The roughing the passer call on Tom Brady during Sunday’s game between the Bucs and Falcons drew plenty of controversy as it appeared to be a simple sack by Grady Jarrett.
Yet, with the NFL concussion protocols under the microscope lately following what happened to Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, could the flag have been thrown as a result of over caution regarding head injuries?
Dean Blandino, the former NFL VP of officiating, pondered this to Peter King of NBC Sports.
“I thought of it, too,” he said. “Are we being overly sensitive because of the Tua Tagovailoa situation?”
Jerome Boger explained that he threw the flag because Jarrett “grabbed the quarterback while he was still in the pocket and unnecessarily throwing him to the ground.”
When asked if he was instructed to watch for takedowns of quarterbacks from the league, he replied, “no, not necessarily.”
Bucs head coach Todd Bowles believed otherwise.
“I saw that one being called. I saw it against Tua since he got it. I saw it in the London game this morning,” Bowles said, per ESPN. “So, I think they’re starting to crack down on some of. The things, slinging back, I don’t know. Right now, the way that they’re calling it, I think a lot of people would have gotten that call.”
King spoke to another former official who said it is unlikely that the call was made because of what happened with Tagovailoa.
“Officials aren’t immune from what’s going on in the public, and of course they’re following the Tua story,” the official said. “But I can’t imagine making a call, or not making one, because of a situation like [the Tagovailoa story] hanging over the game.”
The NFL and NFLPA agreed on Saturday that players would be removed from games if they appear woozy or unsteady after a hit. Dolphins quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who coincidentally was filling in for Tagovailoa, was removed from the game after a hard hit because the injury spotter believed he appeared unstable.
There was no footage of Bridgewater stumbling and he did pass all concussion tests, per reports.
Said one NFL executive to King: “What’s that thing you guys in the media do every week after games? Overreaction Monday? As a league, I think today was Overreaction Sunday.”
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