Andy Reid challenges NFL refs to be consistent in offensive line penalties

Andy Reid has one posture when it comes to the media: diplomatic.

For more than a decade, the Kansas City Chiefs have trotted out Reid as the team's head coach in press conferences to the tune of hundreds and hundreds of times. Each and every time, Reid has always been a gentleman, a respecter of everyone and every team. In other words, he'll even lie rather than offend anyone from the podium.

It can be found in every time he says, "We look forward to the challenge of playing the [team name]." While it's true that every team is filled with professional players and coaches, athletes who are gifted enough to play at the highest levels, it's also true that some teams are just bad. Just ask the Chicago Bears who were one of those supposed challenging teams in Week 3. "They're a good football team," Andy said.

This context is important because when Big Red decides to call someone out or point toward an issue, it's a rare event. He's not a complainer. He owns far more blame than he should ever take on. He gives credit away to others and eschews flowery praise or descriptions. He could take as much time as he wants, but he'd prefer it to be ours. That's not true this time around.

Following the Chiefs win in Week 3 over the Bears, Reid still seems as hot one day later as he was shortly after the game on Sunday afternoon when he called out officials for targeting offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor for numerous penalties. On Monday, Reid emphasized his point once again and will clearly make this a sticking point until something is done about it.

"Now that I’ve had a chance to look at it, I’d even double down more on what I said yesterday," said Reid on Monday to reporters. "I just think they’ve got an eye on him and they’d better keep an eye on everybody else too because it’s to the point of being ridiculous. They’ve got their point proved now out there to the world so let’s make sure we’re staying consistent." 

Reid clarified that he spoke with officials about the problem and now he's taking to the media to plead his case. You can be certain the Chiefs are also following official protocols to complain to the league and inquire as to how things will be handled going forward.

"Yeah we talked before the game. They have an eye on it. It all started on the Thursday night game. You look around the league and it’s just not consistent right now, so that’s the important thing," Reid added.

Over the last two weeks, Taylor has been called for 7 total penalties, including several for illegal formation, yet it's not hard to look around the NFL to see considerable evidence to the contrary—that numerous other offensive tackles are lining up in the same exact way as Taylor and not getting called for it.

At this point, the refs would be wise to back off and stop singling out Taylor. Andy Reid has far too much credibility and cache within NFL circles to challenge him in this instance. He's publicly called them to a more consistent posture and the right thing to do for all parties involved is to heed his words.