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In the NFL, cheaters do prosper. And, hey! Stop snickering at the Patriots!
They might not even be the worst offenders. Or, at least, not lone offenders.
In the past three seasons, the top teams in the league — Seattle, New England, Denver and Baltimore — have all been at, or near the league lead in penalties.
And, the worst of these have been the Seahawks. It’s not even close.
The Seahawks, since the arrival of Pete Carroll as coach, have a well-earned reputation for pushing the envelope to the point that one general manager was heard to muse that if his team was allowed to play the same way, they could lead the league in defence, too. Seattle punishes receivers on every play — they pummell, manhandle and frustrate. On offence, they crowd the line of scrimmage, they grab defenders and they let the flags fall where they may — the theory being that officials won’t call every infraction.
In fact, many in the league will argue, they hardly call enough.
Officials penalized Seattle for a league-high 144 infractions this seaon. But whatever the Seahawks are doing wrong, they simply keep doing it — and, winning with it. Since 2012, they’re tied for the most wins in the NFL (36), most Super Bowl appearances and ... misbehavin’.
They have thumbed their noses at convention, pretty much put a lie to the theory that success comes by eliminating penalties. The best team in the league has been penalized 416 times the past three seasons. They play with a swagger, virtually daring officials to pull out their hanky. Play. After play. After play.
Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman even went on a NBC TV program last year, displaying to a teammate, his techniques for concealing illegal contact. They thrive with a dictum that says rules are made to be stretched and fragmented. Former NFL official Mike Pereira once explained the Seattle approach this way: “They look at it and say, ‘We may get called for one, but not 10.’”
So aggressive teams like the Seahawks, Pereira said, test officials early to see what they can get away with on any given day. Football is aggression, speed and a hint of malevolence and Seattle uses all three to wear down not just opponents, but also officials. It’s a game the Patriots aren’t unfamiliar with themselves.
They, too, took a road to the Super Bowl while treating the rulebook like Canadians treat speed limit signs; As suggestions. And, hardly, as law. New England ranked fourth in the NFL in penalties and cornerback Brandon Browner, as a graduate of the Legion of Boom, considers penalty flags as an occupational hazard , best ignored.
So, does a walk on the bad side, pay?
Consider this. The Jaguars were the most sportsmanlike team in football, committing just 73 penalties. All it got them was three wins, booed, ignored — and a front-row seat for Sunday’s game. On the mancave couch. You figure it out.