is quickly becoming the NFL's new "Did that player lower his helmet too much?" or "What New England Patriots T-Shirt , exactly, is a catch?"It's a fundamental element of football — how a pass-rusher is allowed to bring a QB down to the ground — and no one really seems to be clear on it at the moment.Not Clay Matthews, the Packers linebacker who's been flagged for roughing the passer in each of Green Bay's three games this season. Not Alex Smith, the Redskins quarterback who was sacked by Matthews with about as straightforward a tackle as can be on Sunday. Not Packers coach Mike McCarthy, who yelled at two officials after the call. Not players on either team or on either side of the ball."Unfortunately this league is going in a direction that a lot of people don't like. I think they're getting soft. The only thing hard about this league is the fines they levy down on guys like me that play the game hard," Matthews said after Green Bay's 31-17 loss at Washington."Nine years, I've been doing it one way in the NFL, successfully, and now it just seems as if that way doesn't work anymore. And that's frustrating," Matthews said with a huge sigh."I don't run the league office," he said, "but you'd like to see football be football."Rule 12, Section 2, Article 9 (b) of the NFL rulebook says that "a defensive player must not unnecessarily or violently throw (a passer) down or land on top of him with all or most of the defender's weight. Instead, the defensive player must strive to wrap up the passer with the defensive player's arms and not land on the passer with all or most of his body weight."That rule has been around for years, but the league's competition committee made it a point of emphasis this season. More than 30 roughing-the-passer penalties were called in this season's first two weeks alone."That was basically my key — that he landed on him with most or all of his body weight," referee Craig Wrolstad told a pool reporter Sunday."But if you've got a shoulder into him and then landed on him with most of his body weight off him or released him when he went down, then he would have been OK," Wrolstad said. "But in my judgment New England Patriots Hats , I ruled that he landed on him with most or all of his body weight there."If the 15-yard penalty was assessed correctly in this instance, count McCarthy and Matthews among those who think that rule needs to be rewritten or, at the very least, reinterpreted."Somehow," Packers defensive lineman Kenny Clark said, "we've got to find a way to grab the quarterback and twirl our body and not land on the quarterback."Sounds impossible."What do you want the man to do?" said one of Smith's defensive teammates, Josh Norman. "When I saw it, it was not malicious, ill intent. It was just a nice form tackle."Another Redskins defender, safety D.J. Swearinger, sided with Matthews, too."They're making the game less fun," Swearinger said. "He made a great play. That's crazy."In case you missed it, here are other top topics after the NFL season's third Sunday:NO ONE KNOWS ANYTHINGNo way to know what is going to happen week to week in the NFL. The Buffalo Bills — considered by some the worst team in the league — and rookie QB Josh Allen went on the road as 16陆-point underdogs and roughed up Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings 27-6. The Redskins — coming off a 12-point loss to the Colts — thumped Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. The Detroit Lions went from 0-2 to 26-10 winners over Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the rest of the New England Patriots, who have lost by double digits twice in a row. The club that beat the Patriots by 11 last week, the Jacksonville Jaguars, turned in a stinker, a 9-6 loss to the Tennessee Titans New England Patriots Hoodie , who started Blaine Gabbert.WATCHU TALKIN' 'BOUT, WILSON?The Miami Dolphins are off to a 3-0 start, thanks in part to a unique performance by receiver Albert Wilson in a 28-20 victory over Jon Gruden's winless Oakland Raiders. Wilson became only the fourth player in NHL history to throw a TD pass of at least 50 yards and catch a TD pass of at least 50 yards in the same game.Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at ://HowardFendrichWeek 3 Patriots vs Lions: Trey Flowers among three defensive starters downgraded to “out” The New England Patriots are entering their week three tilt against the Detroit Lions a little bit dinged up. One player has already been declared out on Friday’s final injury report – tight end Jacob Hollister –, and now three more men will join him on the list of inactives. According to the Patriots themselves, they have ruled out defensive edge Trey Flowers, strong safety Patrick Chung, and cornerback Eric Rowe.All three men suffered their respective injuries during last Sunday’s loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars: Flowers and Chung each suffered concussions during the contest, while Rowe hurt his groin. Considering that they are starters at their respective positions, their ailments and subsequent inactivity later today will lead to some depth players getting bumped up the depth chart.Expect second-year men Deatrich Wise Jr. and Keionta Davis to join Adrian Clayborn as the top options within the defensive edge rotation with Flowers missing today’s game. Derek Rivers, who was a healthy scratch the last two weeks, should also be active for the first time this season and serve as a depth and situational pass rushing option behind the three men.The secondary will see more changes: Jason McCourty, who replaced Rowe in the lineup versus the Jaguars, will likely be the next man up at Chung’s safety spot. Consequently, rookies J.C. Jackson and Keion Crossen might see time with the starting defense against one of the NFL’s best passing offenses. Not an ideal situation to be in, but both youngsters have shown plenty of promise over the course of the summer.With four players now officially out, the Patriots will only have to deactivate three more men until the game. Inactives will be announced 90 minutes before kickoff, so make sure to check back to Pats Pulpit at around 6:50 p.m. ET.