Tag: Flags

Referee Shawn Hochuli assigned to Week 2 Saints-Bucs game

Referee Shawn Hochuli has been assigned to Week 2’s Saints game with the Buccaneers. New Orleans is 2-2 with Hochuli and his crew on hand:

Here’s something we’ll hope doesn’t become relevant on Sunday. NFL referee Shawn Hochuli and his crew have been assigned to Week 2’s game between the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, making it his fifth Saints game since being promoted to full-time head referee back in 2018. The Saints are 2-2 in games that Hochuli has worked, most recently seeing him and his crew in last year’s road win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Hochuli’s crew fouled the Saints 7 times for 90 penalty yards in that game, against 6 fouls and 53 yards on Seattle. That lined up with his trend on the year of penalizing home teams (107 fouls for 979 yards) less often than the visitors (116 flags for 1,030 yards). In their first game of the 2022 season, Hochuli and his officials worked a chaotic Bengals-Steelers tilt that saw a dozen flags fly: the visiting Steelers drew 8 penalties for 59 yards, whereas the hosting Bengals received 4 fouls and lost 27 yards.

So in theory that would be bode well for the Saints, but these things can fluctuate wildly on a game-by-game basis. New Orleans drew 8 penalty markers in their season-opener, with 6 of them being defensive fouls, ceding 99 yards; Tampa Bay on the hand received 5 fouls, losing just 25 yards. They’ll need to clean up some things (well, a lot of things, as Dennis Allen has repeated to both his players and the media) ahead of Week 2’s game, regardless of who the opponent and referee are. With just three full practices to work with in the days ahead, they’ve got their work cut out for them.

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Chiefs fans help raise more than $900K for Ronald McDonald House of Kansas City

#ChiefsKingdom helped raise over $900K for Ronald McDonald House Kansas City with online and in-person flag sales! | from @TheJohnDillon

Not all is lost this week after the Kansas City Chiefs’ defeat in Baltimore on Sunday night. The team reported in an official release on Tuesday that they managed to raise close to one million dollars for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City via promotional sales of the 2021 team flag on September 10th during Red Friday.

The annual event, which marked its 30th year ahead of the Chiefs’ home opener against Cleveland, has raised more than $3.7 million in the past nine years in an effort to help RMHC-KC “continue its mission of keeping families close in times of sickness and need” according to the release.

Flags were sold at McDonald’s and Hy-Vee locations in Kansas City and surrounding areas, as well as online for fans who couldn’t make it to a physical location. Sales this year were the second-highest on record since the team started selling flags in 2014 per the release. RMHC-KC CEO Tami Greenberg issued a statement through the team, thanking the Chiefs and those who participated for their generosity, emphasizing that the money would be put to good use.

“The power of Chiefs Kingdom is so inspiring – it helps us see that when we unite as a city, we can make a big difference to families with seriously ill children, $5 at a time,” Greenberg said. “A huge thank you to the Hunt family, the Chiefs organization and each person who bought a flag this year for making an extraordinary impact on the lives of sick kids and their families in KC and beyond.”

Chiefs’ President Mark Donovan also commented on the event, saying the team’s relationship with the charity is second to none, and that the organization is committed to furthering RMHC-KC’s work in the region.

“Red Friday continues to demonstrate the kindness and giving spirit of Chiefs Kingdom locally and across the globe,” Donovan said in the release, “We have a strong relationship with Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City and understand how their work keeps families safe and comfortable in what can be tremendously difficult times. We are so proud and grateful to join with McDonald’s, our community partners and Chiefs fans everywhere to make this donation to help further the work that RMHC-KC is doing for families in our community and throughout the region.”

The team also facilitated sales of flags in Springfield, Missouri and Topeka, Kansas for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ozarks and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeast Kansas respectively. They were able to raise $87,000 in Springfield and $45,000 in Topeka in addition to the money raised in Kansas City.

Red Friday is a tradition that was started by Chiefs’ Founder Lamar Hunt and the team’s Red Coaters in 1991 to aid youth in need, specifically in Kansas City. They’ve sold “team-themed commemorative items” such as newspapers, magazines, and flags, raising more than $4.2 million since the event’s inception.

Good work, Chiefs Kingdom! Let’s be sure to keep it up in the coming years.

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Pete Carroll must manage ‘rage’ of Seahawks play to clean up penalties

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has a plan to manage and clean up the style of play that has lead to numerous flags and penalties.

The Seattle Seahawks seemed to have beat themselves on Sunday, giving up 10 penalties for 100 yards against the Tennessee Titans in Week 2. Seattle ultimately fell to Tennessee in overtime, a game the Seahawks were favored to win.

Coach Pete Carroll was asked about the penalty situation during his afternoon press conference on Monday and whether or not he has a solution to the problem.

“You have to be accustomed to being in that kind of rage that we play, and know how to manage it,” Carroll told reporters. “And we’ve got to stay cognizant of the rules and how people now the referees call the things – sometimes guys might lose the interpretation a little bit, but I thought the game was called well.”

A number of the penalties proved costly for Seattle but Carroll was quick to take responsibility without placing all the blame on what some would consider questionable officiating.

“I don’t think there were any calls of the ones that I’m referring to that were in big question, so it was just a matter of our guys have to just stay aware and make sure that they’re mindful of the situations that they’re in and make really good choices and decisions and protect us whenever they can,” Carroll explained.

“There was a game to be won there, and that’s why it’s a real disappointment to let them get away with it.”

The 1-1 Seahawks are set to square off against the Vikings in Minnesota Week 3.

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Get your 2021 Chiefs Kingdom flags at Kansas City area McDonalds this Friday

2021 #ChiefsKingdom flags are coming to KC-Area McDonalds this #RedFriday. Find out more here:

As a continuation of the annual Red Friday tradition, the Kansas City Chiefs are partnering with McDonald’s this week to celebrate the return of football. 2021 Chiefs Kingdom flags will be offered at local McDonald’s and other businesses for the eighth season, with proceeds benefitting the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City.

The flags are available for a minimum $5.00 donation at numerous locations, including Kansas City area Hy-Vee locations and select street corners and public locations in the metro area. As a result of their popularity, the Chiefs have also started selling flags in Topeka, Kansas, and Springfield, Missouri benefiting the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeast Kansas and the Ozarks respectively.  For those unable to make it to the city of fountains, or other distribution points in the area, flags can be found on the Chiefs’ official website for $10.00.

They revealed the limited edition flags on social media, with Mitch Holthus, renowned voice of the Chiefs’ radio broadcast, showing them off.

Sales of the flags last season resulted in over one million dollars raised for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City according to an official release from the team. The charity’s mission statement is “To reduce the burden of childhood illness on children and their families” according to their official website, and the not-for-profit has benefitted greatly from their partnership with the Chiefs over the years.

Red lighting will start appearing around the Kansas City metro area this week ahead of Red Friday, culminating with the home opener against Cleveland this weekend. This Chiefs’ tradition was started by team founder Lamar Hunt and the team’s Red Coaters, with 2021 marking the 30th season from which Chiefs-themed items around the city raise money for local charities. In its history, Red Friday has raised more than $3.3 million through sales of newspapers, magazines, and flags, with record-breaking results last season.

If you grab a flag this week, reach out to the Chiefs Wire team on Twitter and Facebook with a picture to celebrate the new season.

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5 Bold predictions for the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving

Four bold predictions for the Detroit Lions as they host the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving Day.

The Detroit Lions are preparing for their second bout with the Chicago Bears this season, hoping for a much better outcome than last time.

Detroit has had quite the season so far, holding a lead in each of their 11 games but sitting at the bottom of their division at 3-7-1. With an injury-plagued roster and some recent struggles on defense, can the Lions turn it around in their prime time matchup?

Here are my bold predictions for this week’s game:

Quarterback change-up changes nothing

With rookie David Blough getting his first career start while both Matthew Stafford and Jeff Driskel deal with their injuries, don’t think that we’ll see anything new on offense.

Driskel’s tenure as the Lions’ starting quarterback wasn’t exactly noteworthy, with four touchdowns and just as many interceptions in three games. While he and Blough are very different passers, don’t think that this will change things up on offense.

Blough is an undrafted rookie who’s first regular-season action comes in a major prime time game. Though he has been with the team since the beginning of the season, don’t think his play will be any better than what we’ve seen in recent weeks.

While we’ll see a much different style of play from Blough than the other two Lions quarterbacks, don’t expect anything new.

Amani Oruwariye will make another interception

In his first game as a starter, filling in for the injured Rashaan Melvin, Oruwariye proved to be more capable than many expected. In the loss to Washington, the rookie pulled off an impressive interception on a pass from Dwayne Haskins.

Bears’ quarterback Mitchell Trubisky has thrown six interceptions so far this season and will be down three offensive weapons on Thanksgiving Day. I think the rookie will be able to keep the momentum going from last week and capitalize on this opportunity.

There will be a dearth of yellow flags

There were 20 flags thrown the last time these two teams faced each other, but that may not be the case this time around.

Jerome Boger and his crew will be officiating this game. This is a crew that hasn’t called more than 12 penalties in a game in 2019, so this could bode well for the Lions. Detroit only committed six penalties last week, so it appears that some of their discipline issues have been resolved.

Hockenson will re-emerge in the offense

After a fairly quiet season, Hockenson may be able to rediscover his place in the passing game. He had three receptions for 47 yards against Chicago earlier this year.

Can he put on a similar performance this week? I hope so.

The Detroit Lions will come out with a win

Usually, predicting a victory isn’t considered a bold prediction, but that’s not the case for this team.

Detroit is itching for a win amidst a four-game losing streak. The Bears aren’t in a much better situation at the moment, so this game could be an interesting one.

The Lions defense has shown some improvement since their last game against Chicago. Their run game has been revived with the emergence of Bo Scarborough. The only liability is the quarterback situation. If the defense and the offensive line can hold up, the Lions will be able to overcome and snap their losing streak.

Walt Anderson and crew officiating Buccaneers at Jaguars

Find out why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars should be worried about Walt Anderson and his officiating crew come Sunday.

Sunday, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars take the field, their game will be officiated by Walt Anderson and his crew. No other team of referees has thrown more flags than Anderson’s sweltering 214, of which 182 have been accepted for a total of 1568 yards.

Anderson’s squad also leads the league in 31 called pass interference penalties, but finally takes a step down from the leading ranks and sits in the second position with 67 holding calls to Shawn Hochuli’s 75. Both the Bucs and the Jaguars will have their work cut out for them as the two round out the fourth and fifth most penalized teams in the league, respectively. The Buccaneers with nine defensive pass interference calls sit only behind the Baltimore Ravens’ 10 for the most calls.

It will be a tightly called game as par for the course for Anderson’s team, so the Buccaneers will really need to take full advantage of their key match-ups.

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