For as long as competitive sports have existed, officiating blunders have always been something that comes with the territory. The Saints and their fans are no strangers to this aspect of the game as a blown no-call killed their chances of advancing to a Superbowl in 2018.

While the Saints' fan base is constantly reminded how painful a missed call can be, it’s the rising number of a specific penalty that has NFL fans outraged lately. Over the last several years, the NFL has emphasized player safety, specifically the quarterback position. The rules of roughing the passer have become stricter every year. About 20 years ago, big hits like this were perfectly legal.

This is no longer allowed in the NFL and will draw a penalty flag every time. With player safety becoming a top priority for league officials, it put defenders in a very tight spot. Defenders are having to change the way they tackle quarterback and struggling to find a way to affect the quarterback without drawing a flag. This roughing the passer the call on Grady Jarret had fans from around the league confused and annoyed.

It seemed like social media had cooled off until Chiefs defensive tackle, Chris Jones was called for a questionable roughing the passer penalty that took a huge turnover off the board.

The complaints from fans, coaches, and current and retired players filled the social media space. The main complaint is that it’s not the defender’s job to hit the ball carrier in the safest way possible. This is not new as fans have been complaining about the roughing the passer calls for a few seasons now. Adam Schefter dropped some inside information from a league official about the issue, and NFL fans won’t like the answer he gave.

After dropping the quote, Schefter tweeted a stat about the frequency of penalties that had me surprised. The amount of roughing the passer calls is actually down a tremendous amount in comparison to the 2021 season through week five.

Fans from around the league took to Twitter say that it was never about the frequency of the calls, but how costly they can be for their team. Any way you slice it, people were not happy with the insider information.

These potential game-changing calls do have a major impact on defenders, as it makes them a little hesitant when pursuing the quarterback. I understand the aspect of player safety and I think it is very important, but the rule needs to have clearer and more specific details.

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