The National Football League has drawn plenty of criticism for how poorly officiated some games have been.
Multiple games have been decided by late missed calls, and Sean Payton sure knows one thing or two about that.
One of the biggest issues of the past five years or so has been the emphasis on the roughing the passer rule.
It’s become more and more evident that the rule is inconsistent, and is often enforced to protect superstar quarterbacks, while lesser-known guys rarely get the officials to throw a flag.
Rival fanbases, players, and even media personalities have pointed out the fact that you couldn’t even breathe next to Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes without being called for roughing the passer.
And even though the league has gone to great lengths to protect the referees and state that they’ve been mostly right with their calls, not even the head coaches buy that narrative.
That’s why Payton believes it’s time the league finally addresses this situation and sets a clear standard for what’s roughing the passer and what’s not, according to Tom Pelissero:
Count #Broncos coach Sean Payton among those who would like to see roughing the passer addressed, as he made clear when I asked what one competitive change the NFL should make: “Let’s say crisis is Level 5. I’d say (this is) Level 3. ”
From our interview today: pic.twitter.com/2RcvYkrETs
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 27, 2023
The Denver Broncos coach believes the league is at a level three out of five in terms of a crisis about this rule, although he admits that getting all 17 ref crews to act and react the same way is going to be a major challenge.
Whatever the case, the NFL needs to address this situation ASAP.
There have been way too many questionable calls already, and it’s only hurting the product’s credibility.
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