Does Anyone Actually Like These Taunting Flags
So far the taunting rule has basically been close to the worst-case scenario. Any hope that it might be one of those rules that gets over-called in the preseason and then vanishes in the regular season has been somewhat disproven. It is getting called frequently enough, and the calls have the exact problems any of us who didn’t like it feared. It’s being applied arbitrarily, it’s being applied inconsistently, and it’s not serving any real purpose outside being bullshit.
I’ve read the boomer mentality arguments thrown around in defense. Well, it’s not necessary to flex your biceps at someone after making a play. No, you don’t have to yell stuff in the face of the DB you just caught a ball over. Many of these moments that are flagged are not specifically necessary and plenty of players are fine not doing them. I don’t care for this argument, because it’s old man shit. Who cares if it’s not explicitly polite or sporting to scream LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOO while flexing on a dude you just owned. It’s fun. It’s awesome. Football taunting has not gotten out of hand. We weren’t having big fights and heightened drama because the taunting was running rampant. The new rule was a solution to a problem that didn’t exist. That’s probably why nobody outside the dipshit owners who implemented it seem to like it.
From a more cynical lens, it might not even just be the ol’ No Fun League bullshit from the era of anti-celebration that we recently escaped, but a genuine attempt to establish control over the players even further. I’ve seen the theory thrown around that the rule might have been implemented so that they can use it as a bargaining chip in the next CBA negotiations. I’m not sure I buy that level of conspiracy, the NFL tends to be reactionary with its rule changes. It’s hard not to see this rule as a reaction to the Antoine Winfield taunt in the Super Bowl that…oh right, it didn’t cause a fight, Tyreek Hill barely seemed to acknowledge it. Why was this implemented again?
But even if you are one of the stuffy folks who hate displays of emotion and fun, which I don’t agree with but I guess is a perfectly valid opinion to have, the rule sucks because it’s not clear what counts as a taunt and it basically comes down to subjectivity by the refs. Everyone’s personal line of taunting is different. Should Lamar Jackson have been flagged for doing a pointless flip into the endzone against the Chiefs? Honestly? To me? If you are going to throw flags for taunting, that was an explicit taunt. More of a taunt than flexing a bicep at someone while walking back to the huddle. I thought the flip ruled, but I could absolutely understand the idea that it was a taunt. So is the line “anything that happens explicitly after the play ends”? If you are going to police this kind of shit, it feels pointless to draw the line there. Taunting happens during plays too. Every Deion Sanders high step is a taunt. Sauntering into the endzone after a runback is a taunt just as much as shouting WOO in someone’s direction after the whistle is a taunt. The whole rule is just so fucking dumb. It was fine before. Unless it is excessively unsporting, just leave it alone and let the jazzed-up players express themselves after doing cool shit.
But John Mara likes it. Add it to the pile of reasons John Mara’s a failure.
To be fair, it was the competition committee that put this rule forth for the owners to vote on and that committee includes Mike Tomlin, Ron Rivera, and Ozzie Newsome. I don’t like the rule, myself, but to frame it as an ‘old white guy’ thing is a bit erroneous.
Here’s an article about Ron Rivera specifically voicing his support of the rule: https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2021/09/22/washington-ron-rivera-competition-committee-taunting
Here’s one of Tomlin supporting the rule: https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/2021/08/21/pittsburgh-steelers-nfl-taunting-rules-mike-tomlin/
A quick Google search also shows that Brian Flores supports the rule.
I thought you would draw David Mills getting thrown to the wolves in his debut?
But yeah the new taunting rule is stupid. The NFL is overreacting to Antoine Winfield being a regular player.
On a side note the Texans are finally the 0-17 team everyone was talking about in the offseason.
By the way how many penalties would players in the past would have received thank to the New taunting rue?
Deion Sanders would be penalized 4 times per game if the rule was implemented back then. And T.O even more.
What I really don’t get in all of this is that it’s not like my generation invented the concept of trash talk or flexing on your opponent. They act like they didn’t do all the same stuff 30 years ago. Larry Bird, who’s possibly the whitest athlete to ever live and is definitely a Boomer, was famous for his trash talk.
I mean, some things go too far, like if someone says something bigoted, or if someone stashes a prop on the field, like Joe Horn’s cell phone or TO’s sharpie. But even with those prop ones, the general feeling seemed to be more “That was clever but we have to draw the line somewhere” than “That’s inherently offensive and I won’t stand for it.”
Exactly. Take a look at a guy like MJ, the greatest of all time. He was no stranger to taunting.
If someone does something egregious, like a WR struts back after a play and gets right in a cornerbacks face and waves a finger and says “Damn, you gave it up easier than your girlfriend did for the o-line last night,” then sure, maybe a penalty is called for. Call it unsportsmanlike conduct and give it five yards.
But taunting for running backwards into the end zone after a pick six is just stupid. And while I don’t think that there should have been any call on it, Jackson’s flip into the end zone was to me the biggest taunt of the first two weeks and if there was any consistency it should have been called.
I heard from Ross Tucker, who covers high school games in Pennsylvania, that kids are getting into fights more because of taunting and they’re taunting more because they see the prod doing it. Whether that’s true or not, or even a part of it being true, I assume the NFL has drawn a similar conclusion and decided, in the interest of “giving a good example” that they had to put a stop to taunting. Of course, if they actually CARED about giving a good example, they wouldn’t continue giving millions of dollars to wife beaters and rapists but whatareyagonnado.
Consistency. If it was called consistently we’d all still grumble about it, but at least it would be fair. Players would grumble about it, but eventually they’d come up with celebrations that don’t get flagged. Like doing the ‘make it rain’ gesture instead of flexing or something.
In college, Lamar’s flip into the endzone would have been assessed a penalty that nullified the score and placed the ball on the 15 yard line. (Same thing with high stepping if no one is near, or pointing at a defender). A lame rule to be sure, but it is CLEARLY explained in the rulebook, and everyone knows how it is going to be called. Players, coaches, and fans can live with that.
This is exactly right. The rule would be very No Fun League but if there was consistency to it we’d all be more angry at the players for knowing what they can’t do and doing it anyway, hurting the team
But when you have no idea play to play what is actually going to be considered a taunt it’s all just bullshit.
the worst referee enforcing the worst rules are tolerable if theyre called consistently
of course then id argue theyre not a bad referee per se but you get my point
Taunting should be a fine, not a penalty.
What if your team was up 30 points? Is a taunting flag really going to stop you? Or even if you were down 30 points, and finally did something worth celebrating. If they really want to curb this behavior, they need to be hitting players where it might actually hurt – their wallets. Being able to dole out fines based on the behavior displayed would allow for MUCH more consistency in the application of the punishment, as it would come from league offices and not just individual referee crews. Events that happen between plays shouldn’t have the ability to change the outcome of a game.
Also, I say fine instead of penalty under the assumption that the behavior needs curbing, which I don’t necessarily believe.
I agree with this, If it’e egregious fine someone but taunting should not be a penalty. I remember when Randy Moss fake mooned the fans at Lambeau. Did I like it as a Packers fan, no, but he got in the end zone, he gets to celebrate. If it’s really egregious like that throat cut gesture that had been going around, fine them, but aside from that, best way to avoid end zone taunts, don’t let them in the end zone.
“The new rule was a solution to a problem that didn’t exist.”
Your quote here is exactly why I’m disliking this rule and why I’m confused it even exists. I don’t know of any stats that show there’s been more fights recently or something that’s actually detrimental to the franchises / harming their viewer count.
The worst situation in the past few years was probably the Myles Garrett fight with (bad & forgotten Steelers QB), and the refs reacted appropriately to it by kicking him out of the game. The league came down hard on Garrett because it was a step too far on what’s allowed and set a bad example for the sport. Both of those punishments were warranted. And they had an appropriate rule in place to handle that which was unsportsmanlike conduct.
And for those pointing to the Super Bowl and Winfield’s taunt on Tyreek Hill as the reason for this rule… the refs acted appropriately in the moment and **they flagged him for taunting**.
So if there’s no reason for this updated rule and the appropriate actions were already being taken in moments of unsportsmanlike conduct or taunting… why does this new rule exist?
I’m glad this got on your radar because it’s driving me nuts too. I just can’t find the logic behind this decision and ironically it’s harming my entertainment of the sport more than taunting ever did lol
Honestly, it feels like the emphasis only exists because the NFL is mad that the most iconic image of last year’s Sumer Bowl is Winfield Jr. giving Hill the peace sign instead of a shot of the game.