Penalty Yards A Concern For Redskins
- Updated: October 31, 2012
Mike Shanahan coached football teams are usually well-disciplined in terms of keeping their emotions in check, but you wouldn’t know that by watching this Washington Redskins team.
In 2009, the Redskins amounted 678 penalty yards, (42.4 per game) ranking them the eighth most disciplined team in the NFL. After Mike Shanahan took over in 2010, that ranking dropped to fifth as the team averaged 40.4 a game (646 on the season). After cleaning house due to the current rebuild and bringing in younger rookies who were working their way into the NFL, the Washington Redskins fell to 11th (49.8 per game / 796 yr) in 2011.
Though you can expect penalty increases due to rookies and others being brought in to learn a new system, one thing that wasn’t expected was the plummet the Redskins would take this season.
So far in 2012, the Redskins are the third most penalized team in the NFL, averaging 69 yards of penalties a game, 552 yards total. At this rate, the Redskins will finish the 2012 season with roughly 1,104 penalties yards. Needless to say that’s unacceptable for a Mike Shanahan coached football team, not to mention professionals.
While the defense can be blamed for the majority of losses this season, one thing that isn’t helping is penalties being taken on both sides of the ball. Not only are these yards helping extend opposing teams drives, but they are also helping end the drives of a Redskins team that needs to score points in able to stay in games. Not to mention the important factor of being able to control the time of possession.
As we all saw this past weekend, the penalty factor took a new step as DeAngelo Hall allowed his emotions to get the best of him when he took his helmet off and berated an official, not only costing the Redskins 30 yards in penalties, but also his ejection from the game. While he embarrassed himself and the Redskins Sunday, he also cost his teammates big who will now be without his services this weekend against a Carolina Panthers team the Redskins must beat.
DeAngelo Hall isn’t the only player who has had an outburst this season. During Week 2′s match up against the St. Louis Rams newly acquired wide receiver Joshua Morgan allowed his emotions to get the best of him when he spiked the ball at Cortland Finnegan, resulting in a 15 yard penalty which ultimately took the Redskins out of field goal range and possibly cost them the game.
If there’s one thing Mike Shanahan must do this week besides game plan for the Carolina Panthers, it’s teaching players (especially the young ones who so far haven’t been shown a good example by two veterans) on how to not allow others to get in their heads, besides the obvious penalties they’ve been called for. If not, the Redskins are on track to have one of the worst penalty seasons since the 90′s.
Not only can a bad defense be at fault Washington’s losses, but so can the excessive amount of penalties.
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