NFL
Roughing the Passer Penalty, Explained — Football 101: Tackling the Game
After just three weeks of football, the 2018 NFL season is already setting records. Never before has the NFL seen this many calls for roughing the passer. Before even reaching Week 4, defenses across the league have already racked up 33 such calls. Despite popular myth, no rule has actually been added to the rulebook. The NFL Competition Committee did, however, add further clarifying subpoints to the rule. This Football 101 article details these additions, the reasons for them, and the opposition against them.
Basics of the Penalty
The NFL Rulebook defines roughing the passer as: “any physical acts against a player who is in a passing posture (i.e. before, during, or after a pass) which, in the Referee’s judgment, are unwarranted by the circumstances of the play.” The penalty for breaking the rule is a loss of 15 yards and an automatic first down. Expulsions may occur in cases where officials deem the defender’s actions as flagrant.
Subpoints / Eight Points of Clarification from the NFL Competition Committee, Summarized
- Pass rushers are responsible for recognizing when the ball has left a passer’s hand. Pass rushers can only make contact with the passer after the release of the ball in the following scenarios: the rusher’s first step, the rusher is actively looking to stop momentum, contact is incidental.
- When tackling a passer who is currently throwing the ball or has just thrown the ball, the tackler must not “unnecessarily or violently throw him down,” even when the tackler is “within the one-step limitation” (see 1).
- It is strictly prohibited to strike the passer in his head.
- Defensive players must not “club” the arm of the passer during or just after the pass. They can make normal contact with the passer’s arm to tackle him.
- Defenders must not forcibly hit passers in “the knee area” even if the initial contact is above the waist. Defenders are allowed to swipe at a passer’s legs in an attempt to tackle him but any contact must be made with the hands and not the forearms or shoulders.
- Once the passer throws the ball, they cannot be forcibly touched as they are not an active participant in the play any longer unless
- They become a blocker or ball carrier
- They become a defensive player due to a possession change
- When a passer becomes mobile outside of the pocket, he loses the specific protections afforded him in subpoints 1 and 5. However, he remains protected by subpoints 2,3,4 and 6. The passer is protected by subpoints 1 and 5 again once he ceases running and plants his feet to throw the ball.
- The play must be ruled dead by the referee once the passer is within the hold of a defender the passer could not break or “the passer’s safety is in jeopardy.”
Changes to the Rule
Subpoints 2, 3, and 6 contain the additions to the rule. These additions state that defenders:
- must not land on passers with their entire body weight when tackling the passer (subpoint 2)
- must not use their helmet to make forcible contact with any part of the passer’s person (subpoint 3)
- should never lower their head to make contact on any part of the passer’s person even if there is a change of possession and the passer is now a defensive player (subpoint 6)
Reason for the Additions
The roughing the passer rule was initially put in place back in 1938. Passers are uniquely vulnerable to injury due to their lack of ability to brace for contact or see defenders approaching them. The additions to subpoints 3 and 6 directly correlate with the new use of the helmet rule.
The addition to subpoint 2 is new entirely and is the focus of controversy. After a recent series of injuries to prominent quarterbacks, the NFL felt they needed to act. Quarterbacks are the nucleus of both offensive production along with league marketing. There has also been a number of rule, policy, and contract changes to improve player safety. The additions to the roughing the passer penalty fall in line with these two motives. It is the hope of the NFL that these additions will avoid scenarios and injuries like Aaron Rodgers’ of last season.
Opposition to the Rule Changes
There are two main points of contention when it comes to the additions to the roughing the passer rule. Firstly, there’s the point that the league prioritizes quarterback protection over the safety of players in other positions. After a recent injury suffered by Miami Dolphins’ defensive end, Williams Hayes, critics claim that the rule not only prioritizes QB health but risks defenders’ health.
While attempting to sack Raiders’ QB Derek Carr, Hayes attempted to adhere to the subpoint 2 rule addition. While sacking Carr in proper form, Hayes tore his ACL. Carr spoke on the incident afterward saying he wished Hayes would have just landed on him rather than tearing his ACL.
The second point of contention is the nature of football changing. Critics claim that football is becoming “soft” due to the increase in player safety measures. Some claim that there is an overprotection of the QB in the NFL. This, they say, affects the quality of the game which, in turn, affects viewership.
Photo Credit: jordon.olson via Flickr
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