ExtremeRavens Posted September 12 Posted September 12 Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Preston will answer fans’ questions every Thursday throughout the Ravens season. Baltimore opened the season with a 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and returns home Sunday to face the Las Vegas Raiders. Here’s Preston’s take on a handful of questions from readers: (Editor’s note: Questions have been edited for length and clarity.) After all the anticipation of adding Derrick Henry to the Ravens’ backfield this season, I was greatly disappointed with his production during the loss to the Chiefs. Did the Ravens give up on the running game too early (again)? Do coach John Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Todd Monken deserve criticism for the play calling (again)? Sometimes I think that the coaching staff is determined to prove that Jackson is an elite passer. — Bob K. in North Carolina A lot of tough questions here. Actually, I wasn’t totally disappointed in Henry’s lack of production (13 carries for 46 yards). He is 30 years old and I didn’t think the Ravens were going to run him 30-35 times a game. He would wear down before the end of the regular season with that workload. I thought Monken could have called a better game. I thought his plan was too predictable and involved way too much Zay Flowers in the first half. Jackson an elite passer? Nope. He is a great athlete, a great runner and improvises well. The Ravens’ best play continues to be the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player making something out of nothing with his scrambling, but he isn’t in the elite class as a passer. He isn’t Dan Marino or John Elway, and I don’t think the Ravens want to prove that he is an elite passer. If that were the case, why haven’t we seen Jackson throw any quick outs to the wide side of the field or throw those deep comebacks that receiver Derrick Mason used to run when he played in Baltimore? It’s one game. Offensive line play is about timing, and this group deserves a few more games before a firm critique. Henry deserves time as well. He is playing with a new offensive line in a new offense. The key word here is patience. And when is Jackson going to learn to slide? He took some serious hits in the game and there is no way he can continue to run like that without getting hurt. — Bob K. in North Carolina Jackson is a competitor, the same as Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. With that said, both need to learn to get down because their teams would have catastrophic seasons if they were to get hurt for long periods of time. Jackson rushed 16 times for 122 yards against the Chiefs and completed 26 of 41 pass for 273 yards. He was sacked only once, but was under duress most of the night. I can’t see him keeping up this pace for an entire year and into the postseason. Memo to the Ravens’ offense: Slide Lamar, slide. It seems from all accounts that Daniel Faalele hasn’t been competent at right guard in training camp, joint practices, preseason games or Thursday night. Aside from pure stubbornness regarding how the coaching staff views Ben Cleveland’s work ethic and makeup, is there any rationalization for continuing the experiment? P.S. Does Todd Monken get paid every time the Ravens scheme a pass to Zay Flowers behind the line of scrimmage? — Lee L Lee, believe me, if the Ravens thought Cleveland was better, he would be in the starting lineup. Remember, Cleveland was a third-round draft pick out of Georgia in 2021 and Faalele was a fourth-rounder in 2022. Both are big maulers but both have problems with their knee bend and in pass protection. Neither moves well nor makes blocks into the second level. But the Ravens have to play these guys after losing three starters on the offensive line from a year ago and partially because of Jackson’s new contract signed last offseason. People forget that when you pay a quarterback top dollar, it leaves the team with other weaknesses, and it shows up within a year or two. As for Flowers and Monken, the Ravens went overboard using him in the first half, but at least they got tight end Isaiah Likely and receiver Rashod Bateman involved in the second half. The Ravens have weapons, they just need to learn to use them more often. Early in his career, Patrick Mahomes operated in a bit of a “helter-skelter” highly improvised manner and he won a Super Bowl. Can Lamar do the same? — Words of Dave (@BaltimoreSJam) on X Sure, Jackson can win a Super Bowl, but Kansas City has never had a “helter-skelter” offense under coach Andy Reid, who has been with the Chiefs since 2013. Kansas City has variety in its offense. The Chiefs move Mahomes around, they are creative and they have speed. It’s fun watching Jackson play because of his scrambling ability and the Ravens would be in serious trouble without him, but I would like to see more receivers get open by design, not by improvising. Can the Ravens win a Super Bowl with a running quarterback? Maybe, but Jackson is 2-4 in the postseason. He missed three potential touchdown passes against Kansas City last Thursday with throws NFL quarterbacks are supposed to make, especially deep down the field. It’s a long season, though, so let’s see what happens. Coach John Harbaugh’s clock management and timeout calls leave something to be desired, especially in the Kansas City game. Does anyone in the coaching staff review the clock management and provide suggestions to Harbaugh? — Dan Handley from Elkton, Maryland Every coach has a weakness, and as I’ve mentioned in the past that Harbaugh’s is clock management and late-game decision making. With that said, I think he is a very good coach and goes over every detail of every game. He is very thorough in that regard. He acknowledged Monday at his weekly news conference that those timeouts burned in the first five minutes of the third quarter were because of the Kansas City substitution packages. It’s understandable because the Ravens lost three of their top defensive assistant coaches from a year ago, so some mayhem was to be expected in getting players on and off the field. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh’s clock management received criticism in last Thursday’s season opener against the Chiefs. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Needless to say, it’s his team and he is the coach. I don’t agree with some of his decisions, but I like when a coach takes control and responsibility. Against Kansas City, it seemed like linebacker Malik Harrison struggled to defend receivers like Rashee Rice. Is this on the defensive coordinator playing Harrison out of position? Or is it as simple as Trenton Simpson needing to be out there a lot more instead? — Paul from Orlando Paul, tackling was poor throughout the game. Harrison missed several tackles, but so did safety Kyle Hamilton and middle linebacker Roquan Smith. Before I blame new defensive coordinator Zach Orr, I will look harder at the situation and remember that the Ravens didn’t play many starters in the three preseason games. Players do have to scrape off some rust because game conditions are different than practice time. Now, if this happens against the Raiders on Sunday at home, then we can scrutinize the defense a little more. You previously shared that meeting times were changed so Lamar would be more attentive in the classroom and last week said that Harbaugh “coddles” him. How was this culture created by the Ravens, or is it just how star players are handled in the modern NFL? Also, has this caused division in the locker room? — Nate Nate, there isn’t any division in the locker room and the players have become accustomed to it. Each coach handles star players differently, but I’d like for Harbaugh to say what he really feels instead of coddling his players. For instance, when Jackson struggles throwing the long ball, just say it. Better yet, work on his mechanics. But in fear of irritating Jackson, Harbaugh stays away from criticism. Overall, though, he is around No. 8 more than me, so he knows what can and cannot be said. I prefer honesty. Have a question for Mike Preston? Email sports@baltsun.com with “Ravens mailbag” in the subject line and it could be answered in The Baltimore Sun. View the full article Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.