The Baltimore Ravens blew a two-score lead in the fourth quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders. Something tells me you need a vent session. Many things went wrong which is quite evident just by looking at Mike Preston’s Report Card for the Baltimore Sun. The offensive line and coaching were tied for the lowest grades, each earning a D from Preston. Here is what he wrote about the offensive line:
Guards Andrew Vorhees and Daniel Faalele struggled in pass protection, but that’s nothing new. Both improved from the season opener in Kansas City, but those two will be a problem all season. Right tackle Patrick Mekari struggled against Crosby, which was expected, but what took the Ravens so long to get him some help? Rookie Roger Rosengarten played better against Crosby, and the Ravens provided him more help after the first quarter. Both center Tyler Linderbaum and left tackle Ronnie Stanley played well, and the Ravens might become more of a left-handed team with Henry running behind Stanley. But in crunch time, the Ravens had no answer for Crosby, who either won his one-on-one battles on the outside or looped around to beat Faalele on the inside. Grade: D
The offensive line was a mess. Preston picked up on the right points. The Ravens offense used a limited playbook in Kansas City because of the near-immediate pass rush. The Raiders game wasn’t much better. Crosby had the Raiders’ only two sacks, yet he wasn’t the only problem. The Ravens struggled to get Derrick Henry going until late in the contest. Almost all of his 84 rushing yards came in the second half. The Ravens got bullied at the line of scrimmage and couldn’t create a full head of steam for Henry.
They say if you have two quarterbacks you have none. The same might be true about players on the right side of the offensive line. The fact is that it didn’t matter who the Ravens had at right tackle they struggled.
This is what Preston said about the coaching problems:
The Ravens started off strong, but M&T Bank Stadium lacked energy. There were a lot of empty seats and a lot of Raiders fans behind the Las Vegas bench. Coach John Harbaugh failed on two challenges, and the Ravens didn’t make any serious adjustments on offense or defense in the second half. Despite the NFL being a pass-happy league, the game is still won on the offensive and defensive lines. If there are weaknesses, the coaches have to make adjustments, and the Ravens haven’t made any in the first two games. Losing to the Raiders in the home opener is almost unforgivable. Grade: D
I’m not sure what the empty seats and energy levels has to do with John Harbaugh and his staff, but Preston nailed it here. The Ravens didn’t make adjustments. The Raiders realized that Brock Bowers could have anything he wanted. With two games in the books, its apparent that the Ravens cannot cover tight ends. The biggest concern should be Zach Orr’s handling of the defense. Where is Kyle Hamilton? He isn’t causing havoc near the line of scrimmage, nor is he locking down tight ends. The Ravens have a similar roster to what Mike Macdonald had to work with. You wouldn’t have known that by watching the Week 2 battle. This adds to Preston’s point that the coaching left much to be desired.
"We will be defined by the next 15 games… That's what we have to do big picture. Short term we have to clean up the things we know we can get better at. We'll continue to work very hard to do that." pic.twitter.com/87yBkGlVD5
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 15, 2024
Jackson: “We got to find our mojo. That’s not us at all.”
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) September 15, 2024
John Harbaugh told the media that the Ravens will be defined this season by what happens in the next 15 games. Meanwhile, Baltimore will become quite familiar with the history of 0-2 teams and what this kind of start typically means for postseason hopes. Going back to the drawing board is a good idea, but the reality is that the big picture is not a luxury the Ravens have. Their Week 3 game with the Dallas Cowboys has become a must-win game.
The Cowboys are coming off a shocking loss to the New Orleans Saints.
THE SAINTS BLOW OUT THE COWBOYS IN ARLINGTON 😳 pic.twitter.com/Wx80zr4DlL
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 15, 2024
It was hard to see this coming. Alvin Kamara had three touchdowns for the Saints and ran for 115 yards. In theory, the Ravens should be able to duplicate this success on the ground, giving them a chance to find an identity on offense. The question is what kind of Cowboys team will the Ravens see? Will they be angry? It shouldn’t matter though, the Ravens have their backs to a wall. It’s time to show up.
The good news for the Ravens is that the Cincinnati Bengals lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. At the very minimum the Ravens have some company with their 0-2 slump. Penalties and controversial calls were plentiful in the waning moments of the Bengals’ defeat. People were quick to address this on social media.
The refs walking into the Kansas City Chiefs locker room after the Bengals game.
— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) September 15, 2024
Refs saved the chiefs again #Bengals pic.twitter.com/ygwIsbiDDw
— iregretlikingsports (@Jimmy2424555) September 15, 2024
The Browns and Steelers both picked up a win, leaving the Ravens and Bengals at the bottom of the AFC North early in the season.
10 Responses
It ain’t coaching problems! It’s player execution problems! Coach Harbaugh ain’t out there playing, so stop blaming the coaching! If you wanna post blame, here’s where it goes: punter with his wiffed punt there at the end, Tucker missing another 50 yarder, defense only playing 3 quarters of football and penalties adding up to a negative 109 yards! The coaching staff is the one bright spot.
I guess you are one of the fans who has been watching a different team these last 11 years..
Poor clock management is a coaching problem, and has been one in Bmore for years. Just sayin.
This is Harbaugh’s team and, with the exception of his being forced to fire his crony, Cam Cameron, led to Flacco’s taking control of the offense to win a SB as a wild card team on the road and the team hiring Gary Kubiak without Harbaugh’s input and who brought his own assistants with him, he controls his assistants who run his old school, ultra conservative, keep it close and play not to lose offense! Harbaugh has proven to be one of the worst game day coaches in the game and is totally inept in the postseason! And, don’t expect anything to change until he’s…..long gone!
Is that you Coach Harbaugh?
The refs miserably made two very bad and very costly calls against the Ravens defense. That was shameful. Harbaugh seems more like a person addicted to gambling on his challenges (and frequently when going for it on 4th down), than an NFL head coach. smh Given the amount of weapons on offense, Monken often doesn’t seem to understand the chess game of play calling. And Monken totally failed (F) on his obligation to deal with a massive game-wrecker like Crosby. wtf? So yeah, the coaching was a D. Coaching certainly was not a “highlight.”
The offensive line situation and letting Moses and Zietler go is on EDC. He screwed up . The Faalele experiment which has failed is on EDC too. Now the Ben Cleveland thing appears to be on Harbaugh and if they dont like the dude for personal reasons they should have unloaded him last year because everytime I see him out there he seems to play well enough nothing all pro but you just don’t know because Harbs won’t let him play 60 minutes. All I know is anybody is better than Faalele . The guy has been here what 3 years and he still can’t get out of his stance.
Ben Cleveland is terrible. That’s also on EDC. But I’m sure Harbs signed off on it. Cleveland is a bust. He should’ve nailed down on the the Guard spots at least a year ago. That he didn’t, tells you all you need to know. That said, he can’t do too much worse.
Cleveland terrible? Faalele makes Ben Cleveland look like Marshall Yanda
The fact that Cleveland isn’t starting at right guard over 77 is a travesty. Watch the film and make a change.