Back on Feb. 3 in Owings Mills, during the annual State of the Ravens post-season press conference, Ravens Owner Steve Bisciotti was asked what most drove him crazy about his team.



“You know, as an owner, you’d love for your team to be the least-penalized team in the league,” Bisciotti said. “I’m certainly not happy about it, I’m not going to lie to you.”



The Ravens surrendered the most penalty yardage (1,094) in the NFL last year.



This season, they’ve done a 180-degree turn.



Baltimore is on pace to set franchise records for fewest penalties and penalty yardage in a season.



The Ravens have drawn 83 total flags this season, 13th fewest in the NFL. That’s six fewer than the franchise-low 89 in 2001. They have been penalized for 628 yards, sixth-least in the league. That’s 100 yards short of the team record set in 2001.



On Monday, Head Coach John Harbaugh was asked for his explanation for the change.



“Well, it’s always been an emphasis,” Harbaugh said. “I think when Steve Bisciotti mentioned that he thought it was important, it probably got everybody’s attention. It didn’t hurt. We appreciate that.”



Baltimore committed a season-high 10 penalties against the New Orleans Saints in Week 15. They followed that up with just one in Cleveland.



An encroachment on defensive end Cory Redding during a first quarter extra point was actually beneficial in giving the Ravens coaching staff more time to review and challenge the Browns’ touchdown.



Also notable is that tackle Michael Oher snapped his three-game streak of committing at least one false start.



Oher, the Ravens’ leader in penalties (11) and false starts (eight), said last week that he was confident the early movements were over. Harbaugh joked that he might have to resort to having Oher run laps during practice.



The Ravens drew 115 yellow flags last season, including 16 defensive pass interference calls. This year they have five defensive pass interference penalties. Defensive holding is also down, as is offensive holding, which has dropped from 22 to 13.



“To me, it’s playing with good technique, it’s playing fundamentally sound, it’s being in the right position, it’s making good decisions under pressure; you know, it’s a lot of things,” Harbaugh said.



“It’s still week-to-week, but I’m proud of the guys, I think they’ve done a good job. And the coaches have done a good job of getting that rectified.” Tags: Fewest, Franchise Record, Left Tackle, Michael Oher, Penalties, Penalty Yardage Comment on this entry below