The NFL season has officially started, and there’s already some controversy surrounding the game between the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs barely held the Ravens off in an incredible first game of the season, but it was not without its flaws. The most notable issue was the number of illegal formation penalties called. Based on some comments from Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley, it seems Baltimore isn’t too happy with the way the referees were calling the game.
“I really feel like they were trying to make an example and chose me to be the one to do that,” Stanley told reporters after the Ravens’ 27-20 loss via the team’s website. “As far as I saw, they weren’t doing it on both sides of the ball. I know I was lined up in good position a majority of those calls they made.”
The issue in question comes from the league making it clear that it was going to start cracking down on offensive tackles lining up too deep before the snap. This gave them a clear advantage over defensive players, and the NFL made teams aware that it needed to stop. The message got sent Thursday night with the penalty being called four times on the Ravens in the first half.
Stanley accounted for three of those penalties, which is why he’s so frustrated. He’s been in the NFL since 2016, and now the league wants to start changing things. To be fair, every team knew this rule was going to be enforced. The Ravens could have worked to make sure this wasn’t a problem before the season started.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was just as upset at the calls as he told the media after the game.
“They put a thing out that they said they were going to call that differently,” Harbaugh said via the team’s website. “[Not] understanding how differently, we were the first offensive series of the season with that, and I think they saw probably everybody watching it.
“It’ll be interesting to see if they call it the same way the whole season. I’ll challenge them to call it the same way they called it tonight the whole season, so hopefully they’ll be consistent about that.”
Harbaugh and the Ravens had victory right in their grasp, so it makes sense why they’re so upset. Those penalties definitely had an effect on the game, and it really only negatively impacted the Ravens. The Chiefs didn’t have the same problem.
That seems to be part of the reason Stanley is upset, and there’s a case to be made that his frustration isn’t wrong. Chiefs tackle Jawaan Taylor seemed to be lining up deep all night yet he never got called for an illegal formation penalty. It just adds fuel to the Ravens’ fire, whether it’s true or not.
Like Harbaugh says, this will be an interesting storyline to follow. Will this continue for the entire season, or will it die out after the first few weeks, like so many strictly enforced rules before it? Time will tell, but for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have a very young offensive line, this penalty could be a serious problem going forward.
