KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley did his best to keep his emotions in check, but there was a slight waver in his voice and his words came out in a rush.
The 2019 All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection, who is going into his ninth season, was called for three illegal formations for a total of 15 penalty yards in a season-opening game against the Kansas City Chiefs that was lost, quite literally, by an inch.
There were a lot of reasons the Ravens lost, but the fact that Stanley was a contributor for a reason he couldn’t understand was hard to swallow.
“I really feel like they were just trying to make an example and chose me to be the one to do that,” Stanley said.
His three illegal-formation calls in this game alone surpassed how many the Ravens were penalized for all last season. The Ravens were called for five total, and Stanley was responsible for more than half. The Chiefs were not flagged for the penalty.
The league is placing a new emphasis on where tackles line up in pass protection, but the Ravens knew that. They have NFL referees come in the offseason to explain incoming changes.
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“We were talking to the refs at OTAs [organized team activities], actually, and we got pretty good clarification and were doing a good job in OTAs,” Stanley said. “And then, all of the sudden today, the refs, whatever calls they made, their decision, didn’t feel consistent with what we were told from the refs early on.”
The rule, Stanley explained, is that tackles need to have their helmets in line with the center’s waistline. Although he’ll check the film, Stanley felt positive he was in the right spot.
And then, without warning, on the second play of the game and the first pass play, he was flagged. It was also the first pass play by any NFL team this season, so it was the first time anyone had an idea what this new emphasis would look like.
“They put a thing out that they said they were going to call that differently,” coach John Harbaugh said. “I think understanding how differently, we were the first offensive series of the season with that, and I think they saw probably everybody watching it.”
Stanley, a veteran in his 88th NFL game, talked to the refs and adjusted.
Four plays (three passing and one running play) later, six-year veteran Patrick Mekari was called for the same infraction. Immediately after that, Stanley was called again.
“There’s plenty of dialogue,” Stanley said. “They just kept saying, ‘You need to move up.’ And I’m like, ‘How much more do I need to move up?’ It’s not my first year playing in this league. I know where to line up, and I was lining up a lot ahead of where I usually do. I know my helmet was breaking the center’s butt.”
At one point, people watching at home noticed Stanley was checking in with the refs, like a wide receiver, to make sure he was in the right place. But he still got called again.
Stanley even studied the Chiefs’ offensive linemen while he was on the sidelines because they weren’t being called. That left him even more confused.
“I’m looking at their tackles, especially the right side, and I know I’m lining up in front of that guy, and they didn’t call him one time,” Stanley said with a bit of a hitch to his voice. “So it’s a little bit upsetting. I just feel like it’s kinda making me feel like I’m crazy, like I don’t know where I’m lining up. But I feel like we’ll watch the film, but they just need to be held accountable if that’s what it is. If it’s that egregious that they’re making those calls, and they shouldn’t be, they should be held accountable.”
One illegal-formation call canceled out a big gain, a 9-yard completion to tight end Mark Andrews, and they all disrupted the flow of the game.
“It’s very frustrating, because we’re busting our behind out there,” quarterback Lamar Jackson said. “We’re trying to win the game at the end of the day. It’s like, every time we had a big play, there was a flag down. We can’t be having that. We’re going to watch film and see if we can clean those things up.”
Penalties always cause problems, but these were different, occupying headspace in a game that required the focus to be on the play.
The penalties emerged as a storyline that overshadowed an offensive line performance Harbaugh said he was otherwise proud of.
“The offensive line, I thought, did a heck of a job out there,” Harbaugh said. “A lot of question marks the pundits and the prognosticators had about the offensive line, saying with that offensive line we couldn’t do anything. And, to see the way they went out and played against that defense, I thought was pretty impressive.”
There were struggles for the line with three new starters. When rookie Roger Rosengarten came in for his first snap, he and right guard Daniel Faalele let defensive tackle Chris Jones blow right by them and strip-sack Jackson, giving the Chiefs prime field position at the Baltimore 14-yard line.
The Ravens also struggled to generate push up the middle, even with four-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry behind them. Henry averaged 5.73 yards per carry and 111.8 yards per game against the Chiefs coming into the game. He left with an average of 3.5 yards per carry and a total of 46 yards. Overall, the Ravens had 185 rushing yards — but 122 of them were from their quarterback.
To Stanley, there was a very important positive outcome. The offensive line grew as the game progressed.
“Guys were making mistakes, but it’s how you respond to those mistakes,” Stanley said. “And I really think every guy, they made a mistake, they just went back to — we have these discussions in the huddle. We might be upset for a second, but it’s the next play. You know, we all have that belief and trust that that person is going to fix it. So I was very proud to everyone.”
Now Stanley just has to figure out how to fix his formation mistakes in a way the refs will approve of. Harbaugh will have his back.
“It’ll be interesting to see if they call it the same way the whole season,” Harbaugh said. “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.”
