Penalty flags fly under NFL's new rules emphasis

Penalty flags fly under NFL's new rules emphasis

Chip Kelly speaks with a referee Friday vs. New England. In two preseason games, the Eagles have been whistled for 28 penalties. (AP)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- They were called for seven penalties before the game was 13 minutes old. They were cited for illegal use of hands three times, defensive holding four times, 15 flags in all.A few of the penalties were declined by the Patriots and one was offset, but by the time the game was over it was clear that the Eagles -- and the Patriots, for what it's worth -- have a long way to go if they're going to figure out how to play within the constraints of the NFL's new rules emphasis (see Instant Replay).Linebacker Mychal Kendricks called it an 'over-emphasis on referees having to meet a quota with the flags.'When that drew chuckles, he shrugged and said, 'Essentially, that's what we're talking about.'The NFL is dramatically changing the way defenses are allowed to play. To what extent it continues into the regular season remains to be seen.But if the refs continue calling games the way they have so far in the preseason, the Eagles have a lot of work to do. Everybody does. Hands to the face and contact down the field are just going to be called a lot closer than ever before.'It's going to take some time to adjust [for] guys like Trent Cole, DeMeco, Cary Williams -- guys who've played in this league for a number of years, who've played a certain type of way,' Kendricks said.'For a guy like me, it might be easier to make that adjustment because I'm not as deep in years, but that's not to say it's going to be easy.'There's definitely a mental aspect that you have to abide by the new rules that are in place. It's not just go out there and play the way you used to play. You've got to really take some thought in your actions before you take those actions.'We're talking about very small differences here. These are small differences that are hard to make adjustments to. I mean, they used to let us play a little more and now they're a lot more strict.'In all, the Eagles have been cited for 28 penalties in their first two preseason games.Nine have been declined or offset, but of those 28, 18 have been on the defense, including six holds and three illegal contacts.'Unfortunately, they're obviously going to call it, so we just have to stop putting our hands up there,' linebacker Connor Barwin said. 'The reality is it's an emphasis and I'm sure if they're calling it this much, they're going to call it once the regular games start.'I've been putting my hands in offensive linemen's face my whole career, and they've been putting it in my face, so it's something we have to adjust to and something we have to change.'Eagles head coach Chip Kelly was asked after the Eagles' 42-35 preseason loss to the Patriots on Friday night at Gillette Stadium if the Eagles' coaching staff will have to change the way it coaches defensive players.He snapped back that the Eagles aren't teaching players to use their hands illegally or to make contact with receivers beyond five yards.'We don't teach people to grab receivers after five yards downfield, and if that becomes your go-to move and that's what you've got to do, you can't play,' Kelly said. 'You've got to figure that out. And we never teach anybody to strike anybody in the face. We've got to understand that that's going to be called, and if that's going to be called, then you've got to fix it.'You don't have to agree with the speed limit, but if the cop's out there with a speed gun, you better take your foot off the gas or he's going to pull you over. It's the bottom line. Rules are rules, and you've got to follow them.'If you can't play within the rules, you can't play in this league. That's just the bottom line. You're just handing people first downs. We better figure it out, and ... whichever team ends up being the most disciplined team from that standpoint is going to have a big advantage in this league.'It's a challenge to everybody. We all have to figure it out. That's the deal.'It's not like the refs were picking on the Eagles.The Patriots were actually called for more penalties -- 10 for 84 yards officially for the Eagles, 11 for 83 for the Patriots.'There were a lot of them,' Tom Brady said. 'They stood up here in front of us and told us they were going to throw a lot of them, and they sure did. Who knows if it will continue, but they're calling things pretty tight.'Coach [Bill Belichick] always says, 'Do business as business is being done,' so if they're going to call it tight ... it's going to be who plays the smartest, I guess.'The NFL has been transparent about the way they're going to be calling penalties, so none of this is a surprise to anybody.'We understand the emphasis on the rules, so we have to change the way we play,' Ryans said. 'We can't have that going into the season. You have that many penalties, you're not going to win ball games, so I think we just have to play smarter as a team.'Barwin said he understands the emphasis on illegal hands to the face but doesn't understand why.He said football players have been getting their hands in the face of the guy they're playing against forever.'I didn't know it was a problem,' Barwin said. 'I'm the one that gets all the concussions and all that stuff and the cuts, but then they [penalize] the defense. I don't get the problem with hands to the face up front with what we do.'I don't get why it's an emphasis, but it is and they're calling it and we have to adjust and bring our target down and change.'

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