Pittsburgh Steelers growing number of penalties and belief of mental errors – NFL Feature
Pittsburgh Steelers centre Maurkice Pouncey calls them mental errors, and a part of football, very near to the wisdom of some extremes in the league, who believe roughing up and hitting players have always been another side of the National Football League
(NFL).
They have little support to their exclusive belief, though. What the centre calls "mental errors" as a matter of fact is ever increasing number of penalties that have started worrying coach Mike Tomlin.
According to the coach, playing aggressive is different from playing smart, and he said he has been weighing options how to control the problem.
The issue has also left its impact on overall performance of the team this season.
In initial four games the team allowed 9.2 penalties and 86.5 penalty yards per game. They were not done yet, irrespective of the fact that the coach seemed worried.
The official knew then if they were not stopped or at least controlled to an extent they would break all previous records of penalties.
It is to note that the Steelers have always been a disciplinary unit but not so reputable over past few years. Take their daring linebacker James Harrison, for example. He has been fined more than any other player in the league for last two-three years.
He alone has knocked down half a dozen players with injuries as serious as concussions.
Harrison was the first player to have been suspended under revised league rules of players’ safety. He was taken to the task for a hit on Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy.
He seems not done yet, and many commentators argued that the punishment of a single-game ban was not enough to get him disciplined. They are right in a sense that it is belief of a player that entices him to go aggressive against any opponent.
This is where Steelers coach might find himself helpless, because when a player hits the field with a belief to hit and hurt his opponent then nothing much can be done about disciplining him.
Another aspect of hitting and hurting opponents by a player is an outside motivation through a reward promise.
One example of the outside motivation with financial reward is the covert bounty programme that was being run by some players and officials at New Orleans Saints.
Another motivation example is recent rhetoric of Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Jerry Gray, who used 'bad' language while urging his players to go to any extent in defending an offensive player from opposition.
So, the Steelers have to decide whether they are in favour of the belief that "mental errors" or roughing opponents up was and will always be a part of the game.
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