With hump day beyond us, it’s time to turn our attention away from the debacle that came against the Miami Dolphins, and toward a fresh start. Baltimore’s season isn’t over, believe it or not. Remember just last year, the Ravens started 1-1 and had an AFC-leading 8-3 record before Lamar Jackson got hurt.
Jackson did wear an arm sleeve at Wednesday’s practice, indicating some sort of discomfort after taking some shots against Miami. Baltimore cannot afford to lose Jackson to injury again, but don’t worry, John Harbaugh did say Jackson would play:
"Just a normal course of the season thing. Lamar practiced today, he'll be playing Sunday." Coach Harbaugh on Lamar's arm sleeve: pic.twitter.com/keiTSc6ore
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 21, 2022
Brian Baldinger has been a fan of Lamar Jackson for a while, but he had extremely high praise for Jackson against the Dolphins, with an in-depth analysis of his performance here:
.@Ravens @Lj_era8 despite the loss was the best football player on the field Sunday….Again. He might lead this league in passing this season the way he is throwing the ball. #ravensflock #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/Hs0Xd7cFuR
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) September 21, 2022
You hear so much about Jackson’s rushing ability, with his arm being a reason Baltimore may not extend him, but after Baldinger’s video, it’s hard not to be massively impressed. Jackson was fantastic on Sunday.
But these performances have all come without the QB’s blind side being protected by Ronnie Stanley, who was practicing again on Wednesday:
LT Ronnie Stanley was practicing for Ravens and he seemed to be doing a bit more than what we've seen him doing in recent practice weeks.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) September 21, 2022
Getting Stanley back would be a much needed boost to the offense, even though Jackson did say he’s comfortable with the current group on Wednesday.
Regardless, here’s Wednesday’s injury report, which technically has Stanley limited:
Injury Report for Week 3: pic.twitter.com/YzIVXIPtDJ
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 21, 2022
For a lighter bit of today’s Out to Lunch, I do want to jump back to Sunday’s game for a second, as there was a funny clip of Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters imitating Tyreek Hill’s unique running style after they were mic’d up:
Ravens CBs @marlon_humphrey and @marcuspeters imitating how @cheetah runs is everything 🤣pic.twitter.com/7TqEVZiNQS
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 21, 2022
Should the two corners be having this much fun up only seven after they were leading by 21? For me, it’s. not a big deal. They’ve both played Tyreek Hill multiple times and now how dangerous he is with quick-strike scores. More important, they’re competitors. Just because they’re having fun on the sideline doesn’t mean they’re taking things lightly on the field.
Speaking of taking things lightly, it sounds like legendary Patriots coach Bill Belichick was chipper during the pre-draft interview with QB Lamar Jackson. Asked what he remembered from the meeting, Jackson simply said that Belichick smiled:
Lamar Jackson on what he remembers from his pre-draft meeting with the Patriots: “When I saw (Belichick) smile, I told him, ‘You got humor.’”
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) September 21, 2022
We’ll see who’s smiling at the end of the day on Sunday, as this is sneakily a must-win game for the Ravens. I know earlier I said the team would be fine, but Baltimore will have to turn around and play the Buffalo Bills in Week 4. You can’t afford to drop to 1-3.
That said, the Ravens likely will not let that happen, and Kevin Wildes agrees, naming Baltimore the 5th most dangerous team in the NFL:
The 5 scariest teams in the NFL, according to @kevinwildes:
1. Bills
2. Bills
3. Chiefs
4. Bucs
5. Ravens"The Bills are just too much." pic.twitter.com/w610N5VGg3
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) September 20, 2022
The Bills are listed in the top-two slots here, so really Baltimore’s fourth, but I have to agree with Wildes. The team looks good, they just have to fix up some of the issues we saw late last week.
