The renewed emphasis on illegal contact and defensive holding penalties benefits NFL offenses. That doesn’t mean all NFL offensive players appreciate the move.
Specifically, Texans receiver Andre Johnson doesn’t like the increased throwing of flags in the 2014 preseason.
“Watching the game last week against Atlanta, it kind of makes the game longer.” Johnson said Wednesday, via 610 Sports Radio in Houston. “It actually makes you hate it a little bit because every time you look around there’s a flag on the ground.”
Johnson believes that the officials won’t call illegal contact and defensive holding as tightly once the regular season begins. The NFL has said that the emphasis on illegal contact and defensive holding will continue. We’ll begin to find out whether the NFL means what it says when the Packers travel to Seattle to start the 2014 regular season in only 15 days.