For penalty-ridden Cardinals, every Sunday is flag day

Are these Cardinals a revision of the Oakland Raiders? The loose comparison was made by linebacker Calvin Pace on Thursday, but he was partly speaking in jest.

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Whether it was Art Shell, Bill Callahan or current coach Lane Kiffin, Oakland has been known as a dearth of discipline for the better part of a decade. Callahan once called his penalty-prone Raiders “the dumbest team in America.”

The Cardinals have said no such things about themselves despite the fact they lead the NFL in penalties. But they don’t need insults, only the standings, to see where yellow beanies hurt most.

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They’ve managed victories despite them (Cleveland, Cincinnati, at St. Louis), but also believe it has cost them (twice against woeful San Francisco, plus Carolina and Washington).

“Every time we talk about playoffs, we go out and lay an egg,” Pace said.

In seven of 13 games this season, the Cardinals have committed 10 or more penalties (not including ones declined by the opposition). There were two games in which Arizona committed fewer penalties than opponents: a win against Pittsburgh and a loss at Tampa Bay.

Imagine if the 115 flags thrown against them didn’t lead the NFL. Or the 930 yards lost on violations wasn’t No. 2.

“Penalties are major, especially when you get them in crucial situations,” receiver Anquan Boldin said. “Anytime you’re playing on the road, you can’t afford it. It’s already tough enough to win on the road. You add in penalties and turnovers, you make it impossible.”

Pace’s analysis was self-inclusive. While his offside penalty last week in Seattle wasn’t a pivotal play in the game, it was another link to what has been a chain reaction of mental mistakes that may have cost the Cardinals more victories.

And, unless they win their final three games and get some help, may cost a spot in the wacky NFC playoff picture.

“We eliminate those, that’s half the battle,” Pace said. “Then you go out there and play and let the chips fall where they may instead of trying to play the other team and play against yourself.”

So-called “aggressive” penalties — going one step too far while trying to make or prevent a big play — have been easier to manage. Coach Ken Whisenhunt preaches aggressiveness, and if it prevents a 50-yard completion or touchdown, so be it.

It’s the false starts, offside, holding and personal fouls — penalties the team cites as lack of concentration or not understanding the game situation — which drive them crazy.

“Some of the other things you can’t work on because they happen during the course of the game,” Whisenhunt said. “Those are the things you have to live with. Certainly personal fouls and things like that we’re not going to tolerate. Those things you have to educate your team on and continually do that so if they get in that situation, they won’t be susceptible to getting one.”

Last week defensive end Darnell Dockett was flagged for a 15-yard penalty while scuffling on a crucial third-down play with the Cardinals trailing by two possessions. He thought it was instigated by the Seahawks and unfair when another Seahawks player joined the fray.

Dockett and Whisenhunt believe there should have been offsetting penalties.

Dockett thrives on emotion, and more than one player suggested Thursday that playing without injured veterans Adrian Wilson, Bertrand Berry, Chike Okeafor and Eric Green has created a leadership void.

“I don’t care how upset you are that there are more guys on you than there should be,” Whisenhunt said. “We can’t have that. You learn from it and you move on.”

It’s a fickle business. Whisenhunt has preached, taught, reminded and repeated, only to find nearly a dozen flags at his team’s feet most Sundays.

New Orleans coach Sean Payton has followed a similar approach in his second year with the Saints, and they’re the third-least penalized team in football.

“You try and identify what you are looking for in a player and be able to paint that picture clearly to everyone who’s evaluating personnel,” Payton said.

“Once they come into your program, I think you spend a lot of time on the attention to details and a lot of time on what you expect, and you hope that carries over into the game.”

Earlier in the week, Whisenhunt talked about addressing players who continually commit the nonaggressive penalties. In other words, an abnormal number of preventable infractions may result in some players filling out a change of address form in the offseason.

Knowing talk can be cheap, the locker room had little left to say other than there wasn’t finger-pointing involved. Not while playoff hopes still flicker.

“It shows you this much,” Pace said. “If we step back and look at all the penalties and mistakes we’ve made, there’s no telling where we’d be.”