[Elvis]

So we all know there's no correlation between penalties and winning and losing.

The last 3 SB winners either led the league in penalties (Baltimore and Seattle) or were darn close (New England).

The four most penalized teams last year all made the playoffs (Seahawks, Patriots, Colts and Lions).

And now this:



So the question is:

Have teams figured out penalties aren't that important?

And if so, what does the league do about it? I mean if penalties aren't actually hurting a team's chance of being successful, then they're not really penalties. Does the league take a look at that?

[Elvis]

The Rams and the NFL's penalty problem

Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff Writer

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Perhaps you've already noticed, or maybe if you're a St. Louis Rams fan you're already numb to the constant yellow projectiles that come out during games, but penalties are up three weeks into the season.

ESPN NFL Nation columnist Kevin Seifert took a deeper dive into the league's penalty problem on Tuesday. In the first three weeks, there have been 730 accepted penalties, which is an NFL record for the first trio of games.

As the most penalized team in the league in their three years under coach Jeff Fisher (cumulative), you'd probably think the Rams are again near the top of the list. But they actually aren't.

The Rams have 17 accepted penalties over the first three weeks, which is tied with four teams for seventh-fewest in the league. Tampa Bay and Oakland, with 33 a piece, are the most penalized teams through the first three games.

The penalty problems that have persisted under Fisher -- their 375 accepted penalties in the past three years is most in the NFL -- haven't been quite as noticeable this year. What has been noticeable has been the timing of those infractions.

Fisher lamented that very thing on Monday.

"Penalties came at the wrong time," Fisher said. "Not a lot of them but at the wrong time."

For example, in Sunday's 12-6 loss to Pittsburgh, the Rams had two false start penalties inside Pittsburgh's 10 as they were going in for a potential game-winning touchdown. Those types of mistakes continue to plague the Rams even if their penalty numbers are down while the rest of the league's are up.

[OldSchool]

Penalties on the offense aren't really a problem if you have an offense capable of big plays and able to overcome a 2nd and 15. We simply don't have that kind of offense.