ESPN : Woodson, Harris, Carroll on the list...

[packers11]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=sando_mike&id=3102510

Theres a ton in the article... Here are some highlights of it though...

"Green Bay's Woodson (12) and Al Harris (seven) lead all cornerbacks in penalties this season. The San Diego Chargers' Quentin Jammer leads all corners with 33 penalties since 2004, tied with Houston Texans guard Chester Pitts and Miami Dolphins linebacker Jason Taylor for the eighth-most penalties in the league, regardless of position.


The Packers are setting a dubious standard for defensive backfields.

Woodson has 31 penalties since 2004, second-most among corners. Former teammate Ahmad Carroll somehow ranks third with 30 penalties -- even though he's out of the league. "

[BallHawk]

We play physical.

A lot of the penalties called on Al and Chuck are just ridiculous. Over the last few games there has always at least one "What was the flag for?" penalty.

[packers11]

I agree, the scheme the packers use will get a lot more flags thrown at them...

Thats why they are on the list, the packers are practically the only team that uses this scheme every down...

[4and12to12and4]

Yeah, it's like the refs are so use to seeing corners play off of receivers they almost forget that we can bump for 5 yards, and throw the flag. It's hilarious how many flags have been thrown when they are not holding and are within the 5 yards. It's a joke.

[Oscar]

Theres a Ref that watches the line of scrimmage.. Is there one that watches the line after five yards?? From the same angle? I think the guy that calls or throws the flag is usually down field..Not lined up to see if its five yards or not..I guess I just don't understand how some of the calls are made..

[FritzDontBlitz]

Enough about the damn penalties. The Raiders used to be known as the most penalized team in the league and I seem to remember them winning a few Super Bowls at the same time. The defensive penalties are not what bothers me anyway, I am more concerned with the ones on offense: offsides, false starts, holding and delay of game tend to be drive killers.

On defense, the penalties I usually see against Al Harris and Charles Woodson are usually overly biased in favor of the receivers. Receivers routinely push, grab, sometimes even shove defenders with both hands and penalties are rarely called for offensive pass interference, but if a defender even attempts to slap the receiver's hand away, a penalty is called on the defense!!! The last penalty called against Woody was pure bullshit: Woody had disengaged from the receiver, had inside position on the ball, the receiver becomes defensive back and knock's Woody's arm away so he can't intercept - and Woodson gets called for "illegal contact?" What the hell ever happened to "incidental contact" - did they just eliminate it from the rulebook? On the catch by Webb on the sidelines that was overturned on review, the very reason Webb got seperation at all was because he shoved Harris with his right hand to get seperation. Yet, instead of having any type of penalty called on the play against Webb, Green Bay is forced into a mad scramble to get the replay challenge to the official before KC gets the play off.

The NFL keeps changing the pass coverage rules "to increase scoring by the offense" because people enjoy seeing the spectacular catches and scores you get when the receivers are allowed to dominate. It increases TV ratings, and increased ratings allow the NFL to charge more exorbitant prices for the monopoly they own on the sport, making each new TV deal more inflated than the last.

During his tenure as Packers GM, Ron Wolf was known to say many times: "I still have no idea what constitutes 'pass interference' in the NFL." That about says it all, but don't expect it to change any time soon...

[Brohm]

I agree. I can handle the penalties from Woodson and Harris. They are going to get flagged whether it's legit or not. it's just an offensive game and at least our defense makes them work for it.

It's the double false starts at the goal line, drive killing holding calls (some of those have been phantom as well) and kicking the ball (not VM's) that get me.

[Guiness]

Yeah, it's like the refs are so use to seeing corners play off of receivers they almost forget that we can bump for 5 yards, and throw the flag. It's hilarious how many flags have been thrown when they are not holding and are within the 5 yards. It's a joke.

Actually, they can't legally bump them for 5 yards

There was a thread talking about that a while back (you'll have to find it yourself) and someone quoted the rule, and it actually states that the CB can't bump the receiver after he's over the LOS.

So it seems that this is an 'unwritten' rule. I was pretty surprised.

[drayge]

The 5-yard bump IS in the rules.

From http://www.nfl.com/rulebook/useofhands
Exception: An eligible receiver is considered to be an obstructing opponent ONLY to a point five yards beyond the line of scrimmage unless the player who receives the snap clearly demonstrates no further intention to pass the ball. Within this five-yard zone, a defensive player may chuck an eligible player in front of him. A defensive player is allowed to maintain continuous and unbroken contact within the five-yard zone until a point when the receiver is even with the defender. The defensive player cannot use his hands or arms to push from behind, hang onto, or encircle an eligible receiver in a manner that restricts movement as the play develops. Beyond this five-yard limitation, a defender may use his hands or arms ONLY to defend or protect himself against impending contact caused by a receiver. In such reaction, the defender may not contact a receiver who attempts to take a path to evade him.