Falcons called for garbage roughing the passer on Matthew Stafford (Video)

Good luck to NFL defenders — there’s no clear answer as to how to tackle

Poor AJ Terrell is all kinds of confused. With the Lions giving Matthew Stafford a homecoming of sorts in Atlanta, the Falcons surely didn’t think the Georgia product would be getting these types of calls. A flag which would eventually lead to a touchdown drive, Terrell was called for an iffy-at-best roughing the passer penalty. Frankly, Terrell should’ve been gifted a clean sack on what was a beneficial blitz from Atlanta’s point of view.

What, exactly, is roughing the passer?

The issue with roughing the passer penalties is the inconsistency. One officiating crew will call soft penalties, while another will allow plays like this to go uncalled.

Terrell’s form tackle hit Stafford just above the numbers, while Vince Williams destroyed Titans QB Ryan Tannehill in a borderline personal foul that was celebrated as a clean play. What’re we supposed to think?

The Falcons already fired Dan Quinn and are trying to turn their season around. Untimely penalties they don’t even deserve isn’t helping matters, especially after they reportedly declared they won’t be rebuilding and trading Julio Jones and/or Matt Ryan.

Atlanta sports just can’t win.