Area of Improvement: Penalties

jdennis82 · October 13, 2013

Per Game Avg: 7.8 penalties for approximately 83 yards

- Numbers are fairly consistent across all the games with the fewest coming against UGA (4-25) & the most coming against *Tulane (11-105).

*many on this board will claim this number to have been aided by home team preferential treatment by the officials

Currently falling somewhere between 115-120 nationally, improvement in this area should hopefully be a priority in coming weeks.

I'm encouraged that we've been able to overcome this to even our mark at 3-3 but imagine how much more efficient the team will be when this gets fixed. How refreshing it is to have these concerns rather than the recent years' frustrations of dropped passes, poor tackling, and missed field goals!

Mean Green 93-98 · October 13, 2013

Penalties will lose games, and it's uncharacteristic of this coaching staff. Yes, it's an area in need of improvement, but I believe it will be.

UNT86 · October 13, 2013

I nearly hurt myself getting mad about the blocked FG getting called back.

That could have been a game changer.

Other than that, I'm not all that concerned.

To me, it is a product of a hyper-aggressive defense.

Remember the Oakland Raiders of the 70's?

I'll take the defense smashing people.

I'll live with a few penalties.

greenminer · October 13, 2013

I nearly hurt myself getting mad about the blocked FG getting called back.

That could have been a game changer.

Game changer? Like, stealing momentum from MTSU?

Christopher Walker · October 14, 2013

While our facemasks and other senseless penalites could sure take a looking at, I see this as a two way street. The CUSA refs need to get the stick out of their rear.

Travis · October 14, 2013

While our facemasks and other senseless penalites could sure take a looking at, I see this as a two way street. The CUSA refs need to get the stick out of their rear.

I can agree with this and the initial point. We do foul a lot and it needs to stop. We do some things that I am left thinking... seriously?!?!

With that said.... I think some of our CUSA refs just don't like seeing such hard-hitting, aggressive defense. Then, there are some calls that just don't make sense. Then there are some that are simply not consistent.

meangreendork · October 14, 2013

Game changer? Like, stealing momentum from MTSU?

If MTSU were as good as some of us thought, that might have been the 6 points needed to win. By skill, effort, and a bit of luck, the team only needed 14 points to win, but it would've been terrible if it came down to play like at Tulane or Ohio and that 6 points was crucial to the win.

IIRC, one our guys got in Wright's face about his penalty, and for good reason. Some penalties are honest mistakes, but that one certainly wasnt.

tylermeangreen · October 14, 2013

Per Game Avg: 7.8 penalties for approximately 83 yards

- Numbers are fairly consistent across all the games with the fewest coming against UGA (4-25) & the most coming against *Tulane (11-105).

*many on this board will claim this number to have been aided by home team preferential treatment by the officials

Currently falling somewhere between 115-120 nationally, improvement in this area should hopefully be a priority in coming weeks.

I'm encouraged that we've been able to overcome this to even our mark at 3-3 but imagine how much more efficient the team will be when this gets fixed. How refreshing it is to have these concerns rather than the recent years' frustrations of dropped passes, poor tackling, and missed field goals!

For what it is worth,I noted for a long time what I thought might be a fact - the teams most penalized in games tend to win more games than the least penalized teams.

One year, back when I had more time for such things and actually gave a damn, I kept a record from the the Saturday, Sunday and Monday game stories/stats in the Dallas Morning News and Tyler Morning Telegraph newspapers. For an entire football season I recorded how the teams that were most penalized in a game did in terms of won/lost.

For that entire year, from August until the Super Bowl - high schools, colleges and the NFL - the teams with the most penalities in games won their games by an overwhelming majority (have forgotten the exact % - but higher than 60% as I remember).

There are many possible explanations. But I thought it was an interesting, non-scientific, non-comprehensive study into the role of penalities in terms of won/lost.

This was certainly not the case for UNT at Tulane - but then that idiot referee (the Umpire, who loved pulling his flag) at the Tulane game was not part of my study.

jdennis82 · October 15, 2013

For what it is worth,I noted for a long time what I thought might be a fact - the teams most penalized in games tend to win more games than the least penalized teams.

One year, back when I had more time for such things and actually gave a damn, I kept a record from the the Saturday, Sunday and Monday game stories/stats in the Dallas Morning News and Tyler Morning Telegraph newspapers. For an entire football season I recorded how the teams that were most penalized in a game did in terms of won/lost.

For that entire year, from August until the Super Bowl - high schools, colleges and the NFL - the teams with the most penalities in games won their games by an overwhelming majority (have forgotten the exact % - but higher than 60% as I remember).

There are many possible explanations. But I thought it was an interesting, non-scientific, non-comprehensive study into the role of penalities in terms of won/lost.

This was certainly not the case for UNT at Tulane - but then that idiot referee (the Umpire, who loved pulling his flag) at the Tulane game was not part of my study.

Wow...very interesting.

As was mentioned, may be the result of aggressiveness. Maybe it's the way officials are inclined to call a game?

TheWestie · October 15, 2013

IIRC, one our guys got in Wright's face about his penalty, and for good reason. Some penalties are honest mistakes, but that one certainly wasnt.

If by "one of our guys" you mean Mac and Skladany, then yes, oh hells yes they did. I've seen Mac get mad at players on the sideline before, but I've NEVER seen him get as red-face, spitting as he yells mad as he did after that blocked kick got called back.

For the record, I still haven't seen/heard what exactly he did that got called for a penalty. I was watching the ball get run back for the TD and if they replayed it in the stadium I missed it.