Are you angry with NFL officials for not calling holding enough? Well, J.J. Watt has a solution. Make holding a much less significant penalty.
During a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, future Hall of Fame defensive end J.J. Watt proposed that the NFL make holding a 5-yard penalty as opposed to a 10-yard penalty so referees would be more willing to throw the flag.
“I think the refs understand that a 10-yard penalty is a massive penalty in the NFL,” Watt said. “So I think if you made [it] a 5-yard penalty, I think it’s going to be called much more fairly and much more realistically. Because it’s not as crippling to the offense.”
It would definitely be a less crippling blow to the offense. But is that why officials don’t call holding as often as they should? Because they’re trying to avoid handing out massive penalties to the offense?
It’s debatable.
Indeed, the NFL is interested in offenses running well and scoring many points. Rule changes in the secondary over the last two decades and how roughing the passer penalties have been handled attest to that.
Head Coach Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams reacts after attempting to call a timeout, but the referee did not hear during the against the New Orleans Saints game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 26, 2017, in Los Angeles, California. (Harry How/Getty Images)
However, it’s also likely that officials use their judgment when calling holding because the NFL is a game made and marketed for television and has to be a watchable product. Former players – even former players who played offense – would admit that holding could be called on every single play if the officials wanted to do that.
But they can’t do that. Why? Because the game would be unwatchable!
And it wouldn’t particularly matter whether the penalty is ten yards or five. No one would watch the NFL for more than 13 minutes if holding were called as often as possible.
The reality is, thanks to the development of incredibly talented and gifted players like Watt, offensive linemen are often left with no other choice but to hold defensive players who are vastly more athletically talented.
J.J. Watt #99 of Houston Texans enters the field before the game against the New England Patriots at Reliant Stadium on December 1, 2013 in Houston, Texas. (Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
The result is the current state of affairs in the league, where only the most egregious holding penalties get called.
It’s not an answer J.J. Watt or any current defender in the league is going to like. But that is the most likely reason why officials don’t call holding as often as they could. It’s also not likely to change anytime soon.