Chris “Mad Dog” Russo criticized NFL officiating during his Week 3 recap on SiriusXM, arguing that questionable late penalties were changing results and leaving defenses with little room to play.
“The games are great, but Cleveland shouldn’t have won the game,” Russo said on Mad Dog Unleashed. “That was a rough penalty on the poor Panthers. The Rams shouldn’t have lost. That was a terrible penalty, and there’s a million more.”
Russo’s frustration centered on roughing the passer and defensive pass interference, particularly when a flag wipes out a turnover or gives an offense another chance after a stop. He called for officials to be more careful when making those decisions.
“You got to be a little more judicious before you throw these flags on those two penalties, on the roughing the passer and the defensive pass interference, because those calls change outcomes,” he said.
He returned repeatedly to the timing of the calls, questioning why flags seemed to arrive when a defense had made a play that could decide the game. Cleveland retaining possession after a penalty was one of the examples he raised.
“It’s a major problem.”
Russo also mentioned New Orleans while describing his broader frustration with the rules, although he distinguished the Saints’ situation from the pass-interference calls he was discussing.
“How about the Saints who are getting screwed with these rules?” he asked.
He acknowledged the difficulty of the officials’ job. With the size, speed and physicality of the players, Russo said the sport needed authority to keep it from becoming the “Wild Wild West.”
“I know it’s a very tricky game to officiate,” he said. “These are 22 monsters, behemoths on the field, who are freak athletes in a physical, rough, nasty game where they bang each other’s heads.”
More stoppages were a concern, too. Russo said the game was already losing spontaneity and pace, even as disputed calls continued to frustrate him. He did not offer a definitive fix.
“I’m not sure what the solution is,” he said. “I don’t know.”
His concern for defensive players ran through the discussion. Russo described defensive backs as being in an “impossible spot” against offenses built to produce touchdowns and big plays, while acknowledging that defenders can get handsy.
He closed by returning to the Rams and the frustration of watching a disputed call affect a result.
“If you’re a Ram fan right now, did you sleep last night?”
