Penalties: Yellow a bad color for Huskers

[Mavric]

I would group them like this. Had to guess on a couple of them.

Defense (14):

Holding - 1

Pass Interference - 9

Illegal Helmet Contact - 1

Offside - 3

Offense - Procedure (19):

12 men on the field - 2

Delay of game - 1

False Start - 9

Illegal Formation - 3

Illegal Procedure - 2

Illegal Shift - 1

Substitution Infraction - 1

Offense - In Play (13):

Illegal Block - 2

Ineligible man downfield - 1

Intentional Grounding - 2

Holding - 7
Pass Interference - 1


Special Teams (2):
Illegal Formation - 1
Roughing the Kicker - 1


Misc (13):
Personal Foul - 6
Unsportsmanlike Conduct - 6
Proper Equipment - 1

 

[BigRedBuster]

The answers to my questions would help answer your question.

If most of the penalties are on the offense due to players not lining up right or two players in motion, that could be more because of players not sure if their roll.

If most are false starts or encroachment, that would point to just not concentrating in the heat of the moment.

If they are holding or pass interference that would point to bad technique.

Can't answer the question with out more info.

You are correct on your assessments of the penalties, but I don't understand how that is a culture problem like you have stated in your previous posts. It seems like you may be contradicting yourself a little bit because none of those seem like a culture issue through six games.

Hey. If nobody else agrees with me then fine.

It's all an attention to details at some point.

We used to have a n offensive line that couldn't stop from killing themselves by stupid penalties at important points in the game. We would back up 30 yards instead of going forward 10.

We went through a period of having constant PI penalties due to being too aggressive in the back field.

Details details details.

If nobody else wants to say that it's s cultural issue then fine. Im fine living in my own reality.

 

[BigRedBuster]

I would group them like this. Had to guess on a couple of them.

Defense (14):

Holding - 1

Pass Interference - 9

Illegal Helmet Contact - 1

Offside - 3

Offense - Procedure (19):

12 men on the field - 2

Delay of game - 1

False Start - 9

Illegal Formation - 3

Illegal Procedure - 2

Illegal Shift - 1

Substitution Infraction - 1

Offense - In Play (13):

Illegal Block - 2

Ineligible man downfield - 1

Intentional Grounding - 2

Holding - 7

Pass Interference - 1

Special Teams (2):

Illegal Formation - 1

Roughing the Kicker - 1

Misc (13):

Personal Foul - 6

Unsportsmanlike Conduct - 6

Proper Equipment - 1

So....what does that tell you?

 

[Mavric]

That we're pretty equal-opportunity across the board.

False starts seem high. Three procedural penalties per game against the offense seems like a lot. You're going to get some holding calls but less than one per game would be nice.

There have been a couple pretty questionable DPIs but at 1.5 per game we're obviously putting ourselves in some bad positions.

Agree with zoogs that averaging 1 personal foul AND 1 unsportsmanlike conduct per game is pretty bad.

 

[HuskermanMike]

I would group them like this. Had to guess on a couple of them.

Defense (14):

Holding - 1

Pass Interference - 9

Illegal Helmet Contact - 1

Offside - 3

Offense - Procedure (19):

12 men on the field - 2

Delay of game - 1

False Start - 9

Illegal Formation - 3

Illegal Procedure - 2

Illegal Shift - 1

Substitution Infraction - 1

Offense - In Play (13):

Illegal Block - 2

Ineligible man downfield - 1

Intentional Grounding - 2

Holding - 7
Pass Interference - 1


Special Teams (2):
Illegal Formation - 1
Roughing the Kicker - 1


Misc (13):
Personal Foul - 6
Unsportsmanlike Conduct - 6
Proper Equipment - 1

I am not saying they didn't happen I am just wondering when we roughed the kicker, didn't have proper equipment, had offensive pass interference or had 12 men on the field. I just don't remember those being called.

 

[Swiv3D]

I would group them like this. Had to guess on a couple of them.

Defense (14):

Holding - 1

Pass Interference - 9

Illegal Helmet Contact - 1

Offside - 3

Offense - Procedure (19):

12 men on the field - 2

Delay of game - 1

False Start - 9

Illegal Formation - 3

Illegal Procedure - 2

Illegal Shift - 1

Substitution Infraction - 1

Offense - In Play (13):

Illegal Block - 2

Ineligible man downfield - 1

Intentional Grounding - 2

Holding - 7

Pass Interference - 1

Special Teams (2):

Illegal Formation - 1

Roughing the Kicker - 1

Misc (13):

Personal Foul - 6

Unsportsmanlike Conduct - 6

Proper Equipment - 1

I am not saying they didn't happen I am just wondering when we roughed the kicker, didn't have proper equipment, had offensive pass interference or had 12 men on the field. I just don't remember those being called.

the proper equipment penalty was when we had two #55's in on for an extra point

 

[quesadilla]

The great thing about stats is you can look this stuff up and compare. While Riley's not the guy you bring in to fix a penalties problem, he also didn't bring this problem with him to Nebraska. Between 2008 and 2014 both Nebraska and Oregon State average out to be the #27th most penalized team. To be fair to Bo, the team showed improvement under the last few years and this time range also includes the Texas 12 trying to screw us on the way out. That said, Nebraska was still more penalized than their opponents in every year between 2008-2013.

Nebraska Average Penalty Rank = 27.71428571 Oregon State Average Penalty Rank = 27.71428571
http://espn.go.com/college-football/statistics/team/_/stat/downs/sort/totalPenalties/year/2014

http://www.huskers.com/SportSelect.dbml?spid=22&spsid=5

 

[admo]

I remember Collins getting called for offsides with his helmet over the ball a couple times this year, and I see this all the time and it hardly ever gets called.

Yeah, that was a bad one. You never see that called. And it gave the Vadgers a first down.

I think the worst one was the illegal formation call that negated a 35 yd run by Tommy in the second quarter. It definitely cost us three points. Might have cost us a touchdown. I think the call was on the pulling guard, maybe Kondolo. Anyway he cheated back a bit from his normal position so he could pull. But he was still overlapping the center by a foot or so. I could've sworn that was legal. I mean, the refs wouldn't let us line a RB that far up into the line, would they? Could we line Jano that far up to get a jump on hitting the LB? I think not. Seems like it's gotta be one way or the other--the guard was either in the line or in the backfield. And he was overlapping the center so it seems like he had to be considered in the line. (Or am I wrong about this? Any refs out there?)

These ticky-tacky calls were not part of the game last year or hardly ever before this season. I agree...That penalty for 5 men in the backfield was a bush league call. It wiped out a great effort by Tommy and momentum for the Huskers. Now if that's a lineman's problem, Cavanaugh needs to get after him/them. But I think it is Cavanaugh's responsibility more than anything. Should be in these guys ears during games about it to prevent it from happening. Because it's been an issue since BYU DAY ONE.

 

[huKSer]

What I was wondering was the penalty yardage difference per game. Sure, if we could cut down on penalties that we can control that would help us, but some crews call more penalties than others.

Other than timing, the net yardage is more important - 1 15-yard penalty = 3 5-yard penalties. On the timing - Illinois game the PI in the end zone cost little yardage but gave Illinois 2 additional tries to get a TD

 

[desertshox]

I remember Collins getting called for offsides with his helmet over the ball a couple times this year, and I see this all the time and it hardly ever gets called.

Yeah, that was a bad one. You never see that called. And it gave the Vadgers a first down.

I think the worst one was the illegal formation call that negated a 35 yd run by Tommy in the second quarter. It definitely cost us three points. Might have cost us a touchdown. I think the call was on the pulling guard, maybe Kondolo. Anyway he cheated back a bit from his normal position so he could pull. But he was still overlapping the center by a foot or so. I could've sworn that was legal. I mean, the refs wouldn't let us line a RB that far up into the line, would they? Could we line Jano that far up to get a jump on hitting the LB? I think not. Seems like it's gotta be one way or the other--the guard was either in the line or in the backfield. And he was overlapping the center so it seems like he had to be considered in the line. (Or am I wrong about this? Any refs out there?)

his helmet has to be even with the center's belt is how i heard this rule is applied. the 5 men in the backfield call seems to be a point of emphasis for refs this year. not sure if the discussion the board had earlier in the year came to a conclusion that it actually was but it was mentioned.

 

[Mavric]

The great thing about stats is you can look this stuff up and compare. While Riley's not the guy you bring in to fix a penalties problem, he also didn't bring this problem with him to Nebraska. Between 2008 and 2014 both Nebraska and Oregon State average out to be the #27th most penalized team. To be fair to Bo, the team showed improvement under the last few years and this time range also includes the Texas 12 trying to screw us on the way out. That said, Nebraska was still more penalized than their opponents in every year between 2008-2013.

Nebraska Average Penalty Rank = 27.71428571 Oregon State Average Penalty Rank = 27.71428571
http://espn.go.com/college-football/statistics/team/_/stat/downs/sort/totalPenalties/year/2014

http://www.huskers.com/SportSelect.dbml?spid=22&spsid=5

Bo's teams definitely didn't start out very well on penalties but they got quite a bit better. But the better number to go by is penalties per game. Nebraska played one more game than OSU in 2009, two more in 2010, and one more in 2011, 2012 and 2014. So you're not really comparing apples to apples.

Ranking in penalties per game starting in 2008:

Nebraska - 103, 92, 114, 99, 66, 81, 63

Oregon State - 89, 112, 69, 109, 80, 92, 122

So Oregon State was noticeably better from 2008-2010 while Nebraska was significantly better since then.

 

[quesadilla]

The great thing about stats is you can look this stuff up and compare. While Riley's not the guy you bring in to fix a penalties problem, he also didn't bring this problem with him to Nebraska. Between 2008 and 2014 both Nebraska and Oregon State average out to be the #27th most penalized team. To be fair to Bo, the team showed improvement under the last few years and this time range also includes the Texas 12 trying to screw us on the way out. That said, Nebraska was still more penalized than their opponents in every year between 2008-2013.

Nebraska Average Penalty Rank = 27.71428571 Oregon State Average Penalty Rank = 27.71428571
http://espn.go.com/college-football/statistics/team/_/stat/downs/sort/totalPenalties/year/2014

http://www.huskers.com/SportSelect.dbml?spid=22&spsid=5

Bo's teams definitely didn't start out very well on penalties but they got quite a bit better. But the better number to go by is penalties per game. Nebraska played one more game than OSU in 2009, two more in 2010, and one more in 2011, 2012 and 2014. So you're not really comparing apples to apples.

Ranking in penalties per game starting in 2008:

Nebraska - 103, 92, 114, 99, 66, 81, 63

Oregon State - 89, 112, 69, 109, 80, 92, 122

So Oregon State was noticeably better from 2008-2010 while Nebraska was significantly better since then.

Fair enough. I couldn't find those numbers before but it is a much more fair comparison.

I did manage to find them after your post and looked back at penalty yards per game between 2008-2014. Riley's Oregon State averaged 61.52, Bo's Huskers 59.44, so that's a 2 yard disadvantage to Riley coached teams. There's the same ~2 yards disadvantage to Riley coached teams if you take out the best and worst seasons for each (2013 and 2014 for Riley, 2010 and 2014 for Bo). I don't think that's a huge downgrade but it's not exactly ideal.

On the bright side, Oregon State had a better and more consistent turnover margin (Average +.085 | 5 yrs with positive margins | 1 negative | 1 even) than the Huskers (Average -.385 | 2 positive yrs | 4 negative | 1 even) between 2008-2014.

 

[Warrior]

https://twitter.com/danhoppen/status/653957617996292096

6 personal fouls and 6 unsportsmanlike conducts. No matter how you assess, that's unacceptable on the players and coaches behalf. Yes a couple were a little contraversial (Mike Riley on the sideline) but every penalty like that is avoidable and shouldn't happen.

I think this is the area that the AD was hoping would be fixed with the Riley hire. He's more level headed so we should be better here (Personal Fouls, Unsportsmanlike). That hasn't been the case. Aggressive penalties are going to occur it's not golf, but the huge number of mental errors resulting in penalties are unacceptable. That falls on the coaches not preparing a team or getting enough reps in practice.

 

[BigRedBuster]

I would group them like this. Had to guess on a couple of them.

Defense (14):

Holding - 1

Pass Interference - 9

Illegal Helmet Contact - 1

Offside - 3

Offense - Procedure (19):

12 men on the field - 2

Delay of game - 1

False Start - 9

Illegal Formation - 3

Illegal Procedure - 2

Illegal Shift - 1

Substitution Infraction - 1

Offense - In Play (13):

Illegal Block - 2

Ineligible man downfield - 1

Intentional Grounding - 2

Holding - 7
Pass Interference - 1


Special Teams (2):
Illegal Formation - 1
Roughing the Kicker - 1


Misc (13):
Personal Foul - 6
Unsportsmanlike Conduct - 6
Proper Equipment - 1

I know I'm going to sound like a broken record but, the 6 personal fouls and 6 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties (I believe) goes right to my accusation that it's a cultural issue. Those are penalties that don't have to happen. They are players having a certain mind set that causes them to act out in a way that gets those fouls. They do that instead of paying attention to the details of playing an error free game.

9 False starts. The offense is not paying attention to detail. There is something in the mind set that (as a group) they are not paying attention to this detail like they should be.

Those two issues right there account for 225 yards of penalties or 37.5 yards per game.

Taking out the "Misc" penalties, the offense is accounting for 66% of the penalties. I would guess that on average, an offense usually accounts for more penalties on a team. There are simply more rules against them such as false start, 5 men in back field...etc. It would be interesting to know how that is usually for a top program.

 

[RedSavage]

I would group them like this. Had to guess on a couple of them.

Defense (14):

Holding - 1

Pass Interference - 9

Illegal Helmet Contact - 1

Offside - 3

Offense - Procedure (19):

12 men on the field - 2

Delay of game - 1

False Start - 9

Illegal Formation - 3

Illegal Procedure - 2

Illegal Shift - 1

Substitution Infraction - 1

Offense - In Play (13):

Illegal Block - 2

Ineligible man downfield - 1

Intentional Grounding - 2

Holding - 7
Pass Interference - 1


Special Teams (2):
Illegal Formation - 1
Roughing the Kicker - 1


Misc (13):
Personal Foul - 6
Unsportsmanlike Conduct - 6
Proper Equipment - 1

I know I'm going to sound like a broken record but, the 6 personal fouls and 6 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties (I believe) goes right to my accusation that it's a cultural issue. Those are penalties that don't have to happen. They are players having a certain mind set that causes them to act out in a way that gets those fouls. They do that instead of paying attention to the details of playing an error free game.

9 False starts. The offense is not paying attention to detail. There is something in the mind set that (as a group) they are not paying attention to this detail like they should be.

Those two issues right there account for 225 yards of penalties or 37.5 yards per game.

Taking out the "Misc" penalties, the offense is accounting for 66% of the penalties. I would guess that on average, an offense usually accounts for more penalties on a team. There are simply more rules against them such as false start, 5 men in back field...etc. It would be interesting to know how that is usually for a top program.

Maybe they're so focused on the other details and nuances of the new offense that they're making these mistakes