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How will referees call roughing the passer on this week?
Posted by Mike Florio
So will the emergency conference call of the NFL’s Competition Committee that resulted in in no changes to the roughing the passer rules change the roughing the passer rules? Well, we’ll see.
I say that not because I’m channeling Bill Belichick, but because there’s very real uncertainty as to what will happen, given an apparent disconnect between the Competition Committee and the league office.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Competition Committee wants the referees to call roughing the passer only when it’s obvious, deferring to the league office to levy fines against players who are determined after the fact to have crossed the line. But that may not be how it plays out on Sunday and Monday night.
According to the source, NFL senior V.P. of officiating Al Riveron informed the referees on a Saturday conference call that they should continue to call roughing the passer if they see roughing the passer, and if they believe it is roughing the passer. In order words, Riveron did not tell the referees to back off, in any way.
And therein lies the potential conflict between the committee that crafted the point of emphasis as part of the normal rule-making process in the spring and that now apparently wants to adjust it on the fly. It could lay the foundation for potential friction between the league office and the Competition Committee, if the referees proceed as instructed by Riveron and call what they see, uninfluenced by the consternation from coaches, players, fans, and media about the effort to ensure that the league’s starting quarterbacks will be able to continue to play quarterback without being injured by defensive players who are trying to knock them out of games by crushing their chests or busting their shoulders.
Where it goes from here will hinge in large part on whether: (1) Sunday’s games involve hits that are close to the line; and (2) the referees opt to throw flags if they think a hit crosses the line. If the close calls continue, the biggest story of the season so far could continue to get bigger.
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They have got to stop with this whole "landing on the QB" bullshit.
Posted by Mike Florio
So will the emergency conference call of the NFL’s Competition Committee that resulted in in no changes to the roughing the passer rules change the roughing the passer rules? Well, we’ll see.
I say that not because I’m channeling Bill Belichick, but because there’s very real uncertainty as to what will happen, given an apparent disconnect between the Competition Committee and the league office.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Competition Committee wants the referees to call roughing the passer only when it’s obvious, deferring to the league office to levy fines against players who are determined after the fact to have crossed the line. But that may not be how it plays out on Sunday and Monday night.
According to the source, NFL senior V.P. of officiating Al Riveron informed the referees on a Saturday conference call that they should continue to call roughing the passer if they see roughing the passer, and if they believe it is roughing the passer. In order words, Riveron did not tell the referees to back off, in any way.
And therein lies the potential conflict between the committee that crafted the point of emphasis as part of the normal rule-making process in the spring and that now apparently wants to adjust it on the fly. It could lay the foundation for potential friction between the league office and the Competition Committee, if the referees proceed as instructed by Riveron and call what they see, uninfluenced by the consternation from coaches, players, fans, and media about the effort to ensure that the league’s starting quarterbacks will be able to continue to play quarterback without being injured by defensive players who are trying to knock them out of games by crushing their chests or busting their shoulders.
Where it goes from here will hinge in large part on whether: (1) Sunday’s games involve hits that are close to the line; and (2) the referees opt to throw flags if they think a hit crosses the line. If the close calls continue, the biggest story of the season so far could continue to get bigger.
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They have got to stop with this whole "landing on the QB" bullshit.