The NFL is reportedly considering a rule change that would make hits on quarterbacks and defenseless players reviewable.
Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent stated that owners discussed the idea. There was also discussion about if a hit on a signal-caller or defenseless player should warrant an automatic ejection, Pelissero added.
Pelissero spoke to Vincent about the potential ejections rule change, but the latter told the NFL Network insider that he believes it’d be difficult. And for what it’s worth, Vincent also opposes the idea of adding a Sky Judge, which man fans and pundits have been calling for.
NFL officiating mistakes and controversies have been an issue for a long time, and 2022 is nothing new. There have been several questionable “roughing the passer” calls that largely affected the outcomes of games.
This included a questionable call on Baltimore Ravens cornerback Brandon Stephens in the team’s Week 4 home game against the Buffalo Bills. Stephens’ penalty allowed Josh Allen and the Bills to set up kicker Tyler Bass for a game-winning field goal.
A week later, Atlanta Falcons star Grady Jarrett routinely sacked Tom Brady but was flagged for “roughing the passer.” The penalty helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers melt the clock en route to a 21-15 victory.
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Regarding the challenges of judgement calls, the NFL tried experimenting with the review/challenging of pass interference calls and non-calls in the 2019 season, but it was scrapped after one year.
Referees aren’t perfect, and mistakes are going to be made. But there’ve been too many weak “roughing the passer” calls, and far too many obvious ones that went uncalled. The NFL’s only solution at this point is to make them reviewable, but if history is an indicator of anything, the league won’t actually implement such a rule change.
