There might be an underlying reason why linebacker Terrell Suggs thinks the 2011 Ravens -- a team that did not reach the Super Bowl -- may have been just as good as the following year's championship squad.
That team, which was kept from making a Super Bowl appearance by Lee Evans' stripped pass and Billy Cundiff's field-goal miss in the AFC Championship Game, was the most recent in Ravens history to commit less than 100 regular-season penalties (92).
Penalties have been an issue for the Ravens since, with last year's team getting flagged 122 times, 10 more than the previous season. Even though that was 17 short of the 2005 team's record high, the total was still tied for the sixth most overall and the AFC's fourth-highest total.
