Happy Purple Friday once again, Ravens Flock! If you’re anything like me, you’re currently battling through the after effects of a torrential food coma and looking forward to a weekend full of some incredible football.
Yesterday was the first helping, today and Saturday will feature rivalry week in college football, and then for dessert we have a full slate of NFL action on Sunday, “highlighted” (which is a term I use loosely) by the Ravens taking a trip down to Jacksonville for a meeting with the Jaguars.
Happy Thanksgiving to the Flock! pic.twitter.com/dnkCBBJK1E
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 24, 2022
Now that I’ve gotten all of the cringey Thanksgiving food references out of the way, let’s take one last look at the news and notes heading into Week 12.
Current order for OBJ's free agent visits in early December: #Giants, #Bills, #Cowboys.
Conversations continue with the #Chiefs & #Ravens as well.@CBSSportsHQ
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) November 24, 2022
While we were all settling in for some Thursday Night Football yesterday, Josina Anderson dropped this tweet and once again sent Ravens twitter into a frenzy. Now, on one hand it’s nice to see that the Ravens still have their hat in the ring on the Odell sweepstakes, as there’s no denying the glaring need for a consistent option on the outside following Rashod Bateman having season ending lisfranc surgery. With that being said, the wording of this tweet makes it seem like their hat is still much closer to the edge than pretty much every other team also bidding for his services. With meetings already scheduled with the Giants, Bills, and Cowboys, it seems like the Ravens are at best continuing to monitor the situation and likely won’t have the compensation necessary to snag him. Dallas in particular feels hell bent on bringing him in, and when Jerry Jones wants someone on his team, he’s not afraid to overpay to make sure he gets his guy. Still though, in the coming weeks it’s absolutely something to keep an eye on…or two.
QB Lamar Jackson (hip), RB Gus Edwards (hamstring) and G Kevin Zeitler (illness) were full participants at Ravens practice today. LT Ronnie Stanley (ankle), S Kyle Hamilton (knee), WR Demarcus Robinson (hip) and Jalyn Armour-Davis (hip) did not practice.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) November 24, 2022
While the initial prognoses on Kyle Hamilton and Ronnie Stanley were much better than expected after seeing the nature of their injuries, it seems highly unlikely that either will be available on Sunday after not practicing all week. In better news though, Gus Edwards is back to being a full participant and should be primed to once again take over the lead role in the backfield. Both he and the debuting David Ojabo couldn’t have picked a better time to return, a time in which reinforcements are needed wherever we can get them.
Hopefully things will be looking up for Hamilton and Stanley next week, but with how cautious the Ravens have been with their injuries throughout the entire season, a betting man would probably venture to guess it’ll be a little longer than that. With zero inside knowledge of the situation, December 11th at Pittsburgh seems like it would be a good goal to set, with winnable matchups against Jacksonville and Denver preceding it.
10 Events
1750 Turkeys & Bags of Sides Distributed
5,800 Hot Meals Served
42 Current Players Participated
9 Legends Participated#OurTeamOurCommunity 💜 | @RavensCommunity 🦃 pic.twitter.com/T15VvhH9LD— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 24, 2022
This week, the Ravens hosted their Thanksgiving food drive where they provided hard working families with a little bit of relief for the holiday. With 1750 turkeys served, and over 5,000 hot meals, it’s safe to say that they made a lot of people very happy in the Baltimore community, at a time that’s supposed to be just that…happy (but as we all know can be very hectic and stressful at the same time).
I know I probably sound like a broken record, because any time the Ravens host an event like this to give back, I step on my soapbox about them being one of the classiest organizations in sports.
Guess what, I’m gonna do it again, because the impact they have on the city they represent is truly second to none. Despite not living there, I’ve spent enough time in Baltimore to know that their sports are integrated into their very DNA, and to see that love being given back by the team they give so much to just warms the heart. Even the newly acquired Roquan Smith is already out there putting his face in the public and helping those in need! Great stuff all around.
— 🦈 (@Patrickqueen_) November 25, 2022
After the Giants’ loss to the Cowboys yesterday, one in which the Dallas offense gouged the New York secondary all throughout the second half, Shannon Sharpe had some choice words for a certain former Ravens coordinator. Normally that wouldn’t be news, but when Patrick Queen retweeted it with the laughing emoji (side note, that’s something I never thought I’d be writing as a 30-year-old man) it sent social media into a frenzy. Immediately this tweet brings to mind the 2021 season, where a depleted Ravens secondary looked every ounce of it while they were being decimated on a weekly basis. Is there merit to Queen’s endorsement of Sharpe’s tweet? I’ll leave that for you to decide.
Still though, you have to wonder if this was a tiny glimpse behind the curtain as to why Wink is coaching in New York this year and not Baltimore.
In honor of Thanksgiving, here’s Mike Tomlin trying to trip Jacoby Jones on Thanksgiving night in a game that the Ravens defeated the Steelers 22-20 pic.twitter.com/1rUGgSWbYH
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) November 24, 2022
And lastly, in lieu of the Ravens photo of the week, let’s take it back to a moment of the week so we can highlight a play that’s continued to live on in this rivalry for almost a decade. Mike Tomlin, who totally wasn’t intentionally cheating or anything, costing Jacoby Jones a kick return touchdown on Thanksgiving night 2013.
I still wonder to this day if there’s an alternate reality out there somewhere where Jacoby cleans his clock. I like to think that there is.
Alas, all we have is the memory of a victory from that night and the knowledge that the Steelers are currently in last place in the AFC North…
