Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett was fined $25,000 for criticizing officials after a game against the Jaguars. That’s likely what prompted Micah Parsons on Wednesday to express little interest in talking about the lack of holding calls he’s gotten this season.
Parsons then talked about the lack of holding calls he’s gotten this season.
“To be honest, in the most humblest way, I don’t think there’s another rusher like me in the league,” Parsons said, via Nick Eatman of the team website. “I don’t think there’s a rusher that runs as quick as I do. There’s not another rusher that does the things I do. And that’s on tape. I’m pretty sure other rushers can tell you that. [The refs] put me on the same pedestal as other rushers, and it’s not the same. You can’t compare me to a lot of other rushers. How they scheme me vs. how they scheme other rushers, it’s not the same. I don’t think they realize I’m 4.3 off the edge. I think the refs understand I’m a good player but don’t understand the actual plays that I can make with my speed and what I can control.”
As Cowboys fans on social media are well aware, Parsons has gone 38 consecutive quarters without drawing a holding call. It came in the first half of the Chargers game on Oct. 16, which was 9 1/2 games ago.
He has nine sacks since then and 61 of his team-leading 85 quarterback pressures.
“Yeah, it’s been long,” Parsons said. “I can say I’ve been to the quarterback quite a lot in that time. It’s definitely frustrating sometimes, but at the end of the day, I understand it comes with the territory.”
A photo from Sunday’s game tells the story: Parsons is held by two Dolphins, with Kendall Lamm grabbing Parsons around the head and neck and Robert Jones wrapping Parsons around the waist and grabbing Parsons’ jersey. No penalty was called, and Parsons reacted on social media by posting the photo with the caption: “Free me dawg!!! Whatever I did to the officials I’m sorry.”
Parsons won’t flop, because that would prevent him from the opportunity to make a play.
“I’m not flop guy. I’m not a guy that’s going to fake it, because I still believe I can make the play,” Parsons said. “A lot of plays get made above the 2.3 [seconds average for getting to the QB). I’m going to keep moving forward.”
Parsons is campaigning for the NFL to have a “long conversation” about the officiating this offseason.
“Maybe, but I definitely think there’s a lot of biased things around the league and who they want to call things on and how they call and who they call it [on],” Parsons said. “I think [the NFL] should have a long conversation this offseason. The film is out there. It’s something they need to look at. A lot of these calls should be [reviewable]. These flags are game-changing plays. But it’s an offensive league. They want to keep as much points on the board as possible and as many drives alive as possible. It is what it is. At the end of the day, you have to still play.”