The Vikings faced a second-and-7 situation from their own 40-yard line in the third quarter ofSunday's game at Green Bay when Adrian Peterson took a handoff andgained 2 yards. Therun was wiped out when Pro Bowl left guard Steve Hutchinson was called for holding Green Bay defensive end Cullen Jenkins, puttingthe Vikings in a second-and-17 at their 30. Three plays later, Hutchinson's miscue was forgotten when Brett Favre hit Percy Harvin for a 51-yard touchdown.
Perhaps, however, we shouldn't have been so quick to dismiss the penalty on Hutchinson given just how rare it is for him to be called for holding. The call by referee Tony Corrente's crew marked the first time since Nov. 30, 2003 that Hutchinson hadbeen penalizedfor that particular infraction, according to theElias Sports Bureau.
Hutchinson has not missed a game in that time, meaning he went 97 starts (91 regular-season games, six playoffs) without being called for a hold. That's a remarkable stretch for a guy whoplayed thousands of snaps in that time.
Also, say this for Hutchinson:His last two holding calls haven't wiped out big runs. The 2003 call came in the second-quarter of a 34-7 victory over Cleveland and resulted in a 1-yard run by Shaun Alexander being negated.
Above and beyond the holding call, it's flat-out rare forHutchinson to be called for a penalty at all. That's what makes it surprising that he's been penalized twice in the past two games. Two weeks ago he was called for a false start against Pittsburgh.
By my count, Hutchinson has been called for three(accepted)penalties in four-plus seasonsand 57 games since joining the Vikings in 2006.He was called for a false start on Sept. 16, 2007 in an overtime lossat Detroit, making it the first accepted penalty against him since Nov. 14, 2004 and ending a 44-game streak without a penalty.
He then started another streak that went 37 games, including the postseason, without another penalty until the Pittsburgh game.