New England Patriots: 5 observations from week 7 win over Falcons

Flags on flags on flags

Folks, there were so many flags last night you’d think the game was played at the United Nations. Seriously, it seemed like a flag was thrown every other play.

Overall, there were 14 flags thrown for a total of 105 yards last night. The Falcons committed 6 penalties for 40 yards, while the New England Patriots committed 8 for 65. There were also offsetting penalties that resulted in no yards in either direction.

I appreciate what NFL referees do. Honestly. It’s amazing that NFL refs see as much as they do. I think they receive an unfair amount of criticism for missed calls, because they see just about everything. Lineman touched the DE’s facemask for a split second? Flag. Gronk locked out his arm while his hand was on the CB’s chest? Flag. They’re only human, so they’ll miss calls here and there, but overall I think they do an incredible job.

THAT SAID, nothing gets on my nerves more that stoppage of play every 10 seconds. It’s why I could never sit through more than 5 minutes of my high school field hockey games. Juelz Santana number of whistles.

That’s how I felt last night watching the game. Particularly in the first half, it seemed like a flag was thrown every play. Holding, offensive pass interference, false start, neutral zone infraction, 12 men on the field, you name it. Yeah yeah, none of these penalties shouldn’t be called, but it started grinding my gears. Teams, clean it up. Refs, let the boys play.