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Football Legend Joe Theismann Rips NFL - 'You've Reached the Point of Absurdity'

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When Joe Theismann, a guy who had his football career as a quarterback ended in gruesome fashion by an injury, says the NFL has gone too far in trying to protect quarterbacks, you know you’re witnessing a genuine case of a bridge too far.

The former Washington Redskins great outright told the league, “You’ve reached the point of absurdity.”

The NFL has changed the rules on roughing the passer, and the flags have been flying the first three weeks of the season.

Speaking to TMZ Sports, Theismann said the only logical next step is to simply prohibit anyone hitting the quarterback at all.

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“The rule’s absurd,” he said. “It’s made up by people who never played the position. … Basically you’re asking defensive guys not to hit the quarterback. That’s what you’re saying. You can’t hit him. You start your body in motion, a guy releases the football, what are you supposed to do in an instant like that? …

“The NFL has a big problem on its hands when it comes to this issue.”

Of course, many Americans are in full agreement with Theismann, as even a cursory search for “roughing the passer” on Twitter quickly proves.

From current defensive players …

… to NFL Network anchor Rich Eisen …

… to snarky fans …

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… the NFL has just dug itself yet another PR hole by finding the one flag that nobody wants to respect.

Theismann, meanwhile, put a simple question to the league, one for which the NFL’s competition committee has yet to find an acceptable answer.

“This is my question to the NFL: What is the defensive player supposed to do? Would somebody please explain it to him?” Theismann said.

Do you hate the new roughing-the-passer rules?

It’s worth remembering that Theismann had his career ended by a quarterback hit in 1985 that shattered his leg and solidified Lawrence Taylor’s growing reputation as the Baddest Man on the Planet in pro football.

Also, if the league is so sure it can prevent quarterback injuries with roughing flags for even minor contact, then how do you explain 49ers signal caller Jimmy Garoppolo going down with an ACL injury that will have him out for the season?

At the rate the NFL is going, it’s only a matter of time before officials start penalizing the defense for crossing the line of scrimmage on a pass play. Wouldn’t want to put the quarterback at any risk at all, and if it means more scoring because nobody ever gets tackled for a loss, well, fans love touchdowns, right?

The backlash against the new roughing-the-passer rules grows bigger by the day.

The question now becomes just how much the NFL will have to lose in terms of fan interest before it finally does something about it.

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Boston born and raised, Fox has been writing about sports since 2011. He covered ESPN Friday Night Fights shows for The Boxing Tribune before shifting focus and launching Pace and Space, the home of "Smart NBA Talk for Smart NBA Fans", in 2015. He can often be found advocating for various NBA teams to pack up and move to his adopted hometown of Seattle.
Boston born and raised, Fox has been writing about sports since 2011. He covered ESPN Friday Night Fights shows for The Boxing Tribune before shifting focus and launching Pace and Space, the home of "Smart NBA Talk for Smart NBA Fans", in 2015. He can often be found advocating for various NBA teams to pack up and move to his adopted hometown of Seattle.
Birthplace
Boston, Massachusetts
Education
Bachelor of Science in Accounting from University of Nevada-Reno
Location
Seattle, Washington
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Sports




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