The NFL is a quarterback’s league now more than ever. Roger Goodell wants the game to be more spectacular, with more offense, more explosive plays, and less defense. That translates into fewer hits, and there can be some overreactions every now and then.
The ‘roughing the passer’ calls are out of control. Defensive stars like Micah Parsons have repeatedly called the referees out for basically not letting them do their jobs. It’s hard enough to get to a QB with today’s rules, let alone sack him.
However, regardless of how his young franchise cornerstone may feel, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones actually believes the league is doing a great job. If anything, they don’t take enough care of their QBs.
NFL News: Jerry Jones Praises The League For Protecting Quarterbacks
“Yeah, we’ve been trying to take care of quarterbacks forever, and should be, and the game that we have creates a vulnerability,” Jones told Dallas Morning News. “They are targets and they are concentrating, for the most part, downfield, away. They’re using their instincts and their senses to feel pressure, but they’re basically trying to execute the offense. And they are irreplaceable, in most cases. We got lucky with [Cooper] Rush and where we are at backup quarterback. So yeah, you should be.”
“I’ll give you an example, the left tackle and the right tackle get to start with his foot back — his outside foot back,” Jones added. “It used to be they had to have those even. Well, the difference is dramatic and when you put it back, you’re able to protect the outside rush to start to play that way. So the game has had adjustments going since the beginning of time, and they’re good ones and they have helped us have the game we’ve got today. I have no apologies to make, in any way, for any of the additional things you do to help avoid injury to the quarterback. The question is, how do you effectively do that without going overboard? And I think we do a good job of that over the years. It sometimes can need some adjustments, and we may be in one of those areas.”
The game continues to change and evolve, and it will always leave some fans displeased. Even so, as much as one hates to witness injuries and should always advocate for player safety, some of these penalties are flat-out ridiculous.