Patriots can't stay out of the penalty box

Mike Reiss, ESPNBoston:

After being called for just three penalties in their loss to the Chiefs on Sept. 29, the Patriots were flagged 14 times in their victory over the Bengals.

That ups the season total to 54 penalties, 45 of which have been accepted. This easily puts the Patriots on pace to surpass their highest penalty total under Bill Belichick, 111 accepted penalties in the 2003 season.

The bad news is the New England Patriots are on a pace to break their own record for penalties in a season. It appears that it won't take the full 16 game schedule to accomplish this.
The good news is that Referee Walt Coleman has been selected to officiate the Patriots-Bills game on Sunday. You must remember the important role that Walt played in the 2002 AFC divisional matchup with the Oakland Raiders.

Greg Garber, ESPN:

It was the last game at Foxboro Stadium. A fresh snowfall and the first prime-time NFL playoff kickoff made for a dramatic setting. But this wildly exceeded expectations. According to Patriots owner Robert Kraft, it was the best game in the stadium's 31-year history.

This was the famous Tuck Rule play that changed the fortunes of the Oakland Raiders and the New England Patriots. It has also changed the way the two teams play. Oakland used to be the most penalized team which former Pittsburgh Steeler's head coach Chuck Noll referred to as part of "the criminal element" in the NFL. The Raiders were penalized 156 times in 1994 and 1996. New England is on pace for 144 penalties in 2014.

The distinction for having the most penalties in one season is held by the 1998 Kansas City Chiefs with 158. Teams accepted 1304 yards in penalties from the Chiefs. The low point of that season was the Monday Night Meltdown on November 16th against the Denver Broncos. MileHighReport:

On the final TD drive, the Chiefs were flagged 5 TIMES for unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. All Pro LB and pass rushing phenom Derrick Thomas was the culprit on three of them, once for hitting QB Bubby Brister in the head when he was on the ground, and twice for grabbing and twisting at TE Shannon Sharpe's leg.
The conduct of Thomas, McClockton, and Simmons became a black mark on the Chiefs franchise, causing Lamar Hunt to say that their actions had "disgraced the organization as well as the community."

The 2014 New England Patriots have 14 holding penalties and 8 pass interference calls against them. If they can cut down on the penalties from CB Logan Ryan(5), OT Nate Solder(5), false starts(5), and offsides on special teams(2), they can move away from the 30th ranking and closer to the 10th spot that the Raiders presently hold. New England has an average of nine penalties per game while winless Oakland has been on its best behavior drawing only six.

Penalties in the NFL are averaging 17 per game which is up from 14.7 of last year. 15 touchdowns have been taken off the scoreboard, including three from Seattle Seahawks WR Percy Harvin against the Washington Redskins this past Monday night.

NFL Vice President of Officiating Dean Blandino tells us that we better get used to it. "If we pull back now, then we aren't being consistent, and I think that's important."

Paul Murphy is a freelance writer from New Hampshire.

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