Well, I'm glad that it is finally out there and being said.
For as much as we front smash-mouth football, especially on OFF, we are poseurs in that respect. The biggest reason we've lost important Playoff games in the Lamar era is that we face off with a team that decides to man-handle our OFF. We allow DEF's to dictate our play because they come in an exert their will and game plan on us. Which in no small part includes a lot of hard talking and hitting. That is a systematic weakness, imo. It is a weakness of both the coaching staff and the players - especially on the OFF. The Personal Fouls are indicative of this.
In the Ray Lewis era, I can't really remember many instances when we lost important games because we beat ourselves by allowing another team to completely dictate the game. Errors like dropped passes and missed FG's happen. They are not the same - despite being heartbreaking - as total stalls like we've witnessed with Lamar teams. Sure we had some dumb penalties too back then from time to time, but I always felt even then we were beaten despite playing well. And that's just how it goes sometimes in sport, you get beaten eventho you played hard or near your best. But in at least two Playoff instances with the Lamar era Ravens, I feel we beat ourselves because we faced teams who simply dominated us with toughness, maybe even more so with their game play. THAT is not a good look and it makes the whole, Play Like a Raven, thing sort of a sham to me at this point.
The honest truth, for me: is this was our year. Our year to shake off all the Lamar isn't a QB, he can't win a big game, etc. and elevate this team to where we all know we should be thought of - - -on par with the Chefs and Bills, especially. But instead, it is back to the drawing board again; and sadly, this time, with those same issues we went into these Playoffs hearing about Lamar, being amplified now.
For better or worse, these criticisms are something Lamar is - hopefully with the assistance of a coaching staff who can adapt when something doesn't work, either for him or in the game plan - going to have to prove isn't true to escape it. Problem is, the fucking egg this OFF laid in a home AFC Championship game does nothing but reinforce the media's ideas of Lamar's shortcomings. The pressure to overcome that perception is going to be huge, at least as huge as Playoff football pressure. I worry. Anything short of a Super Bowl victory with Lamar as the leader is going to keep this fire stoked. I hope he's ready for the additional pressure. It's not going anywhere.
