Ravens Insider: Ravens news, notes and opinions

[ExtremeRavens]

During his weekly Monday news conferences, Ravens coach John Harbaugh’s mood usually depends on how well the Ravens played the previous day. That’s understandable and I’m sure not unique in any of the 32 buildings in the NFL on Mondays. But in the brief time I’ve been covering the Ravens, I’ve never seen Harbaugh as direct, open and candid as he was this past Monday following the blowout against the Houston Texans. He took accountability for the loss and said that he and his staff didn’t prepare the team well enough. He acknowledged that the Ravens needed to show more patience and abandoned the running game and Ray Rice too early. He agreed that the offensive struggles on the road have become a big issue and he offered no excuses for them. He also hinted that changes could be coming. He wasn’t defensive at any point, even when he was asked about Ed Reed not being included on the injury report. He didn’t hide behind coaching cliches or a vow of secrecy, and he didn’t dismiss any question based on the fact that the Ravens are 5-2 and in first place in the AFC North. Why am I mentioning all this? Well, I firmly believe that fans will see a different Ravens team in Cleveland next weekend. I could see Rice getting the ball more and Bernard Pierce playing a bigger role.  I could see an offensive line rotation rather than a set starting five. I could see other young players getting worked in at different spots. Perhaps, I’m reading way too much into a 20-minute news conference, but everything about Harbaugh – his words, his body language, his tone – told me that he’s prepared to make some changes following the bye week. For those of you who keep asking whether offensive coordinator Cam Cameron or defensive coordinator Dean Pees could be in jeopardy, I’m not talking about drastic changes like that. I’m talking more about changes with personnel and play calling.        

 

View the full article