Lamar Jackson, the Miscommunications, and the Refs

[Simba]

Heartbreaking to lose that way, but there’s a weird sense of optimism around it.

Offensive line started out really bad and that had me really worried. They weren’t great by the end but you could see them start to settle in and Lamar had a little more trust.

Defense marred by miscommunications.

Officiating was terrible and very one sided, and that’s coming from me who rarely complains about the refs.

Will say that my one takeaway on the Chiefs is that they’re better than everyone else offensively because of that Andy Reid brain. While we’re trying to get the ball into playmaker hands, the Chiefs are out there scheming playmakers against specific defenders to get the ball in their hands. It’s truly a work of art, as much as it pains me to say it.

 

[Rusfan]

I’ve never been made more optimistic by a loss.

Also holy shit Likely just keeps getting better

 

[Simba]

Also major shoutout to Justice Hill. That dude is a fucking gamer. Goes from being one of the only lifelines early in the game to taking (and largely handling) Chris Jones 1-on-1 on the final drive.

 

[Dom McRaven]

I had this terrible feeling that we weren't gonna punch it in for the TD at the very end.

Offense - Would like to see Andrews and Bateman be used more often. This OL is gonna need some time to gel and cut this stupid penalties. Part of me wants to be mad at Monken for spamming these screens and short throws, but I get it. Lamar has to make that throw with Zay. I'm not sure if Lamar was thinking Zay was gonna sit on that route or whatever. Likely is amazing (last play notwithstanding). That is all.

Defense - I guess this is what happens in your first game together with your starters and a first-time playcaller. Shout out to Trent Simpson though for a couple of key plays. He's the reason why we didn't pay Q***n.

 

[OURavensFan]

The refs made a difference

 

[allblackraven]

I am really pissed because of 3 stupid flags on 3rd downs, one on 3rd&20 in the first half (Madubuike), Ro for that stupid out of bounds touch, gave them extra 10, and Marcus' stupid play out of bounds that negated their offensive holding.

OL neglect is now bordering on crime. Maybe Lamar can survive that but any other QB would have been killed. And KC pass rush, outside of Chris Jones, is pretty meh.

 

[OURavensFan]

I’m sorry, I’m literally in shock right now with how bad and blatant the refs were, this is the exactly why I wasn’t excited for the season

 

[OURavensFan]

I am really pissed because of 3 stupid flags on 3rd downs, one on 3rd&20 in the first half (Madubuike), Ro for that stupid out of bounds touch, gave them extra 10, and Marcus' stupid play out of bounds that negated their offensive holding.

OL neglect is now bordering on crime. Maybe Lamar can survive that but any other QB would have been killed.

Flags were the difference in this game

 

[SepticeyePoe]

I am mentally unwell

 

[Davesta]

I’ve never been made more optimistic by a loss.

Also holy shit Likely just keeps getting better

I just hope our Oline gets better as the season goes on.

 

[Simba]

Also hope Monken takes Q4 and adapts with that going forward. The incessant attempt at screens was annoying, but I also understood because there was clearly a lack of trust in the OL holding up. Once they started to settle in, the downfield passing game started to open up. It’s going to be a work in progress but the opportunity is there.

Also hope he starts mixing up personnel and looks, because it felt very obvious when we were going outside zone with Henry.

 

[Davesta]

Also... We had Justice Hill blocking Chris Jones 1v1 for 2 of those last plays...

Whos fault is that

 

[UPennChem]

Very happy with what I saw. We played like absolute dogshit on both sides of the ball. Were completely out coached. Hugely penalized. Had turnovers. Were on the road. Abandoned Henry. Etc etc and we probably should've won.

Harbaugh and Monken need to get their heads out of their asses. Orr needs to grow up really fast.

We need to be honest with ourselves about who should be out there on the OL.

I bet that's truly among one of the worst games we play this year.

Thought we couldn't win a SB. We definitely can without a doubt.

 

[Deebo813]

It maybe hard to do but does monken not know how to use both andrews and likely?

 

[Rusfan]

Also... We had Justice Hill blocking Chris Jones 1v1 for 2 of those last plays...

Whos fault is that

I mean he blocked him longer than Fallele did

I’m pretty much done with him. I was real excited for him, and thought guard would be the perfect spot, but he’s clearly not good enough

 

[gtalk12]

It maybe hard to do but does monken not know how to use both andrews and likely?

I’m not sure we are going to get the Andrews we’ve grown accustomed to

 

[Simba]

Also... We had Justice Hill blocking Chris Jones 1v1 for 2 of those last plays...

Whos fault is that

It seems like an issue but also maybe planned? Lamar seemed at ease letting Jones overrun the edge at which point he’d step back into the pocket and start rolling out. Just wondering if that’s an adjustment they made on the sidelines because it happened pretty consistently late.

 

[29BmoreBird22]

I know a lot of fans will be upset at Lamar for how the game ended, but looking at the game as a whole, the offensive line is my biggest concern.

They were able to settle in long enough at the end when they were getting a lot of help, but man, they were bad. I had worries about how Henry would fit in the Ravens primarily shotgun, RPO offense, but figured he'd make the offensive line less of a concern after what he dealt with in Tennessee. I was wrong. They were downright offensive.

In the first half, Lamar had an ADOT of about a yard, according to the announcers. That's not because Lamar doesn't want to take shots, but the line couldn't hold up. So many people were calling Monken dumb, but... he was calling plays within the confines of his offensive line.

Really, fuck EDC for neglecting the offensive line so hard. I understand there were cap constraints, but the man saw last season that Lamar won an MVP with a fully loaded offense (by Ravens standards) and... largely let it go.

Also, what the hell was up with the illegal formations? I saw Jawaan Taylor lining up as a running back (and jumping early) and the Chiefs don't get called, but the Ravens line up with their feet an inch too far back and it's a penalty. What the actual hell, man? It makes it really hard to get good play calling and into a rhythm when you're consistently behind the chains due to ticky tack penalties.

I think if you look at the game as a whole, you're a fool to come away blaming Lamar. Lamar was doing everything he could within the confines of the play calling and piss poor offensive line. The man was going all out to do everything to mitigate bad circumstances. Yes, the Likely corner miss was really bad, but I'm not going to let a handful of bad throws taint my view of his body of work this game.

 

[Deebo813]

Lamar shouldnt ever have to play like that in order for us to win.. unless its a playoff or SB game. Oline is what i thought, ass. Defense, idk, hope we dnt have to just rely on players to make plays with no scheme nor adjustments like eagles defense last season. I didnt see hamilton much.. also, did we do any dline stunts? I saw 1 which resulted in a bad pass but thats it

 

[Davesta]

Zach Orr had zero adjustments for Rashee Rice shallow crosses. Kept putting a linebacker on the dude. Like bro, I get your a former linebacker.. but that shit was killing us all game