OWINGS MILLS, Md. — As the Ravens put their season-opening loss to the Kansas City Chiefs behind them and began preparations to face the Las Vegas Raiders this week, head coach John Harbaugh diplomatically made clear that he still takes exception to the rash of illegal-formation penalties called on his team — and only his team — at Kansas City, and he stressed that, “I’m not worried about it going forward.”
The Ravens dropped the season opener at Kansas City, 27-20, when a potential game-tying touchdown pass was caught by Isaiah Likely just an inch or two out of bounds on the final play of the game.
On the Ravens’ opening drive against the Chiefs, the Ravens were called for an illegal formation three times in their first seven plays, with a lineman too far off the line of scrimmage. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley was flagged twice, and right tackle Patrick Mekari was flagged once. Stanley was called for the same violation again in the second quarter.
According to the NFL rule book, for a lineman to be deemed on the line of scrimmage, “his helmet must break a vertical plane that passes through the beltline of the snapper.”
The league stressed to all teams before the season that it would emphasize this rule and keep offensive tackles from beginning off the line of scrimmage, thus gaining an unfair advantage against edge rushers. It appears the Ravens became the Week 1 guinea pig.
The Ravens were called for an illegal offensive line formation four times overall; in the other Week 1 games, the other 31 NFL teams were called for that violation a total of twice.
One of the calls against Stanley proved to be especially costly; the Chiefs would have been flagged for a long pass interference penalty on a pass intended for Zay Flowers, but the flag on Stanley offset the Chiefs penalty and nullified the play.
The Ravens were also miffed that no such calls were levied against the Chiefs despite right tackle Jawaan Taylor frequently lining up at least as far off the line of scrimmage as Stanley.
“We do have data on that, tracking data,” Harbaugh said at his weekly Monday news conference Sept. 9. “They have chips in their shoulder pads. So we know exactly where Ronnie was lined up relative to where their guys were lined up.”
Harbaugh noted that against the Chiefs, Stanley was closer to the line of scrimmage than he was at times during preseason practices in which NFL officials worked. Teams will often bring NFL crews in to work some camp practices to stress rule changes and points of emphasis for the coming season.
After the Chiefs game, Stanley said, “I really feel like they were just trying to make an example and chose me to be the one to do that.”
He also took exception to the one-way application of the rule.
“I’m looking at their tackles, especially the right side, and I know I’m lining up in front of that guy,” Stanley told The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec. “And they didn’t call him one time. It’s a little bit of making me feel like I’m crazy, [that] I don’t know where I’m lining up.”
Speaking after the team’s practice four days later, Harbaugh said, “When you watch the tape, I believe what [Ronnie] said bears out.”
NOTEBOOK
JACKSON MISSES PRACTICE: Quarterback Lamar Jackson was not on the practice field on Sept. 9, as the team went through its first workout since the Thursday night loss to the Chiefs. Harbaugh after practice declined to specifically address Jackson’s absence, saying, “We had a number of guys that weren’t out there — some personal, some physical. [The] injury report comes out Wednesday afternoon, so you’ll be better advised on that day regarding all those guys.”
Outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who reportedly fractured an orbital bone at Kansas City, also missed practice, and Harbaugh deferred to the injury report on him as well. Others absent from the Monday workout were cornerback Nate Wiggins, wide receiver/kick returner Deonte Harty and outside linebacker Adisa Isaac (hamstring).
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