(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Patriots have been flagged three times
In taking a closer look at the NFL's roughing the passer rule, ESPN's Stats & Analysis team came up with this stat: Of the 22 roughing-the-passer penalties called through four weeks of the season, six have been in games involving the Patriots (3 against New England, 3 for New England).
Because of that high percentage, and the implementation of a new rule in 2009 that some call the "Tom Brady Rule", the Patriots are a central part of the roughing-the-passer discussion sparked in part by Ray Lewis's fiery comments Sunday.
The league's increased focus on protecting quarterbacks, and how it's affected pass rushers, is examined in this ESPNBoston.com piece.
Meanwhile, Baltimore Sun reporter Jamison Hensley writes on the rule from a Ravens perspective after they were flagged twice against the Patriots. In the piece, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said: "I know Joe [Flacco] got hit five different times during the game hard, and there was one call. Tom [Brady] didn't get hit five times -- and we wanted him to be hit more -- but when he sort of got hit, it was called. That goes to credibility."
Here are a few more stats on roughing the passer penalties from ESPN's Stats & Analysis team:
Most roughing-the-passer calls for in 2009: Bills (4), Patriots (3), Bears (2)
Most roughing-the-passer calls against in 2009: Ravens (4), Patriots (3), 15 teams tied with one apiece
Most roughing-the-passer calls against since 2007: Titans (38), Giants (35), Eagles (34), Patriots (34)
Players with most roughing-the-passer calls since 2007: Chike Okeafor (8), Shawn Rogers (7), Leonard Little (7), Richard Seymour (7), Aaron Smith (7), Albert Haynesworth (7), Kyle Vanden Bosch (7), Darwin Walker (7).
(Note: Mike Wright's penalty Sunday against the Ravens was not listed as roughing the passer, but instead as unnecessary roughness. Because Wright made contact with the quarterback's head, the assumption is that it will be changed to roughing the passer.)





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