Grady Jarrett still in 'disbelief' over flagged Tom Brady hit
Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said he was in «not a little but a lot disbelief» at the roughing the passer flag thrown on him when he sacked Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady late in Sunday's 21-15 Buccaneers win over the Falcons.
Jarrett's comments, on his weekly appearance on 680 The Fan in Atlanta, were his first since postgame Sunday, when he said he was too emotional about the flag and the outcome to speak clearly about what had happened.
Even days later, he's not sure what he was supposed to do differently.
«Just looking back on it, I'm still kind of left clueless,» Jarrett said. «On what I'm expected to do in that situation.»
Jarrett had wrapped Brady up and then rolled to the ground, bringing Brady down with him. Jarrett made contact with the ground first and then turned over, finishing the sack. Referee Jerome Boger called the penalty and, in a pool report after the game, said Jarrett «unnecessarily» threw Brady to the ground.
The NFL had no further comment on the play when reached by ESPN on Monday. But, citing a league source, The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the NFL plans to discuss roughing the passer penalties, though changes to the rule are not expected during the season.
Teams can submit plays to the league each week for questions, and the NFL does review every play postgame and judge officials by their performance weekly in games.
Jarrett said Tuesday he thought it «would be a great step» if the NFL considered in-game reviews roughing the passer penalty calls. It came into further focus Monday night when Kansas City defensive lineman Chris Jones was flagged for roughing the passer while sacking Derek Carr on a similar play to Jarrett's.
Had Jarrett not been flagged,