CBS rules expert says NFL needs to address officiating trend that's gotten out of hand

Just about every NFL fan in America wants the overly protective penalty flags for roughing the passer to stop. There was another egregious one in the NFC playoff game between the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

THIS IS THE WORST ROUGHING THE PASSER CALL OF THE YEAR! pic.twitter.com/iOfar13srX

— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) January 16, 2023

In Pittsburgh, we certainly remember the one on Cameron Heyward from the Steelers-Browns regular-season finale.

This was just called roughing the passer on the Steelers. pic.twitter.com/rcDMIQY3Kf

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) January 8, 2023

But there’s another type of play that is starting to drive fans insane, and this one actually isn’t being flagged enough. It’s the constant early starts that offensive tackles are getting before the ball is snapped. There were a few more examples this weekend.

Refs miss false start on the Giants and it leads to a touchdown! #NYGvsMIN pic.twitter.com/vhJEpQQkAC

— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) January 15, 2023

Missed false start here! #LACvsJAX pic.twitter.com/cPlqsfwnPq

— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) January 15, 2023

They should be flagged as false starts. But the officials seem to be letting that play slide. That non-call in the second clip sent Los Angeles Chargers pass rusher Joey Bosa into a rage — as did the ensuing hold against the Jaguars that wasn’t called either.

It’s not like this is a new trend for offensive tackles though. Remember when the Chargers themselves abused that false-start gray area against the Steelers in 2018?

During his weekly appearance on WDVE Tuesday morning, CBS NFL rules analyst Gene Steratore said the constant false starts are a problem that league officials need to investigate.

“There have been a lot of these half-a-click-ahead false starts that haven’t been called this year,” Steratore said. “It’s something that they have to address.”

Steratore, a 15-year NFL official and Uniontown native, said the league may need to consider this trend an area of emphasis immediately, even if the players get upset about changing in midstream.

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“The challenge, at this point, is that we’ve got two and a half more weeks of football. So do we switch it right now and get really technical? Or do we ride with what we’ve done throughout the year. It’s a valid point, and I think it’s something they have to be discussing right now,” Steratore said.

Personally, I think that if it’s a rule, it’s a rule. Throw a flag when that rule is violated. A false start is a pretty basic, fundamental thing.

Augmenting the problem, especially in Sunday’s Chargers-Jaguars game, is that officials are often hyper-technical when it comes to defensive linemen lining up offsides, as was the case with Bosa earlier in the game when he had a sack negated.

@NFL doing their thing on crucial plays. It’s 3rd and 7. Big sack on the play but Bosa is called offsides. Sack negated Jags score on the drive. pic.twitter.com/juaMorCdjP

— Kenny Mack (@DirtyJerz32) January 15, 2023

“If we are going to play this game where we aren’t going to work this thing frame by frame, then it’s got to work on both sides,” Steratore said. “When guys creep to that line of scrimmage, like Bosa did, the officials have to get to that player, to that sideline, as soon as it occurs … and you let him know, ‘You are cramming that line. You are on it. Your hands are in there. Get back. I don’t want to call this stuff today. But you can’t live in that space the entire day.’ The same applies for this kind of roll(ing), quick start with the offensive tackles.”

Again, though, to the point about over-protecting the quarterbacks, isn’t it interesting that the offensive pass blockers can get away with their cheat techniques, but the pass rushers can’t?

I don’t want to see quarterbacks injured either. But defensive players need a level playing field. The NFL isn’t providing that right now.