Tag: Ravens 2023

AFC Championship Game – The Ugly Post-Mortem

I don’t know about you, but I needed ten days before penning this ugly post-mortem.  I’m unable to shed any light on Todd Monken’s bizarre avoidance of the run game.  It’s as puzzling to me as it is to every other observer, including you.  Did it cost the Ravens the game?  Mostly likely, yes.  But no need to dwell on that further.

This was the type of year that team dreams of.  Virtually every one of Eric DeCosta’s late pre-season free agent signings were not just hits, but homers (I hate baseball analogies, but its apropos here).  Furthermore, key young players blossomed to their full potential (Justin Madubuike), and some became major stars (Kyle Hamilton) while others came out of nowhere (Brandon Stephens).  The quarterback was the league’s most valuable player.  The defensive structuring and coordination was spectacular.  The Ravens played in arguably the toughest division in football, yet smashed virtually every top end team they played and wound up with the number one seed. Continue reading “AFC Championship Game – The Ugly Post-Mortem”

Ravens Comments Heading Into Steelers Week

Your blogger apologizes for taking last week off, but I’ll grab for insights from the 49ers game if the Ravens wind up meeting them again.  Let’s focus instead on some Ravens comments coming out of the Dolphins shellacking and into the Steelers finale.

To Rest or Not to Rest, That is the Question

The “rust” concept doesn’t worry me.  Thirty-four of the last 64 number one seeds (going into this year) have made it to the Super Bowl.  The Ravens’ 2019 number one seed fiasco doesn’t mean a thing.  That was a different roster, a different quarterback (de facto), and a different offense.  They got behind early and lacked a complete passing attack.  Of course, all of that is just noise.  What should a prudent coach do with respect to an end-of-the-season meaningless game? Continue reading “Ravens Comments Heading Into Steelers Week”

Ravens Thoughts Heading into San Francisco

The 49ers are the NFL’s best.  It’s a daunting challenge to beat San Francisco on the road.

This is the litmus test for how good the Ravens are.  But does the game really matter, other than from the perspective of potentially playing them in the Super Bowl?  For purposes of winning the top seed in the AFC, a loss to the 49ers is meaningless if the Ravens can beat Miami and Pittsburgh.  So here’s an unusual Ravens thought: could we think the unthinkable and contemplate resting Ronnie Stanley and Marcus Williams?  I don’t believe there’s any way John Harbaugh would do it, but it might make the most sense for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

Let’s take a look back at the Jaguars game, and then a peak at San Francisco. Continue reading “Ravens Thoughts Heading into San Francisco”

Ravens Thoughts Heading Into Jacksonville

The Ravens victory over the Rams was marred by some heretofore uncharacteristically poor defensive play.  The offense was inconsistent.  Below are some Ravens thoughts heading into this week’s road matchup with Jacksonville.

Ravens Thoughts: What’s Happening on Defense

Several things really jumped out from the Rams game.  Let’s touch on a few. Continue reading “Ravens Thoughts Heading Into Jacksonville”

Ravens Observations Heading into The Rams Game

The gauntlet begins this Sunday with the Rams potentially presenting the first of several interesting challenges for Mike Macdonald and his defense.  Although the Rams offense lacks the complete talent of the Dolphins and 49ers, there’s enough in both the run and pass games to stress the Ravens cover-two defensive approach.  Let’s take a look at some Ravens observations and lessons from the Chargers game. Continue reading “Ravens Observations Heading into The Rams Game”

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