Why rugby and NFL are trying to shackle the tackle
Changes to rules are dividing opinion, but the idea either game has ‘gone soft’ is laughable, writes Daniel Schofield
Defences in both sports have to adapt – we have seen an explosion in scoring
The game’s gone soft. You can barely tackle any more. It is too politically correct/a left-wing conspiracy.
Just as rugby union is struggling to come to terms with the crackdown on high tackles, so American football is wrapping itself up in knots over changes to the “roughing the passer” rule.
Tackles that not so long ago would have once been considered the definition of textbook – see Toulouse’s Jerome Kaino on Jamie Roberts, or Green Bay linebacker Clay Matthews on quarterbacks Alex Smith and Kirk Cousins – have now been deemed illegal.
Reaction either side of the Atlantic has been identical.
Spot the difference between the following statements. The first is from Wayne Pivac, Scarlets and future Wales coach, on centre Kieron Fonotia receiving a three-week ban for making contact with the head of George North. “We’ve got to look after people’s heads, I totally agree, but I think we’ve gone too far and I’d like to see a balance.”
Now, here is NFL analyst Jason Witten after Jon Bostic was penalised for a hit on quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
“They’ve gone too far with that rule [roughing the passer]. I knew they wanted to make it about the health and safety and protect quarterbacks, but it just seems like we went a bit to the left wing.”
During the NFL off-season, a subtle tweak was made to the roughing-passer rule, which is designed to protect quarterbacks from excessive or unnecessary contact after the throw has been made. Now, if a defender lands on a quarterback with most of their weight, that is considered a penalty, which entails a loss of 15 yards and an automatic first down.
The problem is that it can be difficult to tackle a quarterback without landing on them and so in the first six weeks of the NFL season, there has been a flock of flags for roughing the passer, nearly double last season’s total. It has also led to unintended consequences.
On Sunday, the denouement of a thrilling game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots took an unexpected twist. Chiefs defender Breeland Speaks wrapped up Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for a potentially game-sealing sack.
Only he let go. Brady strolled in for a touchdown, the Patriots won and Speaks later admitted he had been fearing a penalty flag.
Defences in both sports are having to learn and adapt techniques. Subsequently, we have witnessed an explosion in scoring.
As my colleague Charlie Morgan detailed in an excellent piece this month, points and tries per game are up in different rugby leagues across the world. In the NFL, the weekly scoring average is at an all-time high. Multiple quarterbacks are on pace to break touchdown and passing-yard records.
Matt Hasselbeck, a former quarterback, told Sports Illustrated: “The NFL is trying to say that this [roughing-the-passer emphasis] is a safety issue, and that it is a noble endeavour. But it’s really a business issue.”
The logic being that better protected quarterbacks bring more touchdowns and, thus, higher ratings.
In rugby at least, the drive to lower the tackle height and hence concussions is based on the meticulous scientific research of Dr Ross Tucker and others.
Tackling, however, is not becoming a dying art.
Marcus Mariota, the Tennessee Titans quarterback, was sacked 11 times by Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, while the Exeter v Munster Heineken Champions Cup match I attended on Saturday was the most intense encounter I can remember outside of an international.
As for the laughable suggestion that the game has gone soft, I suggest you check England’s absentee list for the Quilter Internationals.