As the NFL season moves right along, there are plenty of debates raging regarding the “Tush Push,” linemen downfield on screens, and more.
There are also debates that continue to gain steam regarding making pass interference reviewable once again and even roughing the passer.
Having been fined a few times in his career for roughing the passer, Pittsburgh Steelers star outside linebacker T.J. Watt questioned why roughing the passer isn’t reviewable when everything else in the game seems to be.
In an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show Tuesday morning, Watt explained just how difficult it is to avoid some of the roughing-the-passer penalties but stated that it’s just one of those things that’s above his pay grade and that he has to adjust moving forward.
“I don’t know. That’s a good question. It’s hard,” Watt said to Patrick regarding roughing-the-passer penalties, according to audio via the Dan Patrick Show on iHeart Radio. “We do everything we possibly can [to avoid it]. I was talking to the ref the other week that, you know, when you go to tackle the quarterback, I’m rotating as hard as I can. I’m taking the hit ’cause the quarterback’s landing on top of me.
“It’s just the life that we live and we have to adapt as much as possible because those penalties are massive, game-changing penalties. And they’re 15 yards and the first down.”
Since the new interpretation of the rule on roughing the passer has been implemented, there have been a number of game-changing calls made due to simple football actions in taking the quarterback down. It’s led frustration for players, analysts and fans regarding the direction the game is going in.
For now, there is no discussion to make the penalty a reviewable one, even with the officials struggling as much as they are recently.
Still, for as frustrated as he is with the rule and how it’s being called, Watt is just putting his head down, doing to his best to adjust to it.
“It’s one of those things that’s obviously way above my pay grade. We just try to adapt to the rules that are in place and try to play as clean, as smart as possible,” Watt added, according to audio from the Dan Patrick Show.
Watt has adapted to it in recent years. So far this season, he doesn’t have a roughing-the-passer call. Nor does Alex Highsmith. The rule hasn’t taken away from their aggressiveness and their hunger to get to the quarterback. They’ve adjusted their games and are still getting quarterbacks on the ground at a prolific clip, which is quite impressive.
Maybe someday the rule will become reviewable. For now though, it is not. That suits Watt just fine as he’s continuing to adjust and playing the game within the rules.
