AP The NFL now aggressively enforces landing on a quarterback with all or most of a defensive player’s body weight. That controversial new rule did not help decide the Vikings-Packers game. The Vikings had the ball late, down 29-21. An interception by Packers rookie cornerback Jaire Alexander appeared to seal the victory for Green Bay. But then came a flag, and Packers linebacker Clay Matthews found himself called for roughing the passer. “When he hit the quarterback, he lifted him and drove him into the ground,” referee Tony Corrente said after the game, in a pool report. “It has nothing to do with the rule of full body weight. . . . He picked the quarterback up and drove him into the ground.” Some within the league refer to the Matthews maneuver as “burping” the quarterback. It’s irrelevant to the flattening that happens when a defensive player lands on the passer, like Tony Siragusa once did in the playoffs to Rich Gannon. “Burping” happens when the defensive player scoops and drives the quarterback into the turf. And as Tony Dungy explained during NBC’s Football Night in America, at least Corrente was consistent. He flagged Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks earlier in the game for a similar hit on Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. While none of this will placate the Packers and their fans, it’s one of the basic realities in a league without enough good quarterbacks — and with a strong incentive to keep the ones they have healthy.<doc-sep>The NFL’s reaction to Clay Matthews’ roughing-the-passer penalty Sunday is a lot different than the reaction out of Green Bay. While Matthews and everyone else who plays, coaches or roots for the Packers complains about the foul on Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, the NFL will reportedly use it as an example of the type of penalty it wants called. Sorry, Green Bay, what you saw Matthews do on Sunday is exactly what the NFL thinks is roughing the passer. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero said in the league’s teaching tape of fouls from the previous game, Matthews’ “scoop and pull” technique will be an example of a foul the league wants called. NFL wants to eliminate “scoop and pull” hits on QBs Given the outrage over the Matthews’ call, considering it nullified an interception that would have sealed a Packers win, Pelissero’s report on NFL Network was quite interesting. First, Pelissero reiterated that the penalty wasn’t because Matthews landed with his body weight on Cousins, which is another controversial aspect to the expanded roughing the passer rule. It was because Matthews lifted Cousins up in an upward motion and then drove him into the ground, which is illegal. Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks got called for the same thing earlier in the Vikings-Packers game. “These are to be considered to be judgment calls, and in the NFL’s judgment in general, that particular technique in is fact against the rules,” Pelissero said on NFL Network. It’s a lot like the Jesse James catch rule controversy from last season, in that fans can complain about what they saw, but it was called exactly as the NFL wanted it, per its rulebook. Matthews, Packers upset by the call Of course, nobody in Wisconsin — aside from some Vikings fans in the western part of the state — want to hear the explanation. They will believe that the call was bogus. “I have so many emotions kind of running through as far as what a terrible call it was,” Matthews told reporters after the game. “But at the same time, I don’t know what else to do. I don’t know. You let me know. You tell me. Did I put pressure on him? I thought I hit him within his waist to chest, I got my head across, put my hands down. And to call it at that point in the game is just unbelievable.” Story continues Packers coach Mike McCarthy said there is some gray area on what the roughing penalty is now. “I get what the goal (of player safety) is, and we’re all for the goal being achieved, but at the same time, you have to make sure it’s not a competitive disadvantage to the pass rusher trying to hit the quarterback,” McCarthy said, according to Packers.com. It doesn’t seem so complicated to the NFL. Referee Tony Corrente was asked by pool reporter Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com after the game what Matthews could have done to avoid the penalty. “Not picked him up and drove him into the ground,” Corrente said. NFL thinks the call was correct Complaining about officiating is just part of the NFL game. Fans complain, but they always want to talk about how bad calls are. If it’s not the catch rule, it’s the helmet rule. Once the helmet rule controversy calmed down, we found a roughing-the-passer penalty. It will always be something. This week it will be a lot of drama about Matthews’ penalty. All the while, the NFL is going to use that as a textbook example of an illegal hit on the quarterback. Green Bay Packers pass rusher Clay Matthews wasn’t happy with a roughing-the-quarterback penalty in Sunday’s game. (AP) – – – – – – – Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! More from Yahoo Sports: • ‘Completely disrespectful’: Bills player retires at halftime • Rams player arrested on DUI charge shortly after Sunday’s win • LeBron rips Browns kicker: ‘Are you kidding me man’ • Which 0-2 team is the NFL’s most desperate?<doc-sep>
AP The NFL has vigorously defended the roughing the passer call against Clay Matthews for a hit on Kirk Cousins in Sunday’s game between the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers. Just about everyone not in the NFL league offices in New York has vigorously disagreed with the notion that Matthews hit on Cousins should be a penalty. Former Cleveland Browns All-Pro left tackle Joe Thomas is the latest to disagree with the ruling and the explanation from the NFL as to why it was a penalty. Would the person at the @NFL who thinks the @ClayMatthews52 hit was a foul please stand up so you can; be isolated, publicly shamed and humiliated, and taken away to North Korea so you aren’t able to further in your quest to destroy the game we all have come to know and love https://t.co/kgeBBT32Ct — Joe Thomas (@joethomas73) September 19, 2018 Thomas would continue in saying “please come forward and explain yourself” regarding the notion that what Matthews did was against the rules. The NFL is saying that Matthews picked up Cousins and drove him into the turf. In most instances on a football field, that’s called a tackle. However, the desire to keep quarterbacks healthy has led to Matthews’ dropping of Cousins to be viewed as too egregious. Two former heads of NFL officiating and a former league MVP quarterback in Brett Favre are among the voices to disagree with the NFL’s ruling. Even Cousins said the flag was “probably a generous call.” Nevertheless, the NFL says the move is a penalty and is using the play – and a similar hit by Eric Kendricks of the Vikings earlier in the game — as instructional tape distributed to teams this week. That doesn’t mean Thomas or anyone else not in the league headquarters is going to like it or agree with it. And to answer Thomas’ question, that’s where the people who believe the play was a penalty are located.