Ravens Penalty Problems Only Getting Worse

Penalties are becoming a plague for the Ravens.

It tends to come with the territory sometimes with new coaching staffs, as much as they don’t want to hear it and don’t want it correlated to them. It’s a fact. It's a problem in Baltimore

When there is sweeping change in this league, especially after a coach manages to stay here roughly 20 years prior (like John Harbaugh), there are going to be hiccups and missteps and issues the following September. But now it’s October and the Ravens injury situation continues to deepen, making the margins between winning and losing even tighter, even against winless teams like Tennessee, and racking up 13 penalties for 130 yards at home, without the crowd being an excuse, is no way to go through an NFL season.

For the Ravens' offense, where things are decidedly new from a schematic and language and philosophical standpoint, and the pre-snap ambitions have changed and cadence has been introduced and tempo is shifting and more motion is in use, the degree of difficulty gets jacked up even higher. And when you add new starting offensive lines every week and linemen are out of position and going through three centers in four games, the propensity for disaster is even higher.

And so here rookie head coach Jesse Minter finds himself, exactly where he did not want to be, among the NFL leaders in far too many penalty categories and having to preach focus and discipline to a largely-veteran team, and, let’s keep it real, already sending some messages to rookie offensive coordinator Declan Doyle through his remarks after Sunday’s win over the Titans about all those pre-snap devices he fancies so much and the role they seem to be playing for an offense that can’t stop derailing due to penalties.

“It sort of goes back to the comment about who you have and what they’re good at,” Minter said at his Monday press conference. “And whether it’s young guys who haven’t been in it as much, all that stuff you’re always looking at and always trying to find that perfect balance … So you want to use motion and shifts and cadences as a weapon … but we need to find that really good balance.”

The search continues.

With Lamar Jackson dealing with an ankle injury and more backups being thrust into starting roles with injuries taking hold throughout the offensive line, and 20 percent of this roster invested in rookies, there may be some explanations for the confusion and struggles. But this is the NFL, they get to pick their players, and it’s a $365M payroll that shouldn’t be undermining itself from week to week.

Ugly Numbers

The Ravens are leading the league in a way no one wants to lead the league. Their 39 total penalties are third-most in the NFL, and their 24 offensive penalties are tied for the most in the NFL and the teams they are clustered with (Chargers and Packers) are two of the most disappointing offenses in the league.

Here are some other ugly truths that are driving Minter crazy:

12 Opposing 1st Downs From Penalties: 2nd most

-6.60 Offensive Penalty Expected Points Added: 30th

329 Penalty Yards: 31st

Gulp.

Scaling things back can help on offense. Getting some solidified personnel on the offensive line couldn’t hurt. But this trend continues to go in the wrong direction, and the schedule is ramping up into the middle of the season.

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