Richard Sherman Sounds Off On New Pass Interference Replay Rule: ‘Every Pass Looks Like PI In Slow Motion’
Richard Sherman is apparently not a fan of a new rule making pass interference a reviewable play in the NFL.
The San Francisco 49ers cornerback took to Twitter to express his displeasure with the rule change, which allows coaches to ask officials to go into the booth to see if there was a pass interference call that they might have missed. There was a major push for the rule after Los Angeles Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman got away with a clear pass interference in the final minutes of the NFC Championship game that helped his team prevent the New Orleans Saints from scoring a touchdown or running out the clock, allowing the Rams to win the game.
The rule isn’t a hit with defensive backs, however. Richard Sherman shared on Twitter a story about the rule passage, prompting a reply from fellow back Eric Weddle, who replied “Dumb dumb dumb.”
Sherman concurred.
“Now they can control the outcome as they see fit. Every defendable pass looks like PI in slow motion,” he wrote.
It might not be much of a surprise to see Richard Sherman in opposition to the new rule. He gained a reputation as one of the best cornerbacks in the league largely for his physical play, and he earned a Super Bowl ring with a Seattle Seahawks defense often accused by critics of pushing the lines of pass interference with wide receivers.
The change has earned some praise from NFL coaches, with Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh saying that there was an unusual amount of agreement about the rule change.
“It was amazing,” Harbaugh said, via Sports Illustrated. “And it wasn’t anything that was choreographed. It wasn’t any political thing that was created. It was just natural, because the coaches want to help, and they’re willing to take on the flag and do it themselves. There was a good idea and we just want to help the officiating and help the game be better.
“It was amazing to me that everybody saw it the same way, I thought it was really cool. … I’ve never seen anything like it.”
According to the NFL competition committee, this crucial play near the end of Super Bowl LIII should have been called pass interference against the Patriots: https://t.co/qU7cAEbnaK pic.twitter.com/iA7VwpyW69
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) March 27, 2019
The new pass interference rule change will allow coaches to throw their review flag if they believe officials missed a pass interference call. Like replays for other calls, however, any reviews in the final two minutes of each half must come from the booth rather than on the field.
