Lamar Jackson

[purplepittabread88]

I mean... what free agents have we really signed though? We signed Zeitler, who's been great. We traded for Campbell and Peters, both of whom are expensive, and both have played well. So where are the other free agents that have sucked? Like I guess Watkins counts, but he's not even remotely expensive. The only one's I can really think of who's been a whiff in the last 2-3 years, and was of significant $, was Earl Thomas and probably Tony Jefferson.

I think failure to create depth and develop certain players on the Oline for the last 2-3 years has been a major issue, and I think we've lacked a pass rush. That, coupled with not a lot of weapons for Lamar prior to 2021, were probably the biggest issues.

I really put a lot of 2021 issues at the feet of injuries to be honest, and I think a lot of the revisionist history is on the fact that we laid an egg in the playoffs. The playoffs, while super important, is just a one game tournament basically. People tend to overreact dramatically from whatever happens in that one game and try to pretend like it was a universal problem for all games. That's not how I see it at all.

If I look at 2019 and 2020 combined, we were 25-7 in the regular season. We were routinely crushing teams on a weekly basis. We had 17 of 25 wins by at least 14 points. We basically had two embarrassing losses in two years (games where we weren't super competitive for long stretches).

Fast-forward to 2021, we're a .500 team with two "blowout" wins the whole season (Denver and the Chargers) and we've been trucked twice by Cincinnati. 11 of 16 games have been within 6 points or less.

I'm not buying that this happens because the coaching staff somehow magically gets "figured out" and that losing Judon and Ngaokue means we lose like 4 more games than the prior year.

I'll jump on board on the "major changes" train when I see a more healthy roster go 8-9 next year.

I never said major changes, I said changes. Big difference, as yea injuries fucked us. We got screwed.
You mention the playoff thing, but coaches or players rise to big occasions in playoffs. Wether it’s fair or it’s not (and it isn’t in our case) we’re labeled as chokers. We aren’t, lamars outstanding, and I love this team with every part of us. I want us to not be chokers. I’m not above understanding what the problem is. I agree with the one game tournament to some part, but special players are special players for a reason. Lamar is a special player no doubt, so how can we allow this to shine?

I hold him and us to such a high standard because I believe in the greatness. I want to bet the bank on us next year! But what is it that’s holding us back? Like I said I actually have no idea. I just want us to play to the standard and measures of what we are and what we can do

 

[purplepittabread88]

I mean... what free agents have we really signed though? We signed Zeitler, who's been great. We traded for Campbell and Peters, both of whom are expensive, and both have played well. So where are the other free agents that have sucked? Like I guess Watkins counts, but he's not even remotely expensive. The only one's I can really think of who's been a whiff in the last 2-3 years, and was of significant $, was Earl Thomas and probably Tony Jefferson.

I think failure to create depth and develop certain players on the Oline for the last 2-3 years has been a major issue, and I think we've lacked a pass rush. That, coupled with not a lot of weapons for Lamar prior to 2021, were probably the biggest issues.

I really put a lot of 2021 issues at the feet of injuries to be honest, and I think a lot of the revisionist history is on the fact that we laid an egg in the playoffs. The playoffs, while super important, is just a one game tournament basically. People tend to overreact dramatically from whatever happens in that one game and try to pretend like it was a universal problem for all games. That's not how I see it at all.

If I look at 2019 and 2020 combined, we were 25-7 in the regular season. We were routinely crushing teams on a weekly basis. We had 17 of 25 wins by at least 14 points. We basically had two embarrassing losses in two years (games where we weren't super competitive for long stretches).

Fast-forward to 2021, we're a .500 team with two "blowout" wins the whole season (Denver and the Chargers) and we've been trucked twice by Cincinnati. 11 of 16 games have been within 6 points or less.

I'm not buying that this happens because the coaching staff somehow magically gets "figured out" and that losing Judon and Ngaokue means we lose like 4 more games than the prior year.

I'll jump on board on the "major changes" train when I see a more healthy roster go 8-9 next year.

Also for p2 in free agents, our free agents haven’t sucked but they haven’t been good. Earl is one person and easy to dismiss but is he the biggest free agent non raven singing in team history? If that’s a miss that’s a miss in the 9th inning of the World Series. I love Zeitler no doubt, but we haven’t signed any free agents who helped us win. Like they haven’t been bad, they haven’t been good. We had a MVP playing on a rookie contract and it’s really unfortunate we couldn’t make the best of it. A lot of this is misfortune, how would anyone know an all pro lt breaks his leg a game after he signs.

this is once again an issue I am not pointing this Z the problem. It’s just a small piece of the pie that hasn’t been enough to get us in a conference championship , and you could say that same sentence for the coaching, clutch preforming and other factors, that’s where my desire for at least some change comes from.

 

[rossihunter2]

Also for p2 in free agents, our free agents haven’t sucked but they haven’t been good. Earl is one person and easy to dismiss but is he the biggest free agent non raven singing in team history? If that’s a miss that’s a miss in the 9th inning of the World Series. I love Zeitler no doubt, but we haven’t signed any free agents who helped us win. Like they haven’t been bad, they haven’t been good. We had a MVP playing on a rookie contract and it’s really unfortunate we couldn’t make the best of it. A lot of this is misfortune, how would anyone know an all pro lt breaks his leg a game after he signs.

this is once again an issue I am not pointing this Z the problem. It’s just a small piece of the pie that hasn’t been enough to get us in a conference championship , and you could say that same sentence for the coaching, clutch preforming and other factors, that’s where my desire for at least some change comes from.

i mean the reason we havent signed non-ravens free agents to massive deals to come help us is because we've drafted well enough that we've been spending that money on keeping our own... the only reason we paid earl thomas that money was because CJ Mosley got given a ridiculous deal by the jets and earl thomas was the emergency backup deal - it turned out bad but idk that it's 9th inning bad... we paid him top of the market safety money which in the grand scheme of things is not a ton

look at the guys we've paid huge deals to instead of having to even enter the free agent market

Stanley
Peters
Humphrey
Andrews

it just sucks because stanley's been injured since he signed his deal but we've got great value out the re-signings of everyone else in that group - and all have helped us win - the reason you're not seeing us bring in major free agents who "helped us win" is because we've hardly brought anyone in with a significant cap hit from other teams outside of calais campbell (who was a trade) and earl thomas (who's seemingly an outlier)

 

[rmcjacket23]

I never said major changes, I said changes. Big difference, as yea injuries fucked us. We got screwed.
You mention the playoff thing, but coaches or players rise to big occasions in playoffs. Wether it’s fair or it’s not (and it isn’t in our case) we’re labeled as chokers. We aren’t, lamars outstanding, and I love this team with every part of us. I want us to not be chokers. I’m not above understanding what the problem is. I agree with the one game tournament to some part, but special players are special players for a reason. Lamar is a special player no doubt, so how can we allow this to shine?

I hold him and us to such a high standard because I believe in the greatness. I want to bet the bank on us next year! But what is it that’s holding us back? Like I said I actually have no idea. I just want us to play to the standard and measures of what we are and what we can do

Well, in my opinion, we've largely had one special player. Who are the special defensive players we have? I don't see many at this point. The one's that I'd call special, like Marlon or Peters, are on the sidelines.

I really don't care what we're "labeled" as. The choking aspect applies only to 2019. We were supposed to lose to Buffalo last year, and we did. That wasn't a choke job.

There will always be changes. No team stays the same. Personnel turnover happens every year, and it will happen this offseason too.

 

[drjohnnyfever]

Yeah, or maybe the opposite and it just gave them the excuse. It really didn’t look to be a serious situation when he got injured. More or less just got tripped up.

I do think that they were less than forthright about the extent. I immediately thought of an Achilles sprain or partial tear, not a high ankle sprain. But I don't think they wanted the remaining opponents when he went down thinking they were guaranteed to be free of Lamar when planning for the games. So Cloak and Dagger-less maybe, but not some kind of deep ulterior motive/ conspiracy situation.

 

[rossihunter2]

I do think that they were less than forthright about the extent. I immediately thought of an Achilles sprain or partial tear, not a high ankle sprain. But I don't think they wanted the remaining opponents when he went down thinking they were guaranteed to be free of Lamar when planning for the games. So Cloak and Dagger-less maybe, but not some kind of deep ulterior motive/ conspiracy situation.

they said it was a bone bruise and based off other similar injuries this timeline is not particularly unreasonable for that kind of injury

 

[Tank]

I do think that they were less than forthright about the extent. I immediately thought of an Achilles sprain or partial tear, not a high ankle sprain. But I don't think they wanted the remaining opponents when he went down thinking they were guaranteed to be free of Lamar when planning for the games. So Cloak and Dagger-less maybe, but not some kind of deep ulterior motive/ conspiracy situation.

they said it was a bone bruise and based off other similar injuries this timeline is not particularly unreasonable for that kind of injury

IDK, I just don't see it. Here's a video, looks like his left leg could have been grazed at the worst, but I think it's his right ankle that's hurt(?).
https://sports.yahoo.com/lamar-jackson-injured-in-second-quarter-against-browns-184925872.html

I know I'm probably wrong, but it seems hokey to me, especially when also considering the practice video. I mean why would they have him hobbling out there. strange.........

 

[rossihunter2]

IDK, I just don't see it. Here's a video, looks like his left leg could have been grazed at the worst, but I think it's his right ankle that's hurt(?).
https://sports.yahoo.com/lamar-jackson-injured-in-second-quarter-against-browns-184925872.html

I know I'm probably wrong, but it seems hokey to me, especially when also considering the practice video. I mean why would they have him hobbling out there. strange.........

looked to me like he suddenly had a lot of force going through his ankle unexpectedly - which would be consistent with any of a low ankle sprain, a high ankle sprain or a bone bruise (given we knew it wasnt broken) - and the video clearly shows that JOK landed on the back of lamar's right ankle as he went to sack him - there's no weird conspiracy here

with the practice video my guess is also that it's just genuinely a bone bruise which doesnt automatically limit mobility and was probably more just them testing it out in terms of a pain issue and how comfortable lamar is putting force through it at that point

bone bruises are unpredictable in terms of recovery time - can be anywhere from 2-3 weeks to a few months so 4-5 weeks out wouldnt be a strange outcome

 

[Militant X 1]

Y’all mfs just watch. Everything we need to go our way will go our way, and Big Ben will shred us one last time to give us a last minute L

I felt great sadness reading this… because i can 100% see this happening
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I felt this way the moment that we dropped 4 games in a row and then when I saw that the Ravens offense couldn't score a damn TD against the Rams after the defense got them 3 turnovers. Now Big Ben is coming to town for a Ravens "must-win" game and we're to expect that this team will suddenly turn it on for a "W?" Well...

 

[purplepittabread88]

looked to me like he suddenly had a lot of force going through his ankle unexpectedly - which would be consistent with any of a low ankle sprain, a high ankle sprain or a bone bruise (given we knew it wasnt broken) - and the video clearly shows that JOK landed on the back of lamar's right ankle as he went to sack him - there's no weird conspiracy here

with the practice video my guess is also that it's just genuinely a bone bruise which doesnt automatically limit mobility and was probably more just them testing it out in terms of a pain issue and how comfortable lamar is putting force through it at that point

bone bruises are unpredictable in terms of recovery time - can be anywhere from 2-3 weeks to a few months so 4-5 weeks out wouldnt be a strange outcome

I disagree with the bone bruise alone being enough to keep someone out for that long alone, but I think a sprained ankle and a bone bruise was likely the injury and while it’s healed he probably doesn’t have enough strength rehabilitated to make it worth it with the state of the team

 

[purplepittabread88]

I felt this way the moment that we dropped 4 games in a row and then when I saw that the Ravens offense couldn't score a damn TD against the Rams this past week and dropped their 5th game in a row. The Ravens are done!

IMO we were done the second I saw marlon got hurt. That’s the play that really put the end to me

 

[rossihunter2]

I disagree with the bone bruise alone being enough to keep someone out for that long alone, but I think a sprained ankle and a bone bruise was likely the injury and while it’s healed he probably doesn’t have enough strength rehabilitated to make it worth it with the state of the team

i mean bone bruises are a lot more painful and serious than the name sounds

it's basically when your bone doesnt quite break but the force creates internal bleeding inside the bone - in non-athletic people they can sometimes take up to like 2 years to fully heal

 

[OURavensFan]

I do think that they were less than forthright about the extent. I immediately thought of an Achilles sprain or partial tear, not a high ankle sprain. But I don't think they wanted the remaining opponents when he went down thinking they were guaranteed to be free of Lamar when planning for the games. So Cloak and Dagger-less maybe, but not some kind of deep ulterior motive/ conspiracy situation.

Then why even have him practice

 

[rossihunter2]

Then why even have him practice

to see how he feels putting weight on it - harder to tell how the recovery is going with a bone bruise without testing it

 

[purplepittabread88]

i mean bone bruises are a lot more painful and serious than the name sounds

it's basically when your bone doesnt quite break but the force creates internal bleeding inside the bone - in non-athletic people they can sometimes take up to like 2 years to fully heal

I had one on my knee a few years ago and I still don’t trust it anytime I’m squatting so true that. Kinda similar how to sprain doesn’t even sound bad but it’s torn ligament. I think it’s tough to make assumptions about anyone’s injuries or pain tolerance but I am glad we shut him down. Seeing him abandon mechanics to not stress his ankle could set him back pretty bad

 

[Nurps]

I had a feeling weeks ago that he was already shut down for the season. Not saying I was right, but my Spidey Sense was tingling.

 

[rossihunter2]

I had a feeling weeks ago that he was already shut down for the season. Not saying I was right, but my Spidey Sense was tingling.

i think many of us realised that this season wasnt going anywhere at that point anyway and in the back of many of our minds we all hoped they'd be super conservative with the injury

this is the future of the franchise - no point risking him in some borderline meaningless games in a season where we've just been too ravaged and cursed

let him rehab with no reason to rush, let him come back next year hungry because of how the season ended, and let him return with reinforcements and with a point to prove

 

[Simba]

I had a feeling weeks ago that he was already shut down for the season. Not saying I was right, but my Spidey Sense was tingling.

I think if we would have put ourselves in a win and in situation here in week 18, he might have tried to gut through it. Just not worth it with all that needs to happen.

 

[ravenslord]

“

looked to me like he suddenly had a lot of force going through his ankle unexpectedly - which would be consistent with any of a low ankle sprain, a high ankle sprain or a bone bruise (given we knew it wasnt broken) - and the video clearly shows that JOK landed on the back of lamar's right ankle as he went to sack him - there's no weird conspiracy here

with the practice video my guess is also that it's just genuinely a bone bruise which doesnt automatically limit mobility and was probably more just them testing it out in terms of a pain issue and how comfortable lamar is putting force through it at that point

bone bruises are unpredictable in terms of recovery time - can be anywhere from 2-3 weeks to a few months so 4-5 weeks out wouldnt be a strange outcome

The way Lamar went to immediately clutch his ankle when he was being tackled led me to believe he would not be coming back this season. When you see a player immediately go to grab whatever is injured is a bad sign.

 

[drjohnnyfever]

Then why even have him practice

To test it as ross suggests and to further the idea that he "could be ready to play" any of the remaining teams. Like others, I think he was done when he went down.