Officiating is a sore subject in the NFL every year.
There’s always at least one big call that goes one way or the other and upsets a large group of fans, players and coaches.
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett was recently fined $25,000 for criticizing officials for neglecting to call holding penalties against opposing players blocking him, and Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons agreed.
Parsons posted on social media that the refereeing is so bad that he wants to start a group among NFL pass rushers to discuss their critiques of the officials without repercussions from the NFL.
“It’s so bad I’m bout to start a pass rush anonymous,” Parsons posted on X, formally known as Twitter, “so they can share their feelings without being judged!”
It’s so bad I’m bout to start a pass rush anonymous so they can share their feelings without being judged! https://t.co/Qg2hhMngHc
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) December 16, 2023
Garrett and Parsons are the two most double-teamed defenders players in the NFL with a double-team rate of 33 percent and 32 percent, respectively, according to ESPN.
But even still, Garrett has 13 sacks on the season and Parsons has 12.5, respectively.
So the duo is still effective despite more attention from blockers and – allegedly – less attention from referees.
The NFL appears to be cracking down on criticism from players and coaches, too.
Garrett took a $25,000 fine, while Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes were fined $100,000 and $50,000 respectively.
There aren’t hard-and-fast stats on how true or false Garett’s and Parson’s claims are, but two marquee players mentioning it is certainly noteworthy.
Offensive holding penalties are up on the year, though: 2.15 offensive holding penalties were called per game in 2022 compared to 2.18 offensive holding penalties in 2023, per nflpenalties.com.
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