ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Rex Ryan has implemented a new strategy for dealing with the Buffalo Bills' excessive number of penalties this season: pushups.
"If a guy gets a penalty during the practices, then we're gonna make sure that all of us are gonna do 10 pushups or whatever," Ryan said Wednesday. "The rest of the team will [do pushups] and that person [being penalized] will stand up, just to see how many people he is affecting.
"Penalties are still gonna happen, but we gotta eliminate them to the best of our abilities, especially the self-inflicted ones."
The Bills have been called for 58 total penalties this season, including 46 that were accepted, putting them on pace to set the NFL record for accepted penalties in a season. Of their 58 penalties, 13 have been for unnecessary roughness, unsportsmanlike conduct or taunting; no other team has more than six such flags.
Most NFL players are used to doing pushups for mistakes in practice -- dropped passes, penalties, or otherwise -- but Ryan turned up the dial this week with the Bills.
"I hadn't seen it to that extent, as far as every penalty in practice, no matter what," safety Corey Graham said Wednesday. "They even have the scout team going, and things like that. So I hadn't seen it to that level. But I think it's good. I think it makes you aware of what's going on and let's you know that there's consequences."
It's not the first time Ryan has implemented a pushups-for-penalties plan. After the New York Jets were penalized 20 times in a game in 2013, Ryan challenged the entire organization to do pushups after flags flew in practice. The Jets finished that season with the NFL's 10th-most penalties.
Ryan also used pushups as punishment for penalties in 2010, when the Jets finished with the NFL's ninth-most flags.
"If a guy gets a penalty during the practices, then we're gonna make sure that all of us are gonna do 10 pushups or whatever," Ryan said Wednesday. "The rest of the team will [do pushups] and that person [being penalized] will stand up, just to see how many people he is affecting.
"Penalties are still gonna happen, but we gotta eliminate them to the best of our abilities, especially the self-inflicted ones."
The Bills have been called for 58 total penalties this season, including 46 that were accepted, putting them on pace to set the NFL record for accepted penalties in a season. Of their 58 penalties, 13 have been for unnecessary roughness, unsportsmanlike conduct or taunting; no other team has more than six such flags.
Most NFL players are used to doing pushups for mistakes in practice -- dropped passes, penalties, or otherwise -- but Ryan turned up the dial this week with the Bills.
"I hadn't seen it to that extent, as far as every penalty in practice, no matter what," safety Corey Graham said Wednesday. "They even have the scout team going, and things like that. So I hadn't seen it to that level. But I think it's good. I think it makes you aware of what's going on and let's you know that there's consequences."
It's not the first time Ryan has implemented a pushups-for-penalties plan. After the New York Jets were penalized 20 times in a game in 2013, Ryan challenged the entire organization to do pushups after flags flew in practice. The Jets finished that season with the NFL's 10th-most penalties.
Ryan also used pushups as punishment for penalties in 2010, when the Jets finished with the NFL's ninth-most flags.
