Which Alabama Players are Getting the Most Penalties? All Things CW

Two things stand out from charting Crimson Tide penalties this season: The two tough venues where Alabama played and the lack of cohesion.

The All Things CW notes column by Christopher Walsh will appear in five parts this week, one each day leading up to Saturday's game against Mississippi State.

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Take 2

So what gives with all the yellow flags for the Alabama Crimson Tide this season?

A lot of them can be explained by one thing especially, playing a pair of brutally tough road games. Alabama nearly tied the school record for penalty minutes in a single game at Texas, where it didn’t get called for anything by the Big 12 officials in the fourth quarter (and Texas didn’t have a penalty during the entire second half), and then topped it at Tennessee.

Those two venues were as tough as can be, and probably the two craziest atmospheres in college football this season. That’s not an excuse, but there are a lot of newcomers for the Crimson Tide who had never played or started in that kind of setting before.

Of Alabama’s 66 penalties, 32, or 48 percent were in those two games. 

False starts were a problem at both. Alabama had three at Texas, and four at Tennessee. The defense got better, though, as it went from being called four times for offside at Texas, but just once at Tennessee.

The Crimson Tide was also flagged 10 times at Arkansas. That's 42 times in the three road games, or 64 percent of Alabama's penalties. 

So which penalties have the Crimson Tide been called for the most this season? We added them up:

1. Holding 13
2. Pass interference 9
3. False start 9
4. Offside 8
5. Face mask 7
6. Block to the back 4
7. Delay of game 4

It’s important to note that while holding is often associated with offensive linemen, it’s actually something that nearly anyone on the field can be called for. Roughly half of Alabama’s holding calls have been by an offensive lineman.

Left tackle Tyler Steen has had the most holding calls with three after twice being flagged for it at Tennessee, followed by guard Javion Cohen with two. They’re the only Alabama players who have been called for holding more than once this season.

As for pass interference, cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry and safety Brian Branch have both been called three times. McKinstry was flagged twice at Texas, and Branch twice at Tennessee, as the Volunteers successfully went after Alabama’s safeties.

The biggest offender in false starts is sophomore right tackle JC Latham with five. Again, coaches would say that’s too many, but at least it makes sense because of his position. 

The penalties that get to Saban the most are the undisciplined ones, and there have been a lot of them across the board. He knows only one way to get rid of those.

“I think you’ve gotta do it in practice,” Saban said.

"We can’t go hang ‘em up for doing this. They’re our players. We need to get them to understand what they need to do not to allow these things to happen and understand the consequences of what happens when you do it, and I think if you continue to do it consistently, maybe we need to play somebody else. There’s always a little fear that goes with respect and respecting what it takes to win. You also should know that, hey, my job could be in jeopardy if I don’t respect the things I need to do to win.”

He later reinforced that with: “Nobody is entitled to a position."

See Also:

Take 1: Alabama's Penalty Problem Isn't Just Bad, But Horrendous

Nick Saban Calls for Consistency in Officiating

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