Anquan Boldin Sounds Off About Penalties in Loss to Cardinals

In the San Francisco 49ers’ tough loss to the Arizona Cardinals yesterday, Anquan Boldin committed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which cost the 49ers 15 crucial yards after getting into the red zone.

This was a key moment in yesterday’s game, and it certainly cost the 49ers in yardage but also momentum. After the game, Boldin discussed the penalty with Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area:

"“My penalty was my penalty. I shouldn’t have did it,” he said. “The guy’s been taking shots at me the whole game. I told the coach that. I told the ref that three times. ‘I didn’t see it . . . I didn’t see it . . . I’ll look for it.’ But as soon as we do something, wow, they see it. But when guys are doing crap to us, ‘We didn’t catch it.’”"

Boldin voiced his frustration about that particular play, but he didn’t stop there. He went on to criticize the referees and their calls for the entire game. More from Maiocco:

"“For me, it’s been obvious the last two weeks the amount of calls that have gone against us and the amount of calls that we’ve gotten,” Boldin said. “It hasn’t been close. And every week it’s the same thing.“You send the tape in, and the NFL just reports back, ‘We made a mistake.’ But at the same time, the crap is costing us games. At some point, they need to be held accountable.”"

Boldin was upset with how the referees called the game yesterday, but Boldin specifically pointed out the calls on Patrick Willis and Dan Skuta too. Taylor Price of 49ers.com with the report:

"“Some of those are coming at crucial times, third downs when the defense is coming off the field,” Boldin said. “It is what it is. They’ll say we had a lot to do with it, which we did here and there, but honestly, it’s crazy.”"

Not only was Boldin upset with the referees, but it appeared as if he was also upset with his coach, Jim Harbaugh, after he was called for unsportsmanlike conduct. The TV cameras caught Boldin’s conversation with Harbaugh, but it wasn’t clear what was said. Maiocco asked Boldin about this:

"“It wasn’t (an) exchange,” Boldin said. “He asked me a question, and I answered the question. It was after my personal foul, and he said, ‘Could you come to me or come to the ref?’ And I said, ‘Coach, I’ve gone to the ref on three different occasions. That’s not helping at all.’ ”"

Coach Harbaugh didn’t have much to say after the loss yesterday about his discussion with Boldin or about the referees, but he did speak about penalties with Andrew Pentis of 49ers.com:

"“We’ve got to eliminate those,” Jim Harbaugh said postgame of the team’s nine penalties. “We’re not playing good enough right now.”"

Penalties have clearly been one of the 49ers’ biggest issues so far this season, but does it have more to do with the referees or a general lack of discipline?

What do you think of Boldin’s comments? Do you agree with him? Let us know in the comment section below.