PHILADELPHIA — The NFL has often been referred to as the No Fun League and it is teetering once again on that territory with the senseless flags and fines we see every week for taunting and celebration penalties.
The first reference I can remember to the No Fun League was in this brilliantly written Sports Illustrated story by Curry Kirkpatrick in 1991. Back then the league was concerned about celebrations going over the top, but today the issue extends to taunting — that rude treatment the French guard hilariously hurls at King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table in the classic movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
“Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries,” would surely draw a flag and an $11,593 fine in today’s NFL.
We’ve witnessed four taunting flags the last two weeks in games involving the Eagles.
One went against Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nucua after he caught a pass in front of linebacker Jihaad Campbell. Nucua then spun the football and made a muscle pose before gesturing that he had a first down.
Was he standing close to Campbell at the time?
Sure.
Was he taunting him?
No way.
Did Campbell appear offended?
Not in the least bit.
Nuka, nevertheless, cost his team 15 yards and himself $11,593, the standard fine for a first taunting offense.
In the same game, Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter picked up his first taunting penalty of the season and was later fined the standard amount for jawing with Rams’ players after he blocked a fourth-quarter field goal attempt.
There’s a bunch of stuff to unravel here.
One is that officials are obviously looking for things from Carter, who has a reputation for being a physical player who too often crosses the line the league deems acceptable. He was penalized six times for unnecessary roughness in his first two seasons and then infamously ejected from the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys for spitting on quarterback Dak Prescott.
That said, it appears as if two Rams’ players were also yelling things at Carter before he was flagged. In many ways, the taunting penalty is a lot like a personnel foul for fighting. Many times, it’s the guy who retaliates who gets flagged.
Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean picked up the first taunting penalty of his career last Sunday against Tampa Bay when he made a textbook tackle on Buccaneers running back Rachaad White that should have created a third-and-seven situation.
Instead, the Bucs got a first down when he was flagged for stepping over the running back. We’d suggest that stepping over someone is far better than stepping on someone and that perhaps that’s how DeJean viewed the situation.
We can tell you he definitely didn’t expect a flag on the play.
“I was (shocked) a little bit,” DeJean said. “I am. I didn’t agree with the (Nucua) one either. You know it seemed to me like he just spun the ball and pointed to the first down like I’m sure he’s done before.”
There have been even worse examples of questionable taunting penalties this season.
In Week 3, Arizona tight end Trey McBride was not flagged for a 17-yard catch against San Francisco, but he was later fined because it was deemed he talked trash to 49ers’ safety Marques Sigle after making the catch. This one was a real shocker and it had to qualify as the shortest trash talk in league history.
Green Bay safety Xavier McKinney was ridiculously flagged and fined at the end of this play against Detroit in Week 1. It appeared as if the only thing he was guilty of was legally blowing up a block by Detroit receiver Kalif Raymond.
Some taunting penalties are justified.
The Eagles’ Nolan Smith was wrong in Week 1 when he took down Miles Sanders in the second quarter and then took three steps toward the Cowboys running back and flexed while also jawing at him.
Detroit’s Brian Branch crossed a line when he ripped off the helmet of Green Bay tight end Tucker Kraft and tossed it in the first quarter of the Week 1 game between NFC North rivals. It was also clearly wrong for Detroit’s Jameson Williams to throw the ball in the face of Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson after a play in Week 2. Stevenson wasn’t even in the game at the time.
“It’s tough when you’re in the heat of the battle and you have so many emotions during the game,” DeJean said. “You work all week to play your best on Sunday, so there is so much emotion that you play with and sometimes it comes out and even if it’s the slightest bit they call it. But you can definitely tell it has been a point of emphasis.”
Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert does think taunting is a difficult infraction to officiate because it can often have a subjective nature.
“It’s always tough,” he said. “It’s a double-edged sword. I like when they call it on other teams, but I don’t like when they call it on ours. You look at some of them and you’re like, ‘I don’t see why they called that one,’ and then you look at others and you know for sure that’s taunting.
“I’ve never had one, but I think it’s important to celebrate with your teammates and it’s tough because (taunting penalties) are going to come here and there. People are so passionate about this game and it’s a physical game. When you make a big play sometimes it’s hard to not let a defender know about it. But we have to be smart about the situation arises.”
And sometimes that’s not even enough in the No Fun League.
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