minibronco
10-13-2005, 09:08 PM
Analyze This: Seeing yellow
(Oct. 11, 2005) -- A trend that several NFL observers had noticed this season came to the forefront in Week 6: The number of penalties called seem to be more and more frequent in 2005.
Among the highlights (or lowlights) last week was a franchise-record 18 flags thrown against the Miami Dolphins, the Baltimore Ravens racking up 21 penalties -- one short of the NFL record -- and having two players ejected, and the Steelers and Chargers completing the week with a combined 20 infractions for more than 200 yards on Monday Night Football.
So is the increase in penalties the result of sloppy play or a stricter enforcement of the rules? We put that question to our NFL.com panel of experts to hear their take.
PAT KIRWAN
"True, penalties are up in 2005, but it has been my experience over the years that it can be very cyclical in nature. For no reason that's easy to identify, the frequency of calls can go down as fast as it has risen. Be that as it may, there is an opinion around the league held by some coaches and front-office executives I spoke with this week that the NFL has shifted away from a common-sense approach to officiating games and lean more on a stricter interpretation of the rule book. One head coach believes that officials simply aren't going to let the players play the game the way they used to years ago. Another coach said it started last year when the emphasis was put on illegal contact by defenders covering receivers. I don't believe that is entirely true and I know NFL director of officiating Mike Pereira believes in keeping the flow of the game moving along. This offseason, he told me that he instructed officials on a certain call that if they had doubt about an infraction, they lean on the side of not calling it. The call was the new horse-collar tackle rule. One high-ranking club executive pointed to some players under the false notion that they can intimidate officials and that the league needed to come down hard on those behavioral patterns. Pregame fighting and the incidents in the Ravens-Lions game aren't good for the NFL game and need to be stopped. If it takes more flags, then so be it. I suspect the flags will be less frequent in coming weeks because more players will realize they are hurting their team's chance of winning."
BOOMER ESIASON
"I believe it's a little bit of both. In the Baltimore-Detroit game last week, Baltimore players completely lost their focus. Because of last year's focus on defensive penalties, like holding and illegal contact, that emphasis in turn has also led to stricter enforcement of these rules and more penalty flags."
VIC CARUCCI
"You have to start with the fact that most players entering the league in recent years are not as self-disciplined when it comes to avoiding penalties as those from previous decades. Most major college programs face such tremendous pressure to succeed that whatever limited time coaches have to work with players between seasons and games is largely devoted to teaching them everything they need to know about their own playbook and opponents rather than about fundamentals. When players reach the NFL, there is an even greater emphasis on system- and opponent-specific instruction. In addition to dealing with the enormous stakes of the professional game, coaches, working within the unrestricted free-agency/salary-cap environment, don't have players long enough to focus on much else besides teaching them the increasingly complicated schemes found throughout the league. Officials probably are calling games tighter than they have in the past, but it is up to the coaches and players to figure out how to adapt accordingly."
GIL BRANDT
"First of all, I don't think there's an answer. I don't think it's sloppy play or stricter enforcement. Teams are very aware of trying to cut down on penalties because certain crews call more than others -- some crews call more holding than others on offense and some call more incidental-contact penalties on defense. Teams find out who will be their officials early -- they are receiving notification of the official crews now for the weekend of Oct. 30 -- and most clubs try to scout those crews to know what is more likely to be called by one crew than another. From past history, the first four weeks of the season, there are usually a higher percentage of calls than the remainder of the season, with the exception of a couple of weeks in November. To show you the difference between officiating crews, in 2003 we had three crews that called 220 or more penalties. We had four crews that called 173 penalties or fewer, including a low of 166. This year, we have had one crew that has averaged 21 penalties a game and one that has averaged 14. Team-wise, the Raiders are the worst with 412 penalty yards in four games (103 per game). Denver, in five games, has had 221 penalty yards (44.2 per game). I believe at the end of the season it will probably be the same as it normally is."
ADAM SCHEFTER
"The number of penalties is up so much -- 18 against Miami? 21 against Baltimore? flag-football on Monday Night Football? -- that it has to be a combination of both, sloppy play and stricter enforcement of the rules. What might have been most amazing about all the penalties from last weekend was that they came on a weekend when the Raiders didn't even play. Imagine how high the totals could have climbed had the Silver & Black been in action."
PHIL SIMMS
"Is it sloppy play? My initial answer is no. You're talking about a highly-skilled group of athletes when you're talking about the NFL. When one really skilled athlete goes against another and loses an advantage, you try to save yourself. You hold, grab, trip -- just an instinctive reaction. You're trying to find an edge, try to anticipate more -- and you jump offsides. That's what I attribute it to. A team that commits a lot of penalties, most of the time, is a team that's getting beat, and desperation becomes a factor. You do what you can to get even. It is a little sloppy, but generally speaking, it's about players try to gain an edge against extraordinary competition."
www.nfl.com
(Oct. 11, 2005) -- A trend that several NFL observers had noticed this season came to the forefront in Week 6: The number of penalties called seem to be more and more frequent in 2005.
Among the highlights (or lowlights) last week was a franchise-record 18 flags thrown against the Miami Dolphins, the Baltimore Ravens racking up 21 penalties -- one short of the NFL record -- and having two players ejected, and the Steelers and Chargers completing the week with a combined 20 infractions for more than 200 yards on Monday Night Football.
So is the increase in penalties the result of sloppy play or a stricter enforcement of the rules? We put that question to our NFL.com panel of experts to hear their take.
PAT KIRWAN
"True, penalties are up in 2005, but it has been my experience over the years that it can be very cyclical in nature. For no reason that's easy to identify, the frequency of calls can go down as fast as it has risen. Be that as it may, there is an opinion around the league held by some coaches and front-office executives I spoke with this week that the NFL has shifted away from a common-sense approach to officiating games and lean more on a stricter interpretation of the rule book. One head coach believes that officials simply aren't going to let the players play the game the way they used to years ago. Another coach said it started last year when the emphasis was put on illegal contact by defenders covering receivers. I don't believe that is entirely true and I know NFL director of officiating Mike Pereira believes in keeping the flow of the game moving along. This offseason, he told me that he instructed officials on a certain call that if they had doubt about an infraction, they lean on the side of not calling it. The call was the new horse-collar tackle rule. One high-ranking club executive pointed to some players under the false notion that they can intimidate officials and that the league needed to come down hard on those behavioral patterns. Pregame fighting and the incidents in the Ravens-Lions game aren't good for the NFL game and need to be stopped. If it takes more flags, then so be it. I suspect the flags will be less frequent in coming weeks because more players will realize they are hurting their team's chance of winning."
BOOMER ESIASON
"I believe it's a little bit of both. In the Baltimore-Detroit game last week, Baltimore players completely lost their focus. Because of last year's focus on defensive penalties, like holding and illegal contact, that emphasis in turn has also led to stricter enforcement of these rules and more penalty flags."
VIC CARUCCI
"You have to start with the fact that most players entering the league in recent years are not as self-disciplined when it comes to avoiding penalties as those from previous decades. Most major college programs face such tremendous pressure to succeed that whatever limited time coaches have to work with players between seasons and games is largely devoted to teaching them everything they need to know about their own playbook and opponents rather than about fundamentals. When players reach the NFL, there is an even greater emphasis on system- and opponent-specific instruction. In addition to dealing with the enormous stakes of the professional game, coaches, working within the unrestricted free-agency/salary-cap environment, don't have players long enough to focus on much else besides teaching them the increasingly complicated schemes found throughout the league. Officials probably are calling games tighter than they have in the past, but it is up to the coaches and players to figure out how to adapt accordingly."
GIL BRANDT
"First of all, I don't think there's an answer. I don't think it's sloppy play or stricter enforcement. Teams are very aware of trying to cut down on penalties because certain crews call more than others -- some crews call more holding than others on offense and some call more incidental-contact penalties on defense. Teams find out who will be their officials early -- they are receiving notification of the official crews now for the weekend of Oct. 30 -- and most clubs try to scout those crews to know what is more likely to be called by one crew than another. From past history, the first four weeks of the season, there are usually a higher percentage of calls than the remainder of the season, with the exception of a couple of weeks in November. To show you the difference between officiating crews, in 2003 we had three crews that called 220 or more penalties. We had four crews that called 173 penalties or fewer, including a low of 166. This year, we have had one crew that has averaged 21 penalties a game and one that has averaged 14. Team-wise, the Raiders are the worst with 412 penalty yards in four games (103 per game). Denver, in five games, has had 221 penalty yards (44.2 per game). I believe at the end of the season it will probably be the same as it normally is."
ADAM SCHEFTER
"The number of penalties is up so much -- 18 against Miami? 21 against Baltimore? flag-football on Monday Night Football? -- that it has to be a combination of both, sloppy play and stricter enforcement of the rules. What might have been most amazing about all the penalties from last weekend was that they came on a weekend when the Raiders didn't even play. Imagine how high the totals could have climbed had the Silver & Black been in action."
PHIL SIMMS
"Is it sloppy play? My initial answer is no. You're talking about a highly-skilled group of athletes when you're talking about the NFL. When one really skilled athlete goes against another and loses an advantage, you try to save yourself. You hold, grab, trip -- just an instinctive reaction. You're trying to find an edge, try to anticipate more -- and you jump offsides. That's what I attribute it to. A team that commits a lot of penalties, most of the time, is a team that's getting beat, and desperation becomes a factor. You do what you can to get even. It is a little sloppy, but generally speaking, it's about players try to gain an edge against extraordinary competition."
www.nfl.com