The roughing the passer rule needs to be changed immediately

The current roughing the passer rules in the National Football League are a problem and need to be addressed - sooner rather than later.

I’m a former quarterback. I played the position for over a decade, and while not at the highest levels of college and certainly not in the NFL - there's little room for a sub-6-foot quarterback with weak arm strength - I know what it’s like to get hit after the whistle, when you're least expecting it.

And in general, football's a dangerous sport - a collision sport with a certain amount of risk. That assumption is relevant to all positions, including quarterback. There are times when you'll be exposed to hits in the pocket, and when you'll need to put yourself in danger to execute a play.

That’s part of the game.

With that being said, I'm sympathetic to the notion of protecting QBs. Organizations sink large fortunes into their signal-callers, and, as we've seen in the past, an injury to a starting quarterback can result in a lost season. The injury that got us to where we are today - last year’s hit on Aaron Rodgers that broke his collarbone - is a perfect example.

That hit led to a new emphasis on penalizing defenders who drive quarterbacks into the turf, and who put their full weight into finishing a sack or tackle. But there's a world of difference between this ...

... this (which is now part of the NFL’s video rule book on roughing the passer calls):

... and this hit from Week 1, which was penalized and therefore negated what would have been a game-clinching interception:

The first hit, by Minnesota Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr (No. 55), is the one that injured Rodgers (No. 12). As you can see, Barr finishes the hit with his helmet and drives the QB hard into the turf, thus exposing him to injury. The second hit, which was penalized, shows Cleveland Browns linebacker Jamie Collins (No. 51) using extra effort to drive former Vikings quarterback Case Keenum (No. 7) into the turf. Collins "lifts and plants" Keenum, to use the language from the broadcast.

But the third hit is a textbook tackle. Clay Matthews (No. 52) puts his shoulder and arm into the midsection of Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins (No. 8). Matthews even uses his left hand to try and brace both himself and Cousins from impact as they fall to the ground. The hit was penalized and took an interception off the board. Proponents of the rule might argue that Matthews looks to lift Cousins off the ground, but again, he pulls his left hand off the QB's leg and tries to brace their fall.

What's concerning is that we're seeing defenders adjust their hits on quarterbacks in almost unnatural ways, which can lead to injury. Matthews is lucky he didn’t injure his left arm on the Cousins hit. Miami Dolphins defensive end William Hayes (No. 95) was not as lucky:

Hayes suffered a torn ACL on the play. "He was trying to not put body weight on the quarterback. His foot got caught in the ground," head coach Adam Gase said afterward. On the replay, you can see Hayes put his right knee into the turf at the moment of impact in an effort to slow his momentum.

Consider the sheer laws of physics that the league is now asking defenders to break. A defensive end has to try and get past an offensive tackle as quickly as possible and get to the quarterback before he can throw the football, but in that final split-second before impact, he needs to somehow slow or reduce his momentum, which got him to that spot in the first place. It’s an unnatural act that will likely result in more injuries like Hayes'.

Games are also being affected. Matthews' penalty against Minnesota erased an interception, and the score ended in a tie. The Packers might feel they were robbed of a victory - and they might have a point.

There are rumblings the NFL’s competition committee is not happy, and Mark Maske of The Washington Post reported it's "likely the group will make unofficial clarification in how the rule is enforced on the field." That may stem from the anger being expressed by players on the defensive side of the ball - ire that only increased in the wake of Hayes’ injury. As we saw with helmet-to-helmet hits in the preseason, the league does tend to overemphasize new rules and penalties in the early going, before finding the right equilibrium.

Thankfully, it seems like the league is beginning to realize the rule's current interpretation is a problem, and we should hopefully be spared from further controversy in the coming weeks.

It's a difficult line to straddle. The NFL needs to strike the right balance between protecting quarterbacks and protecting all players. Football's a violent, collision sport, but there are ways to protect quarterbacks while not creating hazardous situations for other guys on the field, and not influencing games as a result.

Mark Schofield writes NFL feature content for theScore. After nearly a decade of practicing law in the Washington, D.C., area Mark changed careers and started writing about football. Drawing upon more than a decade of playing quarterback, including at the collegiate level, Mark focuses his work on quarterback evaluation and offensive scheme analysis. He lives in Maryland with his wife and two children. Find him on Twitter @MarkSchofield.