< Back to front page Text size – +

Penalty check: Pats on pace for most since '06

Print | Comments () Posted by Shalise Manza Young, Globe Staff December 3, 2011 10:00 AM

Tweet
E-mail

Our Sunday story for tomorrow is on penalties: why the Pats are typically among the least-penalized teams in the league, and how not all flags are the same.

In that spirit, here's a look at the Patriots' penalties through the first 11 games of the season. With 67 accepted penalties for 591 yards, they're on pace to be flagged 98 times for 859 yards, which would be their highest number since 2006, when the Pats had 98 penalties for 940 yards.

Part of the reason for that is the league's emphasis on player-safety penalties. Numbers around the league have spiked in recent years.

Patriots penalty leaders through 11 games
8 – G Logan Mankins
5 – TE Rob Gronkowski, OT Nate Solder
4 – CB Kyle Arrington, S Patrick Chung, G Brian Waters, QB Tom Brady

Patriots penalties by type
17 – False start
15 – Offensive holding
7 – Defensive pass interference
6 – Unnecessary roughness
4 – Illegal block above the waist