The wide receiver carousel keeps on spinning as the Ravens officially placed Steve Smith Sr. on injured reserve on Wednesday. In his place, they signed free agent wideout Joe Morgan.
Morgan is the latest signing for a receiving corps that, outside of Smith Sr., has struggled through eight weeks of the season.
The former New Orleans Saint brings to Baltimore a career 33.6 yards per catch average (14 receptions) after appearing in just 21 games for Head Coach Sean Payton.
The addition of Morgan appears more so to replace Breshad Perriman as the Ravens deep threat than filling the vacant position left by Smith Sr.
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Special Teams Were Special
Jerry Rosburg and his special teams unit were the difference between winning and losing against the San Diego Chargers last Sunday.
From coverages on kickoffs and punt returns to the fantastic play of veteran punter Sam Koch, the group played its finest game of the year.
Koch had an astounding 61.0 yards per kick average, punting just two times for a total of 121 yards.
Kicker Justin Tucker was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his stellar performance against the Chargers. Tucker connect for five field goals, including his ninth career game-winning.
While Tucker’s victory dance caused a lot of reaction from fans, coach Rosburg offered his following practice.
“I have no reaction whatsoever. I’m not sure what it was, so I’m really not sure if I’ve seen it before.”
Interceptions Still Missing
Often games are decided by what team makes the biggest mistakes and how the other team capitalizes on those mistakes. As the Ravens enter their bye week, their lack of interception streak has reached almost five-and-a-half games.
Their last interception came against the Bengals in week three when cornerback Jimmy Smith hauled in an errant throw to the end zone by quarterback Andy Dalton. The opportunities have certainly been there for the struggling secondary and linebacker corps but they haven’t been able to take advantage of the opportunity.
Will it change entering the second half of the season?
“I don’t know anything that could change that,” said secondary coach Chris Hewitt when asked if coaching can change the lack of interceptions recorded. “The ball hasn’t bounced our way. We haven’t had the opportunities where the ball has come to us and come to our hands.”
Hewitt must have missed on film the footballs that bounced off Jimmy Smith’s hands or others throughout the first half of the season.
“We haven’t had the opportunities, and the last thing that you want to do in the secondary is try to press to go make plays. The plays are going to come to you. What we do out here in practice is to make sure that when a play comes, we have to make them.
“We’ll continue to keep pressing on that point [and] we’re continuing to make plays in practice. What happens in practice will show up in the games.”
Heading into their bye week, the Ravens have a -7 turnover differential, which ties for 29th best in the league.
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