Like many of you, I watched the Miami Dolphins host the Tennessee Titans on Monday Night Football. And probably just like most of you, I didn’t expect the Ravens to receive any help from Mike Vrabel & Co. Shockingly, the 13 ½ point underdogs from Nashville delivered.
Early on things didn’t look very promising when rookie quarterback Will Levis, apparently feeling the spirit of The Season, gifted Ozzie Newsome’s final draft pick as Ravens GM, Dolphins DT Zach Sieler, with a pick six at the 8:30 mark of the first quarter. Thoughts of a potential upset and a No. 1 seed for the Ravens were shelved until next week. Maybe the Ravens could take down the Jaguars while the Jets travel to South Beach to potentially upset the Phins on the arm of the resurgent Zach Wilson.
BIG MAN PICK-6. Zach Sieler jumps the route for the @MiamiDolphins TD
📺: #TENvsMIA on ESPN
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/0LeBKvPPxF pic.twitter.com/O3IbQ8bSai— NFL (@NFL) December 12, 2023
But I hung in there a little longer.
The Titans were the more physical team and that seemed to bother the Dolphins. They fought throughout and despite being the less talented of the two squads, they hung in with Miami. At the 6:07 mark of the 4th with the game tied 13-13, the Titans forced a punt. But Titans’ PR Eric Garror did the unthinkable. He muffed the punt at the 11-yard line and the Dolphins recovered at the seven. Two plays later Raheem Mostert scored the Dolphins first offensive touchdown. Suddenly the Dolphins were up 20-13.
Then, following the ensuing kickoff, the Titans gave the ball right back to the Dolphins when Levis pitch to Derrick Henry was off the mark, fumbled and recovered by Miami at the Tennessee 12. Three plays later it was Mostert again striking pay dirt and with 4:34 left the Dolphins had a commanding 14-point lead.
How many of you who tuned in, tuned out at that point?
I did.
I then went on a TV surfing adventure until I got an alert on my phone:
“Will Levis and the Titans have the ball and a chance to hand the Dolphins their first home loss of the season. Stream “MNF” live!”
GTFOH!
End the surfing games. It was back to the Titans at Dolphins.
When Henry crashed into the end zone with 1:49 left in the game and the Titans took a 28-27 lead thanks to an earlier two-point conversion, my immediate thought was that they scored to soon. Surely Tua Tagovailoa would produce enough offense to set up for a game-winning field goal, right?
WRONG!
The Dolphins Monday night… pic.twitter.com/olHCvU9mUM
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) December 12, 2023
This NFL is nuts and now the Ravens have sole possession of the AFC’s No. 1 seed. Suddenly, dreams of Baltimore one day hosting an AFC Championship Game, the first in 53 years, came into view. The last time Charm City hosted such a game was on January 3, 1971 when the Baltimore Colts took on the Oakland Raiders in the first Conference Championship since the NFL/AFL merger. The Colts won 27-17.
But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, first things first and that starts with taking care of business against the Jaguars in Jacksonville, a team that has struggled lately on defense yielding 410.7 yards per game during their past three outings. Meanwhile, the Ravens offense is beginning to heat up. Lamar Jackson & Co. have eclipsed the 30-point mark in six of their past 7 games, averaging 32.6 PPG during that span, while averaging 401 YPG.
The Ravens are currently 3 ½ point road favorites. Away from home the Ravens are tied with the Jaguars with a league best (5-1) record. Jacksonville is (3-4) as hospitable hosts. The Jacksonville forecast currently calls for gametime temps in the mid 50’s with 20 mph winds and a 25% chance of rain.
[Check out the Ravens Good, Bad & Ugly]
CRY BABY CRY
There was a day when Tom Brady was the beneficiary of many gratuitous calls. Breathe too heavy on “Tawmy Boy” and yellow laundry would litter the field like beer bottles at a Browns game. Well, the baton for such golden child treatment has been passed from Brady to Patrick Mahomes. And for the KC QB to even think to complain about officiating is like Taylor Swift whining about not getting enough attention.
The Chiefs loss to the Bills certainly helps the Ravens but let’s give credit where it’s due while throwing shade where it’s warranted. Credit goes to Travis Kelce who demonstrated amazing awareness during the highly scrutinized play involving Kadarius Toney. This wasn’t a gadget play called by Andy Reid. This was Kelce ad-libbing. Want proof? Watch the video below and pay attention to Toney (No. 19) beginning at the 0:33 mark of the video. He’s pouting until Kelce spots him.
What an example on Kadarius Toney not only lining up offside but loafing & pouting and great job by @Realrclark25 on @FirstTake – what a lesson! #Chiefs pic.twitter.com/NKscrxzVgr
— Connie Carberg (@ConnieScouts) December 11, 2023
As for the offsides call, it was technically the right call. Toney was clearly offsides. The problem is one of consistency. Like a home plate umpire in baseball, players just want consistency. And clearly, across the league, officiating crews lack it. It’s a big problem and one that has become even bigger given the advances in video and TV technology and the NFL’s marriage to Vegas and gambling apps.
#Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle lined up in what looks like the identical spot as Kadarius Toney. This time? No call.
I think players and fans just want consistency from the refs more than anything. pic.twitter.com/VMqPmSJSpv
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) December 12, 2023
This incident with #Commanders Terry McLaurin last year was way worse than what happened with #Chiefs/Toney.
If KC complained about this, it be a lot more valid.
But it doesn't seem Toney even checked with the refs like Terry didpic.twitter.com/h5DlD5rXd5https://t.co/bILMbTWaQc
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 11, 2023
We’ve all heard how Cris Collinsworth drools all over Mahomes. But I don’t even think CC would take it this far! Listen to the Mahomes candy canes and lollipops spewing from the pie hole of former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum.
This is elite level Mahomes glazing, wtf did I just watch 😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/mmgl940mCT
— TheFanOpinion🔮🇳🇱 (@TheFanOpinion) December 12, 2023
Yeah, ok, you enjoy yourself there in your little LaLa Land with your Mahomes pompoms Tannenbaum. Is there any wonder why this guy will never sniff a GM’s office again?
“Classy, selfless…he said all the right things.”
What planet are you from?
I’m guessing Josh Allen might have a different opinion.
CONCUSSION PROTOCOL
Take a look at this video. That is some scary ish right here! Hopefully Joe Noteboom (No. 70) is ok, for now. But this really needs to be studied and evaluated. Was it a bodily reflex to a deeper problem or just some strange way of celebrating. Hopefully it’s the latter and hopefully that isn’t assumed by the Rams training staff.
I was rewatching highlights of the game from yesterday, and noticed Rams Joe Noteboom (#70) have an odd shaking moment at the end of this play.
Does anyone know what happened here? pic.twitter.com/kLN2436Kdr
— 𝗥𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝙇𝙄𝙑𝙀 (@LIVERavenNation) December 11, 2023
THE C-PATCH
Everyone knows that John Harbaugh’s football acumen is rooted in special teams. Here he explains the C-Patch, the Vice, the Peel and the Climb. I thought I was listening to my wife explain a few crocheting stitch techniques to her friends. That’s how foreign these terms were to me. But Harbs delivered this with conviction. Check it out and enjoy your Tuesday everyone!
Coach breaks down the blocks on @OfficialTylan2's return 🔥 pic.twitter.com/4ZPWZYbfHj
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 11, 2023
9 Responses
Harbs, Please ask for a time out rather than throwing the challenge flag on a touch down, if you want a time out.
I think he did the right thing. We’ve seen coaches run down the sideline and fail to get the timeout called in time. There’s no denying the presence of the challenge flag.
if there is no penalty for throwing an illegal challenge flag and it gets the TO called (with extra time ta boot) then he did the right thing. Harbs has the challenge flag in his pocket and he used it rather than trying to get to the official.
Nice footage there of the AFC championship in 1970. Lots of drops by Unitas receivers that day. But the old man got it done in the second half. Ray Perkins got behind his man and took it to the house. I was there but remember well. Looking at Ted Hendricks and thinking how they could have let him go to the Packers. Probably the worst trade in Baltimore football history as 6 years later he returns as a Raider to help win The Ghost To The Post.
Go Ravens …Carpe Diem
The way this season is going, the SB winner will be a week to week proposition among the most mediocre teams in NFL history! And, that’s precisely what the league wants with their emphasis on parity! So, it’s a fairly safe bet that this year’s SB winner may not even be the best team and could even be a team with a losing record!
I love you Armchair because you are accurate and reasonable in your posts. However, you constantly remind us this is a mediocre league with intentional parity. I say good for parity and parity is really the best field of competition. Do you want a baseball or Soccer (cough Football) world where the max money (metro TV audience) yields the best teams? I love the fact that small markets like Green Bay have lots of history. Do we want a New Yawk-LA-Chicago-Baston League? That would pit the best against the best and you wouldn’t have home town hero’s as well as keeping many many individuals off the stage , think Keaton Mitchell.
I love football because its good guys (my guys) vs the evil opposition, think Pittsburgh. A good high school game with your kid on the team is better than any Super Bowl, its personal. That’s why the losses hurt and the the wins like the Tylan Wallace walk off are exhilarating. I haven’t jumped out of my seat like that sine the Mile High Miracle pass. I’ll take the parity.
Fair and reasonable assessment! But, having been a pro football and Baltimore football fan since 1947, I’ve seen the best and the worst and today’s product is the latter! Just an opinion, of course……
The NFL of the 80’s, 90’s, 00’s was a more brutal game, but it was a better product. IMO.
It’s hard to see this now, but if this Ravens team continues to perform as it has, and goes on to win the SB (HUUUGE “IFs” as SF looks like a juggernaut ), this team will be remembered as GREAT. Many of the advanced metrics say so even if what we believe we see is inconsistency.
We can only hope.
Your point on brutality is spot on. Did that make the game better? I guess so. Loved to see the carnage when somebody caught a slant in front of a young Ray Lewis, or Butkus, or the Mad Stork. But that’s akin to comparing the great players of the past with today’s. The modern guys are undoubted faster, stronger, bigger!!, and better trained with the evolution of the game. Its apples and oranges. If the old rules had not changed, the game might well be gone through legislation. I think you could have called those leagues mediocre too if you were comparing them to some ideal. I still love the game from my couch perspective. Aren’t you depressed when the Super Bowl ends? The O’s have recently provided a little medicine that helps this but I know I am salivating for even the pre-season games. So to quote my favorite modern redundancy, “It is what it is”