Challenge flag abuse

[Guiness]

After the rule that gave teams a penalty for throwing a flag they weren't allowed to made coaches look silly on national TV, the NFL got rid of it. Instead referees pick up the flag and explain to the coach that he was not allowed to challenge.

When they changed it, it seemed to me that there was an opportunity for abuse, because football coaches in general will take any advantage they can get. Well, this week-end it happened twice - coaches getting free timeouts by throwing a flag they weren't allowed to. Coughlin did it, and I read Shianco did it as well.

Time to bring back that rule.

[woodbuck27]

Flags being thrown by HC's when they shouldn't be.

Officials picking up some of those flags and explaining to the HC why that flag was inappropriate.

Flags not thrown by officials when they should be.

Flags thrown by officials and then picked up or withdrawn by officials whenever they decide.

Flags here there and everywhere and not there....

It's all so confusing.

[red]

how bout something in between the extreme rules they use to have and the extra soft ones they have now

it use to be a 15 yard penalty and they play that would have been reviewed by the booth in the first place would now not be reviewed at all

now nothing happens

how bout a 5 yard penalty and the play can still be reviewed if it is a reviewable thing. if its not reviewable, 5 yard penalty

[pbmax]

I think losing a TO makes sense; its a penalty but often will simply be a mulligan. Coaches don't want to lose them but they are not always determinative in games.

If you are out of TOs, its 15 yards.

[channtheman]

I think losing a TO makes sense; its a penalty but often will simply be a mulligan. Coaches don't want to lose them but they are not always determinative in games.

If you are out of TOs, its 15 yards.

Losing a TO makes the most sense to me as well. The coach got a free timeout by tossing the challenge flag, no it isn't free.

[woodbuck27]

Losing a TO makes the most sense to me as well. The coach got a free timeout by tossing the challenge flag, no it isn't free.

Yes.

[sharpe1027]

I think losing a TO makes sense; its a penalty but often will simply be a mulligan. Coaches don't want to lose them but they are not always determinative in games.

If you are out of TOs, its 15 yards.

This.

[Guiness]

Loss of a timeout (same as losing a challenge) and a 5 or 10yd penalty if you throw the flag when you have no timeouts left (I think this is already there) seems reasonable. They'll have to do something, you can't have an easily broken rule floating around.