Tag: Penalties

Sean Payton on Broncos’ preseason penalties: We have to get it cleaned up

“We’ve got to get a lot of that cleaned up,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said of his players committing fouls in preseason.

The Denver Broncos took care of business in their preseason showdown with the Green Bay Packers last week.

After Sean Payton’s squad won 27-2, the coach was pleased with the overall performance, but he had one major complaint.

“[W]e had enough penalties for three games, and we’ve got to get a lot of that cleaned up,” Payton said. “We’ll see the tape. They’ll come in here tomorrow, but I liked how we played relative to the effort. They’ll be a number of things we look at on tape and we’re happy with and they’ll be some things that obviously we have to get cleaned up.” 

The Broncos were penalized 13 times for 120 yards against the Packers. That amount of laundry would be costly in a regular-season game.

“We have a 38-yard run called back because of a penalty,” Payton said. “I want to look at the tape. Like I said at the onset, [we had] far too many fouls. So they set you back. They take yards off your numbers, but more importantly they also take away field position.”

Now approaching their preseason finale against the Arizona Cardinals, Denver’s players will aim to be more disciplined on Sunday.

“The penalties are tough because whenever you are moving the ball, moving it well and then you have a penalty that brings it back, it’s hard to overcome that,” quarterback Jarrett Stidham said. “This league is too good, the players on the opposite side are too good, the coaches are too good. Whenever it’s 2nd-and-15 or 1st-and-20, it’s always hard to bounce back from that. We’ll definitely look at it and see what we can do to get better.”

For players on the roster bubble, committing fouls could be the difference between making the 53-man roster and getting cut. We’ll see if the Broncos can get the penalties in check for Sunday’s preseason finale.

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Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney committed two penalties on his first preseason snap

Kadarius Toney committed two penalties on the first snap he played during the #Chiefs’ preseason matchup against the #Lions.

The Kansas City Chiefs added some talent to their receiving corps earlier this year after Patrick Mahomes struggled to consistently connect with his pass-catchers last season.

Among the receivers who struggled the most in 2023 was Kadarius Toney, who joined the Chiefs via a trade with the New York Giants in 2022.

Drops and penalties were characteristic of Toney’s performances last year until he was injured late in the season and forced out of action.

Now hoping to make Kansas City’s 53-man roster in 2024, Toney saw his first action of the preseason during the Chiefs’ matchup against the Detroit Lions on Saturday, but got off to an inauspicious start, committing two penalties on his first play.

Mistakes like the ones he made against Detroit won’t help Toney’s case to stick on Kansas City’s roster this year.

Given the outstanding performances of the Chiefs’ other receivers during training camp and the preseason, it seems likely that Toney could be on his way out when general manager Brett Veach cuts down Kansas City’s roster.

Sean Payton not happy with Broncos’ turnovers in first preseason game

“We had four fumbles,” Sean Payton said after the Broncos’ first preseason game. “That has to be better.”

The Denver Broncos defeated the Indianapolis Colts 34-30 in their preseason opener on Sunday. Despite coming away with a victory, Denver coach Sean Payton had a few grievances with his team’s performance.

“There’s going to be a lot of tape that we like,” Payton said after the win. “Then there’s going to be a handful of things that we’ve got to get cleaned up. And really, when you look at the ball security issues – we had four fumbles. That has to be better.

“We talked about it coming into this game, this defense does a good job. They play a lot more zone coverage. They try to separate the ball from the receivers or runners, and so we’re fortunate in that regards to still get the win. I [also] didn’t like the penalties.”

Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix muffed a snap (and recovered it), fellow QB Zach Wilson and running back Blake Watson fumbled an exchange on a handoff, running back Audric Estime had a fumble that was returned by the Colts for a touchdown and tight end Lucas Krull also lost a fumble.

“[T]wo rookies had the ball on the ground,” Payton said. “One was a touchdown, and the other one, obviously we were able to recover, but a significant play later in the game. So those are the things that you’ve just got to make sure you clean up and those guys will learn from it.”

The good news is Denver has two more preseason games to get the miscues cleaned up before facing the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1. Players who made mistakes in Indianapolis have to learn from them and not repeat them.

“[T]hose are lessons and pretty soon, they’re lessons that can’t happen,” Payton said. “That was something I talked about last night. I told the coaches, that’s one concern I have is the ball security in this game coming in. It kind of manifested kind of how I thought unfortunately, I mean, they do a good job of holding players up, stripping the ball – that was Audric’s turnover. We had the exchange problem late in the game, and then obviously those are things that you hope to be cleaning up before the regular season starts.”

In addition to the turnovers, the Broncos also committed six penalties, including three on the opening drive that knocked them out of field goal range.

“We kind of shot ourselves in the foot, mainly those first two drives with penalties and that sort of thing,” quarterback Jarrett Stidham said after the game. “But I mean a lot of good I thought. Obviously, we’ll take a look at the film and get better from it, and obviously clean up the penalties. Like I said, that was probably the biggest thing, but thought we were pretty efficient there, pretty early on. Obviously, just the penalties, we’ve got to figure that out for sure.”

Stidham’s first drive stalled after Tim Patrick (taunting), Courtland Sutton (false start) and Mike McGlinchey (false start) were penalized. Stidham’s second drive ended when running back Samaje Perine bobbled an accurate pass and tipped it into an interception. Those are the kind of mistakes Denver will need to clean up before next week’s showdown with the Green Bay Packers.

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Tyson Campbell’s Jaguars extension is a big deal for Paulson Adebo

Tyson Campbell’s Jaguars extension is a big deal for Paulson Adebo. The Saints cornerback can point to a very similar resume as a free agent next year:

Whew: Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Tyson Campbell earned a big bag this week by signing a four-year, $76.5 million extension. That made him the highest-paid corner in the league who hasn’t yet been recognized with a Pro Bowl nod. And it’s a big deal for Paulson Adebo. The New Orleans Saints cornerback is next in line for a new contract with free agency on the horizon in 2025.

Campbell, 24, has a lot in common with Adebo, 25. They were both picked on the second day of the 2021 NFL draft, with Adebo going off the board 43 slots after the Jaguars made Campbell the first selection of the second round. The two cornerbacks have posted strikingly similar numbers since then:

  • Adebo: 7 interceptions and 33 passes defensed, with 202 tackles (166 solo, 6 tackles for loss), 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries on 2,611 snaps across 45 games. 24 missed tackles
  • Campbell: 6 interceptions and 30 passes defensed, with 203 tackles (145 solo, 6 tackles for loss), 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries on 2,591 snaps across 43 games. 22 missed tackles

That’s close. Very close. Let’s take it a step further and look into their coverage stats from Pro Football Reference:

  • Adebo: 160 completions on 265 targets (60.4%) for 2,053 yards, or 12.8 yards per catch, with 12 touchdowns allowed
  • Campbell: 142 completions on 226 targets (62.8%) for 1,632 yards, or 11.5 yards per catch, with 17 touchdowns allowed

That has Adebo giving up more catches for more yards, at slightly more yards per completion and while being targeted much more often, but with Campbell being more of a vulnerability in scoring position. How do the numbers at Pro Football Focus compare to those from PFR?

  • Adebo: 150 completions on 237 targets (63.3%) for 2,138 yards, or 14.3 yards per catch, with 10 touchdowns allowed
  • Campbell: 148 completions on 226 targets (65.5%) for 1,696 yards, or 11.5 yards per catch, with 18 touchdowns allowed

PFF’s charting charged more completions to Adebo’s teammates than that from PFR, but they also dinged him for allowing more big plays. While it’s tough to overlook the 400-plus-yard gap in yards allowed between them, Adebo giving up so many fewer touchdown passes might balance things out.

But where they separate — unfavorably for Adebo — is in penalties. Adebo has been fouled 20 times for 276 yards through three years (with three more penalties declined by the offense). He’s drawn a dozen infractions for defensive pass interference and been flagged nine times for defensive holding. Adebo had his best season in the NFL last year and he still forfeited 92 yards by penalty.

How does Campbell compare? He’s been one of the cleanest defenders in pro football. He wasn’t fouled once during his rookie year, and he’s only had four penalties accepted in his NFL career (for 68 yards). Sure, he’s also had three penalties declined, but Adebo has allowed more than 200 penalty yards in the same period of time.

How great a difference will that make when Adebo’s up for a new deal? It says a lot that the Saints haven’t extended him yet, whereas the Jaguars have seen enough from Campbell to believe an extension is a wise investment. But with salaries on the rise and other corners from the same draft class with very similar production earning top dollar, it sure looks like Adebo may cash in next offseason. Will the Saints be the ones to pay him?

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Chiefs OT Jawaan Taylor’s training camp goal: ‘Working on bettering myself with penalties’

Kansas City #Chiefs OT Jawaan Taylor’s training camp goal: ‘Working on bettering myself with penalties’ | @EdEastonJr

The Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl run last season was marred by plenty of uncertainty and issues that could’ve taken the team out. The penalties on the offensive line were an obvious topic, as then-new right tackle Jawaan Taylor had his name called by officials often in 2023.

Taylor spoke with the media on Tuesday after practice. He immediately addressed his issues last season and looked forward to a better 2024.

“Working on bettering myself with penalties and stuff like that, making sure I’m up on the ball and different things like that, but other than that, just doing my part and helping the team win games,” said Taylor. “I’m really just honing in on my technique, getting better with that, and then, make sure I’m in the playbook more. Now’s my second year going into that. I’m pretty comfortable with it and getting better with that overall.”

Taylor was the target of many penalties from last season’s week one loss to the Detroit Lions. The veteran right tackle committed 20 penalties, including 14 false starts. He was flagged for eight infractions in the first three games alone.

“I’ve been changing it up. If you see me in practices lately, I haven’t really been jumping, actually going on on time with Pat’s (Patrick Mahomes) cadence, so just making sure I’m doing it,” said Taylor. ” I was never really frustrated about it (penalties). I just had to keep doing my thing and try to get better every week.”

Taylor is a needed veteran presence who will be counted on for consistency while the competition continues on the left side of the offensive line.

Raiders had NFL best penalty numbers in several areas last season

NFL penalty numbers shows Raiders to be most disciplined team in the league

One thing Raiders fans are quite used to is their team committing among the most penalties in the league. At one time, it was outright expected the Raiders would lead the league in penalties each year.

That’s not really the case anymore. As Sharp Football Analysis noted, the Raiders were actually the least penalized team in the NFL last season.

This shows great discipline for this squad, and this goes especially for the offense.

No penalties are harped on more than pre-snap penalties. Usually those are false starts and illegal formation penalties. The Raiders had the fewest of those in the league.

The most damaging penalties, however, are offensive holding. Only two teams in the league last season had fewer offensive holding penalties in the league last season — the Bengals and Eagles.

Offensive holding penalties are among the most devastating penalties you can get because they often wipe out what appeared to be a big play only to instead back the offense up ten yards. And they’re usually the fault of a player trying to make up for getting beaten on a play.

On the flip side, the Raiders defense led the NFL in forcing opposing offensive holding penalties.

The Raiders of old would usually rack up penalties based on aggressive play. Therefore the penalties often served as an attitude thing, adding to their mystique as a feared team. Offensive holding penalties don’t strike fear in anyone. They just kill drives.

Speaking of which, it isn’t all good news. The Raiders were among the ten worst in the league in terms of penalties on third down. With 70% of those penalties committed by the defense to keep drives alive for opposing offenses.

Fans, media react to Nick Bosa’s assertion that Chiefs tackles ‘hold a lot’

Users on Twitter were less than pleased with #49ers defensive lineman Nick Bosa’s take on the #Chiefs’ tackles ahead of Super Bowl LVIII.

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to face the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII on February 11. More than a week away from the game, one 49er couldn’t help but take a jab at the Chiefs’ offensive line.

Star defensive end Nick Bosa told reporters this week that his time in the film room studying Kansas City’s offense yielded one observation.

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“They [the Chiefs’ offensive line] hold a lot,” Bosa said during comments to the media.

While the comment may have been innocuous in a vacuum, many users on social media seemed to think that Bosa’s assertion was a way of priming fans for a discourse about the NFL’s referees if the game’s final score wasn’t favorable for San Francisco.

The Chiefs have been the object of speculation about a perceived advantage when officials make crucial calls on penalties, and Bosa’s quote added fuel to the fire ahead of Super Bowl LVIII.

Check out some of Twitter’s best reactions to Bosa’s comment:

These 9 players led penalty-prone Cowboys in flags in 2023

From @ToddBrock24f7: The Cowboys were near the top of the NFL again in penalties. Tyler Smith and Sam Williams were among those who cost the team the most.

Penalties are a part of the game of football, but they seem to impact some teams far more than others. Over recent years, the Cowboys have built a reputation as a penalty-prone franchise with a knack for not just shooting themselves in the foot but emptying the clip into their size 12s, reloading, and then continuing to obliterate everything below the knee.

The trend held true for 2023. Dallas ended the regular season with 115 penalties enforced against them, the second-highest total in the league. For contrast, consider that the Raiders, long thought by many to traditionally be the dirtiest team in the sport, finished 40 penalties behind the Cowboys.

Add in another half-dozen infractions in their wild-card loss to Green Bay, and Dallas surrendered a whopping 1,012 yards- more than 10 full lengths of the field– to their opponents, the most in the league by far.

Offensively, penalties are momentum killers. Defensively, they’re drive extenders for the other guys. Aside from the occasional delay of game taken for strategic reasons, they’re almost always bad.

But what’s especially frustrating for Cowboys coaches and fans alike is when it’s the same infractions over and over. For example, Dallas was the worst team in football when it comes to defensive offside, drawing that (extremely preventable) flag a staggering 18 times in 18 games. Offensive holding? The Cowboys took 26 of those flags, also the most in the league. Defensive holding? Second only to Atlanta. Face mask? Trailing only Baltimore. Just seven teams were hit with too many men on the field multiple times; of course one of them was the Cowboys.

Equally maddening is when the team seemingly forces officials to dig into the rule book to find obscure or rarely-called penalties. Dallas was one of just four teams called for a leverage foul, one of four teams flagged for roughing the kicker, one of five teams docked for running into the kicker, one of half a dozen squads nailed for illegal motion, and the only NFL team all season to be called for clipping.

Just as some teams have a penalty reputation, certain players seem to hear their number called by the ref way more often than others. Here’s a breakdown of the Cowboys’ most penalized players- and who cost them the most- over the 18 games that made up the 2023 season and postseason.

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Packers lead NFL with 20 special teams penalties in 2023

No team has committed more penalties on special teams this season than the Packers.

No team in the NFL has committed more penalties on special teams this season than the Green Bay Packers.

Entering Week 15, the Packers have 20 penalties on special teams, including two declined penalties. The team’s 163 yards of penalties on special teams also lead the NFL.

Per PFF, 13 different players have committed a penalty for Rich Bisaccia’s special teams, including four accepted penalties each by Kingsley Enagbare and Dallin Leavitt. Enagbare and Leavitt (who is no longer on the roster) are two of just five players with an NFL-high four penalties on special teams in 2023.

Of the 20 penalties, nine have been holding penalties. Five other penalties have been of the 15-yard variety.

Monday night’s loss to the New York Giants represented the sixth game this season that the Packers have committed multiple penalties on special teams.

Bisaccia said one of the penalties — an illegal blindside block on rookie Anthony Johnson Jr. — was a poor call.

“The first one on Anthony Johnson was not a penalty,” Bisaccia said Thursday.

Bisaccia said Johnson wasn’t facing the end zone and should not have been called for an illegal block. However, Rudy Ford’s penalty was legitimate.

In the first quarter, Ford ran into the returner and was flagged for kick catch interference, a 15-yard penalty.

Penalties have played a big part in another disappointing season for the special teams. The Packers rank 19th in PFF’s special teams grade and 28th in DVOA entering Week 15.

Last season, the Packers finished with exactly 20 penalties on special teams, which ranked as the third-most. The NFL-high in 2022 was 23 special teams penalties (Carolina Panthers). The Packers lead the NFL in special teams penalties and penalty yards since Bisaccia arrived in 2022.

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes believes penalty should’ve been called on Hail Mary vs. Packers

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes believes a penalty should’ve been called on hail mary vs. Packers

The Kansas City Chiefs fell short last Sunday against the Green Bay Packers with plenty of controversy at the night’s end. The penalties that weren’t called on multiple offensive possessions are still too obvious to ignore days later.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has usually kept a short memory after a loss as the focus is to prepare for the next team during practice. During his Wednesday press conference, the reigning league Most Valuable Player addressed his feelings on the controversial no-penalty call on his Hail Mary attempt to tight end Travis Kelce.

“Yeah, it’s tough because there’s so many guys that are all in the same area,” Mahomes said. “We talked about [it], and we say, they’re not gonna throw flags, they’re gonna let the guys go out there and play. The one on Trav (was) a little aggressive because the guy [fully] pushed him out of the way. That’s the kind of guy that we want to be in the middle of going up and get the ball. So at some point, there’s got to be a flag, but at the same time, we tell the guys they’re not gonna throw a lot of flags in that situation.”

The Chiefs are moving forward from last Sunday night’s defeat and are focusing on the battle with the Buffalo Bills this Sunday. The sour taste of the loss will be extra motivation at home in front of the many fans of Chiefs Kingdom at Arrowhead Stadium.