Penalties are a part of the sport. They play a huge in football games. It’s not hard to see that one of the most annoying things to happen is when your team is marching down the field heading to a much-needed score only to get flagged for holding. Not only is the penalty pushing them back 5 or more yards, it stops all momentum and likely halts the drive, forcing a field goal or even worse, a punt. It is frustrating for us fans, to say the least, but it has to be infuriating to the coaches who drew up the play, and disheartening to the players who practice the play many, many times.
Unfortunately, this was a familiar sight for the Bucs this season, as 114 flags were thrown at us and 44 of those flags were thrown on our on-line. If you stop the multitude of flags we have a better chance of scoring and scoring more often. Our offense struggled mightily when put into situations where we lose yards due to flags, however, that is something that can be corrected. Flags are going to be thrown. It happens. It’s part of the game. But when your O-line is getting 40+ flags thrown at them, it’s more than bad. It’s detrimental. And we are going to need it to stop.