Former Houston Texans defensive end JJ Watt wants the NFL to help defences a little bit with a simple rule change.
Watt spoke on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday and was asked about what some perceive is a lack of offensive holding calls in today’s NFL.
The 5-time All-Pro described the lack of offensive holding calls as “frustrating” from a pass rusher’s perspective. He also said that there is “no question” that pass rushers, particularly exceptional players like Micah Parsons, Myles Garrett, and JJ Watt’s brother TJ Watt, are regularly held up by blockers without proper retribution.
Watt advocated that the NFL cut the penalty for offensive holding from ten yards to five yards.
“What I believe is the answer is that referees recognize that a 10-yard penalty is a significant punishment in the NFL. So, if you made holding a 5-yard penalty, I believe it would be called lot more fairly and realistically, because it would be less damaging to the offence,” Watt said.
While it may seem paradoxical to reduce the penalty for something Watt wants called more frequently, he believes that a smaller punishment will inspire referees to call it more often. Watt suggested that softer penalties for offensive holding would increase the number of flags for such offences, potentially leading to less holding overall.
Watt’s proposal could work in theory. However, there is no certainty that referees would respond to such a rule change in exactly the same way Watt predicted.
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