The Ravens have no one but themselves to blame for most of their penalties. Since 2000, they wanted the bad boy image, and bad boys don't get any breaks. Ask the Oakland Raiders. As the old saying goes, be careful what you pray for. A lot of their penalties were from a lack of focus. It's one thing to get penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct and late hits, and another to get 20 penalties for false starts, and another 16 for being offsides. Those are from a lack of concentration. It's too early to point to the Ravens' penalty-filled game against the Eagles last week as a lack of discipline. It was only preseason game No. 2.

The Ravens are trying new things on offense. They've put in some new things on defense. Mistakes are to be expected.  They should be penalized less this year than last. All the players have been made aware of the situation, so there should be more focus. Also, the Ravens were out of playoff contention early last year, and they were lethargic late in the season. Maybe this year they'll have more to play for, and some of the penalties will be erased.