Happy Purple Friday, Flock. It’s been a frustrating week in a frustrating season, yet one that still holds plenty of promise. Are we ready to turn the page and look at the bright side of things? A win Sunday would certainly help with that, but to say confidence is low would be an understatement.
For starters, let’s congratulate Marshal Yanda on his impending induction into the Ravens’ Ring of Honor. Ahead of his ceremony on Sunday, Yanda lent his voice to the team’s weekly hype video.
𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙊𝙐𝙍 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧
🗣 narrated by the legendary Marshal Yanda pic.twitter.com/st7sJxQQl6
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 1, 2022
Maybe a tad awkward, but it gets the job done. Congrats, 73!
In yesterday’s coordinator press conferences, Greg Roman was asked about the team’s troubles getting plays in on time, snapping the ball in a calm fashion (as opposed to a chaotic one), and gave an answer that ruffled a lot of feathers in the Flock.
More from Ravens OC Greg Roman on the presnap operations, including another mention of the value of denying an offense time with the ball.
(Of course, if the Ravens had more time Sunday, they could’ve gotten a closer FG attempt for Justin Tucker.) pic.twitter.com/xVaw3LcNAZ
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) December 1, 2022
Much frustration zeroed in on the first part of his answer, that in which Roman talked about the benefit of keeping the ball for an extra five minutes every game. Because the team is coming off a game where they again dominated time of possession (32-27), but lost, this isn’t what Ravens fans feel like hearing. The team is currently second in the league in TOP (behind only Washington), and they’ve won TOP in two of their four losses (MIA & NYG won in those games).
Greg Roman after a game with the 4 seconds of playclock per play he hoarded pic.twitter.com/AEFXYDjRXh
— Will (@wearpurplepants) December 2, 2022
There are plenty of teams that regularly snap the ball as the play clock is waning. That’s not the issue. The issue is that the Ravens are constantly doing it in a chaotic fashion, as Roman talks about in the second part of his answer. He tries to blame it on issues specific to the Jags game, headsets & technical issues and all that, but come on…we aren’t blind. We’ve all been watching for years as the same thing keeps happening.
Here I am talking about it last January (after a home game, so the “technical” excuse falls flat).
Out to Lunch: @BMoreBirdsNest says the Play Clock of Doom foils the Ravens once again, and agrees with a Pittsburgh newspaper when they say —-K YOU, BEN. #RavensFlockhttps://t.co/Wz252GX2lw
— Russell St. Report (@RussellStReport) January 3, 2022
And again two Januaries ago:
Getting the play in with 10 on the play clock has to stop
— Uncle ED-D.Baby 🎄 (@BMoreBirdsNest) January 17, 2021
Welcome to the party, everyone else!
Teams around the league seem to have no problem getting into and out of the huddle, lining up, running whatever pre-snap motion they need, having the QB scanning the defense, AND ALSO calmly snapping the ball when everyone is ready.
Not the Baltimore Ravens.
I am guessing this problem is somewhat corrected this week, only to show up again the following game. Because that always seems to be how the Ravens “fix” things.
Speaking of fixing things, now and in the future, some of my favorite Ravens podcasts are the Deep Cover family, which include a couple RSR alum (s/o Michael Crawford & Carey Stevenson). I learn a ton on The Fire Zone show (which focuses on defense) every week, and the general Ravens talk on Deep Cover is always thought-provoking. I spent some time this morning listening to Mike & Cary chat with @ChrisJustJoking about the 2022 (and beyond!) Ravens, and I recommend you do the same.
@Carey1313 and @ChrisJustJoking sat me down at the table and said it’s time to have a difficult conversation.
Was I ready? Was I honest with myself? Did I cry? You’ll have to listen and find out:https://t.co/EMrGqsi8KS https://t.co/efxC46XpKe
— Deep Cover Pod (@deepcoverpod) December 2, 2022
We’ll end today with a shout out to another great Ravens content creator, our own Cole Jackson! Cole, a Canadian, is making his first trip to Baltimore to watch the Ravens this weekend. As part of it, he’ll be taking part in a pre-game tailgate show with Bobby Trossett, Kevin Oestreicher, Jake Loque, & Spencer Schultz at Pickett Brewing Co. right near the M&T Bank Stadium tailgate lots.
REMINDER: Sunday pregame tailgate for #Ravens – Broncos at Pickett Brewing Company.
Swing by and have a few beers with me, @ravens4dummies, @jakelouque, @koestreicher34, and of course, Bobby ‘Sussied From Twitter’ Trosset!
10-12 at 1130 S Peca St! #RavensFlock
— Cole Jackson (@ColeJacksonFB) December 2, 2022
I plan to make the trip down. Hope to see you there!
