NFL officials put a notice out to all tackles by punishing Baltimore Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley.
By the second snap of the game, we learned NFL officials had another point of emphasis they forgot to mention when meeting with media prior to the regular season. According to the NBC broadcast, along with players and coaches after the game, the NFL is cracking down on illegal formation penalties involving offensive tackles lining up deeper in the backfield.
To demonstrate their newfound affinity for penalizing offensive tackles, they scapegoated Baltimore Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley. However, the real offender and reason for the emphasis, Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor, didn’t get a single one.
“The way it was going through the game I really feel like they were just trying to make an example and chose me to be the one to do that,” Stanley said. “As far as I saw they weren’t doing that on both sides of the ball.”
#Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor (top of photo) lining up in the backfield like he does on every single play. No penalty called.
I guess it was only a point of emphasis for the #Ravens. #NFL pic.twitter.com/udptMahp9O— Peter Robbins (@gatortakes) September 6, 2024
Thrice, the officials tossed the laundry on Stanley for illegal formation; a shock to Stanley as he spoke with officials during OTAs when they notified him and the team about the emphasis and felt he was within the parameters.
“We knew that they were going to make a new emphasis on the illegal formations and we were talking to refs in OTAs and we got a pretty good clarification and we were doing a good job in OTAs,” Stanley said. “And all of a sudden today the refs—whatever calls they made— it’s their decision. It didn’t feel consistent with what we were told from the refs earlier on.”
Meanwhile here is Jawaan Taylor https://t.co/4gjcWONR24 pic.twitter.com/Jmk2NJJgz0
— Danny Heifetz (@Danny_Heifetz) September 6, 2024
The issue is not Stanley being called for the infraction. If the officials believe he is lining up too far back they are well within their right to be called out. The issue is the complete and utter lack of balance in it being called consistently.
Time and time again, offensive tackles are arcing further back to get that extra advantage and they’re not called. On Thursday, Stanley was penalized three times and Ravens right tackle Patrick Mekari was penalized once. The Chiefs tackles did not receive a single infraction when they appeared to be positioned the same if not further back than Stanley.
Unjustly, Stanley was made the whipping boy for NFL officiating while they allowed the beloved Chiefs to get off scot-free.