame but the first one was total crap. refs should be fined.

led to a BIG shift too...

 

[DaBruinz]

Both the Roughing the Passer penalties were garbage. Its pretty bad when Mike Greenberg realizes that the ref got it wrong.

And both penalties gave Buffalo new life.

 

[denverpatsfan]

Both calls were terrible. The Krafts need to step up and pay the damn officials like every other team does.

 

[Koma]

The Wilfork call was so bad it was worthy of an "evil" referee blatantly favoring one opponent in pro wrestling.

As far as the Adalius Thomas penalty, didn't we hear last season that the officials were going to call "in the grasp" more to protect quarterbacks? I'm pretty sure a Matt Cassel scramble against Miami was wiped out due to that sort of call. Was that de-emphasized this year or will it depend on the officiating crew?

Tonight, there was a play where a Patriot player had Edwards' lower leg wrapped up. He was definitely not getting away, but the whistle never blew and Edwards was sacked.

Later, A. Thomas has Edwards wrapped up and there is no whistle. He's in the process of tackling him, then whistle blows (at least that's how I remember it), and Thomas gets penalized.

Generally speaking, inconsistency in the officiating during a game aggravates me. If you want to give the QB a second or two to try and escape from a defender or throw a pass, go ahead. But if, during that extra second or two, the QB gets tackled, don't penalize the defense.

 

[SammyBlueCat]

What really gets me is that they're not calling the "in the grasp" rule. So the whistle doesn't blow, the defender has to keep wrestling the QB, then if you throw him to the ground a little roughly or finish your tackle a fraction of a second late it's a penalty. The penalty on AD struck me as more of a function of the official being hesitant to blow the whistle than anything else.

I thought the same exact thing...

 

[PatsFan24]

next year you wont even be allowed to blitz

 

[pheenix11]

What really gets me is that they're not calling the "in the grasp" rule. So the whistle doesn't blow, the defender has to keep wrestling the QB, then if you throw him to the ground a little roughly or finish your tackle a fraction of a second late it's a penalty. The penalty on AD struck me as more of a function of the official being hesitant to blow the whistle than anything else.

Exactly! If AD let up at all, Edwards would have gotten away and then we have another Manning prayer lob. The only way AD was going to stop Edwards was to get him to the ground and sometimes the only way to do that is to use some leverage and whip the ball carrier down.

That call was horrendous.

 

[amhunt2]

Absolutely nothing to do with the "Brady" rule. Those two calls were completely blown by Scott Green.

I cannot believe AD wasn't "gentle" enough, that's ridiculous.

 

[amhunt2]

next year you wont even be allowed to blitz

HAHA! but seriously...you might be right

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Never thought the Pollard hit was dirty and never liked the rule changes. Tonight didn't change my opinion one bit.

 

[OldEnglandPatriot]

Both calls were crap, and I'd feel the same regardless of the teams involved.

Defenders are getting put in an impossible position with the whole '"in the grasp" thing. Remember the poor Giants guy last season (?) who had been penalised for roughing one time, so then he let his guy go after grasping him for-like-ever with no whistle...? Or the Manning lob, as somebody else mentioned. Ughhhh.

If you don't want the QB brought to the ground then blow the ****ing whistle when he's wrapped up.

The particularly galling thing about both tonight's calls was that in both instances the effect on the game was huge. First Buffalo escape from being backed up inside their own ten thanks to the penalty, with a resulting huge difference in field position. Second time, a sack to leave them struggling for field goal range is negated.

 

[BennyBledsoe]

I thought the Pollard hit became the prototype for when a player leads with his helmet towards a quarterback's legs and more specifically his knees.

 

[Deus Irae]

Might as well get it over with and go to two hand touch and 5 Mississippi on passing plays.

 

[mgteich]

WILFORK
the Brady rule in action
I'm sure this will be reviewed this week. That shouldn't be a penalty in the NFL.

THOMAS
Thomas picked up the player and slammed him down. That is a penalty. An in the grasp call might have helped.

 

[tuckeverlasting]

the roughing the passer calls were both ridiculous but if you thought those were bad, wait 'til godell sees the pats rush dirty sanchez. two hand tag may be a penalty.