Flag on the play: a constant reminder that the 2015 CFL teams are showing the same lack of discipline as in 2014. Officials around the league have been taking a lot of heat over the amount of orange nylon that has been thrown over the course of three completed weeks. CFL penalties in 2015 have many league watchers boiling.
Fans want fewer flags, not fewer penalties; they seem incapable of understanding that, like most sports, the CFL also has rules and consequences for players and teams that do not play within the set parameters.
Let’s look at this from another perspective. Hamilton DE Adrian Tracy hits Winnipeg QB Drew Willy with a helmet-to-helmet hit, a dangerous play for which the Ticats weren’t penalized during the game; only Tracy was affected, and he was hit with a fine. Unless you were watching the play with black and yellow lenses on your glasses, you understand that this was a missed call.
A hold or a unnecessary roughness call is worth a penalty, no matter if it’s a blow to the head or a tug on the jersey of a receiver running a route, it will and should be called. Yet the officials are taking the bulk of the criticism just for doing their job and trying to keep a matchup fair and exciting.
Fans who are frustrated with the number of penalties this season shouldn’t direct their frustrations at the officials. Instead they should be directed at the undisciplined mob they cheer for. This isn’t like the franchises came into this season blind. The officials were even at teams’ training camps providing understanding on the new rules and also gathering valuable reps with the teams.
Many fans don’t know that officials are evaluated on every play in every game that they attend. After the evaluation, they are responsible for correcting their decisions on the field. If you were evaluated on every aspect of your job, would you knowingly let a obvious call go to please fans? Or would you make the correct decision and throw the flag?
It is clear there are numerous flags flying in every CFL contest; fans are starting to toss the phrase “Canadian Flag League” around, along with speculation that officials want the spotlight. This is completely asinine. It’s absolutely true that the flags can kill a drive or cause a complete shift in momentum, absolutely. Maybe coaches around the league will look at this closely and figure out a way to preach discipline to their teams in a very serious manner. If not, well, we can continue to watch officials make it rain in bright orange.
