With 'Brady Rule,' some QBs say NFL is too protective

[Wolf]

Brett Favre certainly appreciates the NFL's concern for his safety. Still, even he thinks the league and its officials sometimes go too far to protect quarterbacks.

"It's something that has maybe been overemphasized a bit, because there are some (calls) that are very questionable," the 40-year-old Minnesota Vikings QB said. "It's tough when it may determine an outcome of a game and it's not as obvious as you may think it is."

Imagine how the pass-rushers feel when, Sunday after Sunday, the NFL navigates the fine line between protecting its most valuable assets — quarterbacks — and putting defenses at a competitive disadvantage.

Each week, a Tom Brady or a Peyton Manning gets hit, a flag is thrown, 15 yards are marked off and, eventually, the guilty party is fined several thousand dollars. Roughing-the-passer penalties are on the rise in the first season of the so-called "Brady Rule," reversing a steady decline from 2005-08, and the guys who get paid to harass quarterbacks aren't the only ones raising questions.

"I want to be a football player," Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco said, "and the bottom line is: If we get hit, we get hit."

The NFL, for its part, isn't worried about whether it might be overprotecting quarterbacks. Quite the opposite, actually, in large part because QBs are considered vulnerable while scanning the field for open receivers.

"Doesn't bother me at all," league vice president of officiating Mike Pereira said.

"We're not going to back off protecting players' heads and necks, and we're not going to back off protecting quarterbacks' knees," Pereira said, calling those "areas that we're going to go maybe even beyond where people would want us to go."

And what of Favre's observation that some of those penalties are "questionable"?

Well, that's OK, too.

"From your high school officiating days, basically, you are told, 'Don't call a foul unless you are 100 percent sure it's a foul.' ... But in player safety, as opposed to being 100 percent sure, it's, 'If you're in doubt, throw (a flag),'" Pereira said. "If we do make an error, but it is in the context of player safety, we'll live with that. We want to do everything we can to protect the players."

Those good intentions can alter the way the game is played. Defenders complain that the extra scrutiny affects how they go after quarterbacks, which could help explain why sack totals dropped over each of the past four seasons.

"I'm sure the officials are barked at about enforcing those rules. They're looking for it. Some things, they're looking for too much. It has gotten to the point where it's ridiculous," Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor said.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/m...0,791558.story

[bah007]

It's funny how far the league will go to protect a QB's knees but they don't give a rat's ass if a defensive lineman gets his blown out.

[Dread-Head]

Originally Posted by bah007

It's funny how far the league will go to protect a QB's knees but they don't give a rat's ass if a defensive lineman gets his blown out.

AGREED!!!...with BOTH of you muff-huggas!

[Blake]

The league has gone too far with this garbage. The penalty on Suggs for touching Brady is just the tip of the iceberg. And the NFL could give 2 ****s what we think about that. They just want keep their prized ponies on the field. But in the process they are making the NFL look soft.

I think the defenders are eventually not going to give a ****, and when they get close to the quarterback, they are just going to unload their best shot since its 15 yards either way.

[El Tejano]

Originally Posted by Super Mario

The league has gone too far with this garbage. The penalty on Suggs for touching Brady is just the tip of the iceberg. And the NFL could give 2 ****s what we think about that. They just want keep their prized ponies on the field. But in the process they are making the NFL look soft.

I think the defenders are eventually not going to give a ****, and when they get close to the quarterback, they are just going to unload their best shot since its 15 yards either way.

No joke. If Matt Schaub were Tom Brady or Manning, that horse collar sack against the Jets would've been an 80 yard penalty.

[Imatexanfan]

The QB's in the NFL could be really good actors...I mean with the slightest bump and they fly themselves 10 yards, it's hilarious everytime I see that. I understand protect the QB but damn this is a contact sport like my coach used to say..."you can't hang with the big dawgs stay your ass on the porch"...but not referin to me though....

[False Start]

I remember the days of watching football when the the play was over, it was over. Now days it seems, after every play you have at least one player on offense or defense waving his arms all around trying to get some kind of flag. Just play ball guys, and let the rags stay in the zebras pockets.

[CloakNNNdagger]

Originally Posted by False Start

I remember the days of watching football when the the play was over, it was over. Now days it seems, after every play you have at least one player on offense or defense waving his arms all around trying to get some kind of flag. Just play ball guys, and let the rags stay in the zebras pockets.

Those were the good ole days.

[Vinny]

they need to just put flags on the QB's and get it over with....it's more honest than this newer approach to protecting the QB where they have a totally different standard than everyone else. I totally understand where they are coming from but they have gotten to the point where they are way too ticky-tacky

[CloakNNNdagger]

Originally Posted by Vinny

they need to just put flags on the QB's and get it over with....it's more honest than this newer approach to protecting the QB where they have a totally different standard than everyone else. I totally understand where they are coming from but they have gotten to the point where they are way too ticky-tacky

There also appears to be a further apparent bias involving specific QBs..........i.e., Peyton, Brady.