In this week’s Purple Patrol, Adam is lamenting the fact that the coaching staff isn’t getting enough credit for last week’s win.
I think Adam’s point is valid, as the coaches did have an excellent game plan and if Lamar Jackson plays better and if the refs don’t miss some critical calls, I think the game is a blowout(or at least a far easier win).
That said, I think Adam is ignoring the larger picture here. Whether or not the fans are right about how they are discussing the Cinci game, the reality is that the Ravens record, since starting 8-3 last year, is 3-8, with five home losses. This isn’t all the coaches’ fault of course.
In those losses, there have been many questionable coaching decisions and the fan base is just worn down. Personally, I think many of those decisions (many of which are about going for it on 4th down) are usually the correct calls but I can see why people have an overall frustration with the coaching staff. I do not think the decision to keep Greg Roman was the right one. He is the guy who gets a brunt of the blame and, for me, rightfully so.
I think it is also fair to remember that the negative gets blown up way more than the positive. That is just the nature of things. People are going to need to see more consistency from coaching before they start heaping praise upon them.
I mean, this extends to the players as well, right? Lamar isn’t playing as well these last few games as he did in the first three. He has missed receivers being open, overthrown guys, taken sacks when he could have gotten rid of the ball and threw some bad picks, but if you bad mouth Lamar, you are public enemy #1 and people find every excuse to defend him. A guy like Patrick Queen, a whipping boy in Baltimore, had the highest PFF grade of anyone on the field for the Ravens on Sunday and no one mentions him. Why? Because he has been a bust and no one is going to go crazy over the occasional good game when it is surrounded by so many bad ones.
Whether you are a coach or a player, people usually have their minds made up on you and just won’t change. It’s part of being a fan for a lot of people. It’s very rare to see that even keeled fan that can go with the flow from week to week and not allow past opinions to cloud the thoughts of a given week, at least not without seeing larger sample sizes of above average play.
The Ravens should roll the Giants, but it will be on the players to decide this, not the coaches.
That said, let’s see if the coaching staff can follow up last week’s masterful game plan with another one.
