National Football League

Pereira: Something needs to be done about flopping

Published Dec. 29, 2013 3:43 p.m. ET

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We're just days away from the New Year, and with that, I think perhaps the NFL needs to look at coming up with a new rule next year concerning something that's usually more associated with soccer or the NBA than it is with professional football -- flopping.

There was key play in the Carolina-Atlanta game that helped the Panthers and eventually led to a go-ahead touchdown.

Here was the situation: Carolina had the ball, third-and-7 at its own 32-yard line with 8:22 left in the third quarter. Atlanta led 17-14. Carolina quarterback Cam Newton scrambled around the left end for 10 yards and as he was headed to the sideline faked like he was not going out of bounds, but did as he was being shoved by the Falcons' Paul Worrilow. Worrilow was called for unnecessary roughness, but it clearly looked like Newton flopped while going to the ground.

The penalty moved the ball to the Atlanta 43-yard line and seven plays later, the Panthers scored to take a 21-17 lead.

It's hard enough to officiate this game in real time without having to deal with players taking flops, which Newton clearly did on this play.

It makes the game look more like soccer than football, where players are notorious for flopping.

The NBA has dealt with it by actually tracking flops and taking discipline against players that do so. There's no room for that in this game and it really puts the officials in difficult situations, especially when it's the quarterback, which the league goes over the top to protect.

The NFL needs to hop to it and get rid of the football flop.