Media Guide Freaks...is this a record...close?

[Brad]

The Bulls were victors despite 18 penalties totaling 164 yards.

Cripes.

[Kizarvexis]

USF set a new record with 18 penalties for 164 yards (17 for 158yds vs UCONN 10/13/01).

It places second in total penaties for a USF game with a combined 28 penalties for 268 yards (29 for 279yds vs UCONN 10/13/01).

Kizarvexis

[Kizarvexis]

Here is the penalty breakdown since 2001.

2001 USF Avg 10.00 penalties for 83.00 yards

2001 Opp Avg 9.82 penalties for 82.09 yards

2002 USF Avg 11.64 penalties for 98.73 yards

2002 Opp Avg 7.27 penalties for 60.36 yards

2003 USF Avg 9.36 penalties for 83.00 yards

2003 Opp Avg 6.27 penalties for 47.91 yards

2004 USF 12.67 penalties for 107.33 yards

2004 Opp 6.67 penalties for 54.67 yards

The Bulls are on pace this year to break the 2002 record for penalties and penalty yardage.

Kizarvexis

[Apis Bull]

If we could stop the freaking penalties, we wouldn't have such nail biters all the time.

[beastiebull]

What will it take to stop these penalties?  Every year, with different players, it's a huge problem.  

Can you say "coaching issue"?

[ChiTownBull]

What will it take to stop these penalties?  Every year, with different players, it's a huge problem.  

Can you say "coaching issue"?

has to be coaching....

[Apis Bull]

Obviously, it's coaching.

[WoolyBully]

Even CJL commented on this postgame: it comes down to coaching a more disciplined game-day execution to avoid these penalties.  He sees it, and he knows it's killing a lot of our drives.

How do you coach it? I have no idea. It can't be carrot-and-stick...it has to be performance.

[Omniscientbull]

How can you coach someone from jumping offsides?  How can you coach 2 bullcrap pass interference penalty calls?  How can you coach a BS smack to the helmet that never occured?  How can you coach an incidental face mask that is wrongly called a personal foul?  There goes half of the penalties.

The penalties you can correct from last nights games are the 2 illegal substitutions and the ruffing the kicker.  The 2 illegal substitutions are a result of players either not paying attention or the defensive coaches not recognizing what package was on the field.  The ruffing the kicker is a bad call as it is nearly impossible to block a kick up the middle.  You'v got to get it from an angle and dive in front of the kicker.

With that said. I could care less if we have a few roughing the passers and roughing the kicker (especially the kicker if you are in the right field position) because the result from aggressive play.  However, I hate substitution penalties and I hate it when an offensive lineman can't be disciplined enough to wait for the snap or simply doesn't know how to count.

But to blame it all on coaching is a joke.  Coaches aren't on the field executing the plays.  They can run a player all day long to punish him but that doesn't mean it will change.  Similar to basketball and free throws.  You can coach them every day but you can't go shoot them for the player during the game.

[Jim Johnson]

It's easy... commit penalties and you sit.  Players want to play- and if you take that away from them, they'll learn.

At the same time, many of the penalties come from being very aggressive.  This aggressiveness is part of the reason USF has been so successful  If players become more cautious to avoid penalties, they might also have problems not being agressive enough.

Catch-22?