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Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews said the NFL was "straining" after being whistled for a third referral penalty this season, as the league made the controversial effort to protect the NFL. quarterbacks this season.
"Unfortunately, this league is going in a direction that I think many people like, and I think they're going soft," Matthews said. "The only difficult thing for this league is the fines they impose on players like me who play hard."
Referee Craig Wrolstad penalized Matthews for accessing Washington Redskins quarterback Alex Smith in the third quarter of a 31-17 loss to the Packers at FedEx Field. In a tweet sent shortly after with the video of the play, the NFL invoked Rule 12, Section 2, Article 9 (b) to justify Wrolstad's decision.
This is a mistake to make the smuggler rough – the defender lands "with all or most of the defender's weight" on the smuggler. Rule 12, Section 2, Article 9 (b): https://t.co/s9YKN8NLuT #GBvsWAS pic.twitter.com/ei2QZkvvzx
– NFL Football Operations (@NFLFootballOps) September 23, 2018
Among other specifications, this rule prohibits players from falling with all or part of their weight on shifts. The NFL has focused on this season, in part because Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, broke his collarbone last season on a similar blow.
"Obviously, when you face a guy in front of you, you're going to land on him," said Matthews after the match of his penalty stroke against Smith. "I understand the spirit of the rule, I said weeks before, but when you have a shot like that, it's a football match."
"I even went to see Alex Smith after the match, asking him," What do you think? What can I do differently? "Because it's a football game."
The first two weeks of the 2018 season were marked by a total of 21 penalties against the pass. Matthews is the first NFL player since at least 2001 to be penalized three times for roughing the passer in the first three games of a season. He entered 2018 with a total of four draft penalties in his 10 year career.
He expressed "disbelief" in the way the rule has evolved and said he "would like to see football be football".
"I respect the rule, I just think that they are going in the wrong direction with that," he said.
During the second week, a penalty against Matthews canceled a Packers interception that would have won a victory over the Minnesota Vikings. The game ends with a tie. Subsequently, Matthews joined many other players saying that they did not know how to avoid reaching the quarter in some cases.
After the Redskins game, Matthews said the way he tackled his entire career was no longer acceptable and suggested he should aim for the ball rather than the man.
"I will continue to play hard," he said. "Maybe now, the passers-by and the guys who follow the quarterback, just attack the ball.
"I've been playing this game for over 20 years, that's how you fight, we'll see … I mean something has to change because the league is not.
"So, disappointed, I've been trying to change since last week and I still get the flag, it's a pity."
Wrolstad told a pool reporter that Matthews could have done more to avoid the flag.
"If you have a shoulder against him and you left him most of his weight or you let him go when he fell, then he would have been fine," said the referee. "But in my opinion, I decided that he had landed on him with all or part of his weight."
Wrolstad also stated that each piece was individually examined and that Matthews' repeat offender status this season had no bearing on his decision.
The controversy over Matthews' success continued to gain ground as Redkins lineman Daron Payne threw Rodgers Sunday but was not whistled for a penalty.
Rodgers discussed the game with Wrolstad and later stated that the referee had told him that he "could not see through the 14 guys anything to this effect".
"I said," I do not ask for a call here. But I wonder if you had the impression of hitting me or not. "He said," No, I did not see him, "said Rodgers.
Asked about Payne's move after the match, Wrolstad said he was not sure which piece was being returned.
Matthews, however, said the game made it difficult to define a "good shot" in relation to his penalty.
"Is this the one where Aaron was surprised?" he said. "You know what, I looked at it on the sideline and said, 'How come it's not a flag?' "A good shot? But me, I put 250 pounds on a quarter of the right way, and here's a flag."
Kevin Seifert and Rob Demovsky of ESPN contributed to this report.
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