Mike Freeman's 10-Point Stance: Confusion over Flags Has Players, Teams Annoyed

NFL teams and coaches are as confused as players over what a penalty is anymore, another poor personnel choice blows up on the Raiders and appreciating the underappreciated Frank Gore. All of that and more in this week's 10-Point Stance.

1. To throw a flag or not throw a flag? That is the question.

Many things bother both NFL front-office executives and coaches: the rising price of pizza delivery, runs on the treadmill and people who actually believe Picard is a better captain than Janeway.

But nothing irritates coaches, front-office types and players more than uneven and erratic officiating.

And right now, everyone is feeling ornery about how hits to the head are being officiated.

In communicating with a handful of people around the league, it appears everyone—including the officials themselves—is confused about what should be called. The lack of clarity is leading to poor tackling, as players, who aren't sure what they are or aren't allowed to do—and what will or won't be called—ease up on hits, allowing ball-carriers to escape. And by easing up on tackles, players are risking injury to themselves because they aren't using proper form, those around the league say.

According to a front-office executive and an assistant coach with whom I spoke, officiating head shots has privately become one of the most discussed topics among teams. Publicly, though, few people want to say anything out of fear of irritating the league office. That's the case for front-office and coaching personnel, at least. Players have long expressed public and private disdain for the new rules.

Teams pointed to two notable examples from this past week's games.

In the Colts-Raiders game, Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict—maybe the dirtiest player in NFL history—was ejected for leveling a an egregious head shot on Colts tight end Jack Doyle, a defenseless player. Burfict was ejected, and the league suspended him Monday for the remainder of the season.

This past Sunday also featured the scariest and harshest head shot I've ever seen. Rams defensive back Marcus Peters was returning an interception against the Buccaneers and was hit hard in the head by 338-pound offensive lineman Donovan Smith.

No penalty was called on the play. By the rules, there should have been, no matter Smith's intent.

There are plenty more examples of puzzling calls or non-calls this season. Sometimes blatant helmet shots are called. Sometimes they aren't.

Since 2010, the NFL has enacted a number of player-safety rules designed to stop players from using their heads as weapons. In 2018, a new rule deemed it illegal for players to lower their heads and make contact, no matter the situation.

The rule faced massive backlash from players, who said it was unreasonable to expect them to be able to control their head movements when moving so fast. It was viewed as impossible to enforce.

Teams tell me that the 2018 rule isn't even being enforced consistently. As a result, no one knows what the rule is anymore.

While several team officials said they agree with the Burfict suspension, they also noted it was easy for the NFL to come down hard on him given his past history. However, they don't think his suspension changes the overall problem that officials aren't calling helmet hits to the head in a consistent manner.

Unless the NFL does something to clear up the administration of the rule, the lack of consistency will continue to irritate teams, and leave players and coaches fumbling for answers.

2. A simple plan

One team executive said fixing the problem of how to officiate hits to the head was simple: call only blatant head shots. That's it. That's all. Problem corrected.

In some cases, that's what refs are doing anyway. It's a simple solution that would help protect players. And it should be pretty easy to determine what a blatant head shot is. (The NFL could teach players and refs by showing Burfict's tape.)

Seeing as there's logic behind the idea, I wouldn't expect the league to adopt it.

3. The Raiders need to start asking themselves some hard questions

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

What Vontaze Burfict did Sunday was dirty, but it wasn't surprising. It's his brand. It is in part why the Bengals let him go after last season.

Burfict deserves a massive amount of criticism, but so do the Raiders and the NFL. He shouldn't have been on a team in the first place.

Is this harsh? Yes. But it's also true that Burfict's suspension is warranted. He's a repeat offender with these types of over-the-top hits.

But no one forced the Raiders to sign him. Just like no one forced them to trade for locker room irritant Antonio Brown or sign the problematic Richie Incognito. Yet there all three were, potential key members of the Raiders with the league's OK to play.

Yes, it's important to win, but when you are jettisoning high-character guys like Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper for players with long histories of problematic behavior, maybe it's time to reflect on what kind of an organization you want to be?

4. Workhorse

Michael Wyke/Associated Press

Last season, Giants running back Saquon Barkley was one of the great workhorses in football, totaling more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 352 touches.

Carolina's Christian McCaffrey is filling that role this season.

McCaffrey had a career-high 37 touches and an incredible 179 of the Panthers' 297 total yards against the Texans on Sunday.

How long can McCaffrey keep this up? He's shown remarkable resilience so far as an NFL player, and with quarterback Cam Newton sidelined, he's likely to remain the engine of the Panthers' offense.

5. A beautiful mind

I've consistently heard that Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is both a really good and smart person.

In this clip, you can see both.

Rather than shoo away a question with some boilerplate tropes about playing hard and trying to find open players, Watson calmly details the variety of coverages he was trying to decipher and why it wasn't easy to find open receivers. It's how we in the media prefer to get our questions answered, and Watson did it without being dismissive or condescending.

If you want to see a master class on how to explain some of the complexities of football, it's worth a watch.

6. One surprisingly efficient QB

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

A quick glance at the passer-rating leaderboard after the first quarter of the season shows some familiar names toward the top: Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Dak Prescott.

One new name did jump out, however: Tennessee's Marcus Mariota, with a 106.2 rating.

To me, he remains a bit of an enigma. There are moments when he looks good, and others when he looks absolutely dreadful. Yes, he threw for three scores Sunday against Atlanta, but his performance against Jacksonville two weeks ago (23-of-40, no touchdowns) was one of the worst I've seen in years.

If the Titans get more of the Atlanta version of Mariota and not as much of the Jacksonsville one, they could be a serious threat.

7. Trouble in Skol-ville 

Matt Marton/Associated Press

Now that Kirk Cousins has spent more than a season directing the Vikings offense, it's become clear what Washington fans knew all too well: He isn't that good.

He isn't terrible, but he's a little like stale movie candy that you start eating once the movie begins. It isn't good, but you're too lazy to get up and buy new candy. Plus, the movie is starting, and movie candy is too expensive anyway, so you sit in your seat and eat the stale candy because there's no choice.

Cousins' struggles are impacting every corner of the offense. The team looks almost afraid to let him try to win the game. His 99 passing attempts rank last among quarterbacks who have started all four games this season. 

There's another problem. It's the money that the Vikings are paying him and the offense and the production they're getting in return. 

Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen aren't the problem. Cousins is. And after the Vikings' 16-6 loss to the Bears on Sunday, Thielen came oh-so-close to saying it.

"At some point, you're not going to be able to run the ball for 180 yards, even with the best running back in the NFL," he said, per The Athletic's Chad Graff. "That's when you have to be able to throw the ball. ... You have to be able to hit the deep balls."

If Cousins continues to struggle, the Vikings will have an interesting choice to make about their future.

8. The talented Mr. Gore

Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images

You might have missed something, but Bills running back Frank Gore just accomplished something few in the NFL ever have or will.

With 109 rushing yards Sunday against the Patriots, Gore became only the fourth player in league history to gain over 15,000 yards on the ground.

The 15-year veteran joins some remarkable company in Emmitt Smith (18,355 yards), Walter Payton (16,726) and Barry Sanders (15,269). And Gore could pass Sanders this year.

One day, Gore won't just run on the field. He'll run into the Hall of Fame.

9. Even legends have their limits

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

John Elway built an elite defense, got Peyton Manning and built a Super Bowl champion as the Broncos' chief front-office executive. 

But since then, the team has been a train wreck.

The Broncos are 0-4 this season and have lost eight consecutive games going back to last season. That's also on Elway's watch.

At some point, even a legend gets held accountable. Based on the way things are going in Denver, it appears to be only a matter of when, not if, that day happens.

10. Antonio Brown investigation continues

The NFL continues to look into accusations of sexual misconduct by Antonio Brown. It's been weeks since the NFL started officially looking into the matter, and there's still no word.

My experience in covering too many of these types of investigations is that when the league takes this long and is this quiet, it's usually not good news for the subject of the investigation.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @mikefreemanNFL.