It’s about time. Penalties were a point of frustration for the New Orleans Saints through their first two preseason games, but they cut down on the mental mistakes and sloppy unforced errors in their final exhibition game.
After being penalized 23 times for 222 yards in those first two weeks, the Saints left Sunday night’s game with the Houston Texans having drawn just a pair of penalty flags for a loss of 15 yards. They were fouled once for holding on special teams and later for a false start on offense.
Not bad at all. Limiting self-inflicted wounds was a major point of emphasis for Saints head coach Dennis Allen and his staff at practice last week, helped by the arrival of an NFL officiating crew at the team facility. Having referees offering live input and constructive criticism for several days paid off in a big way.
Let’s hope it continues into the regular season. Penalties were a big problem for the Saints early last year, too, but they settled down as the season continued and by year’s end the team ranked right in the middle of the league with 99 penalties, 16th-most. Their 841 penalty yards were tied for 14th-most. If New Orleans can pick up where they left off rather than regress back into bad habits, this could be less of a vulnerability going into Allen’s second year as their head coach.
