Two seasons ago against the Patriots, linebacker Bart Scott was fined $25,000 for verbally abusing game officials and throwing an official's flag into the stands near the end of the Ravens' 27-24 loss.
"There is a reputation," linebacker Jarret Johnson said. "It's tough to sit here and go, 'Yeah, these guys are looking at us differently than they look at other teams.' I wouldn't say that. But who knows?"
This year's personal fouls have struck a painful chord. Of eight touchdowns allowed by the Ravens' defense, three drives have been spurred by roughing penalties.
The severity of the repercussions can affect the aggressiveness of the Ravens' pass rushers.
"I have had two sacks where I've run up to a quarterback and the only thing I'm thinking is: Don't hit him in the wrong spot," said Johnson, who was called for roughing the passer in the season opener. "It does bother me when you're thinking about that when you play. It's just the league we play.
"It's crazy out there. You talk trash. You're hyper-aggressive. And then, at a certain point, you got to let up. That's what is tough about it."
Defensive end Trevor Pryce, who was flagged for roughing in Week 2 at San Diego, said contact with the quarterback is sometimes unavoidable.
"It's hard to stop running toward the quarterback in full stride. It is almost impossible," Pryce said. "Quarterbacks know what they're doing. Quarterbacks bait us. They know they're going to get hit, and all of a sudden they flop down."
The Ravens aren't the only ones questioning Sunday's calls against Suggs and Ngata.
The hit by Suggs "was not enough force to make this call," said Tony Dungy, the former Indianapolis Colts coach who is now an NBC studio analyst. "This was an overreaction to Tom getting hurt last year."
According to Rule 12, Section 2, Article 13 of the NFL rule book, a rushing defender is prohibited from "forcibly" hitting the knee area or below.
After the game, Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis repeatedly called the pair of roughing calls "embarrassing." Suggs suggested there was favoritism to protect some quarterbacks and said, "maybe next year, it'll be two-hand touch" to get a sack.
An NFL spokesman said Monday that the league isn't discussing the Ravens' comments "at this point."
Said Lewis: "You look at the replay, and he's barely touched. He's a man. They [quarterbacks] can be hit just like us."
BENGALS @RAVENS
Sunday, 1 p.m.
TV: Ch. 13
Radio: 97.9 FM, 1090 AM
Line: Ravens
by 8 1/2
