This season hasn’t been particularly positive for the Cleveland Browns.
They won’t make the playoffs this time, and while several defensive players have had strong seasons individually, the team as a whole wasn’t as dominant as in the past.
Even so, playing defense in the NFL is getting very hard.
The new rules and points of emphasis give the offensive players all the leverage.
With that in mind, former Browns star Hanford Dixon let the officials know a piece of his mind.
In the latest edition of his show, he recalled a sequence in which a Miami Dolphins player tackled Jerry Jeudy.
He hit him hard, but it was a football hit nonetheless.
Even so, the referees still called a penalty.
Dixon claimed that the officials are making the game too soft:
“These damn officials get on my nerves. They are making this game so soft,” he said.
Do NFL officials call too many penalties on hits?
"These damn officials get on my nerves. They are making this game so soft."
presented by: @LiptonHardTea pic.twitter.com/r1yF9gNlI8
— The Hanford Dixon Show (@TopDawgShow) January 1, 2025
That has been a common complaint among fans over the past five years or so.
Player safety has been the league’s top concern, and as such, some hits that would have gone uncalled a year ago are now resulting in 15-yard penalties.
It’s difficult to find a compromise on this subject, as much of it is subjective.
The league and the referees often prefer to err on the side of caution.
This is a physical game, so injuries will always happen.
Of course, one would much rather that wasn’t the case, but it’s just the nature of the game.
Unfortunately for the fans who feel like Dixon, this will not change anytime soon.
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