On the Steelers: Penalties on Tomlin's list of corrective measures

[polamalubeast]

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin will go to work to prevent the pile of undisciplined penalties his team has been committing, but there's apparently one player he won't have to worry about.

Pro Bowl linebacker James Harrison became the most notorious player in the league for piling up fines and penalties for personal fouls to the extent the NFL suspended him for one game last season.

Sunday, Harrison returned to play for the first time in 2012, and Tomlin praised him for his work that included a team-high three quarterback pressures. But on his best shot at sacking Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, Harrison pulled up and let him throw. He explained why, that all those penalties and fines came to roost right then and there.


"I was nervous," Harrison said of that second-quarter play, which resulted in a deep incomplete pass. "I thought he might duck his head, I might hit him. I can't take [a] fine. I was worried more about a fine.

"It's Michael Vick; he goes shake and bake. You have to sit there and wait almost just to see what he's going to do. Because if he at the last second drops his head and ducks down and we make helmet-to-helmet contact, it's the fault of the defender."

Dear NFL commissioner Roger Goodell: James Harrison got the memo. Many of his teammates apparently did not. Two of them drew personal fouls on a Philadelphia touchdown drive.


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/steelers/on-the-steelers-pentalties-on-tomlins-list-of-corrective-measures-656768/#ixzz28oHMrSOy

[polamalubeast]

The Steelers were charged with nine penalties for 106 yards, which ballooned their total to 37 penalties in four games. Their 346 penalty yards outgain their 331 rushing yards.

[suitanim]

There's not much that can be down about the penalties that aren't really penalties. There's no way that Colon was REALLY holding all those times, at least not so much more than every other OL holds on every other play. They aren't going to throw flags for personal fouls FOR the Steelers, and they are obviously quick to throw them against us.

I think the Steelers are just going to have to come to terms with the fact that even though Tomlin may be the most respectful coach in the league towards the refs, they are still going to be working against the Steelers and will have to be considered just another adverse condition to deal with. I'd rather have Clark taking shots trying to knock the ball out of WR's hands 17 yards down the field and taking a 15 yarder for it then just conceding our defensive backfield to the opposition. I'd rather have Colon get flagged 4 times a game for bullshit holding calls then Ben taking 4 10 yard sacks.

[fansince'76]

Sunday, Harrison returned to play for the first time in 2012, and Tomlin praised him for his work that included a team-high three quarterback pressures. But on his best shot at sacking Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, Harrison pulled up and let him throw. He explained why, that all those penalties and fines came to roost right then and there.

"I was nervous," Harrison said of that second-quarter play, which resulted in a deep incomplete pass. "I thought he might duck his head, I might hit him. I can't take [a] fine. I was worried more about a fine.

Thankfully he didn't complete it. Probably won't be that lucky against a QB who can actually hit the broad side of a barn more often than not. So, how is this a good thing again?

[Moose]

What a damn shame it has come to this ! Great player's are holding back on hitting and tackling, what they are taught to do from a young age in this particular sport, because of a asshole, know nothing, commissioner. I know, I know, it's all about safety and health concerns, blah, blah, blah, but we all know it's bullshit ! Maybe the NFL should spend some of their money on making HELMETS better, make the pads better. They went from the old leather helmets to what we have now....I'm sure they could come up with better pad linings in helmets. In my opinion you risk health hazards also when you make a player 'pull up' on a hit. When you now have a player 'holding up' to see what the QB is going to do, you have just down graded that player's capability and worth, Harrison coming to mind. Again, just my opinion on the whole penalty crap.

[Edman]

Colon is due a penalty for ONCE a game, but FOUR times? Besides, False Starts has been Colon's MO, but I never heard a player getting called for holding FOUR times in a game.

[polamalubeast]

Wake-up: Steelers lead NFL in penalties


STEELERS: The Steelers lead the NFL with 9.2 penalties per game. Head coach Mike Tomlin is upset with the amount of penalties, not the officials. Well, not publicly anyway. “I’m not disputing these penalties in here with you (media),” Tomlin said, via the Beaver County Times. “I’ll do it in the proper manner with the people at the league office if I have a beef. I’m not going to do it in here. That’s unprofessional as far as I’m concerned. Those [officials] are doing the best they can, particularly in light of some of the instances that we have in today’s NFL regarding player safety. Just know that we’re trying our very best to play within the rules and it’s disappointing for us when we don’t. We have a desire to play within the rules. We also have a desire to increase our chances of winning, but when you’re picking up 30 yards in penalties in one drive, that’s going to give people an opportunity to score.” As paper pointed out, the Steelers have more penalty yards than rushing yards (346-331).

http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/56337/wake-up-harbaugh-on-suggs-timetable

[suitanim]

Actually, the salinet point of his statement was: We also have a desire to increase our chances of winning, but when you’re picking up 30 yards in penalties in one drive, that’s going to give people an opportunity to score.”


That's tough to interpret. He could just be saying that the yards are too much and that the onus is on the Steelers, but since one of the penalties was complete horseshit, I'm going to interpret this as him saying "Yes, I'll be speaking with the league about this horseshit, but NOT with the media, which can only make things worse and lead to more fines and penalties"

[Count Steeler]

Colon is due a penalty for ONCE a game, but FOUR times? Besides, False Starts has been Colon's MO, but I never heard a player getting called for holding FOUR times in a game.

Well, with his reputation now, you can guarantee at least 1 flag a game here on out.