Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett arrives at the stadium before a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. | Atlanta Falcons/Facebook
Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett arrives at the stadium before a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. | Atlanta Falcons/Facebook
After a roughing the passer call cost the Atlanta Falcons in a 21-15 loss to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Bucs last week, fans and NFL insiders alike did not hesitate to show their disapproval of the call.
Even as several of his players openly expressed their displeasure with the late-game call, Falcons head coach Arthur Smith chose to focus rather on the positives in his post-game interview; a recent report from FOX 5 Atlanta said.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Smith told the press. “We don’t ever think we’re out of the fight.”
The roughing-the-quarterback call against Grady Jarrett and the Falcons came late in the fourth quarter and allowed Tom Brady and the Bucs to run out the clock over the final minutes in their 21-15 nail-biting win.
Fellow quarterback Robert Griffin III took to social media to voice his displeasure with the call.
"The Falcons got ROBBED," he said in a Twitter post. "Hitting the QB hard does not equal Roughing the Passer even if it’s Tom Brady. That ROUGHING THE PASSER call against the Falcons impacts the integrity of the game."
Smith and Brady both declined to comment on the call, the FOX 5 report said.
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