Ravens News 10/13: Untrustworthy?

Ravens’ Odell Beckham Jr. says ankle better, but he has to improve

Jamison Hensley, ESPN

“There’s so many things that you have to adapt to, but there’s no time for excuses or putting blame here or there,” Beckham said Thursday after the Ravens’ practice at the Tottenham training ground. “I’m a man, I take my wins with my losses. I just got to come out and just be better, plain and simple.”

“It’s a long season,” he said. “It’s about catching fire when you’re supposed to. It’s about everything coming together at the right time. So you do have to be optimistic about the season, and that’s where I’m trying to stay in that mindset of there’s a lot of opportunities. No team won a Super Bowl in Week 5 or 6.”

“I’ve worked my ass off for a long time, since that Super Bowl,” Beckham said. “Just to have a small setback, which you never saw coming, it’s just unfortunate. Now, I’m kind of just getting readjusted. It is behind you now, but maybe sitting there and in hindsight thinking you could have waited one more week to just get your feet back underneath you.”

David Ojabo Hopes to Return This Season From Injury

Clifton Brown, BaltimoreRavens.com

Ojabo, who was placed on IR on Oct. 1, has missed the last two games and must miss a minimum of four games. However, when asked if he had to decide whether to have surgery, Ojabo said he would continue to rehab and hopes to return this season.

“Working really hard to be out there, through God’s grace I’ll be out there soon,” Ojabo said. “No timetable right now. Just rehabbing, taking it day by day.”

“Physical team, and that’s something we pride ourselves on,” [Roquan] Smith said. “Henry’s been doing it a really long time. Good quarterback in (Ryan) Tannehill as well as D-Hop (Hopkins), one of the best in the game for awhile. It’s just going to be about doing our job stopping the run, first and foremost, what they definitely lean on all game long. And then eliminate D-Hop as well, because they’re definitely going to try and get him the ball. It’ll be a great challenge, looking forward to it.”

Ravens vs. Titans scouting report for Week 6: Who has the edge?

Childs Walker, The Baltimore Sun

They will face a struggling Tennessee pass defense that has allowed quarterbacks to average 6.8 yards per attempt. The Titans have crowded the line of scrimmage against Jackson in previous meetings but have blitzed on just 23.4% of dropbacks this season and rank 28th in pressures per dropback. They do have one of the league’s top interior pass rushers in Jeffery Simmons, so the Ravens will need a strong game from center Tyler Linderbaum. Tennessee’s edge rushers, on the other hand, will present less of a challenge to the Ravens’ tackles than Pittsburgh’s duo of Highsmith and T.J. Watt. In the secondary, cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting has played well with three passes defended and two forced fumbles while his partner, Kristian Fulton, has struggled in coverage.

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill is off to a poor start with just two touchdown passes and five interceptions through five games. The Titans rank 30th in pass attempts, so they’re not looking to air it out. At age 31, DeAndre Hopkins (26 catches on 42 targets, 356 yards) remains one of the league’s top 20 wide receivers, but Tennessee doesn’t have much pass-catching talent to complement him. Tight end and former Maryland standout Chigoziem Okonkwo ranks next in the pecking order when it comes to targets but has averaged just 6.9 yards per catch. Wide receiver Treylon Burks, the team’s 2022 first-round pick, has missed the past two games with a knee injury but could play against the Ravens. Though he’s a big target, he has just one touchdown catch in his career.

Week 6 NFL Picks Against the Spread

Sheil Kapadia, The Ringer

Baltimore Ravens at Tennessee Titans (+4)

Congratulations to the Ravens on what had to be the stupidest loss by any team last week, in their matchup with the Steelers. HOW DID THEY LOSE THAT GAME??

Some things that happened:

The Ravens had seven drops—the most by any team in a game this season. The drops were absurd. I’m talking big plays downfield. Dropped touchdowns. And not by just one guy. It was everyone!

Center Tyler Linderbaum mistakenly snapped the ball before halftime when the Ravens were trying to let the clock wind down and kick a field goal. That cost them three points.

Lamar Jackson threw an interception from the Steelers’ 5-yard line late in the fourth quarter.

They had a punt blocked.

The Ravens are a good team. The Ravens are also not to be trusted. And you should know by now that I always ride with Mike Vrabel as an underdog.

The pick: Titans (+4)

NFL Week 6 picks against the spread: Kirk Cousins’ last dance with Jordan Addison, Vikings?

Vic Tafur, The Athletic

Baltimore Ravens vs. Tennessee Titans (+4) in London | 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday, NFL Network

Ravens wide receivers had four drops in their Week 5 loss to the Steelers, tied for the most by a team in a game this season and the most for Baltimore in any game over the last five years. It also tied the number of helmet slams in the game from Lamar Jackson. I clearly have no read on the Titans this season, but their bend, but don’t break defense — they’ve allowed the fifth-most yards (36.1) and the fourth-most plays (6.4) per drive of any team in the NFL — should be able to hang on overseas against the Ravens. Feels like a field-goal game either way, so we’ll take the extra point as well.

The pick: Titans