Carlos Huerta
Just keep my rep red
http://online.wsj.com/articles/expect-flags-to-be-flying-monday-1414989837
Expect Flags To Be Flying on Monday
The Referee Crew Calling Colts-Giants Whistle Far More Penalties Than Anyone Else this Season
Many fans will be tuning in to Monday night’s meeting between the Indianapolis Colts (5-3) and New York Giants (3-4) to watch quarterbacks Andrew Luck and Eli Manning. But they’re very likely to get heavy helping of referee Carl Cheffers, too.
Cheffers, and his team, stop the game to announce a penalty 18.9 times per game, by far the most among all referees this year, according to data compiled by the website OddsShark.com and Stats LLC. Heading into Week 9, the other 15 crews average 13.7 accepted penalties. Last year, none averaged more than 14.1.
Most of the difference is at the expense of the visiting team, which has been flagged by Cheffers’s crew 72 times, 26 more times than other crews whistle road teams on average (sorry, Colts). But it’s not like the home team is escaping scrutiny, with 60 total penalties, which is nine above the rest of the league average.
This offseason, the league directed referees to hold defensive backs to the letter of the law when it comes to contact with receivers. Cheffers’s crew is fully complying, calling these infractions 30% more frequently than the league average. And they flag the defense generally at a 25% higher rate. As a result, Cheffers’s games are high scoring affairs, averaging 52.6 combined points—about a touchdown more than games refereed by other crews.
Along the same lines, “letting the players play” seems to benefit defenses, as the four crews that blow the fewest whistles all see a below average total of points scored in their games. And referee Pete Morelli’s league-low penalty count (11.6 per game) corresponds to the lowest scoring of all the crews, just 38.9 points per game.
Expect Flags To Be Flying on Monday
The Referee Crew Calling Colts-Giants Whistle Far More Penalties Than Anyone Else this Season
Many fans will be tuning in to Monday night’s meeting between the Indianapolis Colts (5-3) and New York Giants (3-4) to watch quarterbacks Andrew Luck and Eli Manning. But they’re very likely to get heavy helping of referee Carl Cheffers, too.
Cheffers, and his team, stop the game to announce a penalty 18.9 times per game, by far the most among all referees this year, according to data compiled by the website OddsShark.com and Stats LLC. Heading into Week 9, the other 15 crews average 13.7 accepted penalties. Last year, none averaged more than 14.1.
Most of the difference is at the expense of the visiting team, which has been flagged by Cheffers’s crew 72 times, 26 more times than other crews whistle road teams on average (sorry, Colts). But it’s not like the home team is escaping scrutiny, with 60 total penalties, which is nine above the rest of the league average.
This offseason, the league directed referees to hold defensive backs to the letter of the law when it comes to contact with receivers. Cheffers’s crew is fully complying, calling these infractions 30% more frequently than the league average. And they flag the defense generally at a 25% higher rate. As a result, Cheffers’s games are high scoring affairs, averaging 52.6 combined points—about a touchdown more than games refereed by other crews.
Along the same lines, “letting the players play” seems to benefit defenses, as the four crews that blow the fewest whistles all see a below average total of points scored in their games. And referee Pete Morelli’s league-low penalty count (11.6 per game) corresponds to the lowest scoring of all the crews, just 38.9 points per game.
