A win is a win. Even when it's ugly, a victory still counts. This may be true in the regular season, but in the preseason, sometimes victories can feel a bit tainted. That's not to say that the team didn't deserve to win; they put in the work and pulled off the W. But when you walk away, realizing you have a lot of work to do before these games are real, the scoreboard reading in your favor at the end isn't quite as sweet.
That's what happened in yesterday's 23-19 preseason game 2 victory against the Indianapolis Colts. Now, don't get me wrong, Taylor Elgersma looked pretty good outside of an interception he threw, which ended up being called back, Izzy Abanikanda and Amar Johnson looked like they're going to make a big case for at least a practice squad position with the team, and Sean Clifford made a great TD run which ended up sealing the victory. But one of the most noticeable parts of the game was the consistent flags against the Packers' offense in the first half.
During the first 30 minutes of play, the Packers were penalized 11 times for a total of 85 yards. Usually, as a fan, when such things happen, your first impulse is to blame the referees, begging them to let the players play the game or accusing them of being biased. But when the majority of those penalties are either done pre-snap or are an obvious infraction, they become maddening and game-tainting. No matter the outcome, exciting victory or not, you know you have a lot of work to do.
Last week against the Jets, penalties were notably a problem. The Packers had seven calls accepted for a total of 64 yards. Lucky for them, three other calls were declined. With last week being such a frustrating loss, however, it was easy for those penalties to sort of get caught up in the mix as just one part of the debacle. Matt LaFleur admitted that the penalties were a major problem, and it's hard to get into any rhythm on offense when you're committing multiple penalties, and that was that. This week, however, the penalties increased, and LaFleur seemed a bit more committed to getting them resolved, saying they have to do a better job, and some evaluation needs to be done to try to alleviate these issues.
Perhaps one of the most frustrating facts about these penalties is that against the Colts, the second-round draft pick, right tackle Anthony Belton, was called for five of them. One false start, one unnecessary roughness call, a facemask, and two consecutive illegal formation penalties. Now, rookies are going to make mistakes, but five infractions in one game? That's not to mention that Belton had two alignment infractions last week against the Jets, but those penalties were declined. LaFleur laid into Belton just before halftime yesterday, but he even admitted that it was mainly due to Belton's personal foul that occurred after the whistle had been blown. But outside of that, five pre-snap penalties in two games? Belton needs his coaching staff to take him aside and figure out what he's doing wrong and correct it fast.
It's a Team Effort
Even though Anthony Belton holds the title for most penalties in the preseason so far, that doesn't mean the rest of the team is off the hook. There are still 17 other penalties between the last two games that weren't called on Anthony Belton.
John Madden used to say that holding occurs on every play; it's just rarely called. It's basically up to the referees to determine if the action is egregious enough to warrant the 10-yard penalty. When it comes to those calls, players just need to watch their hands and not hold on for too long, warranting a call. Personal fouls, of course, require discipline, and pre-snap penalties can either expose a fundamental issue or a lack of discipline as well.
No matter the cause, it's up to Matt LaFleur and his coaching staff to put a major emphasis on keeping away from yellow flags in the next two weeks. This week, they were a sour note on an exciting comeback victory. The Packers don't need this to continue into the regular season, where, instead of just being a blemish on the W, they're the reason a notch is being placed in the L column.