What The Hell Is, "Taunting," In The NFL?

[BillsImpossible]

"Taunting," has become the most vague, and most hated penalty in the NFL by fans because nobody knows what the hell it is.

If one player says to another his mother is a douche bag, is that considered taunting?

If one player looks at another with a mean face, is that taunting?

If one player says to another, "Go suck yourself," is that taunting?

If a coach on the sidelines makes some colorful comments about the other team, is that taunting?

I would call, "taunting," the NFL's pussy rule.

Is this stupid rule the NFL's way of trying to eliminate trash talk?

Would Deon Sanders, Michael Irvin, Andre Reed or Thurman Thomas be in the Hall of Fame if the, "taunting," rule was enforced back then as it is today?

The problem with the rule is that over time it has morphed in to something that is far from its original intent.

It's a bad BS rule that has no business in professional sports.

If Muhammad Ali was penalized for, "taunting," every time he fought, would he be considered as one of the greatest boxers of all time?

Sport is sport. Nobody gives a crap about the Lady Byng trophy.

http://www.sportingcharts.com/dictionary/nfl/taunting.aspx

It is a usually a subjective call made by the officials, and is called when one player stands over the opposition while the opposition is on the ground, spikes the ball aggressively in the direction of the opposition, or performs any other act that could be seen to provoke the other team unnecessarily. This is a serious penalty and results in a 15-yard assessment on the offending team.....

This penalty was instituted in the 90's because the League thought players were celebrating too much after touchdowns.....

The call is most often made on touchdown celebrations and when a player gets in the face of their opponent, or stands over them in a menacing manner.

[BertSquirtgum]

NFL is a joke and so are the rules and so are the referees that enforce the rules. I wish we could watch 80's and 90's football again.

[DynaPaul]

Taunting is any action done by an opposing team as a celebration of a negative play against the Patriots.

[Forward_Lateral]

Taunting is the stupidest rule in the NFL. You can't taunt, but you can do a 20 second dance after tackling a guy who just gained 15 yards.

[Albany,n.y.]

Best taunt I saw was guy catches a TD pass, defender falls down in the endzone. Receiver takes the football & with it still in his hand puts it right under the defenders nose , practically rubbing his face in it like someone would do to a dog who went on the carpet. Yellow flags went flying.

[yordad]

Seriously, what Arron Williams got flagged for happens on every single play. How in the hell do you get dinged for taunting on a play the opponent scored? Pushing and shoving happening all around and a taunting flag gets thrown? Give me a break.

[gebobs]

I don't think it's so stupid. The focus of the game, including the players, should be on the play and preparing for the play. Any garbage after the whistle, be it taunting or celebrations, should be kept to a minimum.

I have no idea what Williams said or did to Chandler after that play, but I'm sure it was damned stupid. I mean, they just rammed their second touchdown down our throats aided by a string of five special teams penalties (see below) that essentially handed all the momentum to the Patriots after a brilliant start. And then he does something stupid like that? After a frickin PAT? Just sit the fark down and maybe try and figure out how you're going to stop them the next time.

Of course, enforcement of the penalty likely had no bearing on the game as it just let them tee up the KO at midfield, but it just underscores the utter lack of discipline on the Bills.

*** STRING OF SPECIAL TEAMS PENALTIES AT THE START OF THE GAME ***
58 Johnson, illegal block in the back on the Pats first punt, rather than having the ball on the NE 46, we start at our 28...and with that, we've lost the field position battle. Pats get the ball on their 38, seven plays later the game is tied.

81 Easley, holding on the ensuing KO. Rather than start at the 22, let's make it a challenge for the offense at the 10. And we all know what happened there.

6 Schmidt, delay. Punting from 4 cm in front of our goal line, make it 2 cm after the penalty...no big deal. Schmidt then booms a punt, out kicks the coverage, and Amendola returns it to our 27. Oh thank god, a flag. Ooooh, two penalties! Replay the down? Of course not, they're both on us.

20 Graham and 27 Williams both flagged for unnecessary roughness. The Pats can only take one though so step off 15 and give it to them on our 13. Heck, may as well just give them the TD, which they take easily after two plays and it's off to the races for the Pats. See ya, Buffalo. And as if the crowd already isn't beginning to waver, you have this stupid crap...

23 Williams, taunting...and the demoralized team and the shocked crowd watch as Gostkowski kicks the ball over the 219 and into a bowl of linguine of a customer on the patio of Mangia Ristorante in downtown OP.

[trapezeus]

Seriously, what Arron Williams got flagged for happens on every single play. How in the hell do you get dinged for taunting on a play the opponent scored? Pushing and shoving happening all around and a taunting flag gets thrown? Give me a break.

and edelman did the same thing twice in that game and only got pushed aside from the refs. and he's talking the entire game.

[Victor7]

One of the stupidest rules out there. The Edelman - AW thing is the perfect examples. AW jaws with Chandler after the PATS scored and he gets called for taunting. Edelman does the same and spends half his time shoving dudes around and nothing. Consistency please stupid zebras.

Do any of you remember one time the Bills got called for holding when defending a fg ?? How the ***** do you commit holding trying to block a kick ?

I couldn't believe it back then. Typical refs.

[Mr. Pink]

Taunting = trying to make yourself bigger than the game itself.

The NFL doesn't like personalities or people to stand out above the brand itself so anything a player does to put himself above and beyond the brand is deemed against the rules.

[TacklingDummy]

What The Hell Is, "Taunting," In The NFL?

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[gebobs]

Ewwww

[gebobs]

and edelman did the same thing twice in that game and only got pushed aside from the refs. and he's talking the entire game.

We can whine all day long about what the refs call or don't call on the other team. But in the end, all you can do is control your own actions. The Bills have to be better.

[Generalissimus Gibby]

Taunting needs to be extremely redefined and reduced. I would say taunting would be a player gets injured and you celebrate because of it. I would say taunting is flipping the bird off at the other bench to your former coach. I would say its you hurt someone while picking the ball off and then spike the football on them and dance over them. Sure, I can't stand a lot of the endzone dances and cheesy celebrations but so ****ing what. Get rid of it.

[YardRat]

"Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries! "

[ticatfan]

NFL is a joke and so are the rules and so are the referees that enforce the rules. I wish we could watch 80's and 90's football again.Even up here, taunting is a penalty. And penalties being called way behind the play. If it does not affect the play let it be ,unless it was something really dirty.

[Night Train]

and edelman did the same thing twice in that game and only got pushed aside from the refs. and he's talking the entire game.

Beat me to it. Edelman is the NFL King of taunting. And it works, drawing many penalties.

[MikeInRoch]

If you want a good example of taunting, check the thread Sparty started in here Monday.

[The Jokeman]

Taunting is any action done by an opposing team as a celebration of a negative play against the Patriots.

Then why wasn't Edelman flagged for it with his TD "calm down crowd" dance? It made me sick. Yet I'm a bitter Bills fan so feel calls that are subjective should be done away with. I get the refs want to control the game so it doesn't lead to teams physically fighting and should have the right to but honestly not sure moving a kickoff up 15 yards does anything nowadays.

[Night Train]

If you want a good example of taunting, check the thread Sparty started in here Monday.
He's just a front runner. Put him on ignore.

[Goobylal]

He's just a front runner. Put him on ignore.
So true. A Canuck who follows the Cheaters. :rolleyes:

[gebobs]

Then why wasn't Edelman flagged for it with his TD "calm down crowd" dance? It made me sick. Yet I'm a bitter Bills fan so feel calls that are subjective should be done away with. I get the refs want to control the game so it doesn't lead to teams physically fighting and should have the right to but honestly not sure moving a kickoff up 15 yards does anything nowadays.

Um...taunting? ...the crowd? It doesn't work that way.

I don't think it would qualify as excessive celebration either but then again, these are judgment calls. You never know how a ref is going to see it.

It was a douchey move by a douchey player. That's all you need to know.