Overreactions from Steelers Nation: What constitutes a “dumb” penalty?
Welcome to my weekly edition of “Overreactions from Steelers Nation” a weekly column where I poke fun at fans, reporters, and so-called experts while trying to figure out if some of these hot takes are real – or just for attention.
Let me begin this week’s column by stating I believe all penalties are dumb. Players are flagged when they break the rules – either intentionally or by mistake. In that regard, a talented and/or smart player is unlikely to get penalized, because their ability or intellect, or both, works in their favor of not circumventing fair play.
When an offensive lineman commits a false start penalty, I think to myself: “That could’ve been prevented.” It was a momentary lapse of concentration which then hurts the team.
But then you have what transpired on Sunday between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers. One was a penalty on Diontae Johnson, for having a dead ball emotional outburst. The other was whatever the hell Marcus Allen was thinking (or wasn’t) at the conclusion of the third quarter.
Both situations can be considered a momentary lapse of concentration which then hurts the team. And both of them should be considered dumb, yet, I think we can agree some penalties are more forgivable than others.
Let’s take a look at each situation.
Diontae Johnson’s Emotional Outburst
A lot of people will disagree with me here, but I had less of an issue with this penalty, but only in some ways.
As you rewatch what transpired, Johnson made some ridiculously good moves to gain a first down. Players have been showboating, especially wide receivers, for what seems like forever: this is no different, except the Panthers defender is trapped in proximity to Diontae.
It’s the extra words after the flex that gets him tagged with a definite flag, as referees have a point of emphasis to try and eliminate taunting from the league.
Regardless, someone will come at me with the “Mike Tomlin has no control of his players” crap, and it’s just that: crap. Are you really that naïve to not think Joey Porter had some attitude? And I’m sure I can create a list of players from Noll or Cowher’s eras that fit the bill, which is precisely why it’s not a generational thing. This is part of the game except in that, Johnson has that little extra that definitely toes the line of what’s going to be permitted versus what is not.
In fact, the NFL has taken the FIFA or NBA route of counting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the same vein as a yellow card or a technical foul: two and you’re ejected from the game. Therefore, this still needs to be addressed as to the seriousness of how it can affect your team.
Johnson needs to put a lid on the extra piece, but you have to remember, these are twenty-somethings in the heat of the moment too. I’m not saying it excuses the behavior, but it’s a lesson learned where there’s hopefully not a next time. That’s why I have less of an issue with what happened.
Diontae, you got caught. Move on. Don’t do it again.
Marcus Allen’s Huddle Invasion
I really don’t know what transpired here, only that Allen seems confused and almost looks as if he was betrayed by something that happened during the commercial break.
First things first: you have to know you can’t be on the other team’s side of the field, in their huddle, or screw around in their bench area. (Remember Cassius Marsh and his outburst in the Bears game last year?)
This is preventable. Because it’s 100% preventable, it’s inexcusable.
You have to think that Allen, who is now in his fifth season in the NFL, knows better. His reaction to the flag even shows as much: he’s upset, but he was also upset, and visibly looks as if he’s having a word with someone on the Carolina side.
That doesn’t mean the Panthers players and/or staff are receptive to whatever it is he’s trying to do. Hence the perception that he’s a bonehead. You have to know what this looks like to everyone else watching even if you feel you’re not in the wrong.
The referees are there to maintain law and order, and they’re going to make sure there’s no dustups, in a game which already featured several up to this point.
The Aftermath
The penalties each had their own impact on the game. Johnson’s 15-yard flag could’ve, but did not stall what would turnout to be a 21-play, 106-yard series for the Steelers. It turned a 1st-and-goal from the Carolina 7 to a 1st-and-10 on the Carolina 22.
Oddly enough, that penalty occurred with 7:13 remaining in the third quarter, whereas Allen’s flag was thrown during the dead ball time before the start of the fourth quarter. With Johnson’s penalty fresh in everyone’s minds, anyone observing had to be thinking “What are you thinking?!” when it comes to Allen’s snafu.
As noted, Allen’s play had an affect on the scoreboard and could’ve negatively impacted the outcome of the game – if Carolina were able to do anything on offense themselves. The Steelers had sacked Sam Darnold twice, once by Alex Highsmith and another by Cameron Heyward, leading to a 4th-and-27 before the penalty gave the Panthers a new set of downs.
Instead of punting the ball back to the Steelers, the Panthers were able to sustain a few more plays down to the Steelers 10-yard line, before being stopped, and kicking a field goal.
That added three more points to the Panthers tally, but it could’ve very easily have been a 21-14 game otherwise.
We don’t know any punishment that’s been handed out by Coach Tomlin, and it’s likely that information won’t become public. There are quite a few fans that want to see Allen dismissed from the team, though I think that’s a bit harsh – but not out of the realm of professionally paid players, especially those near the bottom of the roster, who can be sent home with one misstep.
We can chalk all of this up to an emotional set of circumstances for a Steelers team in disarray this season, particularly after a hard-fought battle against the Baltimore Ravens.
Again, I’m only trying to shed light on a sensitive situation, and not excuse it, but hopefully we can now move on to other kneejerk reactions next week as these two isolated incidents took our focus off of other hot button topics (Matt Canada) for at least one week!
