As first confirmed by The Baltimore Banner, Baltimore County Police are investigating an alleged domestic assault involving Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers.
“The investigation also includes a police department in Acton, Massachusetts, which acknowledged a domestic violence incident report related to an incident in Baltimore County last month and involving Flowers.”
Flowers has apparently been dating a woman from Acton, Massachusetts by the name of Ruby Antonioli (pictured with Flowers below) who was or still is a student at Boston College. Details are sketchy at this point. Both Flowers and the alleged victim are entitled to due process through which we all hope the truth is revealed and appropriately handled.
That said, the issue is a sensitive one for the Ravens. The cloud that hung above the organization as a result of the Ray Rice incident back in 2014, has finally lifted thanks in part to Rice’s exemplary efforts in the community to raise awareness of domestic violence and the stellar way in which the Rice Family has handled this very private and sensitive matter in the courtroom of public opinion.
It will be interesting to see how the Ravens handle this Flowers situation moving forward. The team was heavily criticized for the way they dealt with the Rice incident, the outcome of which was a zero-tolerance policy delivered by team owner Steve Bisciotti as it relates to the delicate topic of domestic violence.
Lamar MVP
Last night during the NFL Honors awards ceremony, Lamar Jackson claimed his second MVP. Congratulations are in order for a deserving award. The voting as you will see below, was heavily tilted in Lamar’s favor. But make no mistake about it, this is a regular season award, not one that encompasses the entire season inclusive of the postseason. Had the playoffs been factored in, the voting might not be so dominated by Lamar. Perhaps he doesn’t even win.
I’m not one who really cares if a player is voted most outstanding or MVP or even if any player is named All Pro or voted onto the Pro Bowl team. I really don’t care that Lamar is the MVP. At the end of the day, the only thing that REALLY matters is winning, and winning in the NFL is a team thing. Play for the name on the front of the jersey, not the back. It’s that simple.
I don’t begrudge the players their hardware. They’ve earned it and the corresponding bonuses that often go with such individual awards. But it doesn’t move me at all. What would move me more is if the Ravens were representing the AFC in Super Bowl 58 on Sunday. All the personal awards are like fake bling. The only bling that truly matters is the ring and the Lombardi which only goes to the Super Bowl winner.
The other trophies are just window dressing that will one day be in a box in someone’s garage.
Players are remembered most by what they do in the postseason. That’s undeniable.
And for Lamar, there’s work to be done in that department.
Plenty of work.
AP NFL MVP voting
Lamar Jackson 49-0-1-0-0 = 493
Dak Prescott 0-17-13-11-6 = 152
Christian McCaffrey 0-17-12-11-4 = 147
Brock Purdy 0-9-5-12-13 = 97
Josh Allen 1-5-11-3-6 = 80
Tyreek Hill 0-2-6-9-14 = 60
Patrick Mahomes 0-0-2-2-2 = 12
C.J. Stroud…— Rob Maaddi (@RobMaaddi) February 9, 2024
Your NFL MVP, @Lj_era8. 💜
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/wkxy6bEG8C
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) February 9, 2024
A lifetime in the making. MVP x 2‼️@Lj_era8
🎶: “Fly In”@LilTunechi | @RepublicRecords pic.twitter.com/h92KVnNRYk
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) February 9, 2024
Lamar Jackson's the first player to ever win the Heisman Trophy and multiple NFL MVP awards. pic.twitter.com/oRpVNWEcE6
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) February 9, 2024
The Presser
It has been a week now since John Harbaugh and Eric DeCosta fielded questions from the media during their season-ending press conference. Fans want answers. They crave a pound of flesh. Someone needs to be held accountable for the Ravens embarrassing offensive performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game. Right?
But that didn’t happen.
Instead, Harbaugh and DeCosta delivered homogenous nothingness.
Did you really expect anything else?
I’ve been asked to share my thoughts on the presser and up to now I’ve resisted it. But that’s about to change. Allow me to comment on a few things shared by the Ravens skipper, the first being his response to a question on why the Ravens didn’t run the ball more during the AFCCG.
“Yes, [offensive coordinator Todd Monken and I] did [want to run more] throughout the course of the game. That’s not the number [of rushing attempts] you want to have. When it’s all said and done, and you look back on it, that’s not really going to win us an AFC Championship game, for sure. It’s more than just calling plays. In that game, a big part of our gameplan were RPOs – which are run-pass options, based on what the defense gives you – cans and ‘check with me’s’ – which are run-pass options a lot of the times. Sometimes, they’re pass-to-pass, which we had. Sometimes, they’re run-to-run, but a lot of what we were doing was directed at the line of scrimmage by what the defense gave us.
The defense was lined up to take away the run, so the next thing would be to bring [the formation] in tight and just run the ball in heavy formations and wide receivers blocking the edge and protecting the edge that way. We could’ve done that, but we were down [in the score of the game]. We wanted to keep the formations open and give ourselves the best chance to try to move the ball and score points. Two-minute offense at the end of the half, two-minute offense mostly throughout the whole fourth quarter we were in. That’s going to take away rushing attempts. It’s not an excuse. You want to run the ball more. Sometimes, you have to be willing to get big and run the ball that way. We just didn’t want to do it that way in the game. It cost us the opportunity to run the ball more.”
I don’t even know what the hell this means.
The Chiefs ranked 19th in the league in total rushing yards allowed (113.2 YPG). They gave up a generous 4.5 YPC over the course of the season good for 26th in the league. In the AFCCG, the Chiefs were missing two of their better run defenders in the forms of LB Willie Gay and DT Derrick Nnadi. And the Ravens gave it to their RB’s six times? Against a team that one week earlier gave up 182 yards on the ground to Buffalo, Todd Monken dialed up a play for a running back just three times after the 5:36 mark of the first quarter.
But John said that didn’t have enough time…
Analytics have shown that the Chiefs pass defense is more vulnerable when play action is involved. For play action to be a useful tool, the threat of running the ball must be present. Look, even if the Chiefs were jamming the box with eight defenders throughout the game as Harbaugh suggests (they weren’t), you still must run the football. Bring in the jumbo offensive packages. Try to win matchups. Lamar as a runner gives the Ravens a numbers game advantage even in a crowded box.
And why not get the tight ends involved? The Chiefs linebackers have a reputation for being deficient in coverage. Test them! Take the eight in the box, occupy corners with 2 WR’s which probably forces the defense to keep a safety in the deep middle. I’m thinking that maybe, just maybe All-Pro Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely are capable enough to find holes underneath the safety and behind the linebackers. And aren’t those inside-the-numbers throws the ones that MVP Lamar delivers quickly and accurately?
The offensive game plan was a cluster and really, that’s an insult to clusters.
Harbaugh was later asked if the Chiefs’ two touchdown scoring drives in the first half forced the Ravens to change [their game plan].
“Really, you could say it did. It put us in two-minute [drill] at the end of the half, which we were going to be in anyway if we got the ball back. We played that well – we got to the two-minute opportunity. It put us in [a] two-minute [offense] in the fourth quarter. I think that’s where it came up as far as run-pass play calling. We still wanted to stay with our gameplan. We still wanted to run the ball. Believe it or not, it was a big part of our gameplan to run the ball. [We] had the ball for nine minutes in the first half. So those two long drives [by the Kansas City Chiefs] took us out of the opportunity to call any kind of plays. Then, we didn’t convert. We had mistakes. [The Chiefs] stopped us. They made plays. We were off the field right away after that first drive.
I think all those things played into it. The second half, we came out [and] went three [downs] and out. You’re not going to get a chance to call any kind of runs when you’re three and out. We got the ball back. We started moving the ball. Then, we made a couple of mistakes. We had penalties. We had an opportunity to score that we didn’t finish the play on, and those things took us out of the scoring opportunities and wasted a couple drives there when it’s all said and done. Then, you’re in a passing game at that point, after all that happened. I think when you look at the way the game played out, you can understand it from a football perspective. Once you get through all that, you come back – you want to run the ball against the Chiefs. There’s no doubt about it, and we did want to run the ball against the Chiefs. We weren’t able to get to it.”
When I read Harbaugh’s explanation, my head feels like it’s about to explode. Maybe you didn’t possess the ball very long John, because you didn’t run the football. The Ravens ran 57 total plays; they called 46 pass plays; 11 designed runs; Lamar scrambled 5 times for 29 yards; two of the designed runs were jet sweeps to Flowers that went for a total of 4 yards. The nine running plays that Monken reluctantly called for Lamar or the tailbacks, went for a total of 48 yards (5.3 YPC).
And that myth about the Chiefs loading the box?
Well ESPN’s sports analytics specialist Seth Walder tells a completely different story.
When the Chiefs had 6 or fewer defenders in the box the Ravens ran:
-33 dropbacks (including 3 scrambles)
-1 QB designed run
-1 RB carry— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) February 6, 2024
At this point, there’s no use fretting this galactically inept play calling any more. With each passing day it fades more and more into the rearview mirror. That said, mistakes of the past are oftentimes our best teachers, assuming we learn from them.
John Harbaugh’s lame answers are hopefully intended nothingburgers for the media’s consumption. Maybe, behind closed doors, the team is having real conversations. Maybe they’re privately admitting that they choked. Maybe they’re asking the hard questions beginning with Steve Bisciotti busting open the conference room door asking, “WTF was that?”
But given the way the Ravens with Harbaugh at the helm, continue to make the same mistakes in the postseason and then serve up the same lame excuses, you have to ask yourself if anything will change.
In case you’re wondering, Harbaugh’s contract runs through the 2025 season.
15 Responses
even though it was amessed up game plan they were still in it with 8 minutes left the mistakes killed us more then not running the ball flowers two big mistakes lamars fumble we had chances just didn’t convert them we can always put the blame out there on someone or something .running the ball might have gotten us there but players making mistakes cost us more
No doubt! Losing the turnover battle 3-0 against the defending champs is a recipe for failure. But not running the ball clearly didn’t help and was either a horrible plan or a plan that went awry and was horribly executed. At the end of the day, Harbaugh, Monken and Lamar all choked!
2 of those in the end zone… plus almost 100 yards of penalties…it’s a recipe for failure.
Classic example of “The Mushroom Treatment” which Harbaugh is so famous for🤮
Well stated Tony! Looked like somebody “stole our uniforms” & played a different game than the Ravens we knew all year. You said ALL that needed saying about our puzzling Offense!
Defensively….in the 1st half….we were committed to rushing 4 with our LB’s 2-3 yards behind them????????? THAT is also where my confusion lies. We never even made Mahomes “uncomfortable” in the 1st half. We DID NOT…”dance with the one-our record setting defense- that got us there”! To beat the Brady’s…Manning’s…& Mahomes….you have to make them make decisions “right now”! Give them time to sit back there….they will slice you up worse than “Bad Bad Leroy Brown” got sliced up! At least we adjusted in the 2nd Half on Defense & Mahomes wasn’t the same.
EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTING to see a different “undisciplined” team play in that game!
Sorry, I disagree. Most of your blame is misdirected. Fact is, if you force Lamar to pass under pressure (load the box) you win the game. Plain and simple. Chiefs have figured it out and done this 4 of the last 5 time we have played them. It is no mystery. Take away the run and take away Andrews and its a slam dunk. Not sure why other teams have not yet figured this out…Steelers did; Browns did. When the Ravens get behind (which is not often) they panic…. Maybe you forgot the 4-5 long passes Lamar threw that were not even close…Maybe you forgot Lamar throwing deep into 3 man coverage for the interception in the endzone (and writers have the nerve to blame the receivers). How about Flowers fumbling a touchdown and the “unsportsmanlike conduct” penalties; the Lamar fumble (a result of holding on too long). There is a lot of blame to go around beyond the play calling which I agree could have been better. You would be hard pressed to find a better coach in football. It is real easy to be a back seat driver and coach from the cheap seats. If you have all the answers why not through your hat into the ring and regale us with your football prowess in real time.
Except nobody “forced” us to do anything. We willfully chose not to call running plays. Forcing Lamar to pass is no problem. Detroit did it. Miami did it. See those results? The problem is the Chiefs have the best secondary in football. So passing against them is bad for everybody. Players made mistakes. But all day they were working to overcome a bad gameplan. Not going to beat Andy Reid that way. Steelers can load the box all they want. They don’t have the corners to keep our offense from torching them. Same with Cincy.
I agree Tony. Harbs is a very good coach. He has many good attributes but what gets under my skin is his decision making at times, especially in big time situations.
We’ve seen this many times. I was saying to family before the game we should win the game in the trenches. Run the ball and short passes to tire out their under strengthed defense and help keep their offense off the field. Win TOP and TO game. We failed in both areas.
Who’s decision was it to pass heavy and not run the ball down their average ranked run defense? IMO it falls on the HC.
Our D shut down their offense in the 2nd half. Our offense was struggling passing the ball. It was a winnable game until the end.
Every team in the league is different. The sign of a good coaching staff is to exploit your opponents’ weaknesses and take advantage of your teams’ strengths.
Their weakness was their run defense. Our strength was our run game. Somewhere someone
dropped the ball and I don’t mean on the field.
Harbaugh is not a good head coach, particularly on game days and in the postseason and Lamar is not a prototypical pocket passer! Put those two things together and the outcome is predictable! Why more defenses don’t emulate what the Chiefs did by containing Lamar in the pocket and taking away the center of the field is puzzling, but…….the coaching in the NFL leaves a lot to be desired! Harbaugh has some obvious strengths and Lamar is one of the most gifted athletes ever to play the game, but neither possess the strengths needed to succeed in the postseason together! Just one fan’s opinion for a change……
Tony, I was actually surprised how much Harbaugh may have revealed in his press conference and what we might be able to read between the lines. It’s also interesting to note that Todd Monken appears to have left the face of the earth since the Chiefs game. It may be instructive to try and distinguish what difference there might be between the plays that were called and the plays we actually ran:
1. Your ESPN stat that Lamar dropped back 33 times against 35 light boxes
2. Ricard 15 snaps and Gus 19 snaps and we still didn’t run the ball
3. Harbaugh’s emphasis on how many plays were options: “A lot of what we were doing was directed at the line of scrimmage by what the defense gave us”. The LOS checks and calls are on Lamar and I would expect the HC and OC to accept all of the blame even if it sounds like Lamar may have made bad decisions with his new autonomy at the line to call what he wants. I love Lamar and am glad he’s a Raven. Although it is possible Monken only called 6 RB runs, I think that Harbaugh mentioning the options and LOS checks may be a window into what happened on the field.
All good points and it’s quite possible that a lot of this is on Lamar. But at some point, someone needs to grab the reins because it obviously wasn’t working.
Lamar is at his best with the RPO, but he prefers the pocket where he holds the ball too long and is too easy to defend! Whether that’s what he wants or what the coaches want, it’s not where his strengths are…..
Keep saying it but Harbs and Monken – and possibly Lamar – should have issued an apology to the players and fans for the offensive game plan and play calling.
We are all still frustrated over that game and won’t soon forget the horrible Gameplan of abandoning pure identity. And the standard and ultimate goal around here is SB no matter how many people try to stand up for Harbaugh and his decade without a SB Because he’s a Leader of men and a RaRa coach etc. Well he’s not a great in game tactician which is what you need facing Andy Reid or Bellicheck etc in AFC title games and what not.
Lastly, Tony you may not care for individual success/awards. Just curious did you feel that way when your guys- Johnny U or Palmer whoever won multiple MVPs and Cy Yiungs growing up?
I say that to say Lamar pretty much locked up his HOF resume at 27 with 2x MVP& Far and away Best Qb in franchise history. 1 of the best players in nfl history. So we can hang onto the SB thing but don’t forget to appreciate HOF greatness we are watching
Year six of Lamar is over. Two MVPs one shy of Unitas. One more than Jones and Morrall. But no Lombardi. The older Lamar gets the less his legs are going to hold up. His secret weapon is already lost a step. And still no coaches can harness his talent in January to get to February.