Getty The Falcons received an explanation for the roughing penalty that saved Tom Brady in Week 5.
Jerome Boger has offered an explanation for the controversial roughing the passer penalty that overshadowed the Atlanta Falcons losing 21-15 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5.
The Bucs held their slender six-point lead when Grady Jarrett sacked Tom Brady on third down with just over three minutes left in the fourth quarter. It appeared a clean hit and a legitimate sack, but Boger had other ideas.
The official who made a similarly controversial call in favor of Buffalo Bills’ starter Josh Allen against the Baltimore Ravens a week earlier, flagged Jarrett for roughing the passer. Those 15 yards helped Brady keep the ball and eventually end the Falcons hopes of a comeback.
Boger’s call drew the ire of many exasperated observers, so it was only natural for the 67-year-old to defend his latest controversial decision.
Boger Offers Unsatisfactory Explanation
Here’s what Boger said about the hotly disputed penalty when asked by Greg Auman of The Athletic:
NFL referee Jerome Boger to pool reporter on the roughing-the-passer penalty on Atlanta’s Grady Jarrett on Bucs QB Tom Brady late in the game: “What I had was the defender grabbed the quarterback while he was still in the pocket, and unnecessarily throwing him to the ground.”
It’s hard to marry the words “unnecessarily throwing him to the ground” with Jarrett’s actual actions on the play. The discrepancy was summed up best by former Falcons assistant general manager Scott Pioli:
I’ve seen a lot of #NFL football in my life, but someone is going to have to explain this roughing the passer call in the @AtlantaFalcons / @Buccaneers game. I’m not sure I’ve seen anything quite like this
Boger can’t even take refuge within the pages of the NFL’s rule book. Not according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, who quoted the specific article related to a QB being thrown to the ground:
@gregauman From Rule 12, Article 11 (b):
“When tackling a passer who is in a defenseless posture (e.g., during or just after throwing a pass), a defensive player must not unnecessarily or violently throw him down …”
Obviously, there is room to disagree on whether that applies here.
One look at the rule alongside even a cursory glance at the play shows Brady wasn’t in a “defenseless posture.” He’d brought the ball into his body and cancelled his attempt to throw because of the immediate pressure up the middle from Jarrett.
It’s easy to pin what Heavy’s Senior NFL Reporter Matt Lombardo dubbed “one of the more egregious penalties that we have seen in recent memory” on the Brady factor. The idea some officials take it easy on the most trophy-laden quarterback in the Super Bowl era is nothing new, even it’s not universally accepted as fact.
Yet, this penalty had little to do with Brady being Jarrett’s latest victim. Instead, it had more to do with the official making the call.
Roughing Rules Need to be Revised
As Doug Farrar of the Touchdown Wire outlined, league guidelines don’t exactly help referees like Boger to steer clear of controversy: “When in doubt about a roughness call or potentially dangerous tactic against the passer, the Referee should always call roughing the passer.”
The rulebook being written to favor quarterbacks gives Boger a convenient out for terrible calls. He’s had two of them in a row after flagging Ravens’ cornerback Brandon Stephens for a hit on Allen that kept the Bills’ game-winning drive alive.
Understandably, some of those who cover the Ravens, including Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Sun, had sympathy for the Falcons after Boger’s latest gaffe:
Banger after banger for Jerome Boger’s crew.
Two contentious and game-turning penalties in as many weeks ought to prompt a widespread review of the roughing the passer the laws. The review should end with those lopsided rules being revised.
At the very least, defenses should have the right to challenge these calls and make them subject to review. The safeguard might have led the Falcons to a statement win on the road, instead of being on the wrong end of a decision that left a sour taste in the mouths of everybody connected to the game, even Brady and the Bucs.
Brady, Cordarrelle Patterson React to Dubious Call
Brady’s glib response and nonchalant shrug of the shoulders won’t win him any more fans from among the neutrals, but it’s easy to give short shrift to this debate when the call went in your favor:
Tom Brady, asked about the roughing the passer penalty on final drive: “I don’t throw the flags.”
At least Brady’s teammate, right tackle Tristan Wirfs, was more magnanimous and more willing to engage in discussion about the validity of the flag. Wirfs admitted to ESPN’s Jenna Laine a player of 45-year-old Brady’s age and distinction is “gonna get those calls more than not.”
Tristan Wirfs on the unnecessary roughness on Grady Jarrett: “It is what it is. I’m not the one making the call. Tom’s an old man…We’ll give him crap on like a Saturday because he’s wearing his old skinny jeans to the walk-through. … He’s gonna get those calls more than not.”
It may be an unspoken reality that Brady will get the ref’s generosity more often than a cold shoulder, but that’s no consolation for the Falcons. Not after head coach Arthur Smith’s team came within a touchdown of coming all the way back from a 21-0 deficit late in the third quarter.
The disappointment prompted a response from Cordarrelle Patterson that was just as clipped as Brady’s, but more to the point:
BS call!!!!!
Ultimately, Patterson and the Falcons have no choice but to put this sorry episode behind them and focus on evening their record against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 6. Smith and his players can at least take confidence from how well they played late on at Raymond James Stadium, at least before the officials took this game away.