Make Some Noise!

With their win over the Falcons coupled with the Patriots loss to the Bengals, the Ravens have clinched a playoff spot and now the only thing that needs to be determined is where they will be seeded. This week, the Ravens host the Steelers and currently Baltimore is listed as a 3-point favorite. Meanwhile the AFC North division leading Bengals host the Bills on Monday Night as 1 ½ point underdogs. If things play out the way the oddsmakers suggest, Week 18 will feature a showdown for the division in Cincinnati.

Despite the relative success of the 2022 season, Baltimore-area fans aren’t feeling all that festive and that was on full display Saturday at The Bank where the game was played before a half-full (at best) stadium. The conditions weren’t ideal with wind chills in the single digits and let’s be honest, the Falcons aren’t exactly an attractive draw, particularly on Christmas Eve. But one would think that a then (9-5) team vying for the postseason could count on a better turnout than the one that showed up (or didn’t) on Saturday.

Apparently Festivus Maximus is on life support.

But there are some things at play with the Ravens, that just seem to grind the collective gears of the fan base. Those things include:

1. After repeated fourth-quarter collapses fan confidence isn’t high.
2. The Ravens play a boring brand of football.
3. Lamar Jackson’s unsettled contract situation has left fans feeling unsettled as well.
4. John Harbaugh’s in-game decision-making coupled with his loyalty to offensive coordinator Greg Roman has elevated fan frustration.

Each week we seem to be wondering if Jackson will play the next game. This week is no different. The play that caused Lamar’s knee injury didn’t look all that compromising. We were told that the PCL strain would sideline Jackson for 1-3 weeks. If he misses this week’s game, it will mark the fourth consecutive game that he will have skipped. And given the season-long cloud hanging over Lamar’s head given his contract status, his absence has led to more speculation.

Is he refusing to play unless 100% healthy?

Might the offense’s struggles with him on the sidelines increase his bargaining power?

Has he played his last game as a Raven?

The single-most frustrating thing about Lamar’s situation, is that we, and more importantly the Ravens, don’t know any more about their franchise quarterback and his future value to the team today than they did at this point last season. The same issues are at play – limited skill-position talent and an offensive coordinator whose passing concepts are about as imaginative as the next hearing sessions broadcast by C-Span.

So we have to sit, wait and let it all play out and hope that this unsavory noise will dissipate. The future uncertainties and the accompanying noise wears on fans. Despite the playoff berth, indifference swells. Haunting memories of recent playoff debacles come to the forefront of the mind and many fans rightly wonder, without change, how anyone can expect a change in results. It tempers expectations and drains enthusiasm.

All that said, there’s still a chance – even one better than the one Lloyd Christmas had with Mary, that the Ravens could make some noise in the playoffs. But without question, they’ll need Lamar on the field, because Tyler Huntley is NOT going to carry the Ravens offense – Roman’s offense.

On a weekly basis Roman provides a little more carnage to toss into his dumpster fire offense. Coming into last Saturday’s game the Falcons had given up a generous 378.3 yards per game overall and 248.4 YPG passing, both good for 28th in the league. The Ravens put up 299 yards in total and 115 yards by air, respectively. The Ravens were 1 of 4 (25%) during red zone opportunities against a defense that through 14 games allowed opponents to score touchdowns 59.2% of the time.

Against Atlanta, the Ravens ran 15 red zone plays. Nine plays were runs that produced 29 yards and six passes, three of which were completions, netted 9 yards. That said, the red zone failures aren’t all on Roman. Against the Falcons his quarterback was equally responsible for missing opportunities.

See for yourself…

Tyler Huntley needs to be more patient in the pocket. He gets happy feet and generally bails out to his right when under self-imposed duress. Here he misses an opportunity for an easy TD toss to Mark Andrews. pic.twitter.com/9joiDNmtOx

— Russell St. Report (@RussellStReport) December 27, 2022

On this play it appears that Huntley has predetermined where he wants to go with the football and his choice is questionable, particularly when at the top of the screen he has his best pass catcher in man coverage with plenty of room to navigate. pic.twitter.com/1sZWLHvteN

— Russell St. Report (@RussellStReport) December 27, 2022

And one more time in the red zone Huntley bails to his right when a little more patience in the pocket could have provided an opportunity to hit Demarcus Robinson on a slant for a TD. pic.twitter.com/YJV2bqQc8x

— Russell St. Report (@RussellStReport) December 27, 2022

Maybe Lamar returns to the lineup soon and just maybe, his special talents help to mask Roman’s schematic shortfalls in the passing game. And maybe, with a defense that has performed markedly better since the arrival of Roquan Smith, that will be enough for the Ravens to make some postseason noise.

You know, the good kind.

[Related Article: Big D Return to Baltimore]

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