One of the notable storylines to emerge from the NFL’s season opener was how many times officials called a penalty against the Baltimore Ravens for an illegal formation.
In their 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs Thursday night, the Baltimore Ravens were flagged four times for an illegal formation in the first half, with left tackle Ronnie Stanley drawing three of those penalties — two on the Ravens’ first drive.
Stanley said after the game that he felt the refs were trying to make an example out of him and that it was not called the way the team was told it would be called when the league’s refs were at training camp practices this offseason.
But why were there so many of these calls Thursday night?
Here’s what you need to know:
What is an illegal formation?
An illegal formation is called when the offense does not have enough players on the line of scrimmage or those players on the line are not in the correct spots.
Teams must have seven or more players on the line of scrimmage and eligible receivers must be on both ends of the line. Any player on the line in between those receivers is considered ineligible and a five-yard penalty will be assessed, with the down being replayed.
An example of this was the final illegal formation penalty called against Baltimore’s Rashod Bateman. The receiver lined up near the Ravens’ sideline but was deemed to not be on the line scrimmage, meaning Baltimore did not have an eligible receiver on that side of the field.
Why were the Ravens flagged so many times?
Ravens coach John Harbaugh said postgame that teams were notified that pre-snap alignment would be a point of emphasis for officials and would be officiated “differently.”
“[Not] understanding how differently, we were the first offensive series of the season with that, and I think they saw probably everybody watching it,” Harbaugh said.
Officials ruled that Stanley (twice) and Ravens offensive lineman Patrick Mekari (once) were lined up too far back three times on the Raiders’ opening drive. Stanley said he felt the calls were inconsistent with how they were told the rule would be enforced.
“We were talking to the refs at OTAs actually and we got pretty good clarification,” he said. “We were doing a good job in OTAs and all of a sudden today, the refs, whatever calls they made, it’s their decision. But it didn’t feel consistent with what we were told from the other refs earlier on. ”
Why these flags are controversial?
Stanley, along with several fans on various social media sites, said the Chiefs tackles were lining up similarly and were not being flagged.
“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. “It’s a little bit of making me feel like I’m crazy, (that) I don’t know where I’m lining up.”
Stanley referred to Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor, who coincidently led the NFL with 17 penalties in 2023. Stanely said he spoke to the officials throughout the game and was told he needed “to move up.”
“And I’m like, ‘how much more do I need to move up?’ he said. “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.”
Will illegal formation be called the same all year?
Harbaugh said after the game he hopes they’ll be consistent about calling illegal formations the same way.
“I’ll challenge them to call it the same way they called it tonight the whole season,” he said.
(Photo: Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images)
