ExtremeRavens Posted October 10 Posted October 10 Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Preston will answer fans’ questions in the middle of each week throughout the Ravens season. After a 41-38 overtime win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Baltimore (3-2) is riding a three-game winning streak and tied for first place in the AFC North. Here’s Preston’s take on a handful of questions from readers: (Editor’s note: Questions have been edited for length and clarity.) In 2019, early in the season the Ravens brought in linebackers L.J. Fort and Josh Bynes and traded for cornerback Marcus Peters, and it helped stabilize the defense, leading to a 14-2 regular season. What do you think the Ravens need to do to stabilize the ‘D’ this time around? — Paul in Orlando Paul, there is no magic formula this time around. It’s hard to find a shutdown cornerback at any time, especially when a team like the Ravens might be a player or two from reaching the top. Hopefully, rookie cornerback Nate Wiggins matures to the point where the Ravens can match him up with any receiver, like they did against Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb and the Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase. He didn’t look like Deion Sanders out there, but the experience can only help. When I watch the Ravens play on the back end, safety Marcus Williams isn’t very aggressive. Strong safety Kyle Hamilton is good near the line of scrimmage, but not so dominant in space when he has to cover. Brandon Stephens needs to turn and locate the ball, while fellow cornerback Marlon Humphrey likes to freelance and has problems on the outside as opposed to playing inside. Coordinator Zach Orr’s scheme could use some adjustments as well, but after watching the Ravens in the first five games, I just don’t see a lot of talent back there. When that happens, the pass rush is crucial, and maybe that will get better as the season rolls along. Unfortunately, the Ravens didn’t get a lot of pressure on Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow last Sunday. It could be different this week, though, against the Commanders and rookie Jayden Daniels. The Ravens, though, are bringing back Dean Pees, 75, as a senior advisor, which speaks volumes about the trouble this defense is having with Orr and its talent. In looking at the schedule, what are your thoughts on the Ravens extending this three-game winning streak into something more significant? Or which team could pose a problem to that idea? — Ed Helinski from Auburn, New York Ed, the Ravens need to win and dominate in the first half of the season. It’s not the most difficult schedule coming up with games against Washington, Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Denver and Cincinnati. But the second half is more difficult because the Ravens play three games during a 15-day stretch followed by three games in 11 days in the final four games of the season. That’s when a lot of players might get banged up, and there is little time to rest. It’s important for the Ravens to go 8-2 or 8-3 early in the season. They have the offensive talent to go on a roll, but there is concern about the defense. What NFL coaches are considered the best at clock management? Asking for a friend. — Jim Britt from Weyers Cave, Virginia Sorry, I can’t answer that question because I cover the Ravens for most of the season, and really don’t get extensive looks at other teams. With that said, Kansas City’s Andy Reid is excellent late in games, and part of that is because of quarterback Patrick Mahomes. There have been doubts about coach John Harbaugh’s poor clock management over the past decade, and unfortunately he hasn’t gotten any better. In the AFC North, I’ve watched enough Pittsburgh games to know that Mike Tomlin is sound in every facet of the game. Denver’s Sean Payton has done a pretty good job through the years, and the Los Angeles Rams’ Sean McVay and San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan have been sound as well. Mike, with the NFLPA announcing their request to stop player interviews in the locker rooms, I was wondering how your and The Baltimore Sun’s coverage of the Ravens has changed throughout the years. Do you still have personal relationships with some players, or has it changed? With the players and the Ravens promoting themselves on social media, how have you adapted to that trend? — Dan H from Elkton, Maryland Dan, that is an excellent question. I’ve been covering the NFL since 1987, and once the Ravens moved here for the start of the 1996 season, owner Art Modell treated the media like we were part of the team. That, however, turned out to be the end of the era as far as developing close relationships with players. I had a coworker named Gary Lambrecht who covered the team with me for The Sun, and we would spend hours a day in the locker room hanging out with players. My favorites were always the offensive linemen, such as Jeff Blackshear, Wally Williams, Orlando Brown Sr. and Jonathan Ogden, and defensive linemen such as Rob Burnett, Michael McCrary, Tony Siragusa and Sam Adams. We’d fight, argue, dog cuss each other and laughed a lot. If a player started ragging on you, you had to get on his case as well. Players respected that because it showed you couldn’t be intimidated. That’s the name of the game in the NFL. I remember when defensive backs like Samari Rolle would rag on you if you wore shorts above your knees. There was never any mercy in an NFL locker room, and sometimes it could be a very cold place. But overall, it was so much fun. I can’t mention the names of any players, but we’d hang out, crack jokes and even went to dinner. There was once a story in Sports Illustrated that claimed reporters really never got to know players on the roster. I disagreed then and even more now. I still talk and speak with a lot of the former Ravens who played in 2000 and later, such as Williams, Ogden, McCrary, Peter Boulware, Jamie Sharper and occasionally Matt Stover. I remember once when Brown Sr., a.k.a. Zeus, threatened to beat me up and had to be restrained by Ogden. I remember when Gary and I got in an argument with Siragusa while running back Errict Rhett was taping a segment for Fox 45 TV with Steve Davis, and Rhett stopped the interview to give props to me and Gary for standing our ground and not backing down. We each still have a copy of the video. The locker room was the media’s domain as well. Now, I hear about players wanting to stop doing interviews in the locker room. It’s all gotten out of hand, especially because of social media. Because of tweets and podcasts, players believe they can do their own thing. I can eventually see the day, and it’s not far off, when newspapers and TV stations stop traveling and covering road games, especially those played at night. I can also see the day when in-house websites become the primary source of covering a team, especially because of the customary positive spin. As a journalist, I’ve always thought it was good for the rooting public to get to know players on the roster. In the 1950s and 1960s, that wasn’t necessary because a lot of the players lived in various communities. They owned shops, restaurants and car dealerships in the area. Those days are gone, as well as the long stays in the locker room. The new wave of coaches prefer it that way, because the less the public knows, the better. That’s why interviews are restricted to a certain time frame. It’s sad that we really never get to know the players we cover, but NFL teams prefer it that way. We live in a generation in which a lot of the young folks are about themselves, which is why they spend more time taking selfies instead of helping others. I guess you can tell, Dan, that you struck a nerve. But after a couple of decades in this business, times have changed and not for the better. It’s only going to get worse. Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston@baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun. 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.