It’s not just the penalties, it’s the timing of the penalties. Any time the Saints make a play that can either pretty much put the game away or give us a huge momentum shift a flag will come out.

Therein lies the problem. It's the timing of the flags that is so questionable. In rugby we referees have a saying "he thinks there's an infringement on every play". We judge the call whether it is relevant or not to the play. If it wasn't a benefit to the offending team we will let it pass unless it is egregious.

The referees need to be a separate entity under the NFL umbrella like in rugby. They need vigorous training and a complete review of the referees match. We have that in rugby but it's called kangaroo court. There have been several good suggestions about how to review and punish the referees and I agree with them entirely. Something has to be done. Even the casual observer can see the uneven distribution of flags.