Refs Erred On Call Against Browns’ Myles Garrett.
Al Riveron, the NFLs senior vice president of officiating, told me in a phone call that four other flags thrown for players landing on quarterbacks – on Atlantas Grady Jarrett, Cincinnatis Carlos Dunlap, Minnesotas Sheldon Richardson and New Orleans David Onyemata – were correctly called as penalties under a longstanding rule that prohibits a player from landing on the quarterback with most or all of his body weight, which is an area of emphasis for officials this year.
Entering Monday nights games, 14 roughing the passer penalties have been called in 14 Week 1 games – twice as many as in all of Week 1 last year and more than double the average of 6.8 per full slate of games over the past three seasons, according to NFL Research.
The rule about landing on the quarterback has been on the books since 1995, with Rule 12, Section 2, Article 9 stating : When tackling a passer who is in a defenseless posture , a defensive player must not unnecessarily or violently throw him down and land on top of him with all or most of the defenders weight.
The body-weight fouls correctly called in Week 1 all were against the rules in past years as well, Riveron noted, adding that a good portion of clubs indicated on an annual survey after last season that body weight on the quarterback was an area they wanted the officiating department and competition committee to look into.
Browns coach Hue Jackson gave officials an earful and repeated his disagreement with the call against Garrett after the game, and Riveron agreed after reviewing the tape.