Chiefs Kill Ravens Super Bowl Dreams in AFCCG
Chiefs 17, Ravens 10
It wasn’t supposed to end like this.
Not this year.
Not this way.
Not the same way we’ve seen from the Ravens during the postseason since 2018, when they abandon the very same formula for success that brought them to the playoffs, and then morph into something, some offense that they aren’t, as if to fool their opponent.
Instead, they were left looking like the fools.
For 53 years, Baltimore waited for this elusive game – for the chance to host an AFC Championship Game. They pulled out all the stops. Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Jonathan Ogden and Todd Heap. They made in-game attempts to tantalize the crowd at The Bank, to send the fans in the stands into a frenzy with hopes to push the decibel meter into the 120’s.
I felt bad for Anquan Boldin and Terrell Suggs when stadium operations escorted each on to the field, put them on the gigantic video boards, with the hopes of lathering up the crowd. But by then, the Ravens sorry excuse of an offensive performance zapped the crowd of its energy. It was like sinking a 30-foot putt on a tough par 4, only to put a “7” on the scorecard.
My uncle used to refer to that as “putting whip cream on shit”!
By the end of the evening, frustrated fans in the upper deck were hurling water bottles, some of which had a better chance of being completed than some of the plays Todd Monken drew up yesterday. But I digress.
“Nobody thought we’d be in this position, but we were. … Next time, we’ve just got to finish.” ~ Lamar Jackson on his takeaway from this season
And so goes the Ravens 2023 season. Just like that. I guess, “We’ll try harder next time and maybe we’ll get the job done” is the takeaway lesson, right?
I wish it was that easy.
Full disclosure here, as I wear my heart on a sleeve…
When the game was over and I said goodbye to my son in the concourse just outside of section 125, I nearly lost it. We both longed for a day when we could together, watch the Ravens host the AFC Championship Game. And it seemed so perfectly teed up with the defending champs in town. It wasn’t meant to be. As we embraced for a fond farewell, I said to Tyler, “It wasn’t supposed to be this way!”
And as I watched him walk away, I couldn’t help but think that we may never have this opportunity again.
I so wish that I could shake it off as easily as Lamar.
It’s a standard practice of the players to not invest too much emotional energy into a win or a loss. Generally, they’ll marinate in the either for 24 hours or less and move on to the next game. It’s a good business practice to get one’s mind straight to focus on the task ahead. But now, there are no more pending tasks ahead for quite some time. Maybe taking some extra time to absorb what happened on the field yesterday, to learn and grow and find ways to improve, is in order.
Maybe Marlon Humphrey and Geno Stone are quick learners. Maybe they don’t need much time to get their heads straight as evidenced by the way the two were whooping it up following the incredibly bitter season’s end at the hands of the Chiefs.
You have to admire the ability of Marlon Humphrey and Geno Stone to so easily shake off yesterday's #Ravens loss. I wish that I was wired that way. I'm still deep into that hangover of the heart.
Video c/o @marlon_humphrey pic.twitter.com/rCBrLoJ2W1
— Tony Lombardi (@RSRLombardi) January 29, 2024
Today I find myself avoiding the shows that just a few days ago I couldn’t get enough of. Good Morning Football, Get Up, First Take, The Pat McAfee Show and NFL Live. As Carly Simon once sang, “I haven’t got time for the pain.”
But today, pain management is my job. Maybe you feel the same. But before the healing begins, let’s flush out a few things together and put a bow on this embarrassing mess of a game and this column until September 2024.
THE GOOD
Zay Flowers showed up on the big stage and proved again why he was such a solid pick by GM Eric DeCosta. The rookie WR posted 5 catches for 115 yards and a touchdown (should have been two)…Justice Hill is a gamer and seems to make plays when seemingly there is none to be made. He keeps drives alive. Hill had 4 catches for 34 yards.
Roquan Smith had 16 tackles and seemed to will the defense into a better second half performance…Justin Madubuike had 6 tackles, including a couple of run stuffs, and a half-sack. Jadeveon Clowney’s relentlessness is always there. He added a sack…The Ravens’ DT’s Michael Pierce and Travis Jones were strong the point of attack…Marcus Williams had a nice PD on 3rd down during the Chiefs first second-half possession to help shift the game’s momentum. Unfortunately, 3 plays, 4 yards and a minute-14 seconds later, Jordan Stout was sent back out on the field to punt it away…Speaking of Stout, he was one of the team’s bright spots, averaging 50.2 yards on 5 punts including three downed inside the twenty, at the 7, 11 and 14 yard line.
In the second half the Ravens defense:
• Held the Chiefs to 98 yards.
• Controlled Patrick Mahomes who was 10 of 18 for 80 yards in the second half, including the 32-yard dagger to Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
• Bottled up Isiah Pacheco, limiting him to 68 yards overall, on 24 carries (2.8 YPC)
• Contained Travis Kelce, 2 catches for 20 yards
It’s also a testament to the grit of DC Mike Macdonald’s troops who despite the team:
• Losing the turnover battle, 3-0
• Being flagged for 95 yards in penalties to the Chiefs 30
• Fumbling at the 1-yard line and throwing an interception in the end zone
• Being so one-dimensional offensively
Kept the Ravens in the game.
All that aside, the Ravens STILL had a chance to tie the game with 5 minutes of game time left against the defending World Champions. And that’s a statement to the collective will of the defense.
THE BAD
Ronnie Stanley and Morgan Moses looked like turnstiles at times. Charles Omenihu beat Ronnie Stanley for the strip sack. Of course, the pass happy game plan didn’t help their cause, completely undermining one of the things Lamar does so well — play action. Stanley’s future is uncertain. The Ravens may have no choice but to keep him around but if you’re wondering, the team can save $8.3M by parting ways with Stanley next season; $20M in 2025. Moses is still under contract in 2024, $5.5M salary.
Arthur Maulet struggles to cover downfield and that was on display during the 32-yarder to Valdes-Scantling that for all intents and purposes, ended the Ravens season.
THAT'S OUT. THAT'S OURS!!!! pic.twitter.com/6MtsztDjr0
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 28, 2024
THE UGLY
Lamar Jackson.
Playoff Lamar Jackson.
His decision making was suspect. He overthrew receivers. He held on to the ball too long at times, reluctant to do what defenses are most fearful of – running. And on this play, he just doesn’t trust the play or maybe he doesn’t trust Rashod Bateman who breaks wide open downfield. If Lamar throws to the spot on time, the strip sack never happens.
Broadcast didn't show the high view (no need to really for their purposes) but Lamar looks like he was loading up to hit Bateman on the post that might have gone for 50 yards. Omenihu stops that. pic.twitter.com/I55TnXVRP6
— Shaun Newkirk (@Shauncore) January 29, 2024
Other times Lamar targeted the wrong receiver – case in point the INT to Isaiah Likely. And his rationale for that throw was sickly comical:
“I just tried to let him turn around and make a play. I thought it was going to be a [pass interference], but it is what it is. The safety made a great play and made an interception.”
You throw into triple coverage hoping for a PI call? Really? In Lamar’s defense this was PI, but you don’t make such a risky throw like that and count on the officials to bail your ass out!
Picked off in the end zone! @Chiefs defense comes up big again.
📺: #KCvsBAL on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/IIZbdmhqNS pic.twitter.com/ShTuOUlWUL— NFL (@NFL) January 28, 2024
“We were facing adversity all season. Nobody thought we were going to be in this position — new system, new guys, whole new team. We’ve got some vets that came on with the team. People didn’t think we were going to be in this position, but we were. Next time, we’ve just got to finish, man.” ~ Lamar Jackson
All the things Lamar mentioned above were in the rear-view mirror. None of those things affected yesterday’s game – NONE! These are excuses, nothing more, nothing less. And as for that “next time”, let’s hope there is one. Tomorrow is never promised.
Flowers made two huge mistakes, both on the same drive. He was flagged for taunting at the Chiefs’ 9-yard line after a big gain. Then he fumbled at the 1 and into the end zone resulting in a touchback.
What a play by Sneed to prevent the TD 🔥
📺: #KCvsBAL on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/IIZbdmhqNS pic.twitter.com/bFvdrGRl3I— NFL (@NFL) January 28, 2024
The Ravens possessed the ball just 22:30 for the entire game and only 9:21 in the first half…they had three personal foul penalties for 45 yards two of which demonstrated a lack of composure…the one player that the Ravens needed to contain, needed to neutralize, was Kelce. Yet the Chiefs found ways to get him the ball, 9 times for 96 yards and a touchdown – IN THE FIRST HALF.
COACHING
Todd Monken picked the worst time to call his worst game of the season. He completely abandoned the run game and maybe I could understand that if the Chiefs were the 2000 Ravens. The mind-numbing play calling had analysts across the country scratching their heads, or worse.
“This is THE stat you need to know. In the ENTIRE GAME the Ravens had THREE early down RB runs. 3!!! THREE!!!!! They gained 17 yards. Against the NFL’s #28 run defense what was Todd Monken doing?” ~ Warren Sharp, via Twitter.
There have been 568 NFL games played this season, including in the playoffs.
The Ravens' designed-run rate Sunday vs. Kansas City ranked 563rd.
Sixth lowest. https://t.co/7zDmvGRjAq
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) January 29, 2024
And it’s not as if the Chiefs threw up such a formidable defensive wall to persuade Monken to go all pass happy. It’s not as if the score was so out of control that the Ravens had to make quick strikes via air. Look what the 49ers did against Detroit. Down by 17 they stayed true to who they are and by doing so, completed a successful comeback that catapulted them into the Super Bowl.
Consider this. Monken dialed up a play for a running back just three times after the 5:36 mark of the first quarter. To borrow from Warren Sharp, THREE??? THREE!!! And just a reminder Todd, the Chiefs, you know the team that played the Bills last week – they just gave up 182 yards on the ground to Buffalo.
And let’s be honest, John Harbaugh is equally culpable because he signed off on Monken’s insanely misguided plan. The Ravens went completely against their DNA, their anatomical composite that helped get them to where they are. It was as if neither Harbaugh or Monken trusted the Ravens defense against Mahomes, unlike the Chiefs who stuck with the run game despite Pacheco’s 2.8 YPC. Maybe they trusted their defense a little more.
After the game Harbaugh was asked about the heavy reliance upon Lamar’s arm.
“It was that kind of a game, I’d say. That’s the way it worked out.”
And because of your collective stubbornness, it did work out – for Kansas City.
Even the Ravens only touchdown was the result of an off script play between Lamar and Flowers.
Lamar Jackson by the numbers:
7.57 seconds from snap to throw
13 yards of scrambling
47 yards through the air
30-yard TD(via @NextGenStats) pic.twitter.com/jgIjhS5U99
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) January 28, 2024
That said, I have to tip my hat to Monken for this beautifully designed play, although I do question why they didn’t go to it again since it was nearly a house call! (Surely I jest!)
LAMAR FREAKIN' JACKSON.
📺: #KCvsBAL on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/IIZbdmhqNS pic.twitter.com/mZGuyakLrX— NFL (@NFL) January 28, 2024
THE OFFICIATING
I’m not big into conspiracy theories. I didn’t give the attention to Shawn Smith’s officiating crew getting the call for yesterday’s game that Warren Sharp did. But after watching this game, I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Sharp’s thoughts, those that I labeled a bit paranoid, actually have some credence.
Look we all know that the Chiefs, particularly their quarterback, get the benefit of the doubt. He’s the modern-day Tom Brady. And I get how both roughing calls against him yesterday could be called. But a few of the other penalties that either were called or weren’t, leave me wondering more. Sometimes a ref needs to keep the flag in his or her pocket, particularly in the playoffs when the stakes are high, and emotions are even higher. Is there that much difference between Kelce’s post-scoring antics and those exhibited by Flowers after his 54-yard grab?
TRAVIS KELCE TOUCHDOWN pic.twitter.com/UjTV060Cq6
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 28, 2024
Zay Flowers was pretty much begging for a taunting flag there pic.twitter.com/9CBfXpbrFI
— Ensign Gridiron (@EnsignGridiron) January 28, 2024
Here are a few plays that could have gone the Ravens way but didn’t. The OBJ non-call could have been flagged. Maybe this is just the refs letting the guys play. Ok. Fine. But be consistent. The mugging that Likely got on the second video below, can you imagine a world in which Kelce doesn’t get that call? Ever?
And then the last non-call, definitely a horrific throw, was technically pass interference and contrary to Gene Steratore’s call on CBS that the interference took place AFTER the interception, well, I’ll let you be the judge…
We've heard of home cooking in the NFL. Looks like the Chiefs take their "chefs" on the road. Special thanks to @C33Jayy_ pic.twitter.com/TkJGdw8jen
— Tony Lombardi (@RSRLombardi) January 29, 2024
— Tony Lombardi (@RSRLombardi) January 29, 2024
Trey Smith’s overzealousness deserved a little yellow laundry in the vid below.
None would follow.
How the hell is this not a flag on Trey Smith (#65) pic.twitter.com/vimpOfR0R8
— Football Analysis (@FBallAnalysisYT) January 28, 2024
The look on Kelce’s face in this video, should raise the ire of any Ravens fan. Mission accomplished Mr. Swift. His baiting had results and again, KVN’s transgressions are something that should go unpunished when the stakes are so high.
A closer look at the sequence that resulted in only a Kyle Van Noy penalty pic.twitter.com/tOruE85F46
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) January 28, 2024
And then there’s this play when it appears that Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor wanted to dance with Kyle Van Noy. Maybe Taylor confused KVN with his sweetheart at the CYO dance.
No call.
Touchdown Kansas City.
TRAVIS KELCE TOUCHDOWN pic.twitter.com/UjTV060Cq6
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 28, 2024
THE MEGAN FOX AWARD
Up 14-7 the Chiefs took over at the Ravens 33-yard line with 9:36 to go in the second, following a strip sack of Lamar. Three minutes later the Chiefs opted to go for it on fourth down at the Ravens 13. Pacheco was denied, brought down by Kyle Hamilton.
Fast forward to the 3:49 mark of the 2nd quarter, the Chiefs took over at their own 29, still up 14-7. Mahomes took a deep shot down field to Rashee Rice and was denied by Hamilton. On the next play Mahomes hit Rice along the right boundary and was dropped for no gain – by Hamilton. Then, Mahomes tried to connect with his receiver near the first down stick along the right sideline and once again, Hamilton denied the completion.
Three plays, 0 yards. Kansas City’s first three-and-out of the game that took less than a minute.
Hamilton finished with 11 tackles, 1 for a loss and added a QB hurry to boot. The All Pro showed why he’s one of the most dynamic defensive weapons in the game.
LAST CALL
Before the game, Justin Tucker was out on the field going through his pregame prep per usual, when he was disrupted by Travis Kelce. Right then and there the tone of the game was set and it wasn’t “advantage Ravens”. Maybe Roquan and KVN were both chapped about this and that contributed to the angst towards Kelce that resulted in 15 yards in favor of KC. Maybe Kelce is just regularly a little classless punk and these incidents were mutually exclusive.
Travis Kelce told Justin Tucker he needed to move because their QB Patrick Mahomes had to warm up. So Kelce kicked his ball away and threw his helmet. 😂 pic.twitter.com/pFF0DC1yA7
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) January 28, 2024
Any review of All-22 footage will reveal plays that got away. Here are two that could have been house calls. One by happenstance, the other by design, but in the second play, Moses doesn’t do his job to make sure that the DE’s hands are down at best, out of the way at worst.
.@Chiefs @Ravens @StoneColdJones @DTranquill WHAT IF??? What if these 2 plays dont get made? #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/wdVMMPafPE
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) January 29, 2024
The Ravens now head into an offseason that will be loaded with challenges. The roster augmentation is likely to be severe. Unfortunately, this season seemed like the one to go the distance. But they fell short and now it feels like it might be a season or two before such an opportunity presents itself again.
But let’s remember when the Ravens lost the AFC Championship Game to the Patriots in January of 2012. The utter dismay of Lee Evans’ dropped pass and Billy Cundiff’s shanked FGA could have crushed the Ravens. Instead, they used it as motivation and a springboard for the future. One year later they would take down the Patriots onto their way towards a Super Bowl 47 championship.
That 2012 team was thought to be less talented that the 2011 squad.
Could history repeat itself in 2024 for this 2023 squad.
Maybe.
But the chance to prove it feels like a lifetime away.
34 Responses
Most of us not surprised. This is our reality the last 12 years. We will coach and play our worst in January.
Hey its aleays been this way with harbs. If the mile high miricale doesnt happen hes not a sb winning coach. Im finished with harbs the big man spanked him last night. How do your run the ball 6 fing times. Jk dobbins was right. Harbs is a hard headed a hole.
Very fair and insightful assessment, Tony! Disappointing to say the least! But, this only emphasizes Lamar’s historical shortcomings in the postseason where it counts most! And, there’s no comparison between the teams you point to in hopes of a repeat performance next year because we had a QB who was at his best in the postseason back then and we don’t have one now! Just one fan’s opinion for a change……
Great analysis.
I no longer trust Lamar or Harbaugh to deliver another Lombardi Trophy. It’s not going to happen and we fans need to understand it. One time can be dismissed as a fluke, but this a pattern. And it’s not going to change…Harbaugh is “Coach for Life” and Lamar is under contract for bazillions of dollars.
This is the future…choking, early exits, and weak excuses.
Let’s face it, most Baltimore fans are accepting and almost demanding mediocrity, just making the playoffs is all that people think is the job of a coach…
90 miles up the road there was talk of firing the Philadelphia coach after this season where the season before they were in the Super Bowl, how many more years does John Harbaugh ride Super Bowl 47 as an excuse to stay on with the team?…
Seems to be a common theme for a decade plus now on these big games… /Post Ray, Ed era… Ravens getting outcoached. At some point Harbaugh has to take the blame. We can keep switching OCs and Lamar can go win a 3rd MVP but if next year or 2 years from now we face Mahomes again in AFC title game or Buffalo or Titans… and RBs get 6 freakin carries and they basically repeat the 2019 formula under Roman of abandoning the run.. its unacceptable, fireable offense& thus fanbase deserves better and that defense deserved better.
Any loss immediately jumps me to, what can be done to make the team better? With the exception of center, that offensive line needs a rebuild, you flagged the tackles but left guard has been challenged too and right guard is unsigned and old. I’m not wild about our running backs either – we had the least talented RB room at this stage; I’m betting SF over KC because I think McCaffrey and Samuel will run with an explosiveness we did not have. We have gotten large rushing yards because we have a QB who runs like none other but didn’t yesterday. I’ll criticize the HC and OC but candidly more should be expected from our 2x MVP at QB. He underperforms in the post season and my sense is that he wants the game to go in certain way in his head (likely airing out TDs) rather than just taking what works the personnel out there. My sense is that fans that focus on the HC and OC want to absolve the QB for having a bad game and I won’t do that anymore.
There was only INE ugly in this game. TODD MONKEN. Period.
Here we go again with the predicable Lamar belly aching by fans. He did not play great. But on offense-who played great around him? People jumping to conclusions about what will “ever” happen with Lamar after 6 games sound silly. We have one of the 10 best players in the NFL. He has to get better. Our coaching has to get better. Lamar is a guy who learns on the job. He’s not a guy who gets there for the first time and it seems like he’s been there forever. That’s not him. Wish it was. It ain’t. He has to experience it first to understand. And this was his first time seeing up close on this stage what a BIG TIME QB does in these games and how he manages it. He will learn from it. Lest we forget-Mahomes lost to Brady before he won it. As did Manning. And Favre lost to Aikman and Young before he won it. And so on. We must draft well, and Lamar must play better. Both things we are capable of doing.
Great article.
Go Ravens.
Lame Arm should take some passing lessons from Flacco in the offseason and advice for winning in the post season.
First things first, Tony as always we can always feel your emotion in your writing. Great job. This was one of the most embarrassing games in Ravens History. The NFL’S leading rushing team and we only have 6 attempts and 23 yards to show for it? Really? This team was out coached and Harbs did not have these guys ready to play. My take on Lamar is he is one hell of an athlete, But will never be your consummate passer. For some reason he does not read the field well. You could see receivers open yesterday and for some reason he puts it down and runs. I truly believe he will never take us to the promise land. He’s not the answer unfortunately. They spent a lot of money to keep him, now we are stuck with him. Let’s go O’s
Thanks RC. Appreciate you. At the end of the day in journalism, if you can’t write with passion and emotion, why bother, right?
I usually agree with your assessments, Tony, but I disagree with your take on Lamar. Did you want him to be sobbing in his press conference? He’s a guy in his twenties who just lost the game of his life. Give him a break for not emoting the way you wanted him to. The anguish on his face talking to OBJ was enough for me.
Thanks
Thanks for sharing Paula and I appreciate your regular visits. I don’t expect Lamar to sob after a loss. But I’ve grown tired of the team losing the same way in the playoffs; getting away from who they are and what got them there in the first place and then listening to the same old rhetoric as to why they lost. Lamar had a great season as did the team. But so many of their seasons hit a wall in the playoffs and it’s usually when they try to be something that they aren’t. In his 6 postseason games, Lamar’s offense has scored 17, 12, 20, 3, 34 and 10 points. And after most of those disappointing outings, we’ve heard things like, “Next time, we’ve just got to finish.” Obviously I’m frustrated. Aren’t you?
Tony, it’s time to say it out loud, Lamar chokes in the playoffs. I love Lamar but 6 playoff games are a big enough sample to come to that conclusion. It’s not like we are a 7th seed losing to a number 1 seed. And in 2 of the losses we were the home team. In each loss we were arguably the better team. In the 6 playoff games Lamar has 9 TDs and 9 turnovers and has been sacked 26 times. But if you look at his 4 losses, he has only 4 TDs to 8 turnovers and averaged 10.5 points per game. Everything from his completion
percentage 64.5% to 57.4%, passer rating 98 to 75.7 and average yard per attempt 7.5 to 6.8 have taken significant dips in the playoffs. I hate to say it but I have serious doubts whether we will ever win a Super Bowl with Lamar.
Bingo! Peter King (probably the most respected journalist in NFL) said it on the Dan Patrick show yesterday. “Lamar Jackson has had one (1) good half in six NFL playoff games. His stats are borderline atrocious in playoff games and numbers don’t lie.
Great post by Tony L.
Agreed 100% . Bad Game called by OC Monken. Remember the halftime against the Texans, we didn’t look good in 1st half. But then we unleashed the No. 1 Rushing Attack in NFL and it was a Demolition. Why not doing in 2nd half against the Chiefs? Our Defense shut them down, giving our offense chance after chance and we kept wasting it. Spags over there was licking his chops on blitzing Lamar and Monken never countered it with timely runs that could went long ways. The fact we barely used Gus the Bus and Justice Hill is almost as pathetic as having Dalvin Cook on the bench without touching the ball, not once. Very sad, indeed
This one will stick for a while…There is no excuse for that “gemeplan” Todd Monken came up with. They needed to keep the defense off the field in the second half and they tried one bomb down the field after another… I really love LJ – but I hate his approach in the playoffs. It almost feels like he tries to win those games by himself in one or two big plays instead of playing the “easy” things well.
This team was the strongest overall in a long time – maybe stronger than the ’12 team. It won’t be easy to replicate this season next year given the cap and contract situations…If there is a playoff game next year including the Todd Monken led Ravens we need like 1000 banners reminding him to run the damn ball!
My dad and I were talking last week about how Andy Reid in in John Harbaugh’s head, and this game showed just that. He’s now 1-4 against Reid, and in the past, you had to have a track meet type game to win, which we did once. This was NOT that type of game, yet here we are again, trying to win through the air when KC has a clearly better defense and not nearly as many weapons on offense as they have in the past. Stick to what got you here and you win…..period.
And while Reid is in Harbaugh’s head, Mahomes is in Jackson’s. It’s clear by the comments Jackson made leading up to the game (“I don’t like playing him, he’s the best”) shows that he was pressing. What I am wondering is how much of the plays ran were Lamar changing the play calls? We’ll probably never know, but I’m going to guess more than most of us would think. He had flashbacks of the track meet games and thought he was going to have to win through the air, so that’s what he tried to do. The problem is, you have to be accurate. Oh, and not throw into triple coverage.
Wondering how many times a called running play was changed to a pass at the line of scrimmage……
Tony I am so sorry that you and your son didn’t get that ending we all hoped/prayed/expected. The whole game I kept thinking “what is Todd doing?”. Has he been replaced by the mahem guy from the All-State commercial? I could just see that guy calling in crazy plays that make no sense….because in reality that is what he did!
How many times will we hear “we will learn from this” and “we have to do better”. It feels like empty words. Same crap different day!
Thanks for all your hard work covering this team. I pray you and your son get to do this again…..with a different result this time.
Diane, I had a convo with my son yesterday about this. He’s wise for his age. He said, “Dad,I’m happy that we had that time together. Lamar when healthy, almost always gets the team to the Divisional Round. We’ll get this opportunity again and one day he’ll push through.”
Sometimes the “teacher” needs to listen to the “student”.
Thank you for your kind words. They meant so much to me.
Most of these responses like your post are cogent expressions of disappointment and attempts at assessing the cause! So, here’s one final thought: with all the personnel and coaching changes the past 16 years, there is one constant…..the HC! And, I respectfully submit, until that changes, we can expect more of the same! Again, just one disappointed fan’s OPINION……
Armchair, you can call it an opinion but after watching this mess for the last decade, I’d say it’s FACTUAL.
Agree, but hard to prove! (My answer to this comment somehow wound up below)
jackson’s new name ONE AND DONE!
Well he and his team did beat the Texans in the divisional round. Wouldn’t that then make him “TWO AND DONE”?
Everybody is going to have their own scenario on this one about who choked and who screwed up. Mine is that I lay this one squarely on Todd Monken. Thirty seven pass plays? Even after Spagnuolo started blitzing on just about every other down? What was he thinking?
That has never been who the Ravens are. We don’t win if we don’t run. If the Ravens choked in this game, it was definitely from the top [coach’s box] down. I think the guys on the field played their hearts out.
When asked why our RBs only had 6 carries … SIX … our estimable head coach said ” that’s how it went … that’s the kind of game it was”. Brilliant
That explanation tends to indicate a failure to make adjustments! Hey, if you don’t like the way the game is going, how about making some changes…..
Agree, but still difficult to prove conclusively….
The important question is whether Harbs and Monken will learn anything from their disastrous offensive game plan. Or is the lack of a balaned pass and run plan just the way the game happened to go??? So they will do it again.
Looking back on the season besides Lamar’s less than stellar play in the championship game. Two injuries stand out that weakened the offense greatly. Losing Dobbins and even more losing Keaton Mitchell. Mitchell was carving up defenses .Then boom he’s gone. Even losing Andrews wasn’t bad because Likely is a star too. But let’s face it when the pedal needs to be pushed in January Lamar isn’t doing his job. 6 years and January he reverts to throwing into triple coverage etc. Now the apologists for him are out with fire Monken and offensive line stinks . Ravens are stuck with Lamar for years to come . His speed is declining and that means more reliance on his arm. As Drew Forrester said Lamar seems worse when he gets too quartebacky. See you all back next year for I’m sad to say more of the same .
He’s not a pocket QB and never will be! When he runs, we usually win, but you cannot rely on his pocket awareness or arm, particularly when it counts most! Reid knew exactly how to defend him: contain him in the pocket with blitzes and take away the middle of the field, where he’s more accurate! Also, my sense is that because they’re not used to playing from behind, they abandoned the run, which was a costly mistake! It begs the question, who was responsible for that decision?!