*****Official Baltimore Ravens Thread***** (6 Viewers)

[The_Man]

When Earl Weaver retired at age 51 he had been the Orioles' manager for 16 years. He was 13 years removed from his only championship (though he reached the World Series 3 other times).

John Harbaugh, age 63, is in his 18th year coaching the Ravens. He is 13 years removed from his only championship (and has never reached another Super Bowl).

The Orioles won the World Series the year after Weaver retired. Sometimes you need a change

 

[Joe Schmo]

Monday's game was a total mess from all phases of the game except kick returns. Loop barely made what was called a good fg and missed yet again on the landing spot on a kickoff allowing the Lions to start a drive the the 40. How hard can it be for a kicker to place the ball with regularity into a 20 yard swatch of grass?? Lamar looked good at times and then reverted to indecisive and confused Lamar while eating unnecessary sacks. And Henry...woof.

As for the defense, they just plain stink. Too old, too slow and not given a chance based on play call and scheme. Humphrey plays his guts out but is always a step behind the play and Roquan has no business being anywhere more than 5 yds off the line of scrimmage, can't cover worth a lick. Why the heck do you drop a rookie edge rusher into coverage on a key 3rd down instead of letting him, I don't know, Rush The Passer??? Perhaps it's not the coach but the players but imo Orr isn't up to the task as a play designer or play caller and that should be changed now if the Ravens have any hope to stay competitive. What a sheet show.

After the Bills game I though it was a good exercise to have the team watch the film then put the game behind them and get back to business. Not this time. Much like a dog who poops on the rug and you rub his nose in it so he can remember the mess he made I want the Ravens to roll around in this loss and feel the stink, they earned that right.

As for Harbaugh, maybe you're right @The_Man , perhaps his voice is stale cuz I do not see him bringing out the best in the players anymore, it looks like everyone is just along for the ride on talent alone.

What a mess.

 

[SoBeDad]

This reminded me of when Flores was with the Dolphins and he and Boyer threw cover 0 with lots of blitzes on a Thursday night to stop Lamar back in 2021. It was a big upset for a bad Dolphins team and revenge for a 59-10 blowout loss to Lamar 2 years earlier.

But the Lions got pressure and containment without lots of blitzing. I think they used a spy.

 

[Joe Schmo]

This reminded me of when Flores was with the Dolphins and he and Boyer threw cover 0 with lots of blitzes on a Thursday night to stop Lamar back in 2021. It was a big upset for a bad Dolphins team and revenge for a 59-10 blowout loss to Lamar 2 years earlier.

But the Lions got pressure and containment without lots of blitzing. I think they used a spy.

Yes they did and Lamar ran into him a couple of times. The offense still put up 4 tds and a fg so while it was clunky it was able to move the ball some. No excuses for the sacks or the fumble but honestly the defense was the biggest issue all night. Detroit came out throwing to the tight end and running the ball up the gut and Baltimore made no adjustments of note. Second half the dee wore itself down by not getting off the field and they were just pummeled.

 

[Joe Schmo]

"Turn out the lights, the party's over..."

It's one thing to be 1-3, it's another to lose the three games against super bowl hopefuls and to do so with a mess of a defense, an offense in discombobulation mode and injuries piling up left and right. If Harbaugh can pull this team together and make the adjustments needed to get this team back to contender status it will be the coaching feat of his career. Otherwise, this season will be his last in Baltimore. DeCosta shares the results of this disappointment as well as those are his players not making plays on defense. This might go down as one of the biggest "what might have been" eras in NFL history. So close yet never quite good enough.

 

[The_Man]

"Turn out the lights, the party's over..."

It's one thing to be 1-3, it's another to lose the three games against super bowl hopefuls and to do so with a mess of a defense, an offense in discombobulation mode and injuries piling up left and right. If Harbaugh can pull this team together and make the adjustments needed to get this team back to contender status it will be the coaching feat of his career. Otherwise, this season will be his last in Baltimore. DeCosta shares the results of this disappointment as well as those are his players not making plays on defense. This might go down as one of the biggest "what might have been" eras in NFL history. So close yet never quite good enough.

Yesterday it really felt like the championship window had closed on the Mark Andrews / Roquan / Ronnie Stanley / Marlon era of the Ravens. They really really missed their chance in 2023

The question now is will Lamar have another window with a Zay / Hamilton / Linderbaum group. Team is in desperate need of competent O Line and a legit playmaker in the Front 7

And it really is time for Harbaugh to go, pair Lamar with an offensive mastermind. Watching yesterday's game I had the realization that if Andy Reid were Lamar's coach, he would account for 5,000+ yards and 50 Touchdowns every year

 

[Joe Schmo]

"Turn out the lights, the party's over..."

It's one thing to be 1-3, it's another to lose the three games against super bowl hopefuls and to do so with a mess of a defense, an offense in discombobulation mode and injuries piling up left and right. If Harbaugh can pull this team together and make the adjustments needed to get this team back to contender status it will be the coaching feat of his career. Otherwise, this season will be his last in Baltimore. DeCosta shares the results of this disappointment as well as those are his players not making plays on defense. This might go down as one of the biggest "what might have been" eras in NFL history. So close yet never quite good enough.

Yesterday it really felt like the championship window had closed on the Mark Andrews / Roquan / Ronnie Stanley / Marlon era of the Ravens. They really really missed their chance in 2023

The question now is will Lamar have another window with a Zay / Hamilton / Linderbaum group. Team is in desperate need of competent O Line and a legit playmaker in the Front 7

And it really is time for Harbaugh to go, pair Lamar with an offensive mastermind. Watching yesterday's game I had the realization that if Andy Reid were Lamar's coach, he would account for 5,000+ yards and 50 Touchdowns every year

Yep, 2023 is the biggest loss by far. That defense with Mike Macdonald as coordinator and the players all in their prime was a hard hitting, fly to the ball type team and paired with a premiers offense they were in full championship mode. But they sheet the bed and they lost. story of Lamar and Harbaugh's tenure together. And they are both hof worthy, imo, so it's perplexing what's happened with them together. Ugh.

 

[Faust]

How Ravens look to defy 1% odds for a historic comeback

 

[The_Man]

Basically midpoint of this season, I'm sticking with what I said at the beginning - no game this team plays before January has any meaning at this point. The only thing that matters is a very deep playoff run.

That's still on the table, though this year's team is markedly inferior to those of the last couple years. But the 2018 Caps weren't as good as the preceding teams, and the 2012 Ravens weren't as good as the 2011 version, and both those teams won titles so anything is possible

Defense is looking better again, though the Pass Rush is still weak. Ojabo has to go, he provides no pressure and is terrible at setting the edge - Roquan screamed at him after the Vikings broke off a long run outside him early in the second half and then I think the final play of the game was the only other time he got back in. Van Noy looks cooked. And I don't understand why the Ravens have to start off the season with the worst Defense in the NFL for 2 straight seasons, before they finally get a Safety who can play and free up Kyle Hamilton to create havoc. Every time I watch the Seahawks' D, I miss Mike Macdonald so much.

The Ravens' other glaring problem is the O Line. They are so disjointed despite bringing back every starter from last year except Mekari. And I have to say King Henry has lost a step, but the bigger problem is he's getting drilled at or behind the line of scrimmage on every carry. The good news is I feel like this is something that they might actually be able to fix - that's what happened to the 2012 team I mentioned above that suddenly went on the Flacco Magic Carpet Ride to the Super Bowl. That team lost 3 straight games late in the season to reach 9-5, culminating in a home blowout loss to Denver. And then they got on that hot streak.

If they take care of business this week at Cleveland, they're back to 5-5 and then have 3 straight home games: Jets, Bengals (Thanksgiving night) and then the Steelers. Kind of feel like Pittsburgh and Baltimore will both be 7-5 going into that game and whoever wins basically wins the AFC North.

One other thing to keep an eye on - road to the AFC Championship looking like it might be running through New England or Indy this year, instead of KC/Buffalo. That would be ok with me

 

[The_Man]

Defense is looking really good of late, even generating some pass rush now. After the last couple of weeks I'm developing a hot take that Kyle Hamilton's best position is actually Inside Linebacker. He's almost unblockable if he gets a 3-yard head start coming downhill toward the O Line or he's great in coverage vs a TE or RB. The one thing I don't like is when they line him up at ILB then drop him back into zone coverage - seems like a waste of his unique skill set. And Nate Wiggins is playing the best CB we've seen since Jimmy Smith and Chris McAlister, freeing up Marlon to play slot CB where he is very good (vs outside CB where he is average at best)

Jordan Stout finally had his first difference-making game in his 4th season as punter. Figures he finally gets good heading into his contract year, will be interesting if the Ravens dedicate some cap space to keeping him

Let's talk about the main issue: Are Lamar and Henry as bad as they suddenly look, or is the O Line just that bad? I'd say it's a combo of both. Lamar was having a great season, 14 TDs to 1 Int through the Miami game but has been clearly playing hurt ever since. I feel like they've been trying to get him through this week's Thursday game doing as little as possible and hoping that the subsequent 10-day mini-bye will help him get healthy. He is clearly not himself, he can't/won't run and his accuracy has been poor.

Of course, the terrible play of the O Line has made all of these issues worse. I don't understand why they are so bad, don't get better, and yet no substitutions are made. I would love to see the Ravens run some more 3 Tight End formations like the Rams have been doing - they have the personnel for it, although Likely looks to be far less than 100% currently

There is still time for Lamar to get healthy and/or the O Line to get sorted. The D is good - maybe not as good as they've looked vs the lousy string of QBs they've played. They look like the clear favorites to win the AFC North and then anything can happen, especially with the AFC this year. It's not beyond the realm of possibility for top seeds Denver and/or New England to get knocked off in the Divisional Round and bring the AFC Championship back to Baltimore. But it's much more likely that someone like KC or Buffalo comes into Baltimore for the Wild Card Round and sends the Ravens out with another early playoff loss

After starting the season 1-5, I'm just happy to have a reason to watch December football and will stick with my season-long mantra that at this point of his career, no game Lamar plays before mid to late January is truly meaningful. He has to get it done deep in the playoffs, nothing else matters, there's no difference between a 14-3 regular season or a 10-6 regular season, it's Super Bowl or bust

 

[The_Man]

Looks like I'm mostly talking to myself in here these days but I don't want to hijack the Steelers thread too much. That being said, I can't remember the last time there was a Steelers-Ravens game with less juice, especially since this is basically a playoff elimination game

Just want to say that the Mark Andrews contract signing exemplifies everything wrong about the team in this era of the EDC/Harbaugh partnership. Paying full price for a guy on the downside of his career because he's a "good citizen" and coaching staff/front office favorite for his attitude, but has absolutely no dog in him and comes up the very smallest in the biggest moments - including last year's playoff loss and dating all the way back to the stocking 2019 playoff loss to the Titans. Likely (along with Wiggins) is one of the only guys on this team with any mean streak and it's clear they have decided to let him go in favor of retaining Andrews. My only guess is that they tried to sign Likely first and when he rejected what they were offering, they moved on to Andrews. Likely seems poised to have a Darren Waller-like breakout in a new situation (speaking of another Tight End the Ravens let walk away for no apparent reason).

Meanwhile, Lamar looks so totally lost. I hope it's all due to injury, because I don't want to think about any other possibility. We haven't seen him miss wide open throws like this since his rookie season. And yet despite it all, I still hold out hope that this team can sort itself out and go on a deep playoff run. They absolutely have that potential. They also have the very real potential to lose every one of their remaining games.

Such a frustrating season, and so clear that Harbaugh needs to be gone (though he won't be)