NFL Sets Record For Most Penalty Flags Ever Through Three Weeks
Bryan Altman, CBS Local Sports
Have you found yourself watching the first three weeks of the NFL season wondering why it feels like the referees are calling absolutely everything this year? Well, if you have, and you've been looking for someone to validate that claim, look no further.
The dreaded yellow flags have been raining down on NFL teams this year in record numbers. According to a report from nflpenalties.com, as of the conclusion of Week 3, refs have thrown an astonished 873 flags, 733 of which have been accepted. That includes a record 298 penalties in Week 2, which For The Win pointed out averages out to a staggering 19 penalties per game.
They also broke down what penalties are called most frequently and what teams are the worst offenders when it comes to breaking the rules.
From For The Win:
"The teams with the most penalties: Tampa and Oakland (33). The team with the least: Arizona (17). The most popular penalty: Offensive holding (154). (Oh, that’s offensive, all right.) The second most: False start (119). The NFL is truly making the old adage — “you can call holding on every play” — true. Nobody wants that one to be proven correctly."
Coaches always preach discipline, and it's even more important if referees are going to be calling every infraction they see. Still, fans, players and pundits alike are probably sick of yellow laundry already and would be thrilled if all refs took a more 'laissez faire' approach when officiating these games.
Bryan Altman is, for some reason, an unabashed fan of the Rangers, Jets and Mets. If he absolutely had to pick a basketball team it would be the Knicks, but he’d gladly trade them for just one championship for either of his other three teams.
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