JOHNSON: CFL FLAG FLAP
Are penalties killing the game?
Flags are falling thicker than ticker tape during the Charles Lindbergh trans- Atlantic- crossing parade down Fifth Avenue into Lower Manhattan in 1927.
Up, according to the CFL, 32 per cent over the entirety of the 2014 season and 14 per cent over the opening three weeks of a year ago.
“It’s tough,” Calgary Stampeders quarter-back Bo Levi Mitchell admitted, “to get any kind of rhythm going.”
During Monday’s Stamps-Toronto Argos fracas at McMahon Stadium, there were 29 aggregate infractions, 18 walked off against locals for a near- fatal 147 yards.
Everything from recently installed transgressions such as being illegally downfield on a punt to age- old standbys such as illegal blocking, procedure and offensive holding.
It made for a disjointed, unsatisfying evening. And Monday has been far from a one- off.
Fans are grumbling. Players are grumbling.
The reasons behind the barrage of linen aren’t difficult to list:
Adaptation to rule changes introduced this year specifically to punch up dwindling offence — no contact on receivers more than five yards downfield; the punt- return dictum that forbids linemen leaving the line of scrimmage until after the ball is kicked;
The customary shake-off- therust formalities inherent with this juncture of any season;
A sometimes maddening early zero- tolerance- in- effect mandate that rule changes generally breed;
This crackdown feels much the same as the NHL stance on holding, hooking and interference a decade ago when queues to the penalty box stretched longer than the line to buy tickets for Benedict Cumberbatch’s upcoming turn as Hamlet in London.
While the average length of games is up only a shade on average, according to the league — 2: 56 from 2: 55 — some nights feel bogged down to the point of stagnancy, approaching atrophy, by the torrent of hanky tossing.
They might not, in actuality, be that much longer, but they sure feel that way.
A wonderfully wild, oh-so-CFLish finish managed to, in part, rescue the B. C.- Saskatchewan tilt Friday night, but given the number of flags, the evening seemed to drag on longer than watching the Lord of the Rings PLUS The Hobbit trilogies, back-to-back- to- back- to- back- to-back-to- back. Extended editions. Director Alfred Hitchcock once said: “The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder.”
Same should apply to your average sporting event.
In the aftermath of the penalty-laden game here Monday, and doubtless caught up in the emotional immediacy of the moment, an exasperated Mitchell tweeted out on his account @ BoLeviMitchell:
“Had multiple fans tell me tonight they won’t go to anymore games if they’re 4 hours and controlled by orange fabric … I feel ( for) you.”
After a period of reflection, the laid- back Texan was recanting. Somewhat.
“Honestly, watching film, I think I probably was a little hard on the refs,” he acknowledged as preparations began in earnest for the invading Winnipeg Blue Bombers Saturday.
“It was a lot on us. By the rules, they made the right calls. Twothirds of them, by the book, I would’ve called, too.
“We have guys who just aren’t playing by the rules right now.
“That’s something we have to deal with if we want to be a better football team.”
For coach John Hufnagel, penalties are a constant sore spot — like a particularly nasty case of hives that flares up time to time.
“In our game, there wasn’t even that many new- rules infractions,” Hufnagel pointed out.
“Most of it was holding, offsides, things like that. Things that in my belief are controllable.
“Early in the year, guys have to re- learn how to play the game, but 18 penalties is way, WAY, too much. And it’s not the referees’ fault. I thought they did a great job of calling the penalties.
“We have to teach our players better and they have to be more disciplined playing the game. Penalties affect the outcome of a game. Fortunately, we escaped the other night because we were able to win with 147 penalty yards.
“Take those penalties off the field, maybe there’s more points on the board. I’m sure there’s more points on the board.”
Special- teams coach Mark Kilam believes the onus is on teams to adapt, not officials to compromise.
“I think it’s a collective responsibility,” he said. “I can only speak to the special- teams flags we took during the game — and we earned a lot of them.
“I’ve got to do a good job of coaching and showing them examples of what they can and cannot do, and just make sure that’s clear, and we’ve got to get on the same page of how the officials are calling things.”
If it makes the guy in Section C, Row 12, Seat 10 feel any better, the players on the field are every bit as frustrated as the patrons in the seats.
“Almost every single kickoff return or punt return, I just started walking backwards because I just assumed ( there’d be a flag),” Mitchell said with a sigh.
“I mean, we’re watching guys like Tim Brown making a huge return, juking a couple guys that were wide open to make the tackle. He’s making a 58- yard return and we’re being penalized from the spot of the kick. So it’s a 72- yard penalty.
“That saps the momentum out of your team. “It hurts.” The league is rightfully pleased that, among other things, scoring is up, net offence is up and completion percentage is up. So are fluttering flags. So is frustration.
On the field. In the pews. On the couch at home lounging in front of the gogglebox.
Whether it requires players speeding up the learning curve, coaches being much more demanding in that regard or officials a tad less intransigent in interpretation, the CFL game needs to re- find its flow; stem the epidemic of flags.
Maybe it’ll simply happen organically, as everyone assumes.
But this, right now, a lot of nights, isn’t the way to fill stadiums or bump TV numbers.
“I would say, for the fans, it’s a bite- the- bullet kind of moment,” reckoned Mitchell.
“They need to stay with us through this part because there are a lot of new rule changes and I’m sure ( officials) are being told to call things tight, to be clear about things and make sure we as players understand.
“I’m betting they’ll back off a bit as the year goes on, not be as ticky- tacky about certain situations. But it’s on us to play by the rules, first and foremost.
“We’ll get this sorted out, and then everyone will be enjoying great football. We’ll get the rhythm back. It’ll happen. “Soon.” Not soon enough.