Steel Balls

If evidence were needed to demonstrate that the Steelers’ biggest opponent is themselves, we might look no further than at their abysmal performance in penalties. As of today, the Steelers are by far the most penalized team in the NFL, with 51 penalties. This is more than double the penalty count of nine other teams. The Steelers have more penalties than Cincinnati (22) and Baltimore (21) combined. They have amassed 437 penalty yards, second behind only the Patriots (466).  The Steelers lead in penalties per game (10.2) while the Ravens have the fewest penalties per game (4.2).

Most egregious, the Steelers lead the league in Face Mask penalties with 6, which is 714% more than the league average of 0.84, and Illegal Block in the Back with 4, some 425% above the league average of 0.94. All of the Face Mask penalties have been the 15 yard variety.

We can also combine three other penalty types, Unsportsmanlike Conduct, Taunting, and Unnecessary Roughness, as three “bad boy” categories. Combined, the Steelers have 7 such penalties compared to a league average of 2.44.

What’s going on here? I’m not one to blame Mike Tomlin, as I think this is more a failure of position coaches to adequately discipline and drill in these areas, but to be fair the buck stops with the guy in charge. If his coaches aren’t doing the job, he needs to find a way to do something about it.

If there is anything in the stats that gives cause for hope, the Steelers have only been flagged for one Defensive Pass Interference and no Defensive Holding penalties. A cynic might suggest these numbers are low as a consequence of Ike Taylor’s unfortunate injury, but I prefer to think that Carnell Lake is doing a good job of coaching his guys.

One might also wonder if those whining crybaby Seattle fans may finally stop complaining that the Steelers receive preferential treatment from the refs, considering the Steelers have almost three times the penalties of the Seahawks.

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