Richard Sherman and NFL fans go off on social media due to questionable roughing the passer calls

The NFL has become more of an offense oriented product over the past for years, but they clearly have over compensated.

One of the main points of emphasis that the league has made is to protect the offensive player, so for example receivers cannot be bumped or touched outside of a five yard zone of the line of scrimmage. There has also been penalizing hits on defenseless players. But the one that has been causing the most uproar on social media and in the football world, is the roughing the passer call.

It has been apart of the game dating back to 1938, but there have been modifications of the rule that have made life much harder for defenses. At one point the rule stated that "When tackling a passer during or just after throwing a pass, a defensive player is prohibited from unnecessarily and violently throwing him down and landing on top of him with all or most of the defender’s weight.”

In 2018, this changed to "a defensive player is prohibited from unnecessarily and violently throwing him down or landing on top of him with all or most of the defender’s weight.” This essentially forces the defense to try and adjust while they are running full speed to ensure that they do not land on the quarterback. Something that is obviously hard for anyone, especially those defensive linemen that weigh North of 300 pounds.

Over this past weekend of games, we saw two horrendous rouging the passer calls, one involving what appeared to be a normal sack againstTom Brady and the other in what appeared to be a strip sack against Derek Carr. The videos of these plays have made their rounds, and according to an article by ESPN the league even plans to review the penalty after this season.

The “roughing the passer” just called in Tom Brady’s favor was the worst call of this young NFL season.
pic.twitter.com/4w666qmkRV
— Honorable Mention Podcast (@MentionPod) October 9, 2022

Roughing the Passer in the NFL is so broken. Two of the worst calls I have ever seen in just one weekend.

1. Chris Jones called for landing his bodyweight on Derek Carr
2. Grady Jarrett called for who knows. It’s Tom Brady pic.twitter.com/eJQYh81c7Y
— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) October 11, 2022

The public was outraged about these calls, as fans and former players alike went off on social media. Let's take a look at some of the best reactions to the questionable calls.

Brady watching Derek Carr get the roughing the passer penalty pic.twitter.com/7HaTwqKAx2
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) October 11, 2022

Tom Brady and Derek Carr after the questionable roughing the passer penalties pic.twitter.com/fSw7awri4j
— PJ (@PJay0405) October 11, 2022

The NFL has announced a new rule that when a defensive player tackles the QB it is automatically roughing the passer.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 11, 2022

Imagine when they decide a playoff game with one of these Roughing calls. Cannot brace the fall when one hand is holding the football! Bad
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) October 11, 2022

Chris Jones just became the first player in NFL history called for roughing the passer while holding the ball.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 11, 2022

I just saw the defensive holding from last night. Might be worse than the roughing-the-passer call. Just awful, and created a 7-point swing.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) October 11, 2022

What Chris Jones had to say about roughing the passer.#Chiefs pic.twitter.com/yHKjJoCVVp
— PJ Green (@ByPJGreen) October 11, 2022

How the refs wanted Grady Jarrett to sack Tom Brady pic.twitter.com/SzsgVn0uo7
— Will Cave (@WillCave) October 9, 2022

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