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View Full Version : NFL Refs Biased against Steelers? Not Really



Craic
11-17-2015, 12:59 PM
So, I came across a nice little website (titles below are links) that lists all the penalties called for and against teams in sortable tables. Knowing how often Steelers fans (at least on this site) whine about ref/league bias against the Steelers, I thought I'd take a look at the numbers. What I found was pretty interesting.

(Note, first line is our rank for least penalized teams, second line is our rank in how many times a team has benefited from the call against their opponent - all for 2015 year).

Unnecessary Roughness (UR) (http://www.nflpenalties.com/penalty/unnecessary-roughness?year=2015)
We are tied for 14th least URs, with 4, one away from being tied for 7th place.
We are 1st in benefiting from URs.

Defensive Pass Interference (DPI)
(http://www.nflpenalties.com/penalty/defensive-pass-interference?year=2015)We are tied for 11th in least DPIs called against us with 4 (again).
We are tied for 1st with Arizona and the Giants for benefiting from DPIs. (by the way, NE is 4 DPIs behind us)

Defensive Holding (DH) (http://www.nflpenalties.com/penalty/defensive-holding?year=2015)
We are tied for 12th in least DHs called, 1 call away from 8th place in least DHs.
We are for 20th in benefiting from DHs. (My guess is our receivers are too good, so a potential DH turns into a DPI because of their speed and agility and the defender's reactions)

Offensive Pass Interference (OPI) (http://www.nflpenalties.com/penalty/offensive-pass-interference?year=2015)
We are tied for 7th in least OPIs called against us with 1, one away from 1st place (obviously).
We are tied for 17th in benefiting from OPIs (my guess - zone coverage limits OPI).

Illegal Use of the Hands (IUH) (http://www.nflpenalties.com/penalty/illegal-use-of-hands?year=2015)
We are tied for 9th place in least IUHs, and one call away from first place.
We are tied for 5th in benefiting from IUHs.

Offensive Holding (OH) (http://www.nflpenalties.com/penalty/offensive-holding?year=2015)
We are tied for 22nd in least OHs called against us (not surprising when you think about our line and the QBs they've had to protect this year).
We are 14th in benefiting from OHs, one away from 12th place.

Illegal Block Above Waist (BAW) (http://www.nflpenalties.com/penalty/illegal-block-above-the-waist?year=2015)
We are tied for 9th in least BAWs, one away from 6th place
We are tied for 16th in benefitting from BAWs, 1 away from 10th place

Total Penalties - Committed
(http://www.nflpenalties.com/phase.php?year=2015)Offense: 14th place in total penalties against
Defense: Tied for 6th in total penalties against
Special Teams: tired for 5th in total penalties against, 1 away from 3rd place
Overall: 8th least penalized team in the league

Total Penalties - Benefited From (http://www.nflpenalties.com/phase-beneficiary.php?year=2015)
Offense: 8th most benefited team
Defense: tied for 18th most benefited team
Special Teams: 3rd most benefited team
Overall: Tied for 6th most benefited team

Summary:

The Steelers benefit more than any other team in the league for Unnecessary Roughness calls and Defensive Pass Interference (the latter tied with two other teams). We are in the top ten least penalized teams for Offensive Pass Interference, Illegal Use of the Hands, and Illegal BLocks above the Waist, and in the top twelve for least Defensive Holding and Defensive Pass interference calls. In fact, we are above league average in everything except for committing OH penalties, and benefiting from DH penalties and OPI penalities.

Conclusion:
There is absolutely no bias against the Steelers when it comes to penalties in a game. In fact, if this chart proves anything, its that it is technically possible for there to be bias for the Steelers (there isn't, IMO).

polamalubeast
11-17-2015, 01:03 PM
Maybe not this year, but in 2010 it was ridiculous!

tube517
11-17-2015, 01:06 PM
DA STEALERS PAYED DA REFS!!! :chuckle:

Edman
11-17-2015, 01:18 PM
Watch out, the Steelers' next opponent is Seattle.

The crying is sure to be out in full force.

Steelman
11-17-2015, 01:55 PM
Fantastic work curating this information and providing analysis, Craic. Probably the best analytical work I've seen by any user on this board in awhile.

hawaiiansteeler
11-17-2015, 01:58 PM
Watch out, the Steelers' next opponent is Seattle.

The crying is sure to be out in full force.

http://www.erocc.net/stealer.jpg

Shoes
11-17-2015, 02:00 PM
Nice stuff Preach!

fansince'76
11-17-2015, 02:47 PM
Watch out, the Steelers' next opponent is Seattle.

The crying is sure to be out in full force.

Nah, they're still bellyaching about the officiating in their loss to the Cards: WAAAHHH! WAAAHHH! WAAAHHH! (http://www.seahawks.net/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=118157#p1753859)


Knowing how often Steelers fans (at least on this site) whine about ref/league bias against the Steelers, I thought I'd take a look at the numbers.

Personally, I've long held the opinion that only pussies blame the refs for a loss.

And as far as league biases go, I'm still waiting for Goodell to call out Kraft and Jones, not to mention the NFLPA, to get out of the fantasy football betting racket toot sweet, since, you know, the Rooneys were forced to go asshole deep into debt and completely restructure the team's ownership due to the family's race tracks.

"Draftkings/Fanduel isn't gambling, it's a game of skill!" my ass.:coffee:

TeeTee
11-17-2015, 03:19 PM
Interesting. I have never bought into the whole "The NFL/Goodell are out to get us" claim (other than 2010 when we definitely were targeted because of our style of hitting hard and their reaction to the concussion law suit front). One thing this data does not cover is if flags are thrown in crucial moments of the game. I don't even know how to gage that angle but they could still be altering games, even if the total amount of flags are not one-sided.

Butch
11-17-2015, 06:04 PM
I will never allow myself to blame the refs, and these stats look really pretty, but they don't tell the whole story.

Steelers vs. Colts playoff game in '05, during this game one of our offensive linemen's leg flinched causing the colts D to jump across the line. Flag was thrown and they had to make a call, after a huddle buy the officials it was ruled....a do over. Really a do over??? when have you ever heard of such a call?
Same game Troy intercepts the ball and falls to the ground but gets up and in the process of running knocks the ball out of his own hand and abruptly falls on the ball. Call on the field Interception Steelers ball. Dungy challenges (rightfully so) and when they come back from the commercial break the officials over turn the ruling on the field and even the announcers were dumbfounded

Here is a little different angle. Ben get's hit below the knees not only is there no flag there is no fine. We have all seen our own players fined and flagged for the same types of hits. This type of hit should be automatic there is no reason that it should not have been flagged or fined but neither has come.

You can point to all the statistics you want, but that does not tell the whole story it never has.

SteelGhost
11-17-2015, 06:14 PM
Very nice post Preach, thanks or sharing :clap2:

86WARD
11-18-2015, 07:02 AM
Good info. Thanks for sharing it.