JoeyFlex5
Hall of Famer
Judon looked like he might have took one of those .01 second naps on his way to the ground too, my man’s looked like a space cadet when the camera picked up his face as he was going down
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The Lamar, The Defence and The Injuries (again)
- Thread starter rossihunter2
- Start date
Ravens receive spark from players-only meeting that leads to win over Patriots
By Jeff Zrebiec
Sep 25, 2022
15
FOXBORO, Mass. — Baltimore Ravens players typically take a day off after Sunday games, but a few of the team’s defensive leaders, still stewing over the collapse against the Miami Dolphins, decided last Monday that it wasn’t going to be a typical day off. A meeting was necessary. There were things that needed to be said, and it couldn’t wait.
A day before the coaches held meetings and film study sessions to go over the gory details of the loss to Miami, a game in which the Ravens blew a three-touchdown fourth-quarter lead, the team gathered at the Under Armour Performance Center for a players-only meeting.
These kinds of meetings happen periodically during a season. They aren’t unique. However, calling one the day after a Week 2 loss is quite telling, particularly for a veteran-laden team like the Ravens.
“Just make sure we took accountability and ownership,” said Ravens middle linebacker Josh Bynes. “We wanted to knock it out of the way. We had to move forward. For us to knock it out altogether and then to come in Tuesday with coaches, there was a greater understanding.”
The players watched some film, and it predictably wasn’t pretty. Several veterans spoke and there was a clear effort made to ensure the young players understood that the Dolphins game was unacceptable and everybody needed to take accountability. The Ravens couldn’t put the loss completely in the past, because they still had to watch game film with the coaches the next day. However, the meeting represented an important step forward.
“Guys were (angry),” said defensive end Calais Campbell. “We’re competitors. There was a little edge that we had all week to try and get back in the win column. But that’s football. This team has a lot of fighters.”
Anybody who wondered how the Ravens would respond to adversity got their answer early in the third quarter Sunday. Baltimore trailed the New England Patriots by six at the loud Gillette Stadium. The Ravens defense again looked like a mess. The offensive line wasn’t protecting Lamar Jackson or opening up enough holes in the running game. Three players, left tackle Patrick Mekari (ankle sprain), outside linebacker Justin Houston (groin strain) and nose tackle Michael Pierce (potentially significant arm injury), already had exited the game.
With games against two of the AFC’s top teams, the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, on deck, it certainly wasn’t hard to start considering some doomsday scenarios. Jackson and the Ravens, though, quickly put a stop to that talk.
In his latest MVP-like performance, Jackson led the Ravens to points on three consecutive possessions and the defense shut the door by forcing three fourth-quarter turnovers. The Ravens’ 37-26 victory wasn’t always pretty, but it was an important display of grit, resilience and toughness by a team that couldn’t afford to leave Foxboro with a loss.
“All game, there were things that were kind of up and down,” said tight end Mark Andrews, who had eight catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns. “Offense, defense, there were things that we need to get better at, and we will, but the best thing that we saw from today was just being able to fight through and finish. That’s what we did today.”
When it was over, Ravens coach John Harbaugh congratulated cornerback Marlon Humphrey, one of several players to step up and make a play when the game was hanging in the balance. Humphrey told Harbaugh, “We’re not there yet, but we’re on our way.”
The Ravens are 2-1 and have a quarterback who continues to play at an elite level. Jackson completed 18 of 29 passes for 218 yards, four touchdowns and an interception, and he also rushed 11 times for 107 yards and a score. Fittingly, it was Jackson who pretty much closed the door on any potential Patriots comeback. It also helped that Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle weren’t walking through the door at Gillette Stadium.
Jackson’s 9-yard touchdown run with three minutes to play gave the Ravens a 37-26 lead. Marcus Peters then picked off a Mac Jones pass on the next possession.
“I feel like we build more off adversity, and we play better off adversity,” Jackson said. “We’ve just got to keep going, though, because we have a long season ahead of us.”
The Patriots led 20-14 when Jackson got his hands on the football for the first time in the second half. The Patriots, continuing to exploit matchups on the outside against Ravens cornerbacks not named Humphrey or Peters, had just hit on two big plays to DeVante Parker, then had Damien Harris run it in from 2 yards out.
The Ravens immediately answered, as Jackson directed a seven-play, 75-yard drive that ended with him finding seldom-targeted tight end Josh Oliver for a 1-yard score, his first career touchdown.
Ravens wide receiver and All-Pro return man Devin Duvernay scored his third touchdown in three weeks. (Paul Rutherford / USA Today)
Baltimore’s defense then got a stop and Devin Duvernay returned the punt into Patriots territory. Four plays later, Duvernay made a tough contested catch in the back of the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown. A Bynes interception then led to a 56-yard field goal from Justin Tucker to give the Ravens a 31-20 lead.
Things got dicey for a few minutes as the Patriots cut the Ravens’ lead to 31-26 early in the third quarter. But a Jones pass was picked off by Humphrey in the end zone on the next possession, then rookie safety Kyle Hamilton forced a Nelson Agholor fumble that Peters recovered. A third straight Patriots possession ended with a turnover when Peters picked off a Jones overthrow with 1:55 remaining.
“There were a lot of things we could learn from this game. A lot of things we can learn from last week, too,” Humphrey said. “So, we fix these things, and we keep stacking good plays. Bad plays are going to come, but stacking as many good ones as we can and not having those lapses.”
Said Harbaugh: “The thing was guys stepping up and making plays.”
Harbaugh read a quote in his news conference from Malcolm X about responding to adversity. But he wasn’t interested in discussing the redemptive narrative. It, however, was hard to avoid.
There was a much-maligned running game starting to pick up traction in the second half when the Ravens badly needed it. It was keyed by Jackson and Justice Hill, the forgotten man in the Ravens backfield, with J.K. Dobbins, playing his first game in 20 months, pitching in. The Ravens rushed for 188 yards and averaged 7.2 yards per carry.
There was a resurgent offensive line settling in and taking over after it looked overwhelmed for much of the first half and allowed Jackson to get sacked four times. A key component to that group was rookie fourth-round pick Daniel Faalele, who filled in at left tackle when Mekari went down in the first quarter. Faalele gave up two sacks on his first two series, and the Ravens were forced to give him help. In the second half, though, the rookie from Minnesota pitched a shutout and his block keyed Jackson’s 9-yard touchdown.
“He kind of got his footing there, and then the run game started perking up,” Harbaugh said. “I thought the offensive line played just a tremendous football game. They played really well last week, too, so they’re whipping into shape there.”
There was also a strong play-calling day for offensive coordinator Greg Roman. He kept the Patriots off balance, stuck with the run game and kept attacking late in the fourth quarter.
“He was dialing it up,” Jackson said.
Then there was the defense, which was coming off a game in which it allowed touchdowns on five of six second-half possessions against Miami. On Sunday, the Patriots’ last six possessions included one touchdown, three interceptions, a fumble and a punt.
Humphrey, who got the interception on a bad decision by Jones in the back of the end zone, was on the sideline with a tight groin for most of the Dolphins’ comeback. Peters, who also was in and out of the Dolphins game because he was on a pitch count in his return from a knee injury, got the game-securing interception and also recovered the fumble. The fumble was a result of a great hustle play by Hamilton, who probably absorbed the most blame for the coverage mishaps against the Dolphins.
“He’s a young guy. He wants to make plays because he knows he’s gifted. He’s talented as can be,” Campbell said of Hamilton. “So, he’s just waiting for his opportunities and he’s eager, and so I think it feels good because you can get that monkey off your back, that first big play. He showed up other times, but this one, I think, was one that everybody can celebrate.”
Hamilton was among the young players who were forced to watch and hear about their defensive breakdowns during last week’s players-only meeting. By late Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium, that Miami game felt like a distant memory.
“Obviously, this game, with the way it went, for us, it was just making sure we fought until the end,” Bynes said. “Just making sure we finish the right way.”
JoeyFlex5
Hall of Famer
You da real mvp, thanks.Ravens receive spark from players-only meeting that leads to win over Patriots
By Jeff Zrebiec
Sep 25, 2022
15
FOXBORO, Mass. — Baltimore Ravens players typically take a day off after Sunday games, but a few of the team’s defensive leaders, still stewing over the collapse against the Miami Dolphins, decided last Monday that it wasn’t going to be a typical day off. A meeting was necessary. There were things that needed to be said, and it couldn’t wait.
A day before the coaches held meetings and film study sessions to go over the gory details of the loss to Miami, a game in which the Ravens blew a three-touchdown fourth-quarter lead, the team gathered at the Under Armour Performance Center for a players-only meeting.
These kinds of meetings happen periodically during a season. They aren’t unique. However, calling one the day after a Week 2 loss is quite telling, particularly for a veteran-laden team like the Ravens.
“Just make sure we took accountability and ownership,” said Ravens middle linebacker Josh Bynes. “We wanted to knock it out of the way. We had to move forward. For us to knock it out altogether and then to come in Tuesday with coaches, there was a greater understanding.”
The players watched some film, and it predictably wasn’t pretty. Several veterans spoke and there was a clear effort made to ensure the young players understood that the Dolphins game was unacceptable and everybody needed to take accountability. The Ravens couldn’t put the loss completely in the past, because they still had to watch game film with the coaches the next day. However, the meeting represented an important step forward.
“Guys were (angry),” said defensive end Calais Campbell. “We’re competitors. There was a little edge that we had all week to try and get back in the win column. But that’s football. This team has a lot of fighters.”
Anybody who wondered how the Ravens would respond to adversity got their answer early in the third quarter Sunday. Baltimore trailed the New England Patriots by six at the loud Gillette Stadium. The Ravens defense again looked like a mess. The offensive line wasn’t protecting Lamar Jackson or opening up enough holes in the running game. Three players, left tackle Patrick Mekari (ankle sprain), outside linebacker Justin Houston (groin strain) and nose tackle Michael Pierce (potentially significant arm injury), already had exited the game.
With games against two of the AFC’s top teams, the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, on deck, it certainly wasn’t hard to start considering some doomsday scenarios. Jackson and the Ravens, though, quickly put a stop to that talk.
In his latest MVP-like performance, Jackson led the Ravens to points on three consecutive possessions and the defense shut the door by forcing three fourth-quarter turnovers. The Ravens’ 37-26 victory wasn’t always pretty, but it was an important display of grit, resilience and toughness by a team that couldn’t afford to leave Foxboro with a loss.
“All game, there were things that were kind of up and down,” said tight end Mark Andrews, who had eight catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns. “Offense, defense, there were things that we need to get better at, and we will, but the best thing that we saw from today was just being able to fight through and finish. That’s what we did today.”
When it was over, Ravens coach John Harbaugh congratulated cornerback Marlon Humphrey, one of several players to step up and make a play when the game was hanging in the balance. Humphrey told Harbaugh, “We’re not there yet, but we’re on our way.”
The Ravens are 2-1 and have a quarterback who continues to play at an elite level. Jackson completed 18 of 29 passes for 218 yards, four touchdowns and an interception, and he also rushed 11 times for 107 yards and a score. Fittingly, it was Jackson who pretty much closed the door on any potential Patriots comeback. It also helped that Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle weren’t walking through the door at Gillette Stadium.
Jackson’s 9-yard touchdown run with three minutes to play gave the Ravens a 37-26 lead. Marcus Peters then picked off a Mac Jones pass on the next possession.
“I feel like we build more off adversity, and we play better off adversity,” Jackson said. “We’ve just got to keep going, though, because we have a long season ahead of us.”
The Patriots led 20-14 when Jackson got his hands on the football for the first time in the second half. The Patriots, continuing to exploit matchups on the outside against Ravens cornerbacks not named Humphrey or Peters, had just hit on two big plays to DeVante Parker, then had Damien Harris run it in from 2 yards out.
The Ravens immediately answered, as Jackson directed a seven-play, 75-yard drive that ended with him finding seldom-targeted tight end Josh Oliver for a 1-yard score, his first career touchdown.
Ravens wide receiver and All-Pro return man Devin Duvernay scored his third touchdown in three weeks. (Paul Rutherford / USA Today)
Baltimore’s defense then got a stop and Devin Duvernay returned the punt into Patriots territory. Four plays later, Duvernay made a tough contested catch in the back of the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown. A Bynes interception then led to a 56-yard field goal from Justin Tucker to give the Ravens a 31-20 lead.
Things got dicey for a few minutes as the Patriots cut the Ravens’ lead to 31-26 early in the third quarter. But a Jones pass was picked off by Humphrey in the end zone on the next possession, then rookie safety Kyle Hamilton forced a Nelson Agholor fumble that Peters recovered. A third straight Patriots possession ended with a turnover when Peters picked off a Jones overthrow with 1:55 remaining.
“There were a lot of things we could learn from this game. A lot of things we can learn from last week, too,” Humphrey said. “So, we fix these things, and we keep stacking good plays. Bad plays are going to come, but stacking as many good ones as we can and not having those lapses.”
Said Harbaugh: “The thing was guys stepping up and making plays.”
Harbaugh read a quote in his news conference from Malcolm X about responding to adversity. But he wasn’t interested in discussing the redemptive narrative. It, however, was hard to avoid.
There was a much-maligned running game starting to pick up traction in the second half when the Ravens badly needed it. It was keyed by Jackson and Justice Hill, the forgotten man in the Ravens backfield, with J.K. Dobbins, playing his first game in 20 months, pitching in. The Ravens rushed for 188 yards and averaged 7.2 yards per carry.
There was a resurgent offensive line settling in and taking over after it looked overwhelmed for much of the first half and allowed Jackson to get sacked four times. A key component to that group was rookie fourth-round pick Daniel Faalele, who filled in at left tackle when Mekari went down in the first quarter. Faalele gave up two sacks on his first two series, and the Ravens were forced to give him help. In the second half, though, the rookie from Minnesota pitched a shutout and his block keyed Jackson’s 9-yard touchdown.
“He kind of got his footing there, and then the run game started perking up,” Harbaugh said. “I thought the offensive line played just a tremendous football game. They played really well last week, too, so they’re whipping into shape there.”
There was also a strong play-calling day for offensive coordinator Greg Roman. He kept the Patriots off balance, stuck with the run game and kept attacking late in the fourth quarter.
“He was dialing it up,” Jackson said.
Then there was the defense, which was coming off a game in which it allowed touchdowns on five of six second-half possessions against Miami. On Sunday, the Patriots’ last six possessions included one touchdown, three interceptions, a fumble and a punt.
Humphrey, who got the interception on a bad decision by Jones in the back of the end zone, was on the sideline with a tight groin for most of the Dolphins’ comeback. Peters, who also was in and out of the Dolphins game because he was on a pitch count in his return from a knee injury, got the game-securing interception and also recovered the fumble. The fumble was a result of a great hustle play by Hamilton, who probably absorbed the most blame for the coverage mishaps against the Dolphins.
“He’s a young guy. He wants to make plays because he knows he’s gifted. He’s talented as can be,” Campbell said of Hamilton. “So, he’s just waiting for his opportunities and he’s eager, and so I think it feels good because you can get that monkey off your back, that first big play. He showed up other times, but this one, I think, was one that everybody can celebrate.”
Hamilton was among the young players who were forced to watch and hear about their defensive breakdowns during last week’s players-only meeting. By late Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium, that Miami game felt like a distant memory.
“Obviously, this game, with the way it went, for us, it was just making sure we fought until the end,” Bynes said. “Just making sure we finish the right way.”
Ok so it was nothing like the 2012 meeting, more like the veterans gathering the young guys that were counting on and telling them to do their jobs and don’t freelance
airconteka
MVP
Bernards invite got lost in the mail for this one
pissed because Hamilton lost the winning lottery ticket. #BUST
Tank
Hall of Famer
300 lb. motor grader.
JoeyFlex5
Hall of Famer
we've got major issues on defence right now - we've got great personnel littered throughout but outside of the turnovers (which are obviously great) we're struggling to force offences out of their rhythm and we're not forcing them to take short throws to dink-and-dunk downfield (and wait for mistakes) - right now idk what the philosophy is on defence and that's a worry
obviously we've got 3 high(ish) profile edge rushers to introduce to the team which should help but that cant be what we're relying on to make this defence work
this last point is key
right now we're getting elite play from our elite players - that's crucial - and with reinforcements coming, should be sustainable
they're not saving him
he's a FB playing 65% of the snaps every week - playing more than any skill position player on the roster not named Mark Andrews... 2 straight weeks he's out-snapped all the WRs and RBs
redrum52
Hall of Famer
I saw he made the list and some of the other selections from 100-90. That list is a complete joke and Tucker should have been higher.
yeah - was more about defensive leaders/vets especially taking accountability and having the players take ownership and not just rely on the coaches etc.
drawing a line in the sand
Always good when your best players are playing at their best
last year was a blip - lamar from 2018-2020 was excellent against the blitz
and looks like he is again
UPennChem
Hall of Famer
Absolutely. This team is a Bowser or JPP or Ojabo or something away from really getting this defense cooking.
obviously von miller is a different prospect but the fact that faalele improved so dramatically is cause for at least a little gentle optimism (about the future at a minimum)