Burfict and the phantom roughing

[CJD]

On the flip side, I've seen Geno Atkins plow a QB down and not get flagged. Why? Because he doesn't have the reputation of a dirty player. So the refs assume that, if he were rougher than is theoretically appropriate, there was no ill will behind it.

Burfict is going to get bogus penalties.

That's just the way it's going to be. Same thing with Jones. He'll get pushed off on and the WR won't be flagged because refs have decided what players they like and what players they don't like.

Is it fair? No...but nothing in this league is fair. Penalties are, by nature, subjective. You could technically call holding on every single play and be right. You could probably do the same with pass interference. There is tugging and grabbing on every play both in the trenches and in the secondary.

So yea, when the refs see a guy who is notorious for kneeing people in the head, twisting ankles, tapping ball sacks and just generally being a dirty player, they're going to assume he's out there trying to injure players. So any time he steps even one toe out of line, he'll pay for it.

Thems the breaks when you have a history. The American Justice System never lets people forget their past mistakes (not saying Burfict is a criminal, because he clearly is not. Just a parallel in our society). So why would the NFL?