Why penalties have become so mind numbing

[Bobhaze]

First of all, I’m not the kind of guy who blames the refs for ANY loss. EVER. Good teams overcome all obstacles including bad calls, so this post isn’t about us “getting screwed by the refs”. This post is actually about why the refs are screwing every team in the NFL with bad calls.

The reason IMO is actually pretty simple: The NFL can’t clearly define their rules which makes them hard to enforce.

I mean seriously, who knows what a catch is anymore? What really constitutes pass interference? Offensive holding? They could call it every play but for some strange reason it is only called once in a strange while. And roughing the passer? I challenge anyone to explain how that rule is being enforced this year. The list of unclear rules and enforcement could go on and on....

If this is ever going to get better, the NFL needs to simplify their rules. I’ve been watching NFL games since 1964, and trust me when I say games in the 60s-90s were much less dominated by strange penalties that made people scratch their heads. Sure you got bad calls- like the ridiculous call against Benny Barnes in SB XIII...but I digress.

Bottom line- the bad calls we are seeing in mass quantities are a direct result of the NFLs poor job of clearly defining its rules. It needs some serious work!

 

[blueblood70]

more simply they are making games ugly with all the stoppages and creating a lot f dramas and controversy..it typically does even out by games end but when Conspiracy theory's on betting and refs trying to control and manage games start popping up, RG and thr NFL better get this cleaned up..

riught now id say RTP is the worst, followed by targeting/defenseless receiver rules which are newly being enforced and at times they are legal hits but in the game the refs get to call them and hurt team with now way to reverse it? in college they review Targeting calls made or not mad eon the field, its only fair if you can fine a player or throw them our and suspend them for it..

I dont like game stoppages by they might want to look to the College game for these and that goes for PI , should not be spot foul given them being wrong a lot 15 yards is easier to swallow then first and goal onm bad call..

 

[conner01]

I think you hit the nail on the head
Too many rules are not just cut and dried rules
To many are judgement calls based on poorly defined definitions
Some could be fixed with review of judgement calls
The woods hit was a clean hit yet was called. It’s bang-bang so I see how they could miss it but why not correct it?
I watch a lot of other teams and it’s all over the league
The NFL is a business driven by the fans and they need to recognize that fans don’t want 15 flags a game

 

[sunalsorises]

Defensive holding should not be an automatic first down. That penalty alone ruins most games for me. Every time a pass is thrown I hold my breath until I see if a defensive holding flag has been thrown. It also seems subjective as to when it gets called.

 

[Bobhaze]

Defensive holding should not be an automatic first down. That penalty alone ruins most games for me. Every time a pass is thrown I hold my breath until I see if a defensive holding flag has been thrown. It also seems subjective as to when it gets called.

That’s another rule where to my old eyes, it could be called almost every play. Again...what constitutes defensive holding? I used to know. It was grabbing a receiver. Now....eh...maybe. Depends on the ref.

 

[Bobhaze]

more simply they are making games ugly with all the stoppages and creating a lot f dramas and controversy..it typically does even out by games end but when Conspiracy theory's on betting and refs trying to control and manage games start popping up, RG and thr NFL better get this cleaned up..

riught now id say RTP is the worst, followed by targeting/defenseless receiver rules which are newly being enforced and at times they are legal hits but in the game the refs get to call them and hurt team with now way to reverse it? in college they review Targeting calls made or not mad eon the field, its only fair if you can fine a player or throw them our and suspend them for it..

I dont like game stoppages by they might want to look to the College game for these and that goes for PI , should not be spot foul given them being wrong a lot 15 yards is easier to swallow then first and goal onm bad call..

The stoppages are killers. Just when the game seems to have a flow, we get to watch a zebra talking on a headset for 5 minutes while the broadcasters or Mike Pereria get to speculate wildly on what “the call” should be. I think it’s killing the game.

 

[Gridiron Man]

With today's technology, we have as an advantage to see what many times refs on the field cannot. You might think they would have a booth review official to overturn the bad calls. It could easily happen without slowing the game down too. Going under the hood to reverse calls down on the field seems to take an eternity.

 

[glimmerman]

With no clear rules it leaves the refs with to much power. The roughing call on Gregory was unreal. He literally did nothing wrong. A few of the holding calls on Tyron were phantom. The list goes on and that’s just our team.

Some of these rules leave it up to the refs interpretation. And of course there are just plain old bad calls that happen here and there.

But some of these calls make it look almost intentional and like the refs are keeping the game close for the NFL. Controlling the outcome of things. I have no proof and it’s probly not happening but it’s looking like it.

There was a PI in the giants game they called on a long sideline pass to Gallop and he was clearly shoved in front of the ref. And he apparently didn’t see it and wasn’t going to throw the flag. Luckily the other ref saw it and threw the flag. If there was no flag on that play I was going to lose my mind but we have seen this kind of things not called and things like it all year.

 

[Bobhaze]

With no clear rules it leaves the refs with to much power. The roughing call on Gregory was unreal. He literally did nothing wrong. A few of the holding calls on Tyron were phantom. The list goes on and that’s just our team.

Some of these rules leave it up to the refs interpretation. And of course there are just plain old bad calls that happen here and there.

But some of these calls make it look almost intentional and like the refs are keeping the game close for the NFL. Controlling the outcome of things. I have no proof and it’s probly not happening but it’s looking like it.

There was a PI in the giants game they called on a long sideline pass to Gallop and he was clearly shoved in front of the ref. And he apparently didn’t see it and wasn’t going to throw the flag. Luckily the other ref saw it and threw the flag. If there was no flag on that play I was going to lose my mind but we have seen this kind of things not called and things like it all year.

I think the NFL would argue that their rules are clear- clear as only a 2 paragraph description of what constitutes catching a football is.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Agreed.

The league needs to overhaul the entire approach to hiring, maintaining, grading the refs.

We saw incremental change when the NFL fired a ref mid season this year.

 

[kskboys]

First of all, I’m not the kind of guy who blames the refs for ANY loss. EVER. Good teams overcome all obstacles including bad calls, so this post isn’t about us “getting screwed by the refs”. This post is actually about why the refs are screwing every team in the NFL with bad calls.

The reason IMO is actually pretty simple: The NFL can’t clearly define their rules which makes them hard to enforce.

I mean seriously, who knows what a catch is anymore? What really constitutes pass interference? Offensive holding? They could call it every play but for some strange reason it is only called once in a strange while. And roughing the passer? I challenge anyone to explain how that rule is being enforced this year. The list of unclear rules and enforcement could go on and on....

If this is ever going to get better, the NFL needs to simplify their rules. I’ve been watching NFL games since 1964, and trust me when I say games in the 60s-90s were much less dominated by strange penalties that made people scratch their heads. Sure you got bad calls- like the ridiculous call against Benny Barnes in SB XIII...but I digress.

Bottom line- the bad calls we are seeing in mass quantities are a direct result of the NFLs poor job of clearly defining its rules. It needs some serious work!

First off, I'm not a conspiracy theorist. I call myself a "Patternist". I notice patterns.

The NFL uses calls to keep games close. As you said, O holding can be called on all plays.

So, start paying attention. When a team starts building up a lead, gaining momentum, tweeeeeeeeeeet.

And I mean it's like clockwork. I fully realize how I sound, but the evidence is screaming. O holding calls are used to control games.

 

[glimmerman]

I think the NFL would argue that their rules are clear- clear as only a 2 paragraph description of what constitutes catching a football is.

Dez catch - non catch. Changed the game. And now they clarify the rule and it would have been a catch. Not kool.

 

[Creeper]

I don't see why the NFL cannot get more consistency in calls regardless of what the rules are or who the refs are. The rule about a guy leaving his feet when he tackles the QB is stupid and it should be changed.

 

[MarcusRock]

I mean seriously, who knows what a catch is anymore? What really constitutes pass interference? Offensive holding?

Ooooh, me. I know. Woo hoo. Over here. Pick me. I know.

Kidding aside, have you seen an NFL Rulebook? It's amazing to me that they can even decide something's a penalty in real time and throw a flag. I like that they huddle up to consult each other but the human element will always leave mistakes if you're not going to make anything reviewable.

 

[Hoofbite]

This is a solid point. The rules contain too much verbiage that is up for interpretation. The new QB penalty:

A rushing defender is prohibited from committing such intimidating and punishing acts as “stuffing” a passer into the ground or unnecessarily wrestling or driving him down after the passer has thrown the ball, even if the rusher makes his initial contact with the passer within the one-step limitation provided for in (a) above. When tackling a passer who is in a defenseless posture (e.g., during or just after throwing a pass), a defensive player must not unnecessarily or violently throw him 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.

Was the hit intimidating or punishing? Did the defender unnecessarily wrestle or drive the QB into the ground? Was the hit just plain unnecessary or violent? Did the defender land with all or most of his weight on the QB? Did the defender try to avoid landing on the QB with all his weight?

How many considerations have to be taken in such a short span of time? It's just too much. It opens the door for a perfectly legal hit to be flagged because it looked worse than it actually was. We've all seen legitimately cheap hits and when you see them you know it. Many of the hits that are flagged now are plays that leave you thinking, "man, if this is how the rule is supposed to work, what's the point in even watching?"

 

[MarcusRock]

There was a PI in the giants game they called on a long sideline pass to Gallop and he was clearly shoved in front of the ref. And he apparently didn’t see it and wasn’t going to throw the flag. Luckily the other ref saw it and threw the flag.

I remember that play and I think that one had to do with vantage point. The ref behind the play was shielded from the push on the front of Gallup's body only being able to see his back. It's the same as the Dez no catch. The field official was shielded from the ball hitting the ground, which is why he called it a good catch.

 

[glimmerman]

I remember that play and I think that one had to do with vantage point. The ref behind the play was shielded from the push on the front of Gallup's body only being able to see his back. It's the same as the Dez no catch. The field official was shielded from the ball hitting the ground, which is why he called it a good catch.

I am so glad that the ref saw it from his angle and called it. The Dez catch I still think was a catch but with the rule the way it was at the time it gave the ref the choice of over turning it.

 

[Blackrain]

First off, I'm not a conspiracy theorist. I call myself a "Patternist". I notice patterns.

The NFL uses calls to keep games close. As you said, O holding can be called on all plays.

So, start paying attention. When a team starts building up a lead, gaining momentum, tweeeeeeeeeeet.

And I mean it's like clockwork. I fully realize how I sound, but the evidence is screaming. O holding calls are used to control games.

Agreed when games especially prime time games start to be a run away the refs call enough holding so the underdog scores before half time and people continue to watch .

Sponsors are paying for viewers to see there products blowouts decrease the viewing audience so things have to be kept interesting .

Take our last game against the Giants in the biggest market in the world bet everybody watched that to the end because it was a nail biter . Some games are so good they don't have to get involved

 

[MarcusRock]

Agreed when games especially prime time games start to be a run away the refs call enough holding so the underdog scores before half time and people continue to watch .

Sponsors are paying for viewers to see there products blowouts decrease the viewing audience so things have to be kept interesting .

Take our last game against the Giants in the biggest market in the world bet everybody watched that to the end because it was a nail biter . Some games are so good they don't have to get involved

Are you saying that the officials blatantly made calls to keep that one close? If so, can you elaborate on how?

 

[G2]

They keep changing rules and adding them that enforcing them is impossible using the traditional platform of officiating. In the day and age, there needs to be less human error and more technology to speed along decisions.