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chris rimm
Los Angeles–perhaps the first time in their two seasons together, los angeles chargers Coach Jim Harbaugh and the quarterback Justin Herbert Both were angry.
in their second trimester week 11 game against pittsburgh steelersoutside linebacker alex highsmith The ball made contact below Herbert’s knees immediately after leaving the quarterback’s throwing hand. Herbert turned around, arms extended and began barking at the nearest officer. Not far away on the sideline, Harbaugh was doing the same.
The Steelers pressured Herbert 12 times and sacked him five times in the Chargers’ 25–10 victory. Throughout the game, Herbert was more active than he had been all season, sometimes yelling at officials after hits he considered illegal. The game reflected a hit season for Herbert, who was contacted 149 times and pressured 196 times, both league highs, according to ESPN Research and NFL Next Gen Stats.
But Herbert’s outburst was surprising because it broke character. Even before entering the NFL in 2020, Herbert was known for his calmness, but Harbaugh has said calmness comes at a price. As other quarterbacks argue for the call, Herbert’s humility, coupled with a 6-foot-6, 240-pound frame that absorbs hits differently than other quarterbacks, has made it easy to overlook him, Harbaugh has argued.
“I [complain] Even more than Justin,” Harbaugh said last season. “I mean, I’m an underdog. I have no shame in admitting this. … Its Hack a Shaq,
But the figures tell a different story. Herbert has accepted twice the passing penalty this season, which is second in the league. dallas cowboys quarterback dak prescott Is in first place with four. Herbert has eight since entering the league in 2020, which ranks fifth cancer cousinPrescott, josh allen And Jared GoffStill, Harbaugh’s point raises the question: Is there a connection between debate and punishment? And should Herbert argue more? Many quarterbacks say the answer is no in the short term, but they hope advocating for themselves will influence future calls,
“Arguing won’t get me anywhere,” Herbert said. “If I make a big deal about it, chances are they’re not going to call it. The more I fight and the more I push for it, I think the more likely they’re going to be to not call it.”
Former NFL quarterback matt ryan And Josh McKeonas well as current starters tua tagovailoa And Matthew StaffordSay it’s not as simple as shouting loudly, but a delicate dance with the authorities between protecting oneself and maintaining credibility. Herbert will try to stand up against philadelphia eagles on “Monday Night Football” (8:15 ET, ESPN,
“You don’t want to be the guy who cried wolf,” the former Ryan said. atlanta falcons The quarterback who has conceded the most passing penalties since 2000, according to ESPN Research.
in the fourth quarter of Los Angeles Rams‘Week 5 game against san francisco 49ersoutside linebacker travis gipson Rams cross tackle alaric jackson and put his hand through Stafford’s face mask, twisting the quarterback’s head as he hit the turf. This was the kind of game where a flag could have easily been drawn for roughing but that did not happen.
The Rams received a flag for defensive holding on the snap, but it meant nothing to Stafford.
Stafford gear up And ran towards the nearest officer. He shouted and raised two fingers towards his eyes – a very subtle suggestion for the officer to open his eyes. Then he turned back, waved his arms and hit his helmet. It was a performance like a Hollywood movie but the officer barely acknowledged it.
Stafford, who is tied with Herbert with eight penalties since 2020, said this kind of theater is a way to plant the seeds for the future. “If I see something, I just try to make people aware,” he said.
Quarterbacks around the league are routinely accused of flopping – exaggerated downs, flailing their hands – in hopes of being rewarded with a 15-yard gift. In Week 6, reactions from Chargers players and the team’s sideline seemed to indicate that they believed Miami’s Tagovailoa was doing the same.
In the fourth quarter of that game, the defensive tackle Tier Tart Tagovailoa was thrown to the ground after releasing the ball. Tagovailoa sprinted forward with his arms raised and a flag behind him to harass the passerby. Tartt was later fined $17,389.
“I don’t just flop,” Tagovailoa said. “If somebody touches me, if they hit me and I fall, I’m falling. And if I think I knocked the ball out and then there’s a few seconds in between where I’m being hit, I’ll be like, ‘Dude,’ and I look at the ref.”
Prescott, who leads the league in allowing the most passing penalties this season with four, joked that he probably tops the unwanted list too. Still, even in his 10th season, he said he hasn’t figured out the best way to make flags.
“I usually get angry, upset that they didn’t call me, and their response is usually not pleasant,” Prescott said. “So I don’t really understand the dialogue.”
Complaints about Herbert’s manner of officiating began the previous season. After cleveland browns He was sacked six times, with Harbaugh using his weekly news conference to argue that his quarterback was not being treated fairly. Harbaugh also compared Herbert to NBA great Shaquille O’Neal – who is too big to draw the call.
“Does it sound like I’m complaining? Maybe? I might be,” Harbaugh said. “I think some of those calls don’t get called when they should be called.”
A week after Herbert’s uncharacteristically heated spat with officials this season in Pittsburgh, he suffered another major blow — this time from jacksonville jaguars defensive lineman bj green iiWhich was cleared to land with his body weight. An offsetting Chargers flag wiped out the penalty, but the harsh call drew some national anger.
“How do you want to play them?” Former outside linebacker JJ Watt later spoke on “The Pat McAfee Show” in reference to the hit. “That tackle was like a textbook of a tackle you could make. It bothers me.”
The flag raised another question that only Jacksonville officials could answer: Did Herbert’s disappointment in Pittsburgh the following week sink into the minds of officials, or was it just another reminder of how messed up the strict rule had become?
“To me, if they call it great, if we get 15 yards, we’re moving forward,” Herbert said. “…But at the end of the day, it’s out of my control.”
no player has The Roughnecks were more successful in producing flags than Ryan. Since ESPN Research began accepting the passer penalty, Ryan has scored 26 points in his 15 NFL seasons, ahead of Ryan Fitzpatrick (22) and Tom Brady (21).
“I get beat up a lot,” Ryan joked. She said she was surprised to be ranked first on the list.
see any of these Ryan is 26 and they look alike: He turns his head toward an officer — sometimes even before falling to the ground — with his arms outstretched in disbelief.
Ryan credits his passing totals to the era in which he played – he has the seventh-most pass attempts in NFL history – and the 2009 rule change that placed an emphasis on fewer hits on the quarterback. The change came after an injury to Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard on Patriots quarterback Brady’s left knee in the 2008 opener, resulting in a season-ending ACL and MCL tear for the NFL legend.
Still, Ryan said he has a method for his responses, focusing on his credibility. Now an NFL analyst for CBS Sports, he works with Gene Steratore, a former official who called many of his games. Through Steratore, Ryan comes to understand that it doesn’t really matter when he chose to speak – or when he chose not to.
“With my mentality, it never hurts to ask, right?” Ryan said laughing. “I think we all felt like we could have had more. But at least I’m sitting on top of something.”
One of the more surprising names at the top of the list is McCown – a backup quarterback for most of his career who played for nine teams in 16 seasons. Despite throwing nearly 6,000 fewer passes than Ryan, McCown ranks sixth most in terms of passer penalties allowed since 2000 with 17.
“I usually remember waking up and thinking, ‘Man, you’ve got to give that call to Drew Brees,’ or, ‘You’ve got to give that call to Tom Brady,'” McCown said, now. minnesota vikings‘Quarterback coach. “I never felt like I got the call, but I think the evidence would say otherwise.”
McKeown said his relationship with the officials was unusual because, as a backup, he actually had time to talk to them on the sidelines, although he was frustrated that he could never influence any calls.
“Maybe I have to apologize to some of the officers,” he said, laughing.
Despite the disappointment Herbert showed in Pittsburgh – and all the punishment he has endured this season – he is convinced there is nothing to be gained by arguing. His outburst in Pittsburgh may have been an anomaly, but it sounds like Harbaugh and the Chargers wouldn’t mind if he kept advocating for himself.
“When I thought there was a late hit I told the ref,” Herbert said. “But it’s part of the game and they’ve got a job too.”
Sarah Barshop, Marcel Louis-Jacques and Todd Archer contributed to this report.
