Lamar Jackson has been heavily criticized. At the root of Lamar’s problems in not only his inability to make plays in critical situations, but it’s also his carelessness with the football when the game is on the line. If he cleans that up, and I believe he will, he’ll begin earning what amounts to a $3M paycheck per game. Until then, his bag will continually be questioned.
One of the disturbing things about Lamar from my lens, is that the team and Lamar, seem determined to prove to the world that he can be an effective pocket passer. It makes sense to develop that part of Jackson’s game, but let’s not get too carried away with the idea, to the point that the team and the player drift from the unique qualities he possesses that make him great. Doing so makes him and the Ravens easier to defend. And makes them a less formidable opponent.
Two years ago, on a rare Monday Night game in Baltimore, Lamar looked like Superman during the 4th quarter. Because they had no other choice, the Ravens unleashed Lamar. He ran a no-huddle offense, and the Colts were absolutely gassed. Why this isn’t a proactive part of the Ravens offensive attack remains a mystery.
This thought does bring to mind the AFC Championship Game in 2013. The Ravens were down 13-7 at halftime. During the break, John Harbaugh ordered the code red. In other words, he took the handcuffs off the Ravens offense and sent Joe Flacco into attack mode. The Ravens won 28-13.
And it makes me wonder…
Is every Ravens coordinator somehow restricted by Harbaugh during every single game? He is an old-school coach who seeks to control the clock, tip the battle for field position, and win the turnover differential. And while those things are still important to winning in the NFL, the game has changed. There’s more scoring; more big plays; and less dominant defenses. Not to mention that the Ravens QB isn’t the greatest guardian of the football. Isn’t it time to get with the modern program?
This is a team that tries to employ cutting edge analytics, yet they are guided by a skipper who is more likely to pull out a Rand McNally road map instead of downloading Waze.
Two years ago today, Lamar Jackson led the Ravens to an incredible fourth quarter/overtime comeback against the Colts, climbing back from down 25-9 to win 31-25
Jackson would finish the game completing 37-of-43 passes for 442 yards and four touchdowns pic.twitter.com/VY9NX9Si4M
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) October 11, 2023
Turn Down For Watt
T.J. Watt is one of those players that you love if he’s on your team, loathe if he isn’t. Among the many things he’s known for is his propensity to punch the football in an attempt to force a turnover. In the video below, Watt assumes that Zay Flowers will make the catch as he loads up to deliver a right cross. Instead of punching the football, which Flowers drops, Watt delivers a throat punch to the rookie WR.
Zay Flowers takes a throat punch from TJ Watt. During the game Watt dislocated his finger. He reportedly suffered torn ligaments as well. #Karma pic.twitter.com/GRiGQLec0f
— Tony Lombardi (@RSRLombardi) October 11, 2023
This isn’t a dirty play per se, but it is deserving of a flag. Is this really any different than a pass rusher clubbing the quarterback in the head while trying to strip the football?
London Calling
The Titans play host to the Ravens this Sunday morning at 9:30 AM local time. It marks the Ravens third consecutive road game. The Ravens are listed as 4 ½ point favorites. Planning for the trip is a massive undertaking and spans five months.
Spearheading the effort is Simon Gelan. Gelan’s is a name you won’t see often during discussions about the Ravens. He’s a behind-the-scenes leader, the team’s VP of Operations and a significant amount of his time has been spent on preparing for this trip abroad.
In a piece penned by The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec, Gelan shared the following on prepping for the 3,500-mile trip across the pond.
“You want to have people to have their eyes on things. Like IT, infrastructure, where do we have to put the server? Where do we plug in? What does the Wi-Fi look like? What does video look like? At practice, where do we shoot from? Where do we do our editing? Equipment, where do we set up? What does the locker room look like? For the grounds crew, how do the fields look? When are they getting lined? Where is the weight room, training room? Where do we lift? The bus company, where are we dropping off, where are we picking everybody up? What is the route we’re taking? For team security, how do we secure the building — exit points, fire stairs? You have to make sure everybody is on the same page.”
And they want to make London home for an NFL team?
There’s an incredible amount of work and planning and you have to wonder if it’s all worth it. Are teams over-planning? Overthinking? There’s really no correlation between early arrivals and winning or later arrivals and losing. John Harbaugh also chimed in on the London calling efforts, per Zrebiec’s article.
“There’s no data — and we looked for it — to say when you should go out there and what’s the ideal thing. I’ll say this kind of in jest, what’s the science on that? As often is the case, they really don’t know. That’s just the way it is. We just decided that we would get out there, get dug in, get sleep on Monday night, get sleep on Tuesday night, (and) get ready to have the best practice we can have on Wednesday.
“That way, kind of have all that out of the way and not be dealing with any kind of sleep issues and be at our best potential Sunday. That’s what we’re doing. We’ll see how it works out.”
Yes, we will Coach!
A Moment Too Big
The Orioles have dominated the sports headlines for months here in The Land of Pleasant Living. But the 2023 fairytale has come to an abrupt halt. They hit a Texas-sized roadblock called.
The Rangers have been a buzzsaw so far in the postseason and they thrashed through the Orioles as if the Birds were dry-rotted timber. Baltimore hadn’t been swept during any series for the better part of a season-and-a-half, yet when it mattered most, the Rangers brought the brooms.
Still, it was a great ride for those who cover the team but especially the fans, particularly those who supported them through years of futility and 100+ loss seasons. The Orioles were entertaining and at the end of the day, isn’t that what sports is supposed to provide? Entertainment?
The Orioles galvanized the community and delivered a summer filled with joy. For that we can be grateful. And hopefully the experience proves to be a building block for the club for many years to come. Chris Brittingham from our sister site, Eutaw Street Report, penned a beautiful piece that comes from the heart and should comfort all our souls as we mourn the end of a terrific, 101-win campaign. It’s called, “A Moment Too Big?”. I encourage you to read it and ease your troubled mind.
Come On, Let’s Go There
Back to The Rangers for a moment, the team rallied behind the music of the band Crud…I mean Creed. Just imagine what their offense would have accomplished if they had gleaned inspiration from a better band – like Nickelback.
(Well, Creed doesn’t exactly set a high bar now, do they?)
I’m guessing front man Scott Stapp and the rest of the Tallahassee-based band have adopted the Rangers as their own. The added royalties can be persuasive.
Creed sing along at the Rangers game? They may be World Series bound. pic.twitter.com/m9LiPcG091
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 11, 2023
LaCanBoreUs
I was out of town for a few days and just got back on Tuesday afternoon. So naturally, I was curious to hear the fan takes on a horrific sports weekend in Baltimore. So, I made the mistake of turning on 105.7 The Fan.
To my surprise, Inside Access took callers, something that I don’t believe they do much of. They should probably stop. It wasn’t that the callers were bad. It had more to do with Jason LaCanfora and his responses to callers. He was condescending, smug, disingenuous, and disrespectful.
Maybe you haven’t met LaCanfora, personally. But you have met him before, or at least someone like him. He’s that guy who ratted you out to the teacher to try and gain an upper hand; he’s the kid in the neighborhood who had the cool toys, so you played with him until he started to lose and took the toys home; he’s the guy who was the last pick when choosing sides before sandlot games and you stuck him in right field.
And unfortunately, he’s now out in left field on your radio dial.
5 Responses
In answer to your Harbaugh query, make no mistake, this is his team and he sets the tone, which is keep it close and play not to lose! And, it’s not likely to change! Old school? You bet your a..! There are two times that he wasn’t in control: when he was forced to fire Cam Cameron mid-season and when Kubiak was hired without his input and brought his own assistants and answered to no one! The former resulted in Flacco taking control of a wild card offense and leading it on the road to a sensational record breaking/tying SB MVP championship while the latter led to Flacco’s most productive season! And, his game day management and decision issues are legendary and……continuous! He’s the ONLY constant in a plethora of coaching changes over his 16 year tenure……
Interesting take. Tony actually disputes the accounts that Kubiak got hired without Harbs having a say. The real story probably comes out well after Harbs is long gone. I for one am very interested in how that went down.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Ravens put a different “spin” on the Kubiak hiring to avoid the public perception and not undermine the HC, but both NBC Sports and Mike Preston reported otherwise! Harbaugh also assured everyone that Kubiak would return for the 2015 season! In fact, NBC Sports also reported that Bisciotti put Harbaugh on notice with the hiring!
I don’t think it’s as extreme as AQB portrays it.
Was Kubiak John’s first choice? I doubt it. Was their “encouragement” from above involved to bring Kubiak on? Probably. But keep in mind that part of John’s contract is that he has final say on his staff. So, John had to concede a bit to bring on Kubiak and his assistants, QB Coach Rick Dennison and TE Coach Brian Pariani. None are active coaches in the league. There is such a thing as compromise and that was a factor in this situation, although admittedly, this story is not as dramatic as those told by Mike Preston or NBC (although I never heard the latter’s interpretation of the events).
As for Cam Cameron, there was undoubtedly some power of persuasion at play in his removal as OC. Steve Bisciotti can be very convincing. And it all worked out. Not so much because of this coaching change, it had more to do with Joe Flacco catching lightning in a bottle during that record-setting romp through the playoffs.
That lightning in a bottle was not coincidental! He had a penchant for outstanding performance in big games and when “called on” during the regular season! Too bad he wasn’t allowed to exhibit his skill sets more often! Harbaugh severely restricted him from greatness by turning him into a “game manager”! Just one fan’s opinion, for a change…..