Much ballyhoo has been made since the final whistle blew on Sunday about the penalties that ultimately “cost” the Broncos the game against the Colts.
(Editor’s note: Penalties were no doubt a huge factor in the Colts’ final drive. However, a 60 percent third-down conversion rate allowed by the defense, 35 total yards rushing yards on offense and two interceptions by Peyton Manning were also major contributors to Denver’s first loss on the season.)
Indeed, penalties have been a problem for the Broncos all season. Through Week 9, Denver ranks seventh in the league in penalties per game, giving up 8.13 for an average of 74.5 yards per game. That’s roughly the equivalent of the Colts’ third scoring drive on Sunday, which went 63 yards in eight plays for a touchdown. In essence, the Broncos are giving away an entire offensive drive’s worth of yardage every game.
Until Sunday, Denver (especially the defense) has been able to overcome those setbacks, which had been described as mostly “aggressive” penalties. Against the Colts, “aggressive” became “irresponsible.” Aqib Talib, specifically, has been Public Enemy No. 1 after the “eye poke” that gave Andrew Luck and the Colts a fresh set out downs at the Denver 6-yard line instead of a third-and-seven from the 13 with 2:35 on the clock. But Talib is far from the worst offender on the Broncos.
In this week’s “Power Rankings” we run down the list of the Broncos’ 10 most-penalized players through the first eight games.
Unlike in weeks past, this list is in no way subjective. The stats bear out the rankings, as every spot is earned by hardline numbers.
First, players must have committed a minimum of two enforced penalties to qualify. Then, players are ranked based on penalties per 100 snaps. In other words, how often do you get flagged when you’re on the field.
For example, Peyton Manning has been on the field for 538 snaps and has been flagged twice. That’s a 0.37 penalties per 100 snaps. Manning did not make our list.
Penalty stats are all per nflpenalties.com, a comprehensive database of every single penalty amassed in the league dating back to 2009. Snap count stats are all per Pro Football Focus.
Commit the crime, do the time. And get tagged on our list that follows.
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[adrotate group=”6″]No. 10 – Malik Jackson
Enforced Penalties: 3
Resulting Yards: 45
Snaps: 401
Penalties Per 100 Snaps: 0.75
As far as yards per penalty go, Malik Jackson is the Broncos’ worst offender. He’s been booked three times for 45 yards. He’s one of only three guys on our list whose infractions average more than 10 yards per occurrence. Jackson, at the top of that list, has given up a first-down-and-a-half every time he’s been officially booked.
Jackson has even been bailed out on one occasion, with a declined penalty.
His penalties include offside, face mask (15 yards), unsportsmanlike conduct and unnecessary roughness.
What’s disturbing about the defensive end is that only one of his penalties is procedural.
No. 9 – Ty Sambrailo
Enforced Penalties: 2
Resulting Yards: 15
Snaps: 215
Penalties Per 100 Snaps: 0.93
It seems somewhat unfair to include Sambrailo on this list – sort of like kicking a man while he’s down – but we did promise a purely statistical list and the numbers don’t lie.
Sambrailo has had a tough year. He was drafted to play right tackle and was moved to left tackle after Ryan Clady went down with a season-ending injury. He was scrutinized, criticized and marginalized by many in the media. John Elway gave Jake Long a long, long look as his possible replacement. And he battled injuries in the early part of the year, eventually succumbing to season-ending surgery of his own.
Still, in his 215 snaps, Sambrailo was flagged twice, once for holding and once for a false start. Only a rookie, Sambrailo will hopefully get healthy in the offseason and start to figure out his position in short order. A left tackle who is regularly flagged is one that doesn’t play.
No. 8 – Aqib Talib
Enforced Penalties: 5
Resulting Yards: 19
Snaps: 523
Penalties Per 100 Snaps: 0.96
Save for his two penalties on Sunday, Aqib Talib’s infractions haven’t caused a tremendous amount of damage, to date. However, his total yardage numbers are somewhat misleading as several of his penalties have occurred near the goal line and were enforced as half the distance. Those two in the final drive of the Colts, for example, should have gone for 30 yards, but resulted in just eight total yards because of their location on the field.
On the year he’s been called for holding (2), unsportsmanlike conduct, unnecessary roughness and pass interference.
Were it not for that final 2:35 against the Colts, he would have ranked No. 10 (and nearly off) the list. Instead, the two penalties he took on that drive land him squarely at No. 8 and with time to think about what he’s done, thanks to an impeding suspension from the league.
No. 7 – DeMarcus Ware
Enforced Penalties: 3
Resulting Yards: 25
Snaps: 292
Penalties Per 100 Snaps: 1.03
It may seem hard to believe that the vocal and emotional leader of the Broncos defense, now in his 11th year in the NFL, would be one of the most-frequently flagged players, but here sits DeMarcus Ware.
Ware’s snap totals are down this year due to a solid corps of backups behind him and some lingering health issues – he’s missed the entire game against Cleveland and was held out for a significant amount of time against Indianapolis – but he’s still amassing penalties. Three of his flags have been enforced, while another having been declined.
The good news is, most of his penalties are procedural and aren’t the result of a loss of composure (see Talib, Jackson). Of the four flags he’s drawn, three are for defensive offside. The other was a roughing the passer.
More importantly than cutting down on the penalties, Ware needs to get healthy. The Broncos absolutely need the AFC Defensive Player of the Month for September into December and January if they hope to compete for a title.
No. 6 – T.J. Ward
Enforced Penalties: 5
Resulting Yards: 44
Snaps: 484
Penalties Per 100 Snaps: 1.03
T.J. Ward and Demarcus Ware are tied in penalties per 100 snaps, but Ward earns our higher (lower?) ranking because his yards per penalty are a shade higher. And when we say shade, we mean a sapling’s worth.
Ward and Ware both register 1.03 penalties per 100 snaps, but Ward’s 8.8 yards per penalty are just slightly higher than Ware’s 8.33.
In seven games, Ward has been called for five penalties, each unique, for a total of 44 yards.
Ward has been flagged for holding, unnecessary roughness, pass interference, defensive offside and a neutral zone infraction.
Two of those four penalties came against the Colts on Sunday for a total of 20 yards, nearly half his total on the year.
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[adrotate group=”1″]No. 5 – Von Miller
Enforced Penalties: 6
Resulting Yards: 56
Snaps: 437
Penalties Per 100 Snaps: 1.37
Von Miller, who topped last week’s list of defensive playmakers, would have been tops on this inauspicious list if it were based on raw totals, not considering snap count.
Through eight games, Miller leads the Broncos in total penalties and resulting yards, having been flagged six times for 56 yards. He accounts for nearly 10 percent of the team’s total penalties.
Miller has three procedural penalties (defensive offside) to go with two roughing the passer and one unnecessary roughness.
You trade the good with the bad for a player of Miller’s cut – he’s aggressive to a fault at times, but he’s undoubtedly the most influential player on the Denver defense.
No. 4 – David Bruton
Enforced Penalties: 5
Resulting Yards: 47
Snaps: 250
Penalties Per 100 Snaps: 2.00
Surprisingly, the longest-tenured Bronco and special teams captain is also one of the team’s most-penalized players this year.
David Bruton has earned an expanded role in Wade Phillips’ defense this season, seeing significant rotation work – especially in passing situations. Unfortunately, he’s also seeing more flags flying in his direction as well.
Bruton has amassed five penalties on five different infractions for a total of 47 yards on the year. He’s been bailed out once by an offsetting penalty.
The charges against Bruton include: Illegal contact (2), roughing the passer, unsportsmanlike conduct, holding and pass interference.
Like Miller, most Broncos fans will trade the good for the bad with Bruton, who’s played well in his expanded role.
No. 3 – Max Garcia
Enforced Penalties: 3
Resulting Yards: 30
Snaps: 65
Penalties Per 100 Snaps: 4.62
Max Garcia is the highest (lowest?) ranked offensive player on our list.
Considering that he is used in limited rotation as a substitution for former All-Pros Louis Vasquez and Evan Mathis, his three penalties immediately jump out. Vasquez and Mathis, for comparison, don’t have three between them.
Garcia has been booked for illegal use of hands and twice for holding.
He’s young, and we think Garcia has the potential to be a stalwart on the Broncos offensive line for many years to come. We ranked him highly in our offensive line rankings because he’s versatile (played every OL position in college) and he comes from the SEC (where linemen are men among men among men). But that high ceiling can come crashing down if he doesn’t quickly get his penalties under control.
No. 2 – Todd Davis
Enforced Penalties: 2
Resulting Yards: 20
Snaps: 33
Penalties Per 100 Snaps: 6.06
Playing behind a guy who has logged 516 snaps on the season (Brandon Marshall) and quarterbacks the defense is going to make it hard to see much time on the field.
Getting whistled twice in 33 snaps is going to make it darn near impossible for Todd Davis to see more regular playing time barring a disaster.
To go with his two penalties, both holding calls on special teams, Davis has just one solo tackle and four assists.
The one positive on the year for the linebacker? He’s got a fumble recovery. But something tells us Gary Kubiak is going to look more closely at the fact that he’s whistled for a flag six percent of the time he’s on the field, versus the fact that he picks up a loose ball three percent of the time
No. 1 – Kayvon Webster
Enforced Penalties: 3
Resulting Yards: 19
Snaps: 19
Penalties Per 100 Snaps: 15.79
Yes, those numbers are accurate according to our sources. Kayvon Webster is flagged nearly 16 percent of the time he’s on the field.
Let’s put this in some perspective: Our No. 10 player on this list, Malik Jackson, comes in at 0.75 percent.
Need more perspective? He’s allowed one penalty yard for every snap he’s been on the field. If Chris Harris Jr. was penalized at that rate, he’d have allowed nearly five-and-a-half football fields worth of penalties this year.
Full disclosure, two of his flags have been on special teams (both holding) and only one (illegal use of hands) has come on defense. Still his percentages aren’t good in either scenario.
The Broncos cornerbacks may be dubbing themselves the “No Fly Zone,” but when Webster is on the field, they might want to consider calling it the “Flags Fly Zone.”