Team Penalty Trends 2010-2012

[AdamJT13]

Originally Posted by perrykemp

I've heard it said that there isn't a strong correlation between penalties and overall team performance, however, when I look at the bottom 10 team in terms of penalties I see mostly bad or mediocre teams.

Really? Here are the 10 most-penalized teams this season --

St. Louis Rams 130
Baltimore Ravens 121
Dallas Cowboys 117
Washington Redskins 116
Cleveland Browns 113
Seattle Seahawks 110
San Francisco 49ers 109
Oakland Raiders 109
Houston Texans 108
Tennessee Titans 106

That's five playoff teams out of the bottom 10. The records of those 10 teams, in descending order -- 12-4, 11-4-1, 11-5, 10-6, 10-6, 8-8, 7-8-1, 6-10, 5-11, 4-12. That's a combined 84-74-2 for the 10 most-penalized teams in the league -- a winning percentage of .531, compared with a winning percentage of .486 (171-181) for the 22 least-penalized teams.

[phildominator]

Originally Posted by AdamJT13

Really? Here are the 10 most-penalized teams this season --

St. Louis Rams 130
Baltimore Ravens 121
Dallas Cowboys 117
Washington Redskins 116
Cleveland Browns 113
Seattle Seahawks 110
San Francisco 49ers 109
Oakland Raiders 109
Houston Texans 108
Tennessee Titans 106

That's five playoff teams out of the bottom 10. The records of those 10 teams, in descending order -- 12-4, 11-4-1, 11-5, 10-6, 10-6, 8-8, 7-8-1, 6-10, 5-11, 4-12. That's a combined 84-74-2 for the 10 most-penalized teams in the league -- a winning percentage of .531, compared with a winning percentage of .486 (171-181) for the 22 least-penalized teams.

In other words, being in the Top 10 for most penalties is where we want to be.

[AdamJT13]

Originally Posted by phildominator

In other words, being in the Top 10 for most penalties is where we want to be.

Not necessarily. We just shouldn't care as much about the total number of penalties as some people think.

What we should care about is untimely penalties -- such as on a critical third-down play when the defense needs (and gets) a stop, but a dumb penalty gives the opponent a first down.

[phildominator]

If I'm a statistician, I want to know total number of penalties - accepted AND declined. Declined penalties strongly indicate that the other team got a more favorable outcome.

For a playoff team like the 49ers, I'd be curious to see if more penalties were accepted because their defense got a sack or other positive play.

Conversely, I wonder how many Cowboys penalties were declined since the opposition, say, preferred their 25-yard gain as opposed to our defense committing a 5-yard offsides penalty.

While the accepted penalties may be a comparable amount, total penalties may show a more significant and telling divide.

[CanadianCowboysFan]

Originally Posted by AdamJT13

Not necessarily. We just shouldn't care as much about the total number of penalties as some people think.

What we should care about is untimely penalties -- such as on a critical third-down play when the defense needs (and gets) a stop, but a dumb penalty gives the opponent a first down.

like Hatcher's

[RastaRocket]

Originally Posted by SWG9

How can there not be? Penalties are, by definition, negative plays. We had more negative plays than all but 2 teams this season, that has to count for something.

With that said, I've got no idea how to fix it. Penalities were a problem with Parcells, Phillips, and now Garrett.

I'm curious, is there anyway you can tell what Dallas was flagged for most often (eg holdings, false start, PI, etc.)

That might offer some clues as to where the issues lie and if it's a mental problem more than a physical one.

Get a line that can hold their water.

[unionjack8]

Originally Posted by SWG9

How can there not be? Penalties are, by definition, negative plays. We had more negative plays than all but 2 teams this season, that has to count for something.

With that said, I've got no idea how to fix it. Penalities were a problem with Parcells, Phillips, and now Garrett.

I'm curious, is there anyway you can tell what Dallas was flagged for most often (eg holdings, false start, PI, etc.)

That might offer some clues as to where the issues lie and if it's a mental problem more than a physical one.

no they werent save for one year, we finished, 10th,8th,10th and 21st.

[unionjack8]

Originally Posted by pjtoadie

In 2006 which was Bill's last season with the Cowboys they were ranked 20th (least to most) in penalties.

3 top ten finished and one bad year, dont try to make out like it was a major problem under Parcells like it is with Red because thats just a downright lie.

[Future]

Originally Posted by pjtoadie

In 2006 which was Bill's last season with the Cowboys they were ranked 20th (least to most) in penalties.

And fwiw, in 03, 04, and 05, the Cowboys averaged 5.9, 6.6, and and 6.2 penalties per game, all in the top 10 in the nfl. In 06 they averaged 6.4 but that was 21st in the leauge. This year the Cowboys are averaging 7.8

That's a post I made after the ATL game so I'm not sure exactly where we are now. The point is, that regardless of stats relative to the league, this team commits far more penalties than Bill's teams ever did.

[Yakuza Rich]

Originally Posted by phildominator

If I'm a statistician, I want to know total number of penalties - accepted AND declined. Declined penalties strongly indicate that the other team got a more favorable outcome.

For a playoff team like the 49ers, I'd be curious to see if more penalties were accepted because their defense got a sack or other positive play.

Conversely, I wonder how many Cowboys penalties were declined since the opposition, say, preferred their 25-yard gain as opposed to our defense committing a 5-yard offsides penalty.

While the accepted penalties may be a comparable amount, total penalties may show a more significant and telling divide.

All of that has been checked as to mathematical correlation to winning and losing. The only penalties that have a correlation are offensive penalties.

As far as procedural offensive penalties go, I don't know if I would blame them all on lack of focus. It's more about being in sync with what the QB is doing. Romo does too much pre-snap adjustments, particularly last second. I've been saying this for years. Yes, he needs help from the coaching staff in this issue. But, it's probably his biggest weakness from a strategic standpoint.







YR

[burmafrd]

Offsides, Delay of Game and False starts- combined we had more of them then any other team. THAT is where it really hurts.