HOT TAKES: Look Out The Pirates Are Coming

The Ravens offensive line has been the target of criticism – plenty of it. And deservedly so. The pressure was so intense that 14 of Lamar Jackson’s 41 passes were behind the line of scrimmage, 5 of which were incomplete. Those 14 passes accounted for a grand total of 34 yards. In other words, 2.4 yards per attempt.

The eyeball test suggests that the offensive front is going to have to really amp up their collective effort or Jackson will be at risk. This week, the challenge will be to neutralize Maxx Crosby.

That said, ESPN and PFF didn’t think the offensive line performance was all that bad. The worldwide leader ranked offensive line coach George Warhop’s unit as the 2nd best in Week 1 as it relates to blocking win rate. PFF gave the unit a ranking of 8th. In the run blocking department, the rankings were 22 and 21, respectively.

If true, there’s a huge offensive line problem across the league. Quarterbacks and running backs, beware.

There’s a flag on the field!

Offensive Line Penalties

The Ravens were called for 5 illegal-formation penalties in Week 1.

The NFL’s 31 other teams? Just 17 total, per @NFLPenaltiesCom.

But John Harbaugh’s not worried.https://t.co/zKxoNpXv2k

— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) September 10, 2024

This penalty stat above is a bit staggering. Perhaps it’s the result of:

A. Poor Coaching as it relates to the new rules
B. An officiating crew being overly amped-up to enforce a new rule
C. Protecting the league’s favored sons – the Kansas City Chiefs

I’m going with C. Option B seems logical, but there was far too much visual evidence of the Chiefs’ offensive tackles doing the same thing as the Ravens, yet they weren’t penalized. In the image below, the Chiefs weren’t flagged. The Ravens were.

The Chiefs are without question the modern-day Patriots. They get away with things other teams don’t. And the Chiefs know it, just like the Patriots did before. They’ll push the boundaries and do whatever is necessary, legal or not, professional or not, to gain an edge. Just ask Kyle Van Noy who broke his orbital socket during the game.

Kyle Van Noy BLASTS the Chiefs’ training staff for how they handled his injury situation in Week 1 pic.twitter.com/MiF1opRjXT

— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) September 11, 2024

Pass to Zay? Nay!

We all thought that Lamar flat out missed a wide-open Zay Flowers for a potential game tying TD, PAT pending. But Lamar said that he wasn’t targeting Flowers. Rashod Bateman was the intended receiver according to the Ravens QB.

There’s really no reason to doubt what Jackson is saying. But there’s plenty of reason to doubt his targeted choice. ESPN’s Louis Riddick looks at the play (below) and determines that Zay wasn’t in Lamar’s line of vision. And with that admission, make it 2 of 29.2 million people didn’t see Flowers wide open in the end zone.

.@LRiddickESPN breaks down all angles of the ravens third down throw that wasn’t actually intended for Zay Flowers #NFLTurningPoint streaming now on ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/xEXoU9GcZe

— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) September 11, 2024

[Ravens Injury Report]

No Harty Party

Deonte Harty’s first couple of months with his hometown Ravens, has been anything but impressive. Signed as a return specialist, the Archbishop Curley High School grad has fallen far short of expectations – so short, that you have to question why he even occupies a roster spot.

Granted, the sample size is small, but you must wonder if Tylan Wallace would be a better return specialist option, opening another spot for a player who just might contribute as a receiver. Namely, Dayton Wade.

Walk off! The #Ravens win it on a punt return TD by Tylan Wallace in overtime.

What a freaking game.pic.twitter.com/dZe6KyUCEW

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 10, 2023

Weird Kickoff Rule

I get that the NFL is trying to breathe new life into a play that has been an exciting one throughout the league’s history without introducing greater threat to injury. But what they’ve come up with, with the input of special teams coaches across the league, is gimmicky at best, out of place at its worst.

Eventually, teams will do what they’ve done over the past few years – kick it through the end zone and start at the 30-yard line, the 5 additional yards be damned. And then maybe they’ll rope-a-dope you into thinking a kickoff at a crucial point in the game will sail over the returners’ heads only to have a challenging kick tumble through the target zone to gain favorable field position.

Remember Sean Payton opening the second half of Super Bowl XLIV with an onsides kick? That can’t happen under the new rules. Teams must declare, eliminating the element of surprise. But hey, who are we to question this new rule. Safety first, right?

Yeah, right. Tell that to the players who are forced to travel to different time zones to play on a Thursday after a Sunday game late in the season.

A Fine Line

During John Harbaugh’s most presser, WJZ’s Alex Glaze started to ask ball coach, “Is there a fine line between that and also”, and was cut off by Harbaugh who quickly answered:

“We don’t live in that world of fine lines. We live in the world of competing – going out there and doing the best [that] you can. There [are] no lines being drawn. The only lines that we have are the lines on the field; the sidelines, goal line, the back-end line.”

My thoughts immediately went to a scene from the movie A Few Good Men during which Colonel Jessup (played by Jack Nicholson) confidently replied to cross examination questioning with:

“I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it.

“I would rather that you just said, “thank you” and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand the post. Either way, I don’t give a DAMN what you think you’re entitled to!”

In the unlikely event that you’ve never seen this movie, here’s the clip:

Watson

The Cleveland Browns’ front office look like a collection of inept executives, and it continues to get worse thanks to Deshaun Watson who is now under investigation for yet another sexual offense. I wondered what sort of cap impact a Watson suspension would have on the Browns, or even worse (for Watson) if the league determined that there are grounds for contract termination for the happy-ending junkie. So I asked RSR’s Brian McFarland to weigh in:

“Without being suspended, there is currently $200.7M in dead money now and $172.77M after this season. Of that $172.77M, he has base salaries of $46M in 2025 and 2026. If they could void the deal in 2025 (nothing is going to happen sooner), then they wouldn’t have to pay or account for the $92M in base salaries but, would still have $80.77M in dead money to deal with. With a post June 1 release in 2025, the Browns would have $26.935M in dead money in 2025 and $53.835M in 2026.

“The Browns could also potentially attempt to void the deal, claiming that Watson knew of this issue before he signed and didn’t disclose it since they apparently went through a thorough vetting process and disclosures when he signed. Proving he knew, since he’s going to claim he did nothing wrong, would be a difficult task.”

You may have seen that the Browns recently restructured Watson’s deal to create $35.8M in cap space. In retrospect, suspicious minds thought that the move was done to circumvent a future cap problem with Watson given the new sexually-charge allegations. But according to Brian, the move only made things worse for the Browns.

“The restructure added $35.832M to those totals [above], so that’s why I don’t think they saw [the new allegations] coming.”

Meanwhile, Baker Mayfield is doing quite well in Tampa.

I sort of miss those Baker ads for the Mayfield, Ohio-based Progressive Insurance.

More Watson

You may recall a home game during the 2001 season when then Ravens QB Elvis Grbac was knocked to the ground. Grbac, has been described as a loner during his days in Baltimore and since he left, he’s been about as public as former Ravens WR Lee Evans. In other words, he’s gone off the grid.

Anyway, during said game, Grbac sat on the turf, legs slightly bent, with his arms wrapped around his knees. Jonathan Ogden walked over to help Grbac up and stood there for a few moments with his arm extended. Grbac, staring ahead at the mess he created, never acknowledged J.O.’s attempt to help him up. Ogden waved off Grbac and walked away, leaving him on the ground to mope or take a trip down memory lane to happier days in San Francisco or Kansas City.

I thought of that scene recently after watching Browns’ 6-time Pro Bowler Joel Bitonio refuse Watson’s help off the ground. There’s a story there, and it isn’t good for Cleveland.

Deshaun Watson has lost the team after Week 1

Can’t make this up…

pic.twitter.com/XBuLTjq8v6

— PickensBurgh (Tino) (@PickensBurgh) September 9, 2024

Quick Hits

The 49ers’ running game is a thing of beauty. Unheralded running backs like UDFA Jordan Mason can suddenly look like the LA Rams great Stephen Jackson. And therein lies the beauty of a great offensive line which can make street RB’s very productive and an undrafted quarterback, the next $50M/year player. (I see you Brock Purdy)

Maybe the Ravens should take note.

Maxx Crosby is a big concern on Sunday. He will destroy Roger Rosengarten in one-on-one situations, and he’ll probably do the same with Patrick Mekari. Maybe there’s a reason that Mekari is better coming off the bench as that 6th man. He might not be good enough to be a starter.

It was announced this week that Super Bowl LIX (59 if you’re not familiar with these lame Roman numerals) is Kendrick Lamar. I’ll show my age here…I never heard of the guy. So I looked him up. I still wish I never heard of the guy. That said, the beauty of music lies in the ears of the beholder.

Maybe Jackson, Lamar, will provide the entertainment before and after halftime?

Happy Friday, Jr. everyone!

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2024/09/12/tltakes/offensive-line-woes/