WEEK 2
Penalties. You gotta love them. Doled out against the guilty offenders by the highly trained observers known as the NFL officiating crew.*
Week 2 was perhaps one of the most penalized in recent memory. Every game - and I watched a few thanks to a solid Sunday hangover - seem deluged by yellow flags, bogging down play. Though I no longer track penalties as I once did for this site, someone else took up the banner and does so atNFLpenalties.com.* Week 2 saw*298 penalties*- 18.6 per game - hand out nearly*2,700 free yards*to teams. Think any of this yardage in a "game of inches" could be altering outcomes?
Referees are taking control. And the guy overseeing them - VP of Officiating*Dean Blandino*- is a former stand up comic (no lie; I write about this in further detail in*A Season in the Abyss). Blandino was able to accurately predict the level of penalties called in 2014 prior to the season. Think he, Goodell, and the rest aren't massaging all of this? Nothing seems to happen in the NFL by accident.
And yet it is perhaps the non-calls that*really*affect games.*
Case in point, the Sunday night*Seahawks*v.*Packers*game. Now I have no idea why the Seahawks would trade for*Jimmy Graham*and then decide to completely ignore him in their offensive scheme, but the Packers were a clear beneficiary of both the Seahawks' coaching decisions as well as the referees' generosity. I swear during this game I witnessed head refereeGene Steratore*(who called*Dez Bryant's catch in the DAL-GB playoff game a non-catch) repeatedly smirk while announcing certain on-the-field decisions (like the disputed*interception turned fumble that Seattle recovered*but Steratore rebutted). Just prior to halftime, a Seahawks "false start" (which wasn't) allowed*Aaron Rodgers*to throw a ball 50-yards downfield which*Richard Sherman*defended by committing blatant pass interference. Of course, had the false start not have been called (the defender never crossed into the neutral zone to be offsides) none of the following play would have occurred. The extra 50+ yards led to a Packers' field goal.*
But what was worse was the blantant holding the Packers' O-line was committing without a single flag thrown. Why would this be allowed? Because (a) the Packers were at home (and yes,*"home cookin'"*is a real, tangible thing) and (b) Rodgers is one of the few star QBs the league can hang its hat on. By giving him more leeway on the field in the same way NBA refs give*LeBron James*the constant benefit of the doubt, Rodgers can be the star they want/need him to be. I'm not about to do the research, but I'd love someone to find when the last time a Rodgers' completion was called back due to offensive holding. I'd bet the answer would date back*years
Elsewhere, this happened. Let me tell you, unless*Tony Romo's backup*Brandon Weeden*can't hold it together to go .500 while Romo oft-broken collarbone heels, the Cowboys will still be in the playoffs. Who else is going to take that division? The Giants? The Redskins? I doubt the Eagles will put Chip Kelly's "genius" offense together, especially when the other team knows their plays are coming.
In a Spygate-esque turn to the*Cowboys*v.*Eagles*game, it seems the WEEK 2
Penalties. You gotta love them. Doled out against the guilty offenders by the highly trained observers known as the NFL officiating crew.*
Week 2 was perhaps one of the most penalized in recent memory. Every game - and I watched a few thanks to a solid Sunday hangover - seem deluged by yellow flags, bogging down play. Though I no longer track penalties as I once did for this site, someone else took up the banner and does so atNFLpenalties.com.* Week 2 saw*298 penalties*- 18.6 per game - hand out nearly*2,700 free yards*to teams. Think any of this yardage in a "game of inches" could be altering outcomes?
Referees are taking control. And the guy overseeing them - VP of Officiating*Dean Blandino*- is a former stand up comic (no lie; I write about this in further detail in*A Season in the Abyss). Blandino was able to accurately predict the level of penalties called in 2014 prior to the season. Think he, Goodell, and the rest aren't massaging all of this? Nothing seems to happen in the NFL by accident.
And yet it is perhaps the non-calls that*really*affect games.*
Case in point, the Sunday night*Seahawks*v.*Packers*game. Now I have no idea why the Seahawks would trade for*Jimmy Graham*and then decide to completely ignore him in their offensive scheme, but the Packers were a clear beneficiary of both the Seahawks' coaching decisions as well as the referees' generosity. I swear during this game I witnessed head refereeGene Steratore*(who called*Dez Bryant's catch in the DAL-GB playoff game a non-catch) repeatedly smirk while announcing certain on-the-field decisions (like the disputed*interception turned fumble that Seattle recovered*but Steratore rebutted). Just prior to halftime, a Seahawks "false start" (which wasn't) allowed*Aaron Rodgers*to throw a ball 50-yards downfield which*Richard Sherman*defended by committing blatant pass interference. Of course, had the false start not have been called (the defender never crossed into the neutral zone to be offsides) none of the following play would have occurred. The extra 50+ yards led to a Packers' field goal.*
But what was worse was the blantant holding the Packers' O-line was committing without a single flag thrown. Why would this be allowed? Because (a) the Packers were at home (and yes,*"home cookin'"*is a real, tangible thing) and (b) Rodgers is one of the few star QBs the league can hang its hat on. By giving him more leeway on the field in the same way NBA refs give*LeBron James*the constant benefit of the doubt, Rodgers can be the star they want/need him to be. I'm not about to do the research, but I'd love someone to find when the last time a Rodgers' completion was called back due to offensive holding. I'd bet the answer would date back*years
Elsewhere, this happened. Let me tell you, unless*Tony Romo's backup*Brandon Weeden*can't hold it together to go .500 while Romo oft-broken collarbone heels, the Cowboys will still be in the playoffs. Who else is going to take that division? The Giants? The Redskins? I doubt the Eagles will put Chip Kelly's "genius" offense together, especially when the other team knows their plays are coming.
In a Spygate-esque turn to the*Cowboys*v.*Eagles*game, it seems the 'Boys knew when the Eagles were going to useDeMarco Murray*prior to*Sam Bradford*handing him the ball. According to Philadelphia sportswriter*Les Bowen*(and thanks to Brandon for the tip):
As usual when something like this comes to light (remember Week 1? It wasn't too long ago...), the person(s) involved back off such a statement. Same happened here as Bowen later wrote*this*in which Eagles center*Jason Kelce*claimed WR Huff's contention was "not anything new." Right. Teams always know what plays their opponents are going to run prior to the snap of the ball. It's what makes the NFL so exciting.
More certainly to come....
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