Hall of Famer Warren Sapp claims NFL refs favor Tom Brady: "It's just egregious"
During the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 21-15 Week 5 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, quarterback Tom Brady was involved in some controversy. As the Bucs improved to 3-2 with the victory, the Falcons fell to 2-3 and got the short end of the stick with a controversial roughing the passer call.
With three minutes and three seconds left in the game, Atlanta Falcons defensive lineman Grady Jarrett took Brady to the ground, forcing what seemed to be a fourth down. At the conclusion of the play, he was flagged for roughing the passer.
The call proved to be costly as it allowed the Bucs to run out the clock as they were awarded a first down.
Former NFL defensive lineman Warren Sapp joined The Rich Eisen Show and spoke on the issue. He talked about the NFL’s recent "egregious" roughing the passer penalties.
Host Eisen first said:
"I know. I'm not saying that we should make this challengeable, like pass interference was two years."
To which Sapp responded:
"We have to do something Rich because it's just egregious. Because the one that happened in Tampa, underneath my stadium with my name hanging over, if Tua did what Tom Brady did, we would not even be in this conversation right now.
"Who is trying to throw the ball Rich? He extended his body up and then got yanked back to the filter. If he to fold up like Tom Brady, he [would have] got up and we wouldn't even be talking about [the matter]."
Chiefs' Chris Jones also called for roughing the passer, similat to call involving Tom Brady
Sapp, like many others who follow football closely, has every right to feel upset about the roughing the passer calls.
A day after the Tom Brady call, Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones got called for roughing the passer after taking down Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr.
In the second quarter of Monday Night's football game, Jones strip-sacked Carr and was called for roughing the passer on a normal play that saw him bring the quarterback to the ground with no extra force.
As we enter Week 6 of the NFL regular season, fans will hope to not see calls like that, but it could become a common theme as the league is very concerned about player safety.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit The Rich Eisen Show and H/T Sportskeeda