From 4th Q Blues to Thursday Black Outs

Which team is the NFL’s most dominant…THIS WEEK?

Last week it was the Ravens. Before that the Eagles, 49ers and Chiefs.

Who will it be next week?

The point is, the NFL is a week-to-week league. Parity is at its finest these days and there is no dominant team. Take a look around each conference. What you’ll see isn’t dominance. You’ll see a rather large collection of below average teams.

On Sunday, the Ravens soiled the bed in the fourth quarter – again. But there’s plenty of time left in the season; plenty of time for John Harbaugh & Co. to get there ish together. And it can happen because the challenge isn’t all that challenging. The Chiefs’ offense isn’t the same; the Bills are now (5-5) and can’t get it together; the Bengals are on the verge of joining the Bills as a .500 team if the Ravens take care of business on Thursday Night; the Jaguars look like pretenders; the 49ers just ended a three-game skid; the Cowboys are the Cowboys; and the Eagles defense has been a sieve most of the season.

Problems abound. The survivor of it all will be the team that catches lightning in a bottle at just the right time.

Could that be the Ravens?

He said, I said

John Harbaugh pressers are often boring, loaded with cliches, empty words (aka coach-speak), disdain towards the media and sarcasm. They regularly reveal very little. Take for instance his reply to a question yesterday pertaining to the injuries and the status of Ronnie Stanley and Marlon Humphrey.

“Not long term. I’d say day-to-day. Hopefully, we’ll get them to Thursday. There’s a chance, and we’ll see where we’re at.”

I don’t think either will play. Ronnie’s is a knee injury, Marlon’s a calf. Rest this week and during the mini-bye will be the better long-term approach. By the way, does Stanley get rolled up on from behind more than the average offensive tackle?

Harbaugh on Marcus Williams

“I think it’s going to keep getting better as he gets more comfortable. He has some limitation there with the protection he has on it right now, but as it gets stronger, and it’s getting stronger, he’ll need less of that and give him a little more range of motion. I think he’s going to be just fine. [He’s] moving around good. He’s a big part of what we’re doing.”

I’m sorry but Williams in his current state, is like a wounded sambar deer for Joe Burrow and the Bengals to prey on. Force him to tackle tight ends and watch the YAC accumulate. Hopefully, this is nothing more than Harbaugh serving up a red herring for the big cats and their offensive coaching staff to game plan for.

Harbaugh on Keaton Mitchell’s usage v. Browns

“As you look back on it, [it’s] part of the process of getting a young guy in there and working him into the gameplan as part of the process as we go. I don’t think we felt probably as an offensive coaching staff we were going to throw the whole gameplan on him. Those are the plays that get called from the groupings that were called in the second half. Looking back on it, would we have wanted him out there more? Yes. I think that’ll factor into this gameplan. The way it got called – those plays weren’t the ones he was scheduled for.”

What a crock! Why do they have to make this more difficult than it has to be? You hand the ball off, block and run to daylight. To borrow from Joe Flacco, this isn’t rocket science. My guess is that it was John’s call to pound Gus Edwards, take the air out of the ball and shorten the game instead of continuing to attack with an explosive hot hand.

How did that work out?

4th Quarter Blues

We’ve heard and read a lot about the Ravens fourth quarter collapses the past few days, fueled by another 14-point meltdown on Sunday and the team’s inability to close very winnable games. Yesterday I pointed out other instances in key situations when the Ravens didn’t close out games. But not all of those losses represented a 14-point crumbling. Yesterday, Spencer Schultz reminded us all that it hasn’t always been this way.

“The Ravens have always struggled to close out games under Harbaugh”

Didn’t blow a second half 14 point lead for 13 years.

Ray Lewis retired after the 2012-13 season so spare me that. pic.twitter.com/bz0NEWBujw

— Spencer Schultz (@ravens4dummies) November 13, 2023

Bisciotti’s Silence

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti has long maintained that he prefers the offseason more than he does the regular season. And when you consider how Bisciotti built his fortunes, it makes sense. He’s a personnel guy and shaping a roster aligns with his staffing acumen. During the season, Steve has shared that the ebbs and flows of a game are hard on him. When he’s in the owner’s box, guests leave him be. He’s dialed in but the emotional swings take their toll. So it begs the question, how long can he take watching his team give away so many games in the fourth quarter?

When Bisciotti fired Brian Billick, the decision wasn’t an easy one. Bisciotti has shared the personal challenges he encountered when mulling over a pink slip for a Super Bowl winning head coach. Eventually the owner decided it was time for a change. One has to wonder if on some level, similar thoughts have crept in regarding Harbaugh. He might not be there yet, maybe he’s not even close, but the thought has to have surfaced. It’s beginning to feel like Harbaugh is one of those coaches who can take a team to the dance, but no longer has what it takes to bring the prize home.

DeCosta’s Legacy

Eric DeCosta is a highly driven man. He’s determined, ambitious and a relentless custodian of the team’s personnel. He also possesses an insatiable appetite for the franchise’s third Super Bowl win, one that would materialize on his watch as GM. The team’s fourth quarter philanthropy has to be killing him and it makes me wonder, if it continues, how the “next door” neighborly relationship with Harbaugh could be affected.

Problems before the 4th quarter

At the 7:33 mark of the second quarter this past Sunday, the Browns kicked a field goal to pull within 11 points, 17-6. The Ravens took over from their own 26 following a 16-yard return by Devin Duvernay. They then proceeded to put together a decent drive.

Eight plays into the drive the Ravens faced a first-and-10 at the Browns 31 with 4:32 left in the half. Gus Edwards then had a run of 6 yards, placing the Ravens in a favorable 2nd-and-4 at the Browns 25. And then things unraveled.

Keaton Mitchell lined up in the left slot. That seemed suspicious to me and obviously to the Browns as well. Mitchell ran a reverse that resulted in a loss of 7. Now it was 3rd-and-11 and if the Ravens didn’t advance the ball anymore during the drive, a 50-yard FGA would be the team’s next move. The worst result, should the team opt to throw, would be a sack of Lamar Jackson. Lamar had to know that was a highly undesirable result and by all means, do anything possible to avoid it. He didn’t. He was sacked, lost five yards, setting up a 55-yard attempt from Justin Tucker. The ensuing FGA was blocked, recovered and returned to the Ravens 38 where the Browns took over with 2:14 left in the half.

This sequence could have resulted in a 10-point swing – 20-6 v. 17-13. Fortunately, the Ravens defense minimized the damage and the teams went into the break with Baltimore in the lead, 17-9. A two-score game was reduced to one.

This is the kind of game management that Lamar has to clean up. And that play call from Monken on the reverse, maybe just blow that up?

“Defend your weaknesses and they’re yours to own for a lifetime.” ~ An anonymous Godfather

Tickets For Sale

Ravens fans seem a bit fed up and that’s a bit perplexing given that the team is the conference’s No. 2 seed and top dog in the AFC North. I hear from many that they are fed up with Harbaugh and that Lamar is an exciting player but not capable of winning in the playoffs. It’s a narrative that won’t go away until the Ravens make a deep playoff run with Lamar at the helm. But confidence is fading and while it does, more and more tickets are available for sale.

This Thursday the Ravens are featured in a nationally televised game and to celebrate the event, the team has opted to black out The Bank. It’s an opportunity to show the world that Baltimore can still bring it; that despite Sunday’s 4th quarter struggles, Charm City can be in “full throat” as PBP legend Al Michaels would say, and show the world that The Bank is still a hostile place to play for opponents. Patrick Mahomes has felt the wrath of the crowd in Baltimore before during a prime time game. He discussed silent counts with Peyton and Eli Manning during last night’s ESPN2 broadcast of Monday Night Football.

“The only time I’ve been silent, is in Baltimore and Seattle. It was so loud that even the tackles couldn’t hear me.”

You can listen to Mahomes’ full description below.

Good nugget here from Patrick Mahomes on how #Seahawks and #Ravens home stadiums forced him to use silent signals with his offensive line because of the noise. pic.twitter.com/7Erih8CuAF

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) November 14, 2023

Josh Allen

Lamar’s struggles are often featured on the big network programs presented by ESPN, NFL Network, FOX and CBS. Maybe more time should be spent breaking down the struggles of Josh Allen.

Josh Allen this season pic.twitter.com/G6jHxSFOtU

— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) November 14, 2023

Parting Shots

* According to Aaron Wilson from KPRC 2 Houston (formerly of The Baltimore Sun & Carroll County Times) have worked out OT’s Devery Hamilton and Josh Wells. Hamilton was born in Germany (25 y.o.) but went to high school at Gilman here in Baltimore. He was a UDFA of the Raiders in 2021 and most recently in 2022, bounced back and forth from the Giants active roster and practice squad. Wells is 32 years old and was signed by the Jaguars as a UDFA in 2014. He was a Super Bowl Champion with Tampa. He’s played in 95 career games, starting 24. Wells hasn’t been on an active roster in 2023.

* Yesterday while driving, I tuned into The Fan and heard an interesting promo, during which Jason LaCanfora was described as an insider and compared to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. That’s like comparing a player from the local 50-and-over baseball leagues to Orioles Rookie of The Year, Gunnar Henderson.

More importantly, congrats Gunnar!

The 2023 Jackie Robinson AL Rookie of the Year Award winner is Gunnar Henderson of the @Orioles! pic.twitter.com/rEcM84OKwK

— MLB (@MLB) November 13, 2023

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