When it comes to the roughing the passer rules in the current NFL, it doesn't have to be all that "rough" to cost a defense 15 yards.
That was the case both times the Saints got called for those penalties throughout a 26-7 loss in Week 2, with a pair called on plays when a defender grabbed Panthers QB Sam Darnold's legs below the knees as they attempted to bring him down.
That rule change has been in place for a while, spurred by a hit to then-Patriots QB Tom Brady's legs that knocked him out for a season. But with more recent rule changes eliminating body weight tackles and any hit near the head, Saints veteran Cam Jordan joked that it's time to eliminate the mystery of what might get flagged.
“Quarterbacks have red jerseys on in practices, and at this point they’re going to have red jerseys on during the games as well," Jordan said, clearly frustrated by the calls but vowing that the defense has cleaned up its form to avoid needless flags.
"That’s just the game we play in at this point. You might as well just attach a flag to their hips and just go off that."
But joking aside, those penalties did have a big impact throughout the game and were a pretty loose interpretation of the rules. Saints coach Sean Payton said after the game he disagreed with the roughing the passer call on Christian Ringo. He added that he felt that the refs would agree it was the wrong call once they got another look.
You can see the three penalties in the video below.
The penalty on Payton Turner came in the first quarter as he went to the ground near Darnold's feet. He reached forward and grabbed Darnold's legs as he threw, drawing a 15-yard penalty and granting the Panthers and automatic first down instead of a third-and-long.
Christian Ringo's penalty came in the 4th quarter as he went to the ground in a similar fashion as Turner. His hit appeared to come above the knee, making it the most questionable of the three calls.
Malcolm Roach's penalty is the most difficult to argue, with the DT making an excellent play to get downfield and lay a hit on Panthers superstar Christian McCaffrey, but the head-to-head contact will draw a flag any time the refs spot it. After the play and spotting the flag on the field, Jordan could be seen raising his hands in exasperation.
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"This is just a part of the game that we have to play. I think it sucks from 11 years ago when I first entered the league when you saw quarterbacks sort of being fearful of being hit from the blind side to now knowing that they’re fully protected, it sort of takes away from the game," Jordan said. "But that’s, again, that’s the game that we’re in right now."
While he might not agree with the interpretation of the rules in Week 2, Jordan and the Saints defense are well aware that their only option if to clean up their form and play within them. And with 11 penalties for 115 yards, the issue to clean up go deeper than a few questionable pieces of yellow laundry landing on the field.
"People still have to get tackles and people still have to get hit. We’re gonna have to live with some of these and learn from a lot of them," Jordan said. "But when you have [all those penalties] ... that’s something you have to clean up. That’s on the defense. That’s on the team. That’s on us. And that’s something that has been addressed and we have to focus on for our next game. We were our own worst enemies and we can’t be that every game."
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