Grady Jarrett 'left clueless' over flag on sack of Tom Brady |
Former Clemson standout and current Pro Bowl Atlanta Falcons defender
Grady Jarrett was at the center of a controversial weekend when it came to officiating in the NFL.
Jarrett was flagged for roughing the passer on a sack that brought down Tampa Bay's Tom Brady where Jarrett came free off the edge and tackled Brady while Brady was trying to evade the sack. ESPN's Michael Rothstein recounted a Jarrett interview on local Atlanta sports radio 680 The Fan on Tuesday, where he said Jarrett had "not a little but a lot disbelief" over the call. "Just looking back on it, I'm still kind of left clueless," Jarrett said, per ESPN. "On what I'm expected to do in that situation." The call came on third down with the Falcons trailing 21-15 with three minutes to go, and the Bucs went on to run out the clock. Jarrett said that it "would be a great step" for the NFL to consider in-game reviews on such calls, per ESPN. "All these other things that we can review, I'm not saying that it cost us the game, but it cost us an opportunity to win the game and if it's costing people games, it's going to cost people livelihoods. Going to cost people's opportunities. You never know who is going to go down and make a crazy play." Jarrett added that he understands the intent of the rules but there shouldn't be punishment for those who appear to do things right. "Nobody wants to go in there and straight DDT, RKO and hurt people," Jarrett said per ESPN of comparing hits to wrestling moves. "But when you do it right, I don't believe you should be punished for it." The roughing the passer call after the Falcons' Grady Jarrett hit the Bucs' Tom Brady, and the roasting of it from Fox's Daryl Johnston. pic.twitter.com/3ba6PCdrHm
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