As all Rams fans know, penalties are a common occurrence. And yes, they're way up in 2014 (it doesn't help when the referees make phantom offensive pass interference calls...).
But look at this table accounting for the penalty totals for the Rams this year:
Player | Count | Declined | Yards | Nullified Yards | First Downs | Stalled Drive |
Janoris Jenkins | 5 | 1 | 58 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
Robert Quinn | 5 | 2 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Eugene Sims | 4 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Lamarcus Joyner | 4 | 2 | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Brian Quick | 3 | 1 | 25 | 30 | 0 | 0 |
Jared Cook | 3 | 0 | 22 | 32 | 0 | 2 |
Davin Joseph | 3 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Chase Reynolds | 2 | 0 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
T.J. McDonald | 2 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Joe Barksdale | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Lance Kendricks | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
William Hayes | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Ray-Ray Armstrong | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Daren Bates | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Jo-Lonn Dunbar | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Greg Zuerlein | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kenny Britt | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Chris Givens | 1 | 0 | 10 | 18 | 0 | 1 |
Cory Harkey | 1 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
Scott Wells | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Michael Brockers | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Austin Davis | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Johnny Hekker | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Chris Long | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rodger Saffold | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Jake Long | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Brandon McGee | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Alec Ogletree | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ethan Westbrooks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
How are the Rams even keeping the score close in recent weeks? That's an absurd amount of penalties for just five games. Here's the table for the penalties by type:
Penalty | Total | NFL Rank | Yards | NFL Rank |
Offensive Holding | 8 | (10) | 70 | (15) |
False Start | 8 | (22) | 35 | (17) |
Defensive Holding | 6 | (25) | 10 | (6) |
Defensive Offside | 5 | (22) | 10 | (15) |
Offensive Pass Interference | 4 | (23) | 37 | (25) |
Defensive Pass Interference | 3 | (15) | 76 | (23) |
Roughing the Passer | 3 | (14) | 45 | (16) |
Horse Collar Tackle | 3 | (7) | 33 | (7) |
Face Mask (15 Yards) | 2 | (10) | 30 | (16) |
Delay of Game | 2 | (16) | 10 | (19) |
Neutral Zone Infraction | 2 | (11) | 10 | (12) |
Illegal Contact | 2 | (9) | 5 | (5) |
Taunting | 1 | (1) | 15 | (3) |
Unnecessary Roughness | 1 | (1) | 15 | (5) |
Roughing the Kicker | 1 | (1) | 14 | (1) |
Illegal Block Above the Waist | 1 | (1) | 10 | (5) |
Illegal Formation | 1 | (1) | 0 | (1) |
Unsportsmanlike Conduct | 1 | (1) | 0 | (1) |
Totals: | 54 | 425 |
Goo goo gachoo. Well, let's take a look at how our totals stack up against the rest of the league.
Team | Penalties per game | Penalty Yards per Game |
St. Louis | 8.8 | 85 |
New England | 9 | 84.29 |
Washington | 8 | 79.83 |
Pittsburgh | 9.5 | 79.83 |
Buffalo | 8.83 | 78.33 |
Tennessee | 7.67 | 71.33 |
San Francisco | 8.83 | 69.67 |
Denver | 8 | 67.2 |
N.Y. Jets | 7.29 | 67.14 |
Atlanta | 6.83 | 64.17 |
Indianapolis | 7.17 | 63.83 |
Cleveland | 7.4 | 62.6 |
Chicago | 7.67 | 61.5 |
Cincinnati | 7 | 61.2 |
Seattle | 8.2 | 60.8 |
Houston | 6 | 60.17 |
Tampa Bay | 7.83 | 60.17 |
Carolina | 5.83 | 59 |
Minnesota | 7.17 | 58.83 |
Philadelphia | 7.17 | 57.33 |
San Diego | 6.17 | 56.17 |
Arizona | 6.8 | 50.6 |
Oakland | 7 | 50.4 |
Detroit | 6.17 | 48.83 |
N.Y. Giants | 6.17 | 46.83 |
Green Bay | 5.67 | 45.67 |
Dallas | 6 | 44 |
Baltimore | 4.83 | 40.33 |
Jacksonville | 4.67 | 35.83 |
Kansas City | 4.4 | 34.8 |
Miami | 4.6 | 34.2 |
New Orleans | 4.2 | 33.2 |
Totals | 220.87 | 1873.08 |