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As the Arizona Cardinals are working to pick up the pieces from a second consecutive game where their opponent scored at least 40 points, a high level of scrutiny has focused on the franchise-record 17 penalties assessed in the 41-22 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Left tackle Paris Johnson summed up the shocking results when he said after the game, “We just have to play cleaner. We’re not going to try to sit here and blame the refs for calling us 18 times (actually 17) and the 49ers one time. We’re not gonna talk about that.”
Well, Paris did mention it, and several days later, it seems important to try and figure out whether the game was an outlier or part of a disturbing pattern.
Much of the narrative noted how the Cardinals were one of the least-penalized teams in the NFL in 2024, along with the belief that this season has been so much worse.
The first part is true; the second not so much. At least until Sunday.
Yes, it is true that the Cardinals had the second-fewest penalties in the league last season with 92 and the seventh-fewest yards with 806.
However, those numbers must be put in perspective. The Los Angeles Rams had the fewest with 91, but seven other teams had between 93 and 99 penalties. And there were 10 teams with more than 806 yards that ranged from 807 to 867. That’s not that much of a difference over 17 games. The average per game was 5.4 penalties and 47.4 yards.
Prior to last Sunday’s games, the Cardinals had 61 penalties (6.8 per game) for 440 yards (48.9 per game). That’s very close in yards and 1.4 more per game. They ranked tied for 15th in penalties with three other teams and of those with fewer, 10 ranged from 6.0 to 6.7. In yards per game, the rank was 10th and seven teams with fewer ranged from 41.4 to 48.6.
In the two games prior to the 49ers, the Cardinals had five for 37 yards against Seattle and had two for 10 yards against Dallas.
After the 49ers' disaster, the average increased to 7.8 per game (28th in the league) and 57.0 yards per game (23rd). In penalties, nine teams average from 7.0 to 7.7 and in yardage, there are 12 teams from 50.0 to 56.9. It’s easy to see that averages per game are very close and can skew the rankings.
Still, it’s important to see how a game like Sunday could happen. In the game, the offense was penalized 11 times for 85 yards with five holding by five different players for 45 yards, one 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct flag, two false starts for 10, two illegal shifts for 10 and one delay of game for five.
Those guilty of holding were Johnson, right tackle Kelvin Beachum and tight ends Trey McBride, Elijah Higgins and Pharaoh Brown.
It’s important to realize why Brown was in the game after being elevated from the practice squad the day before. He was signed to the group on Oct. 15 after blocking tight ends Tip Reiman and Travis Vokolek were lost for the season. After those injuries, Beachum had been utilized often as an extra blocker, but he wasn’t available for that role against the 49ers with right tackle Jonah Williams out because of a shoulder injury.
The situation got worse when Beachum, who was playing with a groin issue, left the game after aggravating the injury. He was replaced by rookie undrafted free agent Josh Fryar, who had played nine offensive snaps prior to Sunday and played 31 against the 49ers.
But, back to the penalty breakdown.
There were three defensive penalties for 15 yards (holding, illegal contact and encroachment) and three for 30 yards on special teams (unnecessary roughness for 15, holding for 10 and an illegal formation for five).
The two crucial flags were the holding on Brown that negated a 60-yard touchdown run by Bam Knight that would have made it a one-score game in the third quarter and the roughness penalty on defensive lineman Calais Campbell that resulted in a 49ers field goal at the end of the first half.
Digging deep, though, and what has to be examined, is the Carl Cheffers officiating group that worked the game. Afterward, head coach Jonathan Gannon called them a "high-flag crew." He was absolutely correct.
They have the second-most penalties assessed and fourth-most yards this season among 17 crews. They are also first in offensive holding calls at 3.6 per game. (Given the totals, it is odd that there were 17 flags on the Cardinals and only two (one was declined) on the 49ers.)
It’s no coincidence that the Cardinals also have one other high-penalty game this season when they were flagged 12 gimes for 96 yards in Week 2 against the Carolina Panthers with the Ron Torbert crew.
A closer look reveals some starting numbers.
The Cardinals have 17 offensive holding penalties assessed for 153 yards this season and there were 10-for-95 and one offset by three of the six crews that have called an average of 3.0-plus per game: Cheffers (5-45), Torbert (3-30) and Alex Moore (2-20). So, there are eight in two games and nine in the other eight and 10 in three games and seven in the other seven.
Overall, there are eight crews that average 14.0 or more penalties and 115.1 or more yards assessed per game, and Moore (16.6/130.6), Cheffers (16.2/123.7) and Torbert (14.2/115.1) are in that group.
Consider this sobering number: As noted, the Cardinals have 78 penalties assessed for 570 yards this season. In the two games with Cheffers and Torbert, it's 29-for-196. That’s 37.2 percent of the penalties and 34.4 percent of the yards.
After the game Sunday, quarterback Jacoby Brissett was asked about big plays being negated and said, “I've been in the league 10 years. I don't know the words that you can use and not get fined, so I'll just ignore that and don't even comment on those.”
As for the illegal shifts, Brissett said, “It was two times where I'm looking at us and I'm like, ‘We're set.’ We have to just go back, watch the film and try to figure out how to negate those. That was crazy.”
When he referred to the Cheffers group being a “high-flag crew,” Gannon added, “When we know how they're calling the game, we have to adjust in-game and not foul.”
That can be challenging. Players, especially offensive linemen, have enough to focus on during the game, trying to block some of the athletic freaks that play defense without having to think about adjusting what they do because of the trend of the officiating crew. Do that, and a block could be missed and the quarterback blasted.
The line received kudos for Brisset not being sacked, but those five holding penalties lost 45 yards, which is essentially the same as sacks.
To think some (much?) of that is thanks to a flag-happy crew, is a tough pill to swallow.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Flag-happy officiating crew contributed to Cardinals' record day
Continue reading...
Left tackle Paris Johnson summed up the shocking results when he said after the game, “We just have to play cleaner. We’re not going to try to sit here and blame the refs for calling us 18 times (actually 17) and the 49ers one time. We’re not gonna talk about that.”
Well, Paris did mention it, and several days later, it seems important to try and figure out whether the game was an outlier or part of a disturbing pattern.
Much of the narrative noted how the Cardinals were one of the least-penalized teams in the NFL in 2024, along with the belief that this season has been so much worse.
The first part is true; the second not so much. At least until Sunday.
Yes, it is true that the Cardinals had the second-fewest penalties in the league last season with 92 and the seventh-fewest yards with 806.
However, those numbers must be put in perspective. The Los Angeles Rams had the fewest with 91, but seven other teams had between 93 and 99 penalties. And there were 10 teams with more than 806 yards that ranged from 807 to 867. That’s not that much of a difference over 17 games. The average per game was 5.4 penalties and 47.4 yards.
Prior to last Sunday’s games, the Cardinals had 61 penalties (6.8 per game) for 440 yards (48.9 per game). That’s very close in yards and 1.4 more per game. They ranked tied for 15th in penalties with three other teams and of those with fewer, 10 ranged from 6.0 to 6.7. In yards per game, the rank was 10th and seven teams with fewer ranged from 41.4 to 48.6.
In the two games prior to the 49ers, the Cardinals had five for 37 yards against Seattle and had two for 10 yards against Dallas.
After the 49ers' disaster, the average increased to 7.8 per game (28th in the league) and 57.0 yards per game (23rd). In penalties, nine teams average from 7.0 to 7.7 and in yardage, there are 12 teams from 50.0 to 56.9. It’s easy to see that averages per game are very close and can skew the rankings.
Still, it’s important to see how a game like Sunday could happen. In the game, the offense was penalized 11 times for 85 yards with five holding by five different players for 45 yards, one 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct flag, two false starts for 10, two illegal shifts for 10 and one delay of game for five.
Those guilty of holding were Johnson, right tackle Kelvin Beachum and tight ends Trey McBride, Elijah Higgins and Pharaoh Brown.
It’s important to realize why Brown was in the game after being elevated from the practice squad the day before. He was signed to the group on Oct. 15 after blocking tight ends Tip Reiman and Travis Vokolek were lost for the season. After those injuries, Beachum had been utilized often as an extra blocker, but he wasn’t available for that role against the 49ers with right tackle Jonah Williams out because of a shoulder injury.
The situation got worse when Beachum, who was playing with a groin issue, left the game after aggravating the injury. He was replaced by rookie undrafted free agent Josh Fryar, who had played nine offensive snaps prior to Sunday and played 31 against the 49ers.
But, back to the penalty breakdown.
There were three defensive penalties for 15 yards (holding, illegal contact and encroachment) and three for 30 yards on special teams (unnecessary roughness for 15, holding for 10 and an illegal formation for five).
The two crucial flags were the holding on Brown that negated a 60-yard touchdown run by Bam Knight that would have made it a one-score game in the third quarter and the roughness penalty on defensive lineman Calais Campbell that resulted in a 49ers field goal at the end of the first half.
Digging deep, though, and what has to be examined, is the Carl Cheffers officiating group that worked the game. Afterward, head coach Jonathan Gannon called them a "high-flag crew." He was absolutely correct.
They have the second-most penalties assessed and fourth-most yards this season among 17 crews. They are also first in offensive holding calls at 3.6 per game. (Given the totals, it is odd that there were 17 flags on the Cardinals and only two (one was declined) on the 49ers.)
It’s no coincidence that the Cardinals also have one other high-penalty game this season when they were flagged 12 gimes for 96 yards in Week 2 against the Carolina Panthers with the Ron Torbert crew.
A closer look reveals some starting numbers.
The Cardinals have 17 offensive holding penalties assessed for 153 yards this season and there were 10-for-95 and one offset by three of the six crews that have called an average of 3.0-plus per game: Cheffers (5-45), Torbert (3-30) and Alex Moore (2-20). So, there are eight in two games and nine in the other eight and 10 in three games and seven in the other seven.
Overall, there are eight crews that average 14.0 or more penalties and 115.1 or more yards assessed per game, and Moore (16.6/130.6), Cheffers (16.2/123.7) and Torbert (14.2/115.1) are in that group.
Consider this sobering number: As noted, the Cardinals have 78 penalties assessed for 570 yards this season. In the two games with Cheffers and Torbert, it's 29-for-196. That’s 37.2 percent of the penalties and 34.4 percent of the yards.
After the game Sunday, quarterback Jacoby Brissett was asked about big plays being negated and said, “I've been in the league 10 years. I don't know the words that you can use and not get fined, so I'll just ignore that and don't even comment on those.”
As for the illegal shifts, Brissett said, “It was two times where I'm looking at us and I'm like, ‘We're set.’ We have to just go back, watch the film and try to figure out how to negate those. That was crazy.”
When he referred to the Cheffers group being a “high-flag crew,” Gannon added, “When we know how they're calling the game, we have to adjust in-game and not foul.”
That can be challenging. Players, especially offensive linemen, have enough to focus on during the game, trying to block some of the athletic freaks that play defense without having to think about adjusting what they do because of the trend of the officiating crew. Do that, and a block could be missed and the quarterback blasted.
The line received kudos for Brisset not being sacked, but those five holding penalties lost 45 yards, which is essentially the same as sacks.
To think some (much?) of that is thanks to a flag-happy crew, is a tough pill to swallow.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Flag-happy officiating crew contributed to Cardinals' record day
Continue reading...
