Chiefs: Chris Jones calls out NFL
The NFL has a fast-growing problem on its hands. Ever since the Tua Tagovailoa debacle on Thursday Night Football, the league has cracked down on roughing the passer calls on quarterbacks. While it sounds great in theory, the results have been anything but logical or even productive, honestly. Case in point, all one has to […]
The NFL has a fast-growing problem on its hands.
Ever since the Tua Tagovailoa debacle on Thursday Night Football, the league has cracked down on roughing the passer calls on quarterbacks. While it sounds great in theory, the results have been anything but logical or even productive, honestly.
Case in point, all one has to do is look back at Sunday's awful call on Atlanta Falcons defensive lineman Grady Jarrett.
That call seemed hard enough to top, but the referees once again said "hold my beer" during the Monday Night Football matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders.
It looked like Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones was about to strip-sack Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and recover the ball, but Jones was flagged for roughing the passer after he landed on Carr.
But as you can see below, Jones not only tried to brace his fall with his left arm in hopes of reducing the impact on Carr, but he also had possession of the ball.
It was an absurd call. Fortunately, it didn't contribute to a Chiefs loss. And while fans of all kinds -maybe except Raiders fans- hated to see it happen, hopefully seeing the backlash on a national level prompts the NFL to back off a bit.
Or a lot. Like, a lot, a lot.
Regardless, Jones had some thoughts about the ordeal, as he should, after the game.
"If they're [the NFL] going to put such an emphasis on that, then we need to be able to view it in the booth, now," Jones said after the game. "I think that's the next step, as the NFL, [and] as a whole. If we're going to continue to call roughing the passers at that high of a velocity, then we got to be able to view it in the booth to make sure.
"Because, sometimes looks can be deceiving. From the ref's point of view, it probably looked like that, initially. But when you look at the replay, it's a whole different thing.
"I think, now, to evolve roughing the passer and protecting the quarterback -essentially what we're doing in this league- we've gotta be able to look at roughing the passers in the booth."
Jones makes great points. But he didn't stop there. He wanted to make sure the NFL knows the players are fed up. This is their livelihoods that are being messed with, at the end of the day, and it's not a road they want to go down.
'If we're able to view it in the booth and referees can get a second look, because it's happening so fast, maybe we can change that," said Jones. "Because now, it's getting absurd. Now, it's costing teams games."
The NFL is extremely strict about keeping the length of its games to a strict amount of time, but, if they want to save the game of football (and I say that without hyperbole), they need to consider making a change like the one Jones suggests.
Sure, it's going to add some time to the games, but if it keeps egregiously bad, game-changing calls from being made like we've seen over the last 36 hours, then it's well worth it.
Featured image via Jay Biggerstaff -USA TODAY Sports
