Ravens Team Headlines: Ravens In Second Place For Second-Most Penalties On The Season
By Daniel Benjamin
One of the (many) things that drive NFL coaches crazy is seeing yellow flags on the ground, and the Baltimore Ravens have seen plenty of those this year. The Ravens were flagged 12 times for 134 yards against the Dallas Cowboys, marking the fourth time they have been penalized 10 or more times.
Overall, the Ravens have been called for the second-most penalties this year with 84, behind only the Raiders, who have 98. They are on pace to set a franchise record for most yards penalized, having already been penalized 729 yards.
"You can look at the officiating all you want," coach John Harbaugh said. "You can look at the calls. You can ask yourself whether the calls are being made on both sides all you want. That's not going to fix anything. We just have to find a way to do it our way, play in such a way that we don't have penalties."
With penalties, it is not always the number of fouls, but the timing of them, and the Ravens have been hit at the most inopportune times this year. Whether it has taken them out of the red zone or made potential third down conversions longer, their penalties have been costly.
This is not the first year that penalties have been an issue for the Ravens. Since the start of the 2013 season, Baltimore has been the sixth most penalized team in the NFL.
Offensive penalties
The Ravens have been flagged 44 times on offense—the fourth most in the league—for 364 yards. Holding penalties have been the Ravens' biggest bugaboo as they have been called for the foul a league-high 19 times. They have also committed 19 pre-snap penalties: false starts (9), delay of game (5), illegal shifts (3) and illegal formations (2).
Rookie left tackle Ronnie Stanley has been flagged the most times (seven) of any Raven. He has been called for holding four times, false starts (twice) and illegal use of hands (once). Center Jeremy Zuttah and rookie offensive tackle Alex Lewis also have been responsible for several penalties. Zuttah has been whistled for holding four times and unnecessary roughness once, while Lewis has been penalized for false starts twice and offensive holding twice.
Marshal Yanda (3), Vlad Ducasse (2) and Ryan Jensen (2) are other offensive linemen who have been called for multiple penalties. While wide receivers Steve Smith Sr. (2), Kamar Aiken (2) along with Mike Wallace (2) have also been flagged multiple times.
Defensive penalties
Defensively, the Ravens have been penalized 24 times for 198 yards, both of which rank around the bottom third in the league. Thirteen of the Ravens' defensive penalties have resulted in an automatic first down for the opposition, with only two of them coming on third or fourth down and none on third and long.
The Ravens have been called for offsides (6), pass interference (5), roughing the passer (3), illegal use of hands/illegal contact (3) and holding (5). Cornerback Jimmy Smith and outside linebacker Terrell Suggs have been called for four penalties apiece. Cornerback Tavon Young (3), defensive end Timmy Jernigan (3) and inside linebacker C.J. Mosley (3) are the next biggest culprits.
Special teams penalties
The Ravens special teams have also been penalized a ton. Baltimore has been called for 16 special teams penalties for a league-high 167 yards. Long snapper Morgan Cox and linebacker Matt Judon lead the unit with three penalties.
