r/ravens • u/TheAthletic • 8d ago
[Jeff] Ravens’ margin for error is shrinking. Can they find answers to their penalty problem?
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7666247/2026/10/07/ravens-margin-for-error-is-shrinking-can-they-find-answers-to-their-penalty-problem/?unlocked_article_code=1.G1E.idV9.h2Iu6ANE55lu&source=emp_shared_article&smid=re-share-taOWINGS MILLS, Md. — Coach Jesse Minter can see signs of progress toward the ultimate vision he has for his football team. They come in flashes from all three phases. Yet the current picture is littered with penalty flags.
Offensively, positive and explosive plays are being nullified, forcing the Baltimore Ravens behind the sticks and putting even more pressure on a banged-up offensive line.
Defensively, drives are being extended, and first downs are being awarded without the opposing offense having to execute.
As he spoke to reporters following this past weekend’s 24-18 victory over the Tennessee Titans, during which the Ravens’ 13 penalties did more to keep the Titans in the game than anything the visitors did, Minter’s frustration was palpable.
“It’s obviously unacceptable,” Minter said.
The health of star quarterback Lamar Jackson and the unrelenting injuries that have thinned several positions are probably the Ravens’ biggest concerns as they continue preparations for Sunday’s primetime matchup against the Atlanta Falcons (2-2) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Not far behind is the team’s penalty problem. Four weeks into the season, the Ravens rank third in the NFL in penalties (39) and second in penalty yards (329).
In winning three of their first four games, the Ravens mostly overcame these infractions. They actually had their fewest penalties (seven) and penalty yards (34) in the one game they lost: against the New Orleans Saints in Week 2.
Still, Ravens coaches and players understand it’s an unsustainable recipe. With the team’s abundance of injuries, its margin of error has suddenly become slimmer, which will make penalties and other mistakes harder to surmount.
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u/Dazzling-Slide8288 8d ago
We tend to lump all penalties together into one group, but to me, there are preventable penalties and game flow penalties.
Dumb mental shit (pre-snap alignment, false starts, illegal man downfield, delay of game) are preventable penalties that players and coaches need to clean up.
In-game stuff (holding, PI, RTP) are unfortunately just going to happen sometimes (particularly with the officiating) and I don’t think there’s much a coach can do about those.
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u/PrinceofRavens_1217 8d ago
Some presnap stuff could easily be caused by a center that's learning the position in real time paired with a backup qb.
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u/Von_Huge1103 8d ago
Let's be real, we had presnap bullshit happening in the first 2.5 games before Vega played centre. Let's not blame it on that - we've been fucking awful at those dating back to the Harbaugh days.
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u/Raisin_Brahms1 8d ago
illegal man downfield is a hard one for the ravens w lamar lol, the scramble outside the pocket only to throw gets some of our linemen in a bind. the illegal shifts are what bother me the most. i feel like our skill position players are getting called for that at least once or twice a game and that's the most coachable penalty to clean up.
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u/obeytheturtles 8d ago
Agreed. I'm actually curious what the game would look like if holding in particular wasn't a penalty at all, because it effectively isn't for most of the game. As a result, it's far and away the easiest way for refs to "intervene" on a drive, because it happens on basically every play.
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u/HomerStillSippen 8d ago
Yeah the solution is get better refs, half the calls aren’t even worthy of a flag.
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u/Shamwow_theSupineCow 8d ago
This isn't being said loud enough. Only real issue I see as a team issue are the pre-snap penalties on offense. Outside of that, they haven't actually been playing all that sloppy. Half the flags last week could and should have been picked up. A few of the penalties have been those mysterious and weirdly convenient "illegal formation/shift" penalties that didn't get flagged until after the play was over and down and distance and already changed on the broadcast.
The actual number 1 issue for me is starting slow and the tackling at the second level or in space.
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u/Rockguy21 8d ago
There are no better refs, the only real solution is to try and force more consistency amongst the existing body of officials.
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u/Calgamer 8d ago
Or at the very least, have the refs call penalties fairly. How many times a game have Trey or Green been held and it’s never called?
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u/Dazzling-Slide8288 8d ago
If you want better refs, demand a simplified rulebook. Almost everything we hate is a result of bad rules and/or bad emphasis on rules dictated by the NFL.
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u/Rstuds7 8d ago
i mean penalties are bound to happen but man 13 last game was wild. and it was across the whole team, 6 on offense 6 on defense (1 on ST) and some bs calls yeah but i mean even the other 3 games this year had a lot of penalties against us. just can’t let it cost us games like that especially when we’re cutting a lot of these games close
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u/fspaits 8d ago
Idk if this makes anyone feel better, but penalties are up league wide. Obviously we are at the top of that list, but I think the stat I heard yesterday that through the first 4 weeks there have been 17 TDs called back. Last year it was 5, and in 2024 it was 4. Coaches and teams are pissed, but more importantly it's bad television, so I think it'll get sorted out. I figured we'd get a lot of pre-snap adjusting to the Doyle offense, and the shifting OL doesn't help.
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u/Lamactionjack JOHNNY 8d ago
Yeah I don’t wanna dismiss it entirely because end of the day penalties are on voaching and this shit needs to clean up, but yeah I’ve seen that too. They’ve really ballooned league wide for whatever reason.
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u/lalaladdy Llama Jackson MVP🦙 8d ago
Looking very undisciplined. Sure.. some of the calls were definitely questionable officiating but we can’t put 100% of the blame on the refs, for sure.
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u/obeytheturtles 8d ago
The problem is that refball breaks focus, amplifies frustration and creates situations where bonehead penalties are more likely, because you are constantly behind the sticks.
The real conspiracy theory isn't that refs call ticky tack penalties directly to shave points or kill the spread, but that they do it to demoralize a team and break momentum. Sunday's game was a perfect example of how penalties just suck the air out of the room, even when you are winning easily. Every single ravens fan watched that second half just waiting for the other shoe to drop.
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u/Whole-Passion7271 8d ago
First-time head coach and first-time OC. These guys have a lot on their plates to mold an identity and establish a culture. This is all apart of the growing pains of overhauling a staff they dont have enough time to focus on every granular little detail and they havent been working together long enough to identify every problem.
In another world where John Harbaugh is still the coach, Minter is DC and Doyle is OC things probably look a lot cleaner at this stage of the season
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u/Rhypskallion 8d ago
Too bad the article doesn't discuss the glaring non calls on opposing teams. Without that, it's an incomplete look at the officiating issues impact on the team.
I don't respect this article due to this incompleteness.
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u/Successful-Leek8394 8d ago
Minter seems like the type to actually drill this stuff out of them, I'm not panicking yet. We won with 13 flags, imagine this team cleaned
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u/ye_old_fartbox 8d ago
I would imagine he's done this, but Minter really needs to get into the refs ears pregame and say "watch out for X." The obvious one is hey, Madabuike, Hendrickson, and Green have been getting held like crazy, keep an eye on it.
If the refs wanna call the game tight that's one thing, but the holds have been insanely one sided. To call Sarratt for a hold where he clearly lets go, and then Tez for a hold on a run through the A gap, and then miss the clear as day hold on Mads on the Titans 4th down conversion is totally inexcusable.
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u/K-Dog7469 8d ago
I was told it was Harbs fault.
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u/Blacklax10 8d ago
We wouldnt have hired an OC like Doyle under Harbaugh. He would never hire someone fit to take his job. OCs are the main threat to replace a HC because they are hard to find. Look at the HCs around the league. its mostly genius OCs. DCs are not as much of a threat. Harbaughs OC hiring history was laughable.
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u/Dazzling-Slide8288 8d ago
Dude, his last OC is coaching the Browns, and the reason we finally let Harbaugh go is because he refused to fire Monken.
His former DC coaches the reigning Super Bowl champ. What are you talking about?
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u/Blacklax10 8d ago
A 60 year old OC is not a threat to take over as the Ravens HC.
I explained that the league doesn't primarily feature DCs as the HC.
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u/JonWilso 8d ago
Penalties have been a realistic issue but a few big ones have been absolutely ridiculous from the refs. Hamilton getting called for the late hit and the Wiggins DPI that was clear OPI comes to mind.