wiggins!
Third String But Playing on Special Teams
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FROM USA TODAY
The chief NFL official will not apologize for the roughing-the-passer penalties called on the Ravens in their loss to the Patriots last week, even if not all NFL analysts agree with him.
NFL VP of officiating Mike Pereira said officials were correct to flag Baltimore's Haloti Ngata and Terrell Suggs for roughing penalties against Patriots QB Tom Brady. Ravens LB Ray Lewis had called the penalties, which both extended Patriots TD drives, "embarrassing."
Pereira acknowledged the roughing call is a tough play to adjudicate, but said he will support his officials because the penalties are aimed at guarding players' safety.
"We are constantly out to protect the knees and legs of players and to protects the heads," Pereira said in an appearance on the NFL Network.
"I'm not going to tell the officials to back down on it. If they feel that it's a forcible hit, the call it and we will support that. Because we don't want players to get into their minds that they can go low."
Showtime analyst Cris Collinsworth argued on Inside the NFL on Wednesday that Brady's status as one of the league's premier players (who suffered a season-ending knee injury on a low hit in Week 1 last year) influences the decisions by the league and officials:
"You said it was all about the players and players' safety, that's not true. It's all about the money. Tom Brady is the money in this league. He is so valuable, not just to the Patriots. This is like, did you ever see that insurance commercial where they've got the little stack of money and the eyeballs on top of it? Well Tom Brady is the Empire State Building with the little eyeballs on top of it. This is a guy, they are going to protect him at all costs. They make this rule essentially because of Tom Brady. Remember now, Carson Palmer got hurt the exact same way. There was no rule there. Tom Brady has it happen to him, now you can't touch him. So now we've set a standard, we have precedent at this point. Now if you touch him at all ... below the knee that now has to be a penalty."
Pereira said it's "ludicrous" to think the league wants to protect Brady more than any other player.
"That's not the way that we officiate," he said. "Nobody is going to officiate that way because it would affect their chances to get into the playoffs or the Super Bowl.
"They're going to officiate that play for what it is without regard to the player."
FROM USA TODAY
The chief NFL official will not apologize for the roughing-the-passer penalties called on the Ravens in their loss to the Patriots last week, even if not all NFL analysts agree with him.
NFL VP of officiating Mike Pereira said officials were correct to flag Baltimore's Haloti Ngata and Terrell Suggs for roughing penalties against Patriots QB Tom Brady. Ravens LB Ray Lewis had called the penalties, which both extended Patriots TD drives, "embarrassing."
Pereira acknowledged the roughing call is a tough play to adjudicate, but said he will support his officials because the penalties are aimed at guarding players' safety.
"We are constantly out to protect the knees and legs of players and to protects the heads," Pereira said in an appearance on the NFL Network.
"I'm not going to tell the officials to back down on it. If they feel that it's a forcible hit, the call it and we will support that. Because we don't want players to get into their minds that they can go low."
Showtime analyst Cris Collinsworth argued on Inside the NFL on Wednesday that Brady's status as one of the league's premier players (who suffered a season-ending knee injury on a low hit in Week 1 last year) influences the decisions by the league and officials:
"You said it was all about the players and players' safety, that's not true. It's all about the money. Tom Brady is the money in this league. He is so valuable, not just to the Patriots. This is like, did you ever see that insurance commercial where they've got the little stack of money and the eyeballs on top of it? Well Tom Brady is the Empire State Building with the little eyeballs on top of it. This is a guy, they are going to protect him at all costs. They make this rule essentially because of Tom Brady. Remember now, Carson Palmer got hurt the exact same way. There was no rule there. Tom Brady has it happen to him, now you can't touch him. So now we've set a standard, we have precedent at this point. Now if you touch him at all ... below the knee that now has to be a penalty."
Pereira said it's "ludicrous" to think the league wants to protect Brady more than any other player.
"That's not the way that we officiate," he said. "Nobody is going to officiate that way because it would affect their chances to get into the playoffs or the Super Bowl.
"They're going to officiate that play for what it is without regard to the player."