Defender Flagged For Hurting Quarterback's Feelings

MIAMI--The Dolphins’ Zach Thomas was penalized 15 yards for yelling at Tampa Bay quarterback Chris Simms during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game. Thomas verbally berated Sims at the end of a play, prompting referee Jeff Triplett to flag him for roughing the passer.

The penalty provided a crucial first down for the Bucs and sparked a debate about what constitutes “roughing.”

“That was a shit call,” Thomas said after the game. “I didn’t even touch him. All I did was knock down his pass and then say ‘Not today, bitch!’ The referee saw that and threw a flag. Apparently he took exception to me hurting Chris's feelings.”

Footage of the play shows Thomas deflecting a Simms pass, and then pumping his fist and shouting in Simms’ direction, in full view of a referee. The rookie Simms was visibly upset and accused Thomas after the game of being a cheap shot artist.

“That was uncalled for. That guy’s an asshole,” Simms told reporters at his locker. “I’m standing there after having my pass deflected, totally vulnerable, both physically and mentally, and he comes out of nowhere and starts insulting me. I was like ‘Jesus, throw a flag, ref!' Finally he did. Man, that was a painful episode. I just hope everybody appreciates how I took one for the team.”

Thomas apologized to his teammates and said he was unaware of the new rule change.

“I really had no idea you could get flagged for that,” he said. “I’ve been doing that for years. I guess it’s my responsibility to know and I apologize to my teammates and coaches for making such a stupid play. In the future I will just mind my business and stay out of the quarterback’s way.”

The flag drew the ire of the Dolphins sideline, and coach Nick Saban demanded an explanation from the officiating crew. However, after seeing the replay, color commentator Troy Aikman said the right call was made.

“He absolutely was right in throwing that flag,” Aikman said. “The league has made it very clear that they want to protect the quarterbacks and if you’re going to protect the quarterback you’ve got to throw that flag. Zach Thomas can complain all he wants, but he’s got to know better than to viciously insult a QB and, essentially, make him feel like something that cat drug in.”

After the game, Saban filed a complaint with the commissioner’s office, which promptly released its own statement supporting Triplett’s decision. According to the statement, roughing the passer guidelines were tweaked in the off-season to include verbal as well as physical abuse.

“We have concluded that Mr. Triplett acted properly in flagging Zach Thomas for his unprovoked, mean-spirited attack on Chris Simms, a quarterback who was simply trying to do his job,” the statement read. “We will no longer tolerate cheap shots against defenseless players, even if they’re verbal cheap shots. We all know that words can sometimes hit as hard as a fist.”

Supporters of the rule say that it is necessary in order to protect defenseless players from cheap shots. Opponents say that it goes too far and results in too many frivolous penalties.

“There are too many flags already. Now there are going to be even more,” said former linebacker Tom Jackson on NFL Sunday Countdown. “You know, when I was in the league you could do anything you wanted to quarterbacks. I can’t tell you how many concussions I dished out to those guys when I was playing. Actually, I can tell you. It was four. Four and a half, if you count the time I held Jim Plunkett down while my teammate gave him a flying elbow.”

Despite what the critics say, the NFL is making it a top priority to protect its signal callers, and may not be finished tweaking the rules. In fact, there are several more rule changes being mulled as part of the new collective bargaining agreement.

“The league has made some big strides in the past few years as far as protecting quarterbacks, but there are still more changes to come,” said one owner. “One of the things we’re looking at is penalizing a defender when a quarterback attempts to block or tackle him. Hey,if he tries to hit you, it’s your job to get out of the way. And what’s up with all these interceptions? There are too many interceptions. Defenses need to get out of the way when a quarterback throws a pass. Once all these rules are passed, the games is going to be much, much more exciting for people like me, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts.”