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Aaron Rodgers: Refs will boost passing offenses this year
Posted by Michael David Smith on August 3, 2014
Getty Images
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers expects passing offenses around the NFL to be even more productive this season than they were last season, thanks to a stricter emphasis on illegal contact, pass interference and defensive holding.
Rodgers said after officials worked a Packers practice that the way the officials are calling those penalties this year, it can only help quarterbacks and wide receivers.
“I think you’re going to see the passing game reffed a little more tightly this year,” Rodgers said.
The best pass defense in the NFL last year was in Seattle, where opposing teams often complained that the Seahawks’ defensive backs got away with grabbing and holding receivers. Rodgers said he hopes penalties are called just as strictly in the Packers’ season opener at Seattle as they were when officials visited the Packers’ practice.
“I was joking with this crew that we might want them to head up to the Pacific Northwest in about a month,” Rodgers said.
If the NFL is serious about its officials getting strict with defensive backs, that will be bad news for teams like the Seahawks with physical pass defenses, and good news for teams like the Packers who rely on their passing offenses.
Expect more defensive holding, illegal contact flags this year
Posted by Michael David Smith on August 1, 2014
Getty Images
NFL rules have already done plenty to favor the passing game, but this year may be the biggest passing season yet.
That’s because, as explained by veteran referee Ed Hochuli, NFL officials are planning to emphasize defensive holding and illegal contact this season. Hochuli said that early in the year, when defensive backs haven’t yet learned how strictly the officials are going to call the penalties, the flags will fly frequently.
“I would expect there may be more fouls called in the first preseason game and the first regular-season game,” Hochuli told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “The big one is holding. We’ve also tightened up the rule on illegal contact. We’ve always given a little leeway on that.
Opposing offenses complained last season that the Super Bowl champion Seahawks were grabbing and holding and not getting flagged for it. This year the Seahawks may have to adjust their style. And offenses across the league may put up even bigger numbers than ever before.
Jim Haslett not thrilled by referee’s suggestion that defense needs to be coached differently
Posted by Josh Alper on August 1, 2014
AP
Veteran referee Ed Hochuli said this week that there will be a closer emphasis on defensive holding and illegal contact penalties this season, something that he predicted would lead to a lot of flags in the early part of the season.
Officials are visiting camps around the league to provide some instruction about how the rules will be applied. Referee Terry McAuley has been at Redskins camp this week and told a reporter that coaches are going to have to change the way they teach their players to play in pass coverage if they want to avoid flags, which he threw several of during the team’s practices. That suggestion didn’t sit well with Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett.
“You know what I would tell the official? I would tell him that he needs to worry about officiating and we’ll coach the team,” Haslett said, via CSNWashington.com. “He needs to worry about calling interference because he called about four or five yesterday where there was nothing. So tell him to worry about his job, we’ll worry about our job.”
While one can certainly understand Haslett’s distaste for someone telling him how to do his job, especially when the rules regarding holding and illegal contact are already on the books. We also imagine this won’t be the last complaint from a defensive coach about the officials throwing flags for what might be borderline calls so that they are in line with the league’s edict on emphasizing those calls.
Given the recent trends in football, those complaints will likely fall on deaf ears while passing offenses continue to put up bigger and bigger numbers.
Posted by Michael David Smith on August 3, 2014
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers expects passing offenses around the NFL to be even more productive this season than they were last season, thanks to a stricter emphasis on illegal contact, pass interference and defensive holding.
Rodgers said after officials worked a Packers practice that the way the officials are calling those penalties this year, it can only help quarterbacks and wide receivers.
“I think you’re going to see the passing game reffed a little more tightly this year,” Rodgers said.
The best pass defense in the NFL last year was in Seattle, where opposing teams often complained that the Seahawks’ defensive backs got away with grabbing and holding receivers. Rodgers said he hopes penalties are called just as strictly in the Packers’ season opener at Seattle as they were when officials visited the Packers’ practice.
“I was joking with this crew that we might want them to head up to the Pacific Northwest in about a month,” Rodgers said.
If the NFL is serious about its officials getting strict with defensive backs, that will be bad news for teams like the Seahawks with physical pass defenses, and good news for teams like the Packers who rely on their passing offenses.
Expect more defensive holding, illegal contact flags this year
Posted by Michael David Smith on August 1, 2014
NFL rules have already done plenty to favor the passing game, but this year may be the biggest passing season yet.
That’s because, as explained by veteran referee Ed Hochuli, NFL officials are planning to emphasize defensive holding and illegal contact this season. Hochuli said that early in the year, when defensive backs haven’t yet learned how strictly the officials are going to call the penalties, the flags will fly frequently.
“I would expect there may be more fouls called in the first preseason game and the first regular-season game,” Hochuli told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “The big one is holding. We’ve also tightened up the rule on illegal contact. We’ve always given a little leeway on that.
Opposing offenses complained last season that the Super Bowl champion Seahawks were grabbing and holding and not getting flagged for it. This year the Seahawks may have to adjust their style. And offenses across the league may put up even bigger numbers than ever before.
Jim Haslett not thrilled by referee’s suggestion that defense needs to be coached differently
Posted by Josh Alper on August 1, 2014
Veteran referee Ed Hochuli said this week that there will be a closer emphasis on defensive holding and illegal contact penalties this season, something that he predicted would lead to a lot of flags in the early part of the season.
Officials are visiting camps around the league to provide some instruction about how the rules will be applied. Referee Terry McAuley has been at Redskins camp this week and told a reporter that coaches are going to have to change the way they teach their players to play in pass coverage if they want to avoid flags, which he threw several of during the team’s practices. That suggestion didn’t sit well with Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett.
“You know what I would tell the official? I would tell him that he needs to worry about officiating and we’ll coach the team,” Haslett said, via CSNWashington.com. “He needs to worry about calling interference because he called about four or five yesterday where there was nothing. So tell him to worry about his job, we’ll worry about our job.”
While one can certainly understand Haslett’s distaste for someone telling him how to do his job, especially when the rules regarding holding and illegal contact are already on the books. We also imagine this won’t be the last complaint from a defensive coach about the officials throwing flags for what might be borderline calls so that they are in line with the league’s edict on emphasizing those calls.
Given the recent trends in football, those complaints will likely fall on deaf ears while passing offenses continue to put up bigger and bigger numbers.
