The NFL and its new tackling rules have come under fire this preseason, with everyone complaining about some of the flags that have been thrown. Saturday night, we might have had our worst one yet. The Minnesota Vikings were called for a roughing the passer penalty on what looked like a very clean and non-penalty deserving sack of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The penalty was called, though, because the Vikings’ defender was determined to have used his body weight to drive the quarterback into the ground. You would think that’s just how you’re supposed to tackle someone, but apparently not. Here’s the play: Ironic to see the #Vikings get bit by the Aaron Rodgers rule first. 15-yard roughing the passer penalty for using weight to drive QB into the ground pic.twitter.com/MmvwvINOPb — Kevin Boilard (@247KevinBoilard) August 18, 2018 If that’s truly a penalty, I’m not sure how anyone is supposed to play defense in today’s NFL. The Vikings lost, meanwhile, 14-10.<doc-sep>Vikings defensive end Brian Robison is not overjoyed with some NFL rule changes. In the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 14-10 preseason loss to Jacksonville at U.S. Bank Stadium, Minnesota linebacker Antwione Williams sacked quarterback Cody Kessler for a 7-yard loss. But Williams was called for roughing the passer. “At the end of the day, this whole rule deal is sketchy at best,’’ Robison said when asked about the call. “I don’t think we know exactly what is supposed to happen.’’ The NFL has instituted rule changes and new interpretations of rules in an effort to improve safety. The most controversial change has been a rule that penalizes players for lowering their head and leading with their helmets. In Saturday’s game, the Jaguars were flagged twice for “lowering the head to initiate contact,” and there was an unnecessary roughness penalty on Jaguars safety Jarrod Wilson. He used his head on a tackle of Minnesota wide receiver Jeff Badet, sending him out of the game and into the NFL’s concussion protocol. Related Articles Vikings’ Dalvin Cook prepares for 17-game grind with offseason body of work DE Danielle Hunter among five Vikings absent Wednesday from OTAs Anthony Barr took pay cut so 2020 injury wouldn’t be his ‘last memory’ with Vikings Vikings linebackers Anthony Barr, Cameron Smith finally back on the field for OTAs Vikings claim center Cohl Cabral off waivers from Texans Williams’ penalty gave Jacksonville a first down on the Minnesota 36 with 5:04 left in the game and the Vikings leading 10-7. The Jaguars soon punted, but they came back to score on a late touchdown for the victory. “I’m just getting used to the new rules,’’ Williams said. “It was kind of a bummer (a flag was thrown), so you got to get used to playing with them.’’ Williams was told he was penalized for forcing the quarterback to the ground. “They implement new rules each year, and it’s our job as professionals to get used to them,’’ he said. “We’ve got to play within the rules. … I’ve got to do a better job of rolling to the side. I’ve got to be more focused and approach the tackle better.’’ Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was steamed when the call was made. Later though, he agreed with it. “After I calmed down a little bit, I looked at it and he was, his head was to the side and he was going to the side, and if he would have just rolled, but he kind of pumped him to the turf,’’ Zimmer said. “I actually think that was a good call.’’ Robison, though, said there’s too much confusion with some of the changes. “We’ve seen the tape and some of the plays look totally legal to me and they are saying they are fouls,’’ Robison said. “I think we are all confused about it. I think if you ask the referees, they might be confused which ones they are supposed to look for to throw (the flag).’’ Robison said it’s an issue if the new rules lead to players becoming less aggressive. “That’s the problem,’’ he sad. “If it leads to less aggressive play, now you start looking at the fact of now we got guys slowing up on a play and might get hurt. To me, if you slow up on a play, it will weaken the strength of our game. I understand what the NFL is trying to do, they are trying to cut down on a lot of the head injuries and stuff like that. It’s just confusing, to be honest with you.’’<doc-sep>BREAKING NEWS: We have a new penalty that's going to be a problem, and this time it does not involve "leading with the helmet." It does involve a new addition to the rulebook, an addendum that can be called the "Aaron Rodgers Rule," because of the injury that occurred with Anthony Barr driving the Packers quarterback into the ground last year. Naturally, it was the Vikings called again for the play, with Antwione Williams sacking Jaguars backup Cody Kessler during the fourth quarter of the matinee game on Saturday during Week 2's preseason action. Here's the play in question: Now, things get a little bit tricky here, because you can theoretically make a case that this would qualify under the rule changed added to Rule 12 of the NFL Rulebook. Specifically, players are banned from "stuffing" quarterbacks "into the ground or unnecessarily wrestling or driving him down after the passer has thrown the ball." Here's the full rule: A rushing defender is prohibited from committing such intimidating and punishing acts as "stuffing" a passer into the ground or unnecessarily wrestling or driving him down after the passer has thrown the ball, even if the rusher makes his initial contact with the passer within the one-step limitation provided for in (a) above. When tackling a passer who is in a defenseless posture (e.g., during or just after throwing a pass), a defensive player must not unnecessarily or violently throw him down or land on top of him with all or most of the defender's weight. Instead, the defensive player must strive to wrap up the passer with the defensive player's arms and not land on the passer with all or most of his body weight. Referee Pete Morelli explained recently that defensive players need to avoid "plopping down" on quarterbacks when making sacks. "Players will have to kind of roll to the side when they make that tackle instead of plopping down on him [the quarterback]," Morelli said. "The Aaron Rodgers [hit] would be a foul this year. As long as he's out of the pocket, established and all that. But if he's running, that's not the same." The weirdest thing about this rule is that the league installed it late. There was no mention of the rule change at the owners' meetings, but it was in the rulebook in July and discussed by Morelli earlier this month. (Am I just somehow forgetting that this was a thing at the owners meetings? It sure doesn't seem like something that was heavily discussed.) People were not pleased by the call. There were plenty more where that came from -- roughly 5,000 people quote tweeted me and said "SHUT IT DOWN" as it relates to the NFL. Barr said at the time of Morelli's comments that it would be extremely difficult for defenders to adjust. It may be even worse: if defenders can be flagged simply for tackling a quarterback and then not flying off the body of the quarterback as the tackle is happening, there are going to be a lot of surprising flags that pop out during the regular season. And it's only going to cause more controversy. It sure looks like the NFL has a large group of new refs and a couple of difficult-to-understand new rules and it's going to create issues once the regular season begins.<doc-sep>
The Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars met this week in the preseason in one of the most physical games of the weekend after a week of joint practices. The game on Saturday in Minneapolis is a chance to see how the league is going to officiate this season with some of the new rule changes and the early returns have been poorly received. The latest example came in the form of a sack from Antwione Williams on Jaguars quarterback Cody Kessler, which was as routine as it gets, but was flagged for roughing the passer on the play. Roughing the passer!! Welcome to 2018. pic.twitter.com/oIIrVplQAO — Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) August 18, 2018 No explanation to this point has been given as to why this was called a penalty, but the television broadcast speculated that it has to do with the new rule stemming from the hit that knocked Aaron Rodgers out last season where a defender can no longer drop his weight onto a player after the hit. That did not happen here and Williams made the sack from his knees, so this is as confusing a penalty call as we have seen in the preseason thus far. "After I calmed down a little bit, I looked at it and his head was to the side and he was going to the side," head coach Mike Zimmer said after the 14-10 loss. "If he would have just rolled, but he kind of pumped him into the turf. I actually think that was a good call." The Vikings had a victory in their first outing of the preseason last Saturday when they traveled to take on the Denver Broncos and impressively walked out with a 42-28 victory. The headline of that game came in the form of a perfect opening drive for quarterback Kirk Cousins in his Vikings debut and fans were looking for more of the same as he played at his home field for the first time. However, it did not replicate itself during Saturday's game with the starting offense only accounting for three points. (The preseason is in full swing and position battles are being decided on the field for the Minnesota Vikings --Don't miss out on the action. Sign up for our FREE newsletter today!) Minnesota also honored their late offensive line coach, Tony Sparano, during a pre-game ceremony that included the family and a video tribute followed by a commemorative moment of silence. Recently-retired Viking lineman Joe Berger sounded the Gjallarhorn at the stadium in honor of his former coach. Jacksonville lost their first game of the preseason against the New Orleans Saints, but their week has been headlined by a bit of controversy. Star defenders Jalen Ramsey and Dante Fowler were suspended for the week by the the team for comments aimed at the media and did not take part in joint practices, nor will they play in Saturday's game. The Vikings are back in action on Friday when they welcome the Seattle Seahawks to U.S. Bank Stadium.