Patrick Peterson raises a unique, interesting rule change idea to help NFL defensive backs
By Keith Farner
Published:
Former LSU star Patrick Peterson is in search of a constructive way to improve pass interference calls in the NFL.
Peterson on Sunday was the victim of a pass interference call, which was later declined, when the Arizona Cardinals lost to the Miami Dolphins. Early in the fourth quarter, Peterson was flagged for defensive pass interference on a throw from QB Tua Tagovailoa to DeVante Parker. Parker made the 17-yard catch anyway.
“What I’m proposing to the league: We need more refs on the field to officiate the game if the back judge can’t see the receivers, so now the DB is at a disadvantage,” Peterson said during a Zoom call with reporters Thursday, per ESPN. “I almost think he’s not refereeing the game properly. He’s just not seeing the whole game, so we need more eyes to help these guys.”
To perhaps strengthen his argument and cover every detail, Peterson said he has watched the play 30 times.
Peterson said the official who threw the flag said Peterson was holding Parker, something he disputed.
“I was like, I didn’t touch him, like what do you mean I got a pass interference?'” Peterson said. “He said, ‘Well, from my angle, it looked like you was engaged with him.’ I’m like, ‘What do you mean from your angle? You can’t even see the receiver because you’re right behind me.'”
That was Peterson’s only pass interference call of the season but his 24th since coming into the league in 2011 — tied for second most in the NFL in that span. Only two, including the one Sunday, have been declined.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
