Long before the final whistle blew last Thursday night during the NFL’s regular season opener, Kansas City Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor had become a hot topic.
Throughout the game, a 21-20 upset loss to the Detroit Lions, Taylor appeared to commit several false start penalties that went uncalled. He was routinely rocking in his stance, tapping his foot and falling back into his set early. He also was seen lining up well behind the line of scrimmage.
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It took until late in the game before officials finally seemed to catch on and throw the flag.
“As far as the false start goes, no, I haven’t even had a ref really mention it to me,” Taylor said on Thursday, via Aaron Ladd of KSHB 41. “But I have had refs mention my alignment, so just making sure I’m not too deep.
“But if you look at it, to the eye it may look like a false start, but if you slow it down on film, I’m moving at the same time the ball is moving. I’m just getting out of my stance with urgency. These rushers are good, so if you can get one step ahead with just using the snap count to your advantage, that’ll be better for you.”
Taylor’s pre-snap movements are nothing new. It’s something he did when he played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who just happen to be Kansas City’s opponent in Week 2.
“(He’s) a good player, we know who he is and he did the same thing here. He has great anticipation with the snap count,” Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said this week, via Pro Football Talk.
Not only will Pederson and the Jaguars have their eye on Taylor, so will the officials.
Dean Blandino, the former NFL vice president of officiating, told Sports Illustrated that the NFL sent out film to officials this week highlighting Taylor and other illegal formations/false starts from around the league. It will be a point of emphasis in Week 2 and beyond.
“On the tape this week at the very end, there are several examples of — and a couple from the Thursday night game with Jawaan Taylor — of tackles who are too far back,” Blandino said. “I would expect, just from my experience, officials watch that training tape. It’s usually a very good learning tool, and it’s good for giving your officials direction. I would expect we will not see the egregious examples we may have seen in Week 1.”
Taylor may think he’s doing nothing wrong but we’ll find out for sure this Sunday.
