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Alex Brandon / Associated Press
The NFL has developed its policy on how to handle quarterbacks after another ridiculous, absurd and obviously stupid penalty against Clay Matthews of the Packers:
Do not touch them.
Do not hit them too hard either. Do not put your weight on them.
Be gentle No hair fight. Wedgies will lead to ejections. No hard language, finger pointing or sarcasm targets them. Tickling will be a penalty of 15 yards. Talking about the mom of a quarterback will result in a fine.
If the penalties did not sufficiently clarify the policy, the NFL even issued a statement Sunday to make it clearer: "We strongly encourage all defensive players never to touch the quarter," read the letter from the commissioner's office. Roger Goodell. "Instead, buy them a drink."
Treat the QB as silk pillows. Cuddle them. Kiss them speak to them softly.
Part of this hyperbole? Sarcasm? Of course.
But it is not so far.
What happened with Matthews this season – and that also happened Sunday with Cowboys defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford on a stroke of Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson – is likely to cause massive reverberations on the field and outside.
He will continue to anger and confuse defensive players and coaches about what football is supposed to be today. What's an acceptable shot? How much violence is allowed?
Off the field, that's the kind of thing that can have an impact on the fandom. What really drives fans to stop watching football? Are not the players kneeling or hating Goodell? it's watching a game that does not seem familiar anymore.
Player safety is always paramount – and it's a league that, in the past and probably now, has never really interested in the health of its players (a league at best misleading on what CTE and also asks his players to play Thursday night games). So, yes, any example of player protection is a good thing.
But there is protection, then there is overcorrection.
We see a league massively corrected to the point that it forces you to raise your arms. Or throw something on your TV.
What Matthews did on Sunday was tackle Alex Smith, who any player who has ever played or watched in football will judge familiar and correct.
Matthews was also reported last week for a similar tackle:
Kevin Boilard @247KevinBoilard
#Packers Catcher Clay Matthews seemed to catch up with his left arm by winning quarterback QV Kirk Cousins on this game, but he was still summoned to beat the smuggler https://t.co/5u4nYcQg7G
Josh Tolentino @JCTSports
Phenomenal punctual capture by Mike Roemer / Associated Press. Roughing the smuggler on Clay Matthews? You decide. #Packers #Vikings https://t.co/xJ66pZ2reG
And being described as brutal for the quarterback was also stupid.
But the calls are getting worse.
Why was it worse? You can see that Matthews learned of what happened during his previous penalty, and as he took off Smith Sunday, he released his hands and moved his weight so that he was not completely on the quarter.
NFL football operations @NFLFootballOps
It is a mistake to make the smuggler difficult – 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 https://t.co/ei2QZkvvzx
The NFL, never missing a chance to be snooty, has doubled its appeal on Twitter.
The problem is that Matthews did not do what he said.
Crawford's tackle on Wilson was just as terrible.
Joey Hayden @_joeyhayden
"Roughing the passer" on Tyrone Crawford
#DALvsSEA #CowboysNation https://t.co/Rm2LWeSSEn
It was so bad that Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman on the Fox show left.
"Tyrone Crawford comes in, makes a manual game, and these are penalties that change the game," said Aikman. "I'm tired of talking about it."
Aikman added: "The league simply can not go out of its own way."
Packers coach Mike McCarthy was so mad after Matthews' penalty, it seemed like his head was going to explode into low orbit.
according to ESPN Stats and InfoThe Packers passing passer has been called for a total of four passer penalties from 2009 to 2017. This season alone, he has three. In other words, Matthews is not a serial delinquent in this area. He is the type of seasoned veteran who should be able to adapt to a reasonable rule change.
A reasonable
Matthews, who called the blow "a football game", gave a moving and accurate defense of his game. He also said that many players and football fans probably thought:
Michael Cohen @Michael_Cohen13
Here are the #Packers OLB Clay Matthews describing his third penalty in three weeks: https://t.co/8ZWoCm3BVz
It's not about being the old goat drinking beer on the couch, catching his crotch and talking about the good old days when Bronko Nagurski (Google him) could bend the mask of a guy with his teeth. And that's not just a problem of Matthews or Packers.
This is a larger and emblematic problem of NFL leadership – a league that continues to try to become nonviolent despite the fact that it is marked by violence. .
This effort is focused on quarterbacks, which the NFL wants to protect at all costs. This is not a new phenomenon. He has just reached the most absurd peaks we have ever seen.
Alex Brandon / Associated Press
And what's the point of the league? Player security? I'm not so sure. I believe that some of these measures are aimed at denying the power of defenses and creating more explosive crimes. I think that another part of the NFL is trying to protect itself from any class action lawsuit about brain injuries.
See, the NFL can say, we were trying to protect the players.
But the way it works goes against everything we know about how to fight and what football is supposed to be.
We do not need to go too far in the weeds of the NFL, but there are many areas that the league could address to focus on the health and safety of the players. As mentioned, Thursday evening players are despised because of a short rest after playing on a Sunday. Get rid of them. Give inner defensive players the same protection as others. Increase the size of the list. Guarantee wages and health care. There are literally hundreds of better ways to increase safety.
You can not control the constant violence of football with excessive rules and Egyptian theories for specific types of games. All you can do with these is to confuse players and create a game that fans do not understand.
A game where defenders must remember to love quarterbacks and not touch them. Tell them something sweet. Maybe wish them a good fall. Shake their hands. But not too tight.
Have tea, Earl Gray, but not too hot. Do not want them to burn their tongue.
Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @mikefreemanNFL.
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