The 2018 Green Bay Packers did something that had not been done since 2009 in netting a negative yard total from penalties.  This is according to NFLpenalties.com.  Green Bay was the fifth-worst team in the NFL with 145 more yards assessed than benefited from.

Two of the four teams that had a worse net total made the playoffs so Green Bay's 2018 ranking doesn't necessarily indicate a major issue.  In fact, there is no significant correlation between net penalty yardage and overall team success but still better to be on the positive side of the equation.

With many past seasons having netted a positive total for Green Bay, one can point to those teams that had more of a veteran presence as a major reason.  Overall, the Packers have often carried one of the younger rosters in the league.  The historical positive penalty yardage stats seems to stand out a bit in that one would think that a team with more young players will be penalized more often.

Looking at last season, we can see that is not always the case.  It's a very small sample, but a quick glance at 2018 shows that rookie Josh Jackson and nine-year veteran Bryan Bulaga both led the team with eight penalties on the year (Jackson had one declined so technically had nine).  Bulaga logged 781 snaps to Jackson's 718 so the penalty totals are significant.

Hopefully Matt LaFleur and his staff adequately address this with the entire team from day one.  Avoiding things like unnecessary roughness, unsportsmanlike conduct, taunting and delay of game (the Packers had eight such fouls last year) comes down to a culture of discipline and sound in-game management.

While instilling a culture of discipline is important, there are also many uncontrollable factors that come into play.  As we saw in last year's NFC championship game, many penalties are based on judgment and aren't always accurate.  It's a factor that team's can't manage as well as they would like.  

With the NFL adding new rules seemingly every season, it also becomes difficult for teams to keep up with how certain rules will be enforced and also how often.  See: Clay Matthews last season.  He was a clear and obvious target of NFL officials in the early part of the season.  He was flagged in consecutive weeks for roughing the passer, with one of those calls taking a victory from the Packers.

The NFL, at first, stood behind the calls and used Matthews as an example of a call that should be made.  They later admitted that the calls should not have been made, after the fact and too late to right the wrongs.  With that approach, all teams can really do for themselves is, as mentioned earlier, focus on what they can control.

Teams that effectively emphasize certain elements of the game are likely to see positive results in those areas. 

For example, the Packers have historically been among the teams with fewer pre-snap penalties.  These are especially detrimental because they're avoidable.  Between coaching, player focus and, to an extent, a quarterback who has firm control at the line of scrimmage, the Packers have avoided more of these frustrating gaffes. 

As the team prepares for training camp in a few weeks' time, the effort to avoid self-inflicted pains begins.  With a new offense to install and many changes, the opportunity for mental errors and miscommunication is increased.  The emphasis by this coaching staff has to be evident early on if this Packers team wants to get back into the plus column in net penalty yards.