Everybody wants to make sure quarterbacks are protected, and I get that.<\/p>\n
Roughing the passer, though, has become one of the most controversial calls in college football, even more so if you extend it to targeting.<\/p>\n
For this season in college football, there were a few words added into the rule for roughing the passer. They don\u2019t represent major rule updates, but they\u2019re noteworthy enough and are likely to come up in a few big games throughout the season.<\/p>\n
The goal is to protect the player who\u2019s in a passing posture. That means if he\u2019s in the pocket and looking down the field, he\u2019s defenseless. He might be able to feel pressure coming from either side, but he\u2019s essentially a defenseless player. As long as a quarterback is in that passing posture, whether he\u2019s going to throw it or get sacked before he throws it, that\u2019s what they\u2019ll consider a passing posture.<\/p>\n
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If that quarterback takes off running or is on the run, that\u2019s not a passing posture until the player stops and gets set again to a point where it\u2019s clear he\u2019s a passer. That passing posture will be key for this season.<\/p>\n
Something else on player safety that has also been addressed this season is a player who is attempting to secure a loose ball. When the ball is fumbled or there\u2019s a muffed punt, you have players going after it. Those players are now considered defenseless. If a player on your team is in the scrum trying to recover a fumble, players on the other team doing the same cannot be targeted.<\/p>\n
What does that mean? Well, if someone is idiotic enough to try to hit that player instead of making an effort to recover the football, that will be a penalty.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a wrinkle to the rule that was likely added because it happened once in a game and there was no way to enforce it. I don\u2019t think this will really come up, but it\u2019s something that was covered.<\/p>\n
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