Pre-snap penalties have been a major problem for the New England Patriots defense this season.
Defensive tackle Milton Williams has had enough.
“I put in fines this week,” the defensive tackle revealed Friday “$1,000 fine for whoever jumps offsides.”
Williams has been guilty of the infraction himself, getting flagged twice in the first three weeks of the season and again in Week 7. Those miscues helped inspire the new system.
“I had a couple early in the season, and I feel like we talked about it, but
is not enough consequences that come with it other than hurting the team,” Williams said. “So [if] it hurt your pockets, maybe you’ll think about it a little more.”
The penalties have become more prevalent in recent weeks, with the Patriots defense flagged for seven infractions over the last two games. On the season, New England leads the league in encroachment penalties (4), ranks fourth in neutral zone infractions (5) and is tied for the eighth-most defensive offsides penalties (3).
Williams said cleaning up those small details will be an important part of the defense’s effort to bounce back after allowing a season-high 45 points to the Green Bay Packers last week.
“It’s on us to be ready to go, be ready for the hard count, we’ve been jumping offsides. We’ve got to be ready for that stuff going into every game,” Williams said. “It’s costing us. We want to get teams in third and five-plus situations so we can go out there and rush. Jumping offsides is just giving them third and short, so we can’t go rush the passer.”
According to Williams, any fines collected will go toward members of the team’s training staff or custodians in the building.
“We’ll take care of somebody in the building. They’ll have a pretty good lunch on us, if we can’t do what we’re supposed to do,” he said.
Since signing a four-year, $104 million contract with the Patriots last offseason, Williams has established himself as one of the team’s leaders. Craig Woodson was not yet aware of the fine system from his safety position, but he praised Williams for holding his teammates accountable.
“I mean, that’s a leader right there,” Woodson said. “That’s something that we got to make sure that we can’t give them free yards. So, for him to do that, that’s a leader.”
