The San Francisco 49ers have been called for pass interference 14 times in six games played this season.
Despite two-thirds of the NFL already having played seven games, no other team in the league has been called for more than 10 pass interference penalties this season. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are next on the list with 10 through seven games.
While the 49ers have only had 11 of the 14 penalties actually accepted, it’s still been a significant issue for the team through the first two months of the season. So much so that head coach Kyle Shanahan is making efforts in practice to correct the problem.
“We’re changing up all our individual drills today,” Shanahan said, via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. “No footwork stuff. We’re throwing jump balls and having them trying to locate the ball, which is the only way to practice it.
“We’ll get them a lot more live full-speed reps at that. And not work at the other stuff. Just work at that because it’s way too bad right now. No matter what the situation is, it’s tough to win games if you don’t fix that.”
The 11 assessed pass interference calls have cost the 49ers defense 250 yards. That’s an average of nearly 23 yards per penalty.
“When we’re doing that bad at it, you can’t just bench everybody and you can’t just sit there and keep your fingers crossed and hope it changes,” Shanahan said. “So yeah, you do go back to the basics and I definitely think we’ve got guys, some veterans that are capable of not getting them.”
