A Win is a Win, Right?

For three quarters, it looked as if John Harbaugh and his Ravens would record a convincing win on the road against a talented football team. Even the Ravens own social media team was feeling it and couldn’t contain their excitement.

One to playpic.twitter.com/ZC7zt4abVm

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 22, 2024

“One to play!”

And it’s that “one” quarter, the 4th, during which acid reflux kicks in throughout RavensFlock. The Ravens in the final frame are like the Orioles looking to close out a win in the 9th and Craig Kimbrel is on the bump, leading 8-1. And then they scratch out an 8-7 win. Yesterday’s Ravens win felt that way.

The victory then feels a bit hollow. The focus isn’t so much on the win as it is upon the mess left on the field during the 4th quarter. Now it would be one thing if this 4th quarter meltdown was an anomaly – the result of a few bad breaks going against the Ravens that left them hanging on for dear life.

But the ending to last night’s game is not an anomaly. It isn’t even a trend. It’s the modus operandi of a head coach who still clings to the same old and tired coaching principles when leading late in games that are as reliable as an Orioles closer. In other words, the other team always has a chance.

During the long-standing rivalry between the Ravens and Steelers, there have been many close games. Several games that resulted in losses for the Ravens, were stolen by the Steelers in the second half, including a couple of playoff games. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, trying to rally his troops when trailing at the half, once reminded his team that the Ravens under John Harbaugh, don’t play four quarters.

Unfortunately, that hasn’t changed and of late, there’s no sign that it will.

A former player who was part of those rivalry games concurs.

Google: “Worst team in NFL”

Answer: Ravens with a double digit lead.

— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) September 22, 2024

The good news is that the Ravens narrowly avoided a (0-3) start to the 2024 season. Yet with a 28-6 lead heading into the fourth, with the Cowboys forced to become one-dimensional on offense and having a hot-handed closer (Derrick Henry) in the huddle, the Ravens nearly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

It doesn’t matter who the offensive coordinator is. It doesn’t matter who the defensive coordinator is. These are your John Harbaugh led Ravens.

“There is maybe a play call here or there you want to have back based on the outcome of the play,’ but I don’t feel too bad about it. We probably got a little conservative, I’ll agree with that. I think it was for a reason with a big lead like that, and we were burning the clock.” ~ John Harbaugh

At the end of the day, it’s hard to figure out who the Ravens are. Are they the team that nearly had a comeback win on the road in Kansas City or the team that had a double-digit meltdown against the Raiders who just lost to the lowly Carolina Panthers? I guess we’ll find out during the weeks to come but for now it’s safe to say, the Baltimore Ravens are closer to being an AFC pretender than a Super Bowl contender.

THE GOOD

Even though Lamar Jackson attempted the fewest passes (15) in a game that he started and finished in his entire career, the Ravens franchise QB was terrific. He completed 12 of those throws for 182 yards, 1 touchdown and a passer rating of 139.4. He also ran for 87 yards, a score and an amazing sleight of hand on a run during the game’s waning moments that resulted in a 10-yard gain, the contest’s final first down and a dagger in the Cowboys’ comeback hopes.

Justice Hill has become an extremely reliable situational piece for Todd Monken. Hill had 5 carries for 33 yards and collected 2 of Lamar’s 12 completions for another 21 yards…Charlie Kolar and Nelson Agholor had one catch each but they made the most of the short tosses directed their way by adding significant YAC. Kolar’s catch went for 30 yards on a brilliantly designed waggle to the right, while Agholor slipped a tackle and scampered 49 yards after the catch for a 56-yard gain, setting up a Derrick Henry TD.

The Ravens offensive line chipped in with a solid blue-collar effort. They kept Lamar clean and their efforts contributed greatly to the team’s 274 yards rushing, 6.1 YPC and 3 scores on 45 carries…I’ve been critical of Daniel Faalele and Patrick Mekari (mostly in pass pro) but both chipped in with solid efforts…Ronnie Stanley was very effective, particularly early in the game, with runs to his side, adeptly sealing the edge. The entire line did a nice job passing off assignments during Cowboys’ blitzes.

[Related Article: Did Faalele Silence Critics?]

Fifty-four of the Cowboys’ 70 offensive snaps were pass plays so it’s tough to gauge the effectiveness of the Ravens interior defensive linemen. Nnamdi Madubuike was active and was the force behind a big play that should have resulted in a safety (more on that below) …Travis Jones was equally active, and his efforts help keep Michael Pierce fresh. Pierce didn’t register a stat during his 25 snaps, but Dak Prescott would vouch for his disruptive performance…The Cowboys averaged just 3.2 YPC during their 16 attempts.

Trenton Simpson was flying to the ball early in the game, taking down receivers after a short gain, while adding a PD…Roquan Smith was key to the Ravens rush defense with 11 tackles and a PD to boot…Marlon Humphrey was sticky in coverage throughout the game as was Brandon Stephens…Ar’Darius Washington was active throughout. He had a key PD and showed good technique when challenged, save the TD pass in the fourth to KaVontae Turpin during which the 2022 USFL MVP turned Washington around in the back of the end zone…Nate Wiggins competed well. There’s promise there just waiting to be unleashed…Kyle Hamilton the unicorn reappeared in Dallas. He was all over the field and just missed making a couple of drive-ending plays. He’s on his way back to that 2023 All-Pro form.

Kyle Van Noy, what can you say? He just continues to tap into that secret fountain of youth. KVN had 2 more sacks and a PD. Simply put, he’s impacting games.

THE BAD

For a team that has always been among the NFL’s best on special teams, the Ravens look clueless trying to figure out this new kickoff rule (which they should ditch immediately). And that’s disheartening for a team skippered by a coach who is supposed to deliver special teams acumen. On kickoffs the Ravens are indecisive when returning and they don’t seem to have proper spacing while covering and trying to keep teams inside the 30-yard line. Just down the ball in the end zone when receiving and boot it into the end zone when kicking off. The juice ain’t worth the squeeze!

Justin Tucker.

For a kicker who has been supremely confident throughout his career, Tucker just doesn’t look right. He might not yet be Steve Sax at second base, Mackey Sasser behind the dish or David Duval at the first tee, but the misses are clearly in his head. We always knew the day would come when Tucker would start to hit the backside of his career, but no one expected it this soon. Hopefully this is temporary but given Justin’s accomplishments and stellar career, this blip on the radar already seems like a vacation with the in-laws (just kidding honey).

And then there’s this infield error from Zay Flowers.

Zay Flowers whiffs on the Cowboys’ onside kick pic.twitter.com/RkeWIzvkWt

— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) September 22, 2024

THE UGLY

Despite facing a team that was down by 22 points heading into the final frame and therefore, one-dimensional, the Ravens acclaimed secondary (on paper) totally soiled the sheets.

The 4th Quarter

• The Ravens surrendered 191 yards of offense to the Cowboys
• Dak Prescott was 13 for 24 for 187 yards and 2 TD’s for a passer rating of 107.5

That’s two weeks in a row when a team had to pass and did so with relative ease against the Ravens. When asked about that, John Harbaugh shared these words of wisdom;

“We want to get those stops. We definitely want to get those stops.”

“We can play coverages better. Sometimes it’s a one-on-one thing where they make a good play. [There are] other plays where we don’t play it as well as we could. We’re not in position, we don’t see it quite the same way, we react a little late — there’s a few completions that way that happened, especially down the stretch in the two-minute stuff.”

Let’s just save this quote for the next time it happens because history suggests that it will happen again.

When is the last time you’ve seen a Ravens’ safety not named Kyle Hamilton, come up and make a play on a ball? The safeties are so far back that teams are feasting on intermediate crossers. Tight ends can’t wait to play the Ravens. Stop me if you’ve heard that before. We were led to believe that Zach Orr’s defensive backfield represented an embarrassment of riches. Seems to me they are too often richly embarrassed.

The Penalties

The Ravens entered the game ranked 30th in penalties and 31st in penalty yards. They went flew to Jerry’s World and added 13 more penalties for 105 yards – 90 of those yards coming in the second half.

Baltimore is the most penalized team in the NFL by volume

By EPA, they’ve taken a touchdown off the board on offense and given their opponents one defensively

With three consecutive one possession contests, this team is going to give more games away unless things get cleaned up

— Diante Lee (@DianteLeeFB) September 22, 2024

Fourth quarter meltdowns and undisciplined football aren’t the traits of contenders. They are the bane of pretenders.

COACHING

Harbaugh’s fourth quarter approach is nothing new. But now this M.O. of his cuts so deep that you need to worry about the team. When good fortune begins to turn in the fourth, are the players asking themselves, “Here we go again?”

Does the thought of an opponent’s comeback become a self-fulfilling prophecy?

“A self-fulfilling prophecy is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when a person’s expectations or beliefs influence their actions, which in turn make the original expectation come true.”

Harbaugh doesn’t guide his team to win. He tries to guide them not to lose and in doing so he sets the team up for failure. They play on their collective and individual heels just waiting for the dreaded shoe to drop. They hope for success but expect to fail thanks to direction from a coaching staff that has no idea what a kill shot is. They have no idea how to put teams away. The term pedal to the metal is a foreign concept to them. Let’s not find a way to win, let’s stumble upon new ways to lose.

I think this quote from Lamar following the game is telling:

“We’re up, 28-6; the game is not over. We’ve been in those situations [for] years in the past – when we go up [to] halftime, come back, and we lose [after] we’re up 35-14 and stuff like that. I believe [that] we’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing [from] the first half [and] just keep putting our guys on the [field] and keep the defense guessing.”

Harbaugh’s “guiding hand” takes all the guess work out for opponents. On offense, they tear out chapters from the playbook and keep it simple – so simple that they make defending the Ravens, despite the playmakers they have, easy to defend. On defense, they play soft. “Don’t give up the big play!” So instead they give up 3 intermediate plays that end the same way a big successful play would.

Why not keep doing what got you to the 28-6 score?

Did you see the FOX shots of the Cowboys players on their sideline? They were down, beaten, even going at each other. But then along comes Mr. Softie. You can hear the music from the truck a block away. And then it gets closer and as it does, those beaten opponents suddenly have a slight bounce in their step. They start to believe again. Meanwhile, the team with the lead starts to feel the shift in momentum. The conservative, preventative approach does one thing and one thing only. It prevents winning.

I remember the 2012-13 AFC Championship Game. The Ravens were down 13-7 at halftime. We learned later through the video documenting of the game which later became public, that Joe Flacco campaigned for the team to open things up. Finally, Harbaugh gets on his headset, and I assume, encouraged offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell to let Joe make some plays. And when they did, the game shifted dramatically, and the Ravens went on to a 28-13 win.

Harbaugh habits are hard to break.

Todd Monken

Monken had a great game plan for 3 quarters. He shaped an offensive identity that had been missing. The Ravens looked like bullies. They played smash-mouth. They mixed in a few wrinkles and created big gains off easily executable plays. I’m hoping that it wasn’t Monken who called off the dogs. Maybe someone should cut off Harbaugh’s headset connection or just pipe in some songs by Air Supply to keep him distracted.

Zach Orr

Ditto for ZO. The Ravens made the Cowboys one-dimensional, and they were aggressive on the back end, save the safeties who back peddled to Grand Prairie, TX to prevent the big play. Did Zach call off the dogs or did Harbaugh pull rank on the rookie DC and order melba toast and organic tea?

OFFICIATING

The Ravens do a good enough job on their own earning yellow laundry, but Ron Torbert’s herd of zebras thought they deserved a little more. Torbert, an attorney during his day job, is the one who stirs the drink of Law and Disorder on the football field.

See for yourself.

This wasn’t called intentional grounding in the end zone. Prescott threw the ball to an offensive lineman. This clip should sit beside the definition of intentional ground in the end zone!

WHERE IS THE SAFETY?

how is this not intentional grounding??? pic.twitter.com/ZjrkKsMlPz

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 22, 2024

Marcus Williams has been a nothing-burger this season, but this extremely ticky-tacky penalty called in the fourth quarter could be called on any pass play.

Illegal contact called here on the Ravens… he barely touched him #BALvsDAL pic.twitter.com/KeIdtvrcl7

— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) September 22, 2024

This is the NFL, right? They still tackle, right? Imagine you are an edge defender fighting through a block, and you have an opportunity to hit the quarterback. And because they protect QB’s as if they are 4-year-old aspiring ballerinas (unless your name is Lamar Jackson), you know not to strike too high or too low, otherwise, this flag-happy daytime litigator will pull out his flag in the blink of an eye. The reaction, the play and the thought process that goes into it happen within nanoseconds. So, you do the right thing and tackle the quarterback thigh high. And you still get flagged. Instead of 3rd-and-10 at the Ravens 49, it’s now 1st-and-10 at the Ravens 34.

Odafe Oweh was called for roughing the passer on this play pic.twitter.com/apnDF7zsnB

— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) September 22, 2024

The inconsistency among officiating crews is maddening. It ruins the viewing enjoyment. It becomes bigger than the game. How many times do you watch a play and wait for the little yellow “flag” icon to pop up on the screen?

The Player of The Game

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that the POTG, fka the Megan Fox Award would have a new namesake. The award will now be called the Paige Spiranac Award. And the inaugural PSA is rather obvious. Derrick Henry.

The King doesn’t look like he’s lost a step at all! And finally, Todd Monken unleashed him on the world in a Ravens uniform. Perhaps his accomplishments yesterday are tempered a bit due to the soft Dallas run defense but given the Ravens struggles across the offensive front and their commitment to the run vis-à-vis their situational packages, you might think the Cowboys would have done a little better.

Watching Derrick Henry play football for the Baltimore Ravens will never get old.

A match made in heaven! #RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/OzFxwAtwkW

— Nic Mason (@British_Raven19) September 22, 2024

Instead, Henry had his way, rushing for 151 yards on 25 carries (6.0 YPC), and taking a short screen 23 yards to help set up the Jackson to Rashod Bateman TD pass. Along the way, he threw defenders aside like Jennifer Lopez does with fiancés.

Let’s hope the Ravens build upon this and use it to broaden their passing attack.

Unless of course John Harbaugh wants to stay “conservative”.

The post A Win is a Win, Right? appeared first on Russell Street Report.

Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2024/09/23/gbu-paige-spiranac/harbaugh-and-the-ravens-win/