In my opinion, there are 4 categories of penalties;

1.        Physical - These are the defensive penalties that are usually called downfield during pass plays. Pass interference, hands to the face, defensive holding. These usually occur when a corner, safety or linebacker get locked up with a receiver and there’s a battle for the ball and/or an opportunity for a big hit that may come just a split second early. The hand and body checking that takes place in one on one situation is combative and at times will draw penalties. Also, if said corner, safety or linebacker is beaten, you’re always taught, take the penalty but don’t give up the points. While they’re frustrating, those are somewhat understandable.

2.       UN-Talented – This type of penalty is usually attributed to offensive holding. Holding goes on during almost every play, it’s how you hold that will draw the attention of the official. As a lineman, when you’re beaten by your opponent, you’ll hang on to the combatant’s jersey to the point that you either twist him around or stretch his jersey so much that it becomes obvious to the official. Now, let me explain here, being called for offensive holding once or twice is understandable since it happens on almost every play but when it’s consistent, it’s an indication that your offensive line isn’t as athletic, physical or capable as their opponent.  When it happens consistently over a season, it’s an indictment on your personnel.

3.       Pre-Snap – These again can be attributed to two things, lack of talent and/or focus. Focus or lack thereof is what it is. A lineman forgets the snap count, isn’t paying attention, etc. When there’s a lack of talent, it’s a lineman trying to get an edge, trying to get that twitch, that spilt second head start because he’s incapable of beating his man one on one. Either way, these are unforgivable. These are penalties where play hasn’t even begun and you’ve already performed negatively. You’ve given your opponent an advantage without making them earn it in any way. 

4.       Stupid – This type of penalty will drive coaches and fans over the edge. Here’s your perfect example; Johnny Jolly head-butting Chester Taylor after a crucial 3^rd down stop. The head-butt draws a 15 yard penalty and an automatic first down. Stupid penalties are usually personal fouls, usually 15 yards and always unforgivable. Period! For whatever reason, stupid penalties seem to change the complexity of a game. They are usually stemmed from frustration and are a clear indicator that your emotions are getting the best of you. They simply can’t happen.

Here’s a breakdown of the Packers penalties:

The Packers have committed 24 Pre-Snap Penalties.
Chad Clifton (6) leads the offenders with 4 FALSE START penalties and 2 ILLEGAL FORMATION penalties.  Jarrett Bush (2) FALSE START penalties on Special Teams. Three (3) times the defense has been called for LINING UP IN THE NEUTRAL ZONE and Three (3) for OFF SIDES. The majority of the rest are FALSE START penalties committed by numerous offensive personnel. Twice (2) , the defensive unit has been penalized for 12 MEN ON THE FIELD

The Packers have committed 7 Stupid Penalties.
1 TAUNTING (Chillar), 3 PERSONAL FOULS (Havner, Jolly, Poppinga), 3 UNNECESSARY ROUGHNESS (Colledge, Driver, Bigby).

The Packers have committed 23 UN-Talented Penalties (Holding)
Four (4) of these penalties have been committed on Special Teams. Donald Lee has three (3) HOLDING penalties. The rest of these penalties have been spread out over the offensive unit. . No other individual player has more than 2 infractions.

The Packers have committed 27 Physical Penalties
Seven (7) DEFENSIVE HOLDING penalties, Six (6) ILLEGAL CONTACT penalties, six (6) FACEMASK penalties, four (4) PASS INTERFERENCE penalties, one (1) HANDS TO THE FACE, one (1) ROUGHING THE PASSER, one (1) INTENTIONAL GROUNDING and  one (1) ILLEGAL BLOCK.
Al Harris (6) has racked up the most infractions, two (2) ILLEGAL CONTACT, two (2) FACEMASK, one (1) HANDS TO THE FACE and one (1) ROUGHING THE PASSER penalty. The rest of the penalties have been committed by thirteen (13) different players.

**NOTE: 81 TOTAL penalties have been called against the Packers and 74 have actually been accepted.

 

The perception is that the same people are committing many of the same mistakes but as you can see, it’s not one guy. As a whole, if the Packers could cut out or minimize their Pre-Snap and Stupid penalties, they could have eliminated 31 of the 74 accepted penalties against them.  If that were achieved, they would be the LEAST penalized team in the league. I understand that’s not a completely realistic thought but certainly should be the area of concentration. Physical and Un-Talented penalties are going to happen, you don’t want them to occur but they will. Those are the penalties that are tossed out as “a part of the game”. 
As a fan, the Stupid and Pre-Snap penalties should not be tolerated. It’s the rest that you’ll have to reluctantly learn to accept.