No Faking
September 27th, 2018
Could the NFL be turning into international soccer?
The NFL’s new flag football rules include sneezing the wrong way near a quarterback gets you a 15-yard penalty. Well, could quarterbacks be getting wise and start flopping?
In some corners of the globe, soccer players take more dives to draw penalties than a businesswoman on Fremont Street in Las Vegas (not that Joe would know).
Monday night against the Steelers, it sure looked like Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger did an acting job in an apparent stunt to try to draw a 15-yard penalty against the Bucs. Jason Pierre-Paul grazed his helmet with his hand and Roethlisberger acted like he was hit with a hammer.
Yesterday, Dirk Koetter was asked if quarterbacks will begin flopping to try to lure an easy flag. Koetter wasn’t buying it.
“I think the officials are better than that,” Koetter said. “I think our officials are really good in this league and I think they’re better. We’ve all seen plays whether it be pros or college, I would guess what you’re talking about is like a punter gets barely touched on a punt and goes down.
“I just think that the refs in this league are just too good. I also think the quarterbacks are so locked into what they’re doing I think it would be hard to say, ‘I’m going to fake it.’
“Trust me, those hits hurt. I think it would be hard to fake it.”
It may be hard to pull off a Meg Ryan routine, sure. But in the heat of battle if a quarterback is fighting like a demon not to get sacked while in traffic, it wouldn’t surprise Joe someday if quarterbacks learned how to fake it when needed.
September 27th, 2018 at 9:03 am
The play you are referring to was a total “FLOP” I get that Dirk is trying not to make the officials or the league mad…but, C’mon Man!
September 27th, 2018 at 9:04 am
I think it is naive to think that it would never happen, or isn’t currently happening to some extent. Hopefully the refs don’t buy the acting jobs.
September 27th, 2018 at 9:04 am
It called going “Neymar”
Google it. He became the ultimate flopper during World Cup. He eventually made fun of himself it got so bad
September 27th, 2018 at 9:06 am
I’ve seen 275-300 Buc games live with my season tickets….I was a huge fan of Bucs and the NFL…….I am down to watching 1 game a week and that is the Bucs…saturated the market place…over hyped the game….even the game day experience has changed with all the graphics and replays of big plays around the league on the Jumbotron the instant the whistle blows on the field…that and with the compression of free time in 2018 giving up a WHOLE day ,Sunday, and the expense associated with the stadium experience ….times have changed
September 27th, 2018 at 9:10 am
Joe,
Big Ben already admitted he flopped “a little bit” to get the call…
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/09/26/ben-roethlisberger-on-jpp-roughing-call-i-might-have-sold-it-a-little-bit/
September 27th, 2018 at 9:13 am
That play was a total “FLOP” No doubt about it.
September 27th, 2018 at 9:13 am
It looked like Big Ben “flopped” when JPP tapped him on the helment. Haha!
September 27th, 2018 at 9:22 am
Clear Flop!!! give Big Ben a red card
September 27th, 2018 at 9:23 am
Wasn’t much of a hit…..I guess the refs can call something on every play if they have a mind to.
September 27th, 2018 at 9:29 am
If only Ben was that easy to bring down…
September 27th, 2018 at 9:33 am
no doubt ben flopped…..I just hope the refs stay consistent…..a flag for glazing the helmet of ben or brady should be the same with cam and Winston…..
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!!
September 27th, 2018 at 9:37 am
People tune in to watch NFL football specifically to watch quarterbacks play above all other individual players. I think the NFL has gone a little overboard with this bodyweight on the QB rule but it’s in the league’s best interests to protect quarterbacks. Apart from the Bucs game last year, I did not watch any Green Bay Packers game when Brett Hundley was quarterbacking. I didn’t care. Most of the country didn’t care either. That’s not good for the NFL.
September 27th, 2018 at 9:43 am
Punters already do this after a defender taps their foot. This is nothing new.
September 27th, 2018 at 9:47 am
Way too many flags period.
Now we add acting flags and the game never has any rhythm.
Tampa wanted to go hurry up on several drives and flags ruin the game.
I’m pretty sure they could call a holding on every punt return too.
September 27th, 2018 at 10:02 am
You know what would be hilarious?
If Fitz got out there a did a dramatic fall down so obvious that it mocked the fakers. It would be worth the penalty, lol. What are they going to do, make him retire? lol.
September 27th, 2018 at 10:12 am
He flops, he rapes (allegedly), he throws tds. Is there anything Roethlisberger can’t do?
September 27th, 2018 at 10:16 am
i still don’t think kate flopped
September 27th, 2018 at 10:19 am
There definitely are fakers in the NFL… you only need to look at our Dline to see that. We have a player who says the right things and has some fans and media fooled but doesn’t really care about the game. He would rather make friends and have everyone look at HIM and see what a great guy he is than be one mean tough SOB. We should start calling him Butters (from South Park) than Batman. Right Gerald?
September 27th, 2018 at 10:37 am
What does a legal sack of the QB look like? No need for backup QB’s any longer!
September 27th, 2018 at 10:42 am
d-rome
well that’s how stars are born…..bledso was a star and when he went down, the GOAT took his place…..imagine if drew stayed health and brady sent his career being a back up….how fun would the league be then…..
same with kurt warner…..trent green was an emerging star but an injured brought light to a HOF in warner…..
same with dak and the cowboys…..
those were some magical seasons….fun seasons to watch…..
imo, it doesn’t matter whos under center, if you love watching football, you’ll watch…..
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!!
September 27th, 2018 at 10:47 am
With how “hard” Ben was hit in the head to be knocked to the ground. That should be concussion protocol. Thats a really hard hit to knock him down.
September 27th, 2018 at 10:47 am
This will happen more and more in the NFL as the wussification of america continues and the assault of masculinity in america, this is a sad future that is going on, love college football and the bamas, georgias, and high schools of states, like GA, TX, FL and otherers in the south that are still playing hard nosed top flight football and separating the men from the boys
September 27th, 2018 at 10:53 am
how stupid is the “soft as marshmallows” McCoy APOLOGIZING to attract an officials flag….what a LOSER!
September 27th, 2018 at 11:22 am
Did anyone else notice the OJ Howard flop attempt? At least in my opinion, he acted like he took a helmet to the back and it frankly scared me, but then he got up like nothing happened when no flag came. I think it happens all the time, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
September 27th, 2018 at 11:28 am
Eight years of Obama has made the entire country soft……
September 27th, 2018 at 11:43 am
Total flop.
Time to start fining guys like the NBA
Or just stop throwing flags every time a QB gets touched by a strand of hair.
September 27th, 2018 at 12:01 pm
#metoo has made us soft
September 27th, 2018 at 12:02 pm
Ben admitted he was acting. End of story.
September 27th, 2018 at 12:10 pm
Yeah GoDeep now we have the most sensitive cry baby ever as president but I suppose you and your Fox News feed think he is a total bad ass.
September 27th, 2018 at 2:02 pm
Altered
Agree about the stadium experience. Went to my first game in 12 years ( I moved away), last Monday.
Game felt like being trapped in a Madden video game as opposed to areal football game…to many graphics, too much noise for noise sake…
Wasn’t nearly as enjoyable as I remembered….
September 27th, 2018 at 2:52 pm
You need to call out these union slob refs for being pieces of garbage. On the last couple of series of the game the refs TWICE threw a flag on Pittsburgh only to then pick it up and say, oops our bad. Is there anyone that thinks that ever happens with the Bucs, with a game on the line the refs TWICE pick up a flag? Of course not. The fix was in, the Steelers are on the schedule for a bunch of prime time football games, they can’t be 0-2-1, so the NFL and the refs made sure they’d win.
September 27th, 2018 at 6:12 pm
Quarterbacks want to fake? Ok… Hire a guy for 1 game with the intent to flagrantly blast the QB and be ejected. Bet QB’s stop faking then. And yeah… the flop by Ben was a fake!