Flurry of Flags

23 penalty flags flew in the Arizona Cardinals Monday night 28-3 thumping of the New York Jets. 15 of those penalties were called in the first half. That's too many flags. There were so many flags that the game was often difficult to watch.

The 23 total penalties shouldn't be a surprise for the officiating crew of referee Jerome Boger. His crew throws more flags each game than any other crew in the league.

2016 NFL Penalty Frequency

REFEREE	PENALTIES*	GAMES	AVERAGE
Boger, Jerome	104	5	20.8
Parry, John	95	5	19
Anderson, Walt	95	5	19
Allen, Brad	94	5	18.8
Hussey, John	110	6	18.3
Hochuli, Ed	109	6	18.1
Blakeman, Clete	104	6	17.3
Triplette, Jeff	102	6	17
Corrente, Tony	100	6	16.7
Cheffers, Cartlon	95	6	15.8
Steratore, Gene	93	6	15.5
Torbert, Ronald	89	6	14.8
Morelli, Peter	85	6	14.2
Wrolstad, Craig	70	5	14
McAulay, Terry	28	2	14
Vinovich, Bill	79	6	13.1
Coleman, Walt	61	5	12.2
Source: ESPN Stats & Information
*Includes accepted, declined and offsetting penalties

The problem with these penalty numbers is the discrepancy between the crews at the top and those at the bottom. The crews are officiating the same sport. Same rules. There are teams that stray from the right side of those rules more often than other teams but that shouldn't sway the numbers too much. The officiating crew rotations should prevent any sort of familiarity between team and officials. Some crews simply throw more flags than other crews. There shouldn't be a deviation from the median such as this.

The 23 penalties called on Monday wasn't the most of the 2016 NFL season. That title belongs to the 31 total penalty flags thrown in the Week 2 game between the Detroit Lions and Tennessee Titans. That must have been a fun game to watch.

The flurry of flags isn't entirely the fault of the officials. The football play on the field has is often quite sloppy. The reason for that is likely found in the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement. The players came to that bargaining table wanting easier and fewer practices in the offseason and during the season. They got it. Coaches now have less time with the players. There are also restrictions on what the coaches can do with the time that they do have. Sloppy football has increased as the number and substance of practices have decreased. It's really hurt the quality of play on the field. The sloppy play can result in more penalty flags. Some of these regular season games look more like preseason games. It's a damn shame.

The biggest problem that I have with NFL officiating is the lack of consistency. It's wildly inconsistent from game to games. Even worse, there's often inconsistencies from quarter to quarter within a game. That should never happen. I'd just like to see each officiating crew calling the same penalties. There shouldn't be an 8.6 penalties/game difference between two officiating crews.