MM quotes on the penalties

[D-train]

Just shocking that he didn't blame them on the Officials and didn't skip the Post Game presser to go in and destroy their clothes even though the only possible reason based on posts on X that they threw the flags was to get attention and get more TV time and wanting it to be all about them. Holy hell people are so dumb.

“We were off the field multiple times (on defense), and we got penalties, so it’s cut and dry,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said of the Chargers’ comeback. “That’s not how we’re going to do business. That’s not how we’re going to play. It’s unacceptable.”

“We have a spectrum around here on how we ascribe penalties,” Macdonald said. “One is cost-of-doing-business (penalties) in terms of playing style. We want to play hard, (and) sometimes we make mistakes. And on the other side of the spectrum, we call them selfish penalties. This is going to be a through, not around, next 24 to 48 hours on how we address the penalties.”

“To have seven personal foul penalties is unacceptable on any level, however you slice it,” he said. “That’s not us, and that’s not going to be how we play football around here.”

[Donn Beach]

The refs have a job to do, it's to keep the game under control and not let it turn into an all out brawl. Yeah there were pitty pat calls, that's for a reason. The truly stupid thing is when the officials are in clamp down mode that you continue doing it, that's just dumb.

It's interesting on the other hand how MM goes about handling his team. And this is for the crowd that thinks handling players is about being a hard ass. Here's his post game locker room talk. I think it's important to understand that's how it's done, being positive

https://youtu.be/31I3AJv7SxA?si=BC2q7724KQ4wtr9M

[Michael K.]

Yes, Scott Novak's officiating crew drew heavy criticism and a "flag-happy" reputation following the game after combining for a historic 30 accepted penalties.
Game Penalty Breakdown
• Total Penalties: 30 accepted penalties for 280 yards (the most in an NFL regulation, non-overtime game in 26 years).
• Los Angeles Chargers: 16 penalties for 130 yards.
• Seattle Seahawks: 14 penalties for 150 yards (a single-game franchise record).
• Previous Noteworthy Games: Observers noted that Novak's crew also oversaw a heavily penalized Week 2 matchup between the Green Bay Packers and New York Jets featuring 27 flags

So far in the 2026 NFL regular season, Scott Novak's crew has shot to the top of the league's penalty metrics. Driven primarily by that 30-penalty Seahawks-Chargers game, the crew is currently averaging 19.33 accepted penalties for 193.33 yards per game.
This is a stark jump compared to the rest of the league, as the overall NFL average sits at 14.57 penalties for 116.88 yards per game.

We have a ref telling McBride "Fuck You", another getting up and getting into a players face because he ran into the ref that was in the way!?

The 2026 NFL season is on pace to be one of the most heavily penalized seasons in modern football history, with officials throwing flags at an unprecedented rate.

Through Week 4 of the 2026 season, NFL games have turned into absolute "flag fests". For context, Week 4 alone averaged roughly 17 penalties per game across the league, making it the second-highest penalized single weekend since the start of the 2010 season (trailing only Week 2 of 2015, which averaged 18.6).

How 2026 Compares to Years Past
In recent decades, league-wide average penalties generally hovered between 5.6 and 6.5 per team per game. In 2026, undisciplined teams are smashing past those historical baselines:
• The Historical Baseline: In 2024, the league average was 6.44 penalties per team per game. In the years preceding it, averages rarely peaked past 7.0.
• The 2026 Reality: This year, highly penalized teams like the Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers are averaging over 10.5 accepted penalties per game. Historically, Matt LaFleur's Packers had never averaged more than 6.2 flags per game in any season since 2019. Individual games are seeing staggering numbers—such as the Week 4 Seahawks vs. Chargers matchup, which logged 30 total accepted penalties.

Yes, unwatchable. No one tunes in to see these bumbling old men get in the fucking way. It's become incredibly bad. Sorry that I have to disagree that it is the players fault. The game is played even softer than it has been in years past, and ruled even more strictly. It's a bad watch.

These bafoons have made it about them. Sorry, I like to watch football, not officials. So, again....it has become unwatchable. I did yard work most of the morning yesterday. Came in, watched the Seahawks until halftime and took the wife to the Taphouse. It's not fun to watch anymore. Bad product and the officiating is the worst I've ever seen.

[D-train]

From worst to officials should have let it go:

Nick E: Head Butt - Enough said
Spoon: Tackle 5 yards out of Bounds - this one was so beyond blatant, not even going to elaborate. Called 1 million out of a million times by every official from NFL down to Pop Warner.
Nick E: Facemask - I still haven't seen it well enough to make a call on it. tryharder says it wasn't one but another guy I talk to on X says it was. Either it was and its going to be called rightfully every time or it wasn't and the official fucked up. Sucks but it happens....
Hall: Full body weigh on the QB on the Sack - this is the one I HATE but again they think QBs have brittle bones or something so have to call it.
DLaw: Low hit on Herbert - unfortunate and I don't blame Dlaw in the least but they have to call it. Its a rule. Blame the NFL rules committee.
O Toole: Facemask to Facemask on Punt coverage - Should have let it go
Russell: A little push after the whistle - bullshit call

Regardless of all this craziness I still watched the whole game. Maybe I have a super power that I can watch unwatchable games or something...ha

[D-train]

When you have 16 crews, you are going to have a spectrum of the most stringent to the most lenient. Would be nice if they are all consistent but too much of a human element. We all wish they were more lenient but I sincerely doubt yesterdays crew have low self esteem or low T and called the game the way they did because they want to make it all about them so they can boast to their friends and co workers at the real job this week. Could be wrong. lol

[Michael K.]

Doesn't matter to me why they suck, just sucks that they suck and ruin the experience.

[D-train]

If they didn't suck there would have be 5 legit personal foul calls in instead of a total of 7 of them. They had another 7 more typical penalties. I don't remember anything about them.

Maybe that makes the game go from unwatchable to watchable....

[D-train]

[D-train]

No mention if Novak has been promoted to Senior Referee for his prolific penalty output by him and his crew. lol

[DavidGee24]

The one that really eats at me is the bullshit call on Hall who popped Herbert right as he was throwing a dumpoff on 3rd and 23. The Chargers literally were giving up, and if it's ticky-tack a professional referee needs to keep the flag in his pocket. No excuse for bailing out a team that was conceding the drive.