Protecting the Quarterback, Destroying the Game: The Tale of tackling Quarterback in Today's NFL
Last Sunday, in the week 2 matchup of the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, the referees flagged Packers' Linebacker Clay Matthews with roughing the passer on Vikings Quarterback Kirk Cousins. That flag reverted the interception by Cousins that would have ended the match then and there. Instead, the game went into overtime thus resulting in a tie.
So, what was wrong with the penalty call? There is nothing wrong with the play by Mathews. That penalty call is and will be the much-debated play in the NFL this season. NFL did respond saying that the call is legit and not considered part of the 2018 "point of emphasis" related to defensive players tackling on the quarterbacks.
Let's take a deep look into the play and how it is going to affect NFL in the future.
The Play and The Penalty
With 1:45 left in the game, Kirk Cousins went for a deep pass which was intercepted by Zaire Alexander. But, the play was negated because of the roughing the passer penalty on Clay Matthews for his hit on Cousins.
If not for the penalty the game would have ended there as the Vikings do not have enough timeouts left to stop the clock and get the ball back. Packers would have won the game instead Vikings would go on to score and tie the game, which remained that way even after the overtime, thus resulting in a second tie in as many weeks this year.
The most baffling thing of all this is that the Matthews hit on Cousins does not in any angle look illegal. The rule suggests that a quarterback cannot be tackled waist down and neck up. That is exactly what Matthews does and still gets the penalty. As seen above, Matthew does everything correct and does not do anything extra.
The NFL explanation
NFL released a statement on Monday that the call was correct and not related to the new "point of emphasis" rule. According to the ESPN's report, the referee Tony Corrente justified the penalty saying "he lifted and drove him into the ground."
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines tackle as "to seize and throw down or stop (an opposing player with the ball) in football", emphasis on throw, which seems much harsher than drive that Corrente used. Quarterback or non-quarterback that is a legit tackle. If that is not a tackle then maybe someone from NFL should hit up the Merriam-Webster to change the definition of tackle.
I understand that Quarterback position is an important position in the game, but in order to protect the quarterback, NFL is destroying the game. Thanks to last year's Packers-Vikings game where Aaron Rodgers got injured on a hit by Vikings' Anthony Barr prompted for a new Helmet rule, which was understandable yet debatable. But, the Sunday's penalty is not acceptable.
As the games go on, Quarterbacks are becoming untouchable. Defensive players are wary of tackling the quarterbacks anymore because of many penalties favoring the quarterbacks and thus allowing Quarterbacks to break loose and get yards or throw the ball. The whole point of tackling is to stop the player from throwing the ball yet NFL seems to flag every tough tackle on the quarterback.
This is not even the only bad roughing the passer call in this game. Earlier in the game Vikings' Eric Kendricks got a similar unnecessary penalty while taking down the Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. NFL is deemed to be a tough game mostly because of the tackling. Quarterbacks are already saved with tackle only around the mid-section rule, they do not need any more new incentives to help them win games.
Reactions across the league
There were a lot of reactions that poured in from the players, coaches, fans and many sports analysts on the penalty call. But, this rant by ESPN Radio's Mike Golic on his show Golic and Wingo on Monday morning is exactly how I felt watching the play and also motivated me to come up with the article.
Golic makes amazing points in this rant. The Players are doing everything NFL is asking them to do and still get penalized. The best example is in the same game earlier Mike Daniels had a chance to take down Cousins but he backed down from a potential strip sack on Cousins thinking he might get penalized.
This is bad for the game, NFL and referees should let the defensive players make the plays. They cannot go and throw a penalty every time a quarterback hits the ground hard. That is the nature of the game. Quarterbacks are already protected with their rules with tackles above the neck and below the waist. If they also get penalties when tackled at mid-riff God Save defenses.
What should the Defensive Players do?
Nothing. Matthews and rest of the defensive players should go on and continue their game plan. NFL tried to come up with one of the lamest excuses in covering their mistakes on Sunday. They will not be able to do that all the time.
If the defensive players concede to the league and let them win, there will be nothing but shootouts left in NFL. The 2018 season which is only two weeks old already saw a lot of shootouts in two weeks. If this continues, we will not be able to spot the differences between the real NFL and Madden NFL.
The only way the NFL will listen to the players is if they do not stop playing like this. NFL will not be listening to the appeals, letters, cries on TVs by players, fans or coaches. They need to see the film. They need to analyze the plays more.
The worst part of all this is, this play is not even the nastiest play in Matthews career. This will not even make the list. Take a look at some of the nastiest Clay Matthews tackles in his career I came across on youtube.
Note: This video is posted in 2011, 7 years imagine how many nastier plays Matthews would have had. Sunday's play is definitely not one of them.
Aftermath
That play not only cost the Green Bay Packers the win, It also cost the Minnesota Vikings Kicker Daniel Carson his job. If the play stood as called, The Packers would have won it and everyone would have gone home with their job secured. Instead, thanks to the penalty the Vikings score a touchdown and take the game to the overtime, where the Vikings Kicker missed two game-winning Field Goal attempts with a raucous Lambeau crowd.
The two misses have promptly ended Carson's brief stint in Minnesota. Vikings signed former Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey on Monday a waiving Carson. There you go refs you not only hand Green Bay the tie, but you also ruin the career of a young promising kicker.