THE LIST:
The offensive holding penalty is one of the most frustrating parts of football. Coaches and quarterbacks rave about what a killer these 10-yard penalties can be. However, that’s only relevant when the flag is thrown.
I recently stumbled upon a list of the number of holding penalties each team’s offensive line committed in the 2023 season. I instantly noticed something bizarre. Six of the top seven teams were playoff teams with high-end, explosive offenses. The offensive line of the Super Champion, Kansas City Chiefs had the most holding penalties, with the Dolphins and Ravens not far behind. Could committing holding penalties and having a great offense go hand in hand?
THE NUMBERS:
It is a known fact, that due to the mess in the middle of the trenches, referees miss most holding penalties. The list I mentioned above made me wonder “How many penalties go uncalled”? I tried to find an exact number on the internet. Yet, for the same reason the refs don’t know how many penalties are committed, the internet wasn’t sure either. I found numerous different answers. The answers verified from quotes saying that holding penalties are missed on every single, to lower numbers, such as, out of 4 out of 5 being missed. I chose to take the lowest and most inconvenient number, 4 out of 5. This way nobody can claim that I’m stretching the numbers in my favor. A holding penalty is a 10-yard penalty.
When an offensive holding penalty is called, the offense moves 10 yards back. If the penalty is only called 1 out of every 5 times it is committed, it moves the offense back 2 yards per hold (10 divided by 5 is 2). Holding a defender will allow a passer more time in the pocket, or provide a ball carrier with a larger gap. Therefore, holding a defender should increase the amount of yards the offense gains on the play. If the number of extra yards per play is larger than 2, committing holding on every play is beneficial for the offense. Let’s say the offense gains 20 yards per 5 clean plays. A holding penalty being called reduces that number to 10 yards. If the offense gains 3 extra yards per play, the number moves back up to 25 (3 times 5 is 15, 10 plus 15 is 25). We see that if the offense holds defenders on all 5 plays, they’ll gain 5 yards more than if they played clean football (25 minus 20 is 5).
IS IT INTENTIONAL?:
Let’s look back at the teams from the list that I mentioned. All three teams have explosive players who can do a lot with extra time or room. The Chiefs have Mahomes and Kelce, the Ravens have Lamar and Andrews, and the Dolphins have Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Raheem Mostert, and De’Von Achane. When they get away with holding, these teams most definitely have the ability to capitalize and gain more than 2 extra yards per play. I can’t tell you for a fact that these teams are holding intentionally. However, if you go over their film and pay attention to all the potential missed holding calls, it’s not very far-fetched.
In accordance, I believe that coaches who know that they have an explosive offense should be teaching their offensive linemen to hold on every play. It should be part of their technique, to begin with. As I previously stated, we won’t know exactly what is going on. We can’t know until we hear it directly from the source. Nevertheless, if I were a coach, my offensive linemen would be told to hold the defenders on every play. It's not great sportsmanship, but since when does that stop NFL players?
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