It may be wishful thinking with a dash of delusion (which characterizes most things said at this time of year by NFL players and coaches), but Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman doesn’t believe that the renewed emphasis on illegal contact and defensive holding will affect the team whose push-pull-tug-shove habit may have sparked the effort to dust off rules that were last dusted off in 2004.
"[I]t will have very minimal impact on our game and how we play it,” Sherman told reporters on Monday.
He didn’t elaborate (or if he did the transcript didn’t reflect it), but it’s unrealistic. The last time the NFL told officials to call pre-throw defensive fouls in the passing game more closely, the penalties jumped from 79 to 191.
If the Seahawks and other teams don’t adjust, the flags will fly again. Even if it means bogging down games and making them last longer than they should.
If may be wishful think with a dash of delusion for the league office and the referees to think that the Seahawks and others will indeed change their way of trying to disrupt today’s high-octane passing offenses.