Flags...Seriously

[JuranBoldenRules]

Lots of flags but I can't help but blame the players rather than the refs. I'm seeing a lot of flags but I find myself saying "Ya okay, that was a penalty" on pretty much all of them.

I truly do hate the flags but I don't know what you do. Just let the penalties slide?

 

I wish they'd tell them to have more tolerance for "holding" when the ball is in the air on a punt.  Focus more on the illegal blocks when the ball is being returned.

 

They obviously are using discretion unless they are being outright negligent.  They aren't calling the new procedure rule on the inside 5 guys on the punt team even though there were several punts where those guys released before the ball was kicked on Friday.  Why can't they use that discretion on other penalties that have an extremely limited impact on the outcome of a play, like holding when the ball is in the air on a punt?  There was a sequence of a half dozen punts where the umpire called that each time, and it was petty.

 

The entire point of the rule changes as they explained them was to speed up the game and cut the time between plays.  There are many simple tweaks they could do to help that.

[saskbluefan]

The new rules give them more chances to throw the flag.  Not surprising that the number of them has gone up.  As a start, they could eliminate the chintzy 'Unsportsman' penalties for pretending to eat or pretending to go for a flag. Those type of penalties do nothing but slow the game down.

See, thats the thing.  You know it's a penalty so you shouldn't go ahead and do it.

 

It's like going 20 KM over the speed limit then getting shocked you got a speeding ticket.

I think the point a lot of us would make is that they're writing speeding tickets for being 2 KMs over the speed limit.

[Mark F]

when there's a penalty that has no effect on the outcome of the play, there should not be a flag. clipping on the other side of the field on a return for instance.

 

stupid. but I didn't see that in the game. not saying it didn't happen.

 

maybe too many flags for guys talking and the like. Who cares.  These players are mentally jacked up.

 

Expecting them all to behave like they're at a book club meeting is stupid and unrealistic.

 

Not only that, I expect quite a few fans, not all, but lots, get a kick out of that stuff.

[KptKrunch]

Looks like what the CFL has done has worked.

 

You guys realize the new rules have absolutely nothing to do with the increase in penatlies, right? Every week on the Jason Gregor show here in Edmonton he has Bud Steen on the show. He explains it all very well, and I've learned a lot listening to his show.

 

In a nutshell - "If you ain't cheating you ain't trying". There's probably an infraction on 95% of the plays run in this league. The CFL has changed their positioning of the officials on the field. There are now officials running up and down the sidelines and the umpire has moved. The purpose was to give them more field vision and the ability to spot more infractions that were being missed in the past.

 

The players will and are adapting. They are learning where they can 'get away with stuff' and where they can't on the field. 

 

And if you yell at the officials you should get an unsportsmanlike penalty. I don't mind when a  player or coach calls an official over and asks them to explain a call - but to yell at them, berate them, and insult them is unacceptable (we can do that though we're fans lol). 

 

Players are human, they make mistakes. They blow coverages, they miss their blocks, they drop passes, they fumble the ball when no one is around them, they force passes they shouldn't, they run wrong routes. I don't see officials running up and berating them when they make a mistake. And CFL players make 10x the mistakes officials do. When an official makes a mistake, they know it (maybe not right away) and if you point it out respectively to them, then maybe they give a bit leeway on the next infraction. 

 

But if it's a penalty, it's a penalty, and it's not the officials job to determine whether or not it's near the play or not, it's their job to call infractions. It's the players job to play in the rules. 

[Tracker]

when there's a penalty that has no effect on the outcome of the play, there should not be a flag. clipping on the other side of the field on a return for instance.

 

stupid. but I didn't see that in the game. not saying it didn't happen.

 

maybe too many flags for guys talking and the like. Who cares.  These players are mentally jacked up.

 

Expecting them all to behave like they're at a book club meeting is stupid and unrealistic.

 

Not only that, I expect quite a few fans, not all, but lots, get a kick out of that stuff.

Maybe the answer is to have two categories of penalties. One: where the pernalty affects the outcome of the play- that would result in a replay if applicable. two: if the penalty does not affect the outcome of the play, the play will stand as is, and yardage added or subtracted from the point where the ball is without discussion or appeal.

[Mike]

The illegal block/holding on punts is among the worst. Calling a minor hold while the ball was in the air 40 yards away from where a guy fielded a return and ran directly out of bounds is nonsense.

[gbill2004]

Looks like what the CFL has done has worked.

 

You guys realize the new rules have absolutely nothing to do with the increase in penatlies, right? Every week on the Jason Gregor show here in Edmonton he has Bud Steen on the show. He explains it all very well, and I've learned a lot listening to his show.

 

In a nutshell - "If you ain't cheating you ain't trying". There's probably an infraction on 95% of the plays run in this league. The CFL has changed their positioning of the officials on the field. There are now officials running up and down the sidelines and the umpire has moved. The purpose was to give them more field vision and the ability to spot more infractions that were being missed in the past.

 

The players will and are adapting. They are learning where they can 'get away with stuff' and where they can't on the field. 

 

And if you yell at the officials you should get an unsportsmanlike penalty. I don't mind when a  player or coach calls an official over and asks them to explain a call - but to yell at them, berate them, and insult them is unacceptable (we can do that though we're fans lol). 

 

Players are human, they make mistakes. They blow coverages, they miss their blocks, they drop passes, they fumble the ball when no one is around them, they force passes they shouldn't, they run wrong routes. I don't see officials running up and berating them when they make a mistake. And CFL players make 10x the mistakes officials do. When an official makes a mistake, they know it (maybe not right away) and if you point it out respectively to them, then maybe they give a bit leeway on the next infraction. 

 

But if it's a penalty, it's a penalty, and it's not the officials job to determine whether or not it's near the play or not, it's their job to call infractions. It's the players job to play in the rules. 

Interesting perspective...thanks for this.  I didn't realize the refs were changing their positioning on the field. 

[TBURGESS]

How can anyone expect a ref to decide if a penalty is going to affect the play in real time?  They can't even get the calls right all the time, even with replays and coaches challenges.  I certainly don't want them trying to decide if this hold or that hold is going to affect the play.  The simplest of concepts are the best when it comes to reffing.  Be consistent and call it the same way for both teams.  If players don't want to be called for holding. Don't hold.  What makes it OK to cheat if it doesn't affect the play anyway?

 

Before I get the 'you said something different about unsportsman conduct penalties'...  I think that those should be completely eliminated from flags.  I don't believe there should be any penalty for miming a flag or tapping your facemask or complaining about a penalty or lack thereof any more than their should be one for celebrating a great play or a TD.  I draw the line in unsportsmanlike conduct to getting into the face of another player or ref.

[Mark F]

if a ball is thrown ten yards over the head of a receiver but he's pushed, is there a flag? should there be?

 

People commonly say offensive holding can be called on every play. But they don't call it every play.

 

according to you, they should.

[Mr Dee]

I have to agree with the TB's post. They misuse the "unsportsmanlike conduct" penalty and have allowed it to include the infamous flag gesture. I don't particularly like it when they try to take emotional responses out of the game. Cut it off should it get excessive, but they could easily eliminate the fluff calls. I compare these to the stupid NHL "puck over the glass" rule.

Useless penalties. Get rid of fluff calls and stick to finding real penalties...like the ones right in front of you that might actually hurt somebody.

[rebusrankin]

Its a joke when they penalize players for the flag gesture but miss head shots.

[TBURGESS]

if a ball is thrown ten yards over the head of a receiver but he's pushed, is there a flag? should there be?

 

People commonly say offensive holding can be called on every play. But they don't call it every play.

 

according to you, they should.

If the DB pushes a receiver while the balls in the air, it should be a penalty.  Every time.  No ifs.  No ands.  No buts. Simply throw the flag.  If the refs started doing that, no DB in his right mind would push a receiver unless they were already beat.  In that case, the flag would be worth it because it's better to get flagged than to allow a deep pass to be completed.  Refs shouldn't let them get away with it sometimes and call them other times.  That just causes the DB's to do it more often and complain when they do get called.

 

People who say there's holding on every play don't understand what holding is or how the refs have been calling it for years.  For example, grabbing the jersey inside the shoulder pads is no longer called holding even though the offensive player is holding the defensive player.  Consistency is the key here too.  The same interpretation of the rules should apply to every team. Sometimes that doesn't seem to happen, especially in the eyes of the fans who see holding everywhere on the other team and don't see it on their own.  

 

I'm saying if you remove the refs discretion, you remove their known or unknown bias.  They wouldn't be able to favour one team over another or one player over another.  You also get rid of the 'why did you call it this play when you didn't call the same thing 10 plays ago' arguments. Utopian idea?  Sure.  Workable?  We'll never know because we'll never see it.

[wbbfan]

The illegal block/holding on punts is among the worst. Calling a minor hold while the ball was in the air 40 yards away from where a guy fielded a return and ran directly out of bounds is nonsense.

 

I think this is true in general right now. Its happening on offence too. Tiny infractions un doing big plays when they were miles away and had no actual impact on the play.

[holoman]

The illegal block/holding on punts is among the worst. Calling a minor hold while the ball was in the air 40 yards away from where a guy fielded a return and ran directly out of bounds is nonsense.

I think this is true in general right now. Its happening on offence too. Tiny infractions un doing big plays when they were miles away and had no actual impact on the play.

I'll get flamed for this I know, but. .....if the play is far away, why is the player committing the infraction? If the ball is 10 yards overthrown then why the need to interfere?

[Tehedra]

How can anyone expect a ref to decide if a penalty is going to affect the play in real time?  They can't even get the calls right all the time, even with replays and coaches challenges.  I certainly don't want them trying to decide if this hold or that hold is going to affect the play.  The simplest of concepts are the best when it comes to reffing.  Be consistent and call it the same way for both teams.  If players don't want to be called for holding. Don't hold.  What makes it OK to cheat if it doesn't affect the play anyway?

 

Before I get the 'you said something different about unsportsman conduct penalties'...  I think that those should be completely eliminated from flags.  I don't believe there should be any penalty for miming a flag or tapping your facemask or complaining about a penalty or lack thereof any more than their should be one for celebrating a great play or a TD.  I draw the line in unsportsmanlike conduct to getting into the face of another player or ref.

 

Agreed with this philosophy, like the issue I have are receivers are still pushing off of defenders and impeding or changing the direction of their movement without getting illegal contact calls.  I'll be  more satisfied with the rules if the receivers were also being called.