Analytics, they are a great tool of thinking for a first class organization. In today’s world it is the cutting edge to why so many teams are successful. However there are risks, they can not only be successful but they can backfire immediately. Sometimes you have to know when to use them. Plus there can be plenty of momentum depending on those decisions. For the Ravens that has been their calling card since Eric DeCosta became the GM in 2019. But ever since then this team has lived and died by those decisions.
CHARM CITY BEASTS
Starring Lamar Jackson, DeVonta Freeman, Tyler Huntley, Mark Andrews, Brandon Williams, Odafe Oweh, Chuck Clark, Justin Tucker, John Harbaugh, with Greg Roman and Don Martindale. Guest Appearances by the Salty Marylander.
Season 2 Episode 14: John Harbaugh’s School of Analytics
Created by Bragging Rights Sports
Narrator: Things are looking shaky here in Baltimore. After an 8-3 start, nervousness has crept up inside the Under Armour Performance Center. A loss against the Steelers in heartbreaking fashion thanks to a failed 2 point play at the end of regulation on the heels of a missed chip shot field goal. Against the Browns Planet LJ and Calais Campbell were sacrificed to the Almighty Football Gods, and in the end they couldn’t rally without those 2 despite nearly coming back from a 21 point hole. With the meat of their schedule coming up and perhaps their starting QB being out long term there are reasons to doubt the ambitions of this squad. Coach Harbaugh has said that we will play our hearts out and if it comes down to analytical moves it’s fine with me. Considering that his team just set the NFL Record for injuries in a season it won’t stop him from giving optimism to his team and fans. With Jackson out for this week’s contest they must rely on Snoop Huntley to maintain their lead in the AFC North. Tyler said that he was up for the challenge, and said that maybe Lamar can learn a thing or 2 from this. The Roman Empire agreed. Despite how much criticism he has received from the National Media, Roman has made it clear that they will do their best to try and change the fortunes of this offense. This is a unit that has given up more sacks, penalties, and turnovers than anyone in the AFC. Luckily for Ravens fans, the Offensive Line that has been hampered by injuries is getting slightly healthier. The unit’s top draft pick from this year Ben Cleveland has returned from an ankle injury that had sidelined him since Week 5. Good to see.
This matchup is very pivotal to the Boys in Purple, not only is the division lead on the line they get to face perhaps the best team in the NFL, the Green Bay Packers. A team that has ridden the #1 offense in the NFL and reigning league MVP Aaron Rodgers to 10 wins in their last 12 games. Many pundits are saying that this is going to be an absolute slaughter in favor of the Green and Gold. Baltimore is not only short handed because of injuries but because they have COVID cases to Jimmy Smith, Sammy Watkins, and Chuck Clark. Thus resulting in bringing in practice squad players and scrubs including the return of Tony Jefferson. Not to mention Tavon Young was in concussion protocol, so now they are down to their 4th string secondary against “Bad Man Rodgers.” Early in this game it would be a fight for survival. The Ravens were able to torch the Packers secondary for much of the drive. That is until they got down to the goal line. They got held for 3 straight plays then Roman and Lamar Jackson (Yes LJ was calling some of the plays since he had a headset on) decided that you can’t kick field goals against the Green Bay Offense and decided to go for it. It may have backfired but the Packers went 3 and out, thus improving field position. Fortunately for the Marylanders, Green Bay was down former Raven ZaDarius Smith, Jaire Alexander, and Kenny Clark, making things easier for Snoop to torch them. He did. For the 1st time since Week 6 Baltimore scored a TD in the 1st Quarter. So far so good, but the Packers are known to answer quickly. They did just that. The Rodgers Rate went right to work against the practice squad secondary and before you know it the game was tied at 7. Shortly after, Huntley and Goldmine Andrews continued to shred the injured Green Bay defense and answered back with a touchdown of their own. But here is the problem. Rodgers is having one of his typical big games. Even with Aaron Jones struggling to create space on the ground, and Davante Adams taking a while to get involved it doesn’t matter. The Ravens injury riddled defense is being picked apart by Discount DAABLE CHECK!
With the game tied at halftime there was a sense that no matter how banged up his team was, Harbaugh was going to fight till the end. This feeling is short lived as Green Bay marches down the field again. Not to mention REFBALL made an appearance in the sense that they called PI against Anthony Averett, when he clearly didn’t grab Allen Lazard’s jersey. Marylanders, you know how this drive ends? Touchdown Packies. (The missed an Offensive PI call on Adams too) However this game isn’t going to be a blowout just yet. Huntley along with a gutsy performance by the Offensive Line get into scoring range. Even if they failed a 3rd and Short they at least can convert a 4th and 1 right. BEEP! “False Start, Offense #66.” Marylander: BEN CLEVELAND WASN’T EVEN SET ON THE LINE YET! Narrator: Settle buddy, save that for later in the game. Marylander: Ok. Narrator: The Ravens at least got 3 points out of it as they now trail the Pack by just 4 points. Why isn’t this good, because YOU GUESSED IT Green Bay scored another touchdown. In fact Rodgers just tied Brett Favre for the most TD passes in Packers history. Plus they got a field goal following a failed 4th Down attempt on Baltimore’s next drive. Ugh, this is going to be a blowout isn’t it.
BOOM! Well Lamar may not be playing but who cares this team is built to play from behind. Anyone that has followed the Ravens this year knows that they are experts at the 4th Quarter Comeback. They would flash their talents in a hurry and wouldn’t you know it, Snoop scrambles in for momentum turning touchdown. Thank the Packers D having only 10 men on the field. The defense quickly shut down the Packers on the next possession but that was mostly due to a holding call on the O-Line. Plus Baltimore got a bonus since they began their next drive past midfield. All they need to do is score a touchdown and tie this game. Marquise Brown has been hurt all game and Mark Andrews can only do so much but the Ravens are still finding ways to pick the Pack apart. Lamar would enjoy this performance. (Huntley is doing what LJ has done all year on this day) And with under a minute left. HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAY! The Packers defense forgot to put a spy out there as Snoop runs it in for 6 points. All I can is it looks like we might be going to overtime. Just don’t repeat the Pittsburgh game from 2 weeks ago. WAIT WHY ARE YOU GOING FOR 2 AGAIN!? Yes Aaron Rodgers is on the other side, you have 7 starters inactive on defense, and they are going to have plenty of time to kick a game winning field goal, but this again. Let me guess he is playing NFL Blackjack and wants to beat the dealer by rolling a 21. Where does the wheel land on this try? “Huntley, pass is BROKEN UP!” DRAMATIC MUSIC! Marylander: Goodness gracious great balls of fire JUST TAKE THE DAMN POINTS YOU ANALYTICAL NERDS! My Kingdom for a coach that can hold onto momentum longer than a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich! STOP THIS ALREADY! Narrator: Yes I hear you but they had no choice but to go for it, I’ll explain it in a little bit. As for Green Bay they get an early Christmas Present, Clinching the NFC North.
Packers QUALIFIED (SUCCESS!): Ever since that Saints beatdown that they took in Week 1, they have been the powerhouse that everyone expected them to be once again. Yes Aaron Rodgers may be a drama king but he knows how to back it up. Hopefully their momentum carries them far in the playoffs. PAUSE.
Narrator: I know all the Salty Marylanders are screaming at the top of their lungs to fire Harbaugh and the entire coaching staff after the last 3 games but honestly they shouldn’t even be criticized. This is a team that should be competing in the Tank Bowl with the amount of injuries and COVID cases that they have. Yes the 2 point conversion calls have been questionable, I get all of that. But looking at the circumstances of those decisions, they have no choice but to try these. In this game and against the Steelers they faced both the Rodgers Rate and Big Ben, 2 of the Top 5 QBs in league history when it comes to leading 4th Quarter Comebacks. And if they played for OT the Ravens would have likely lost both games because they have no secondary. In years past and if the defense was healthy they wouldn’t have done this. Harbaugh would have trusted his defense in OT and Justin Tucker. Not to mention in the Pittsburgh game, Tucker missed a 35 yarder right before that. The reason they keep going for 2 is because they don’t have the talent and personnel to bail them out unlike previous years because of injuries despite having one of the best defensive minds in the game in Don Martindale. Plus this team has been living by Lady Luck and High End Talent all season because of how battered they are and it’s finally coming back to bite them. Those things aren’t sustainable Johnny, just ask Brian Billick and how they lost 9 in a row to end the 2007 season which led to Bisciotti not renewing his contract and letting him walk into retirement. I didn’t even get to the worst part of all of this, the Ravens no longer control their own destiny. Cincinnati is in 1st place and Cleveland may have lost to Vegas but they own the tiebreaker and are a game back too. Marylander: Just stop this, THE NEW FRONTIER OF THE AFC NORTH IS NOT COMING! I DON’T WANT WANNA HEAR THIS NONSENSE FOR THE NEXT 3 WEEKS! PAUSE.
Narrator: Regardless of if they won or not I can’t rip them into shreds. It’s because they played their hearts out and gave it 100% for 60 minutes. On paper they should have been blown out of M&T Bank Stadium and into the Inner Harbor right from the word GO. Many people were saying that this would be their worst home loss since Week 16 of 2013 against the Patriots. (That game was miserable as soon as Flacco went out) Instead they hung tough. They took perhaps the best team in the NFL to the limit with a practice squad D and Backup QB and Run Game. This kind of loss would destroy a team because it usually divides the locker room, but not here. This will only make the Ravens stronger and better. To me there is one phrase that describes the determination of this team. “HERE WE ARE! DON’T TURN AWAY! NOW! WE ARE THE WARRIORS THAT BUILT! THIS!! TOWN!!!” That’s right, League of Legends. Until the season officially ends, this squad will go down swinging. Even if they have one of the hardest final 3 games in the league they are going to try and win 2 of the 3. Next week they are in Cincinnati, they barely escaped the Broncos this week and Ravens players and coaches want payback for when Bengals fans climbed into the Verizon Broadcast Booth at M&T. If they win with Pittsburgh and Cleveland most likely losing to the Packers and Chiefs, Baltimore should have a clear path to the AFC North Title. It won’t be easy, with or without Lamar they have a shot at Festivus. This game is only the beginning. They will not fold over, they will not quit, and at the end of the day, the Ravens will hopefully emerge from being considered as one of the great collapses in league history to being an inspiring story. Find out how this chapter will unfold next week on CHARM CITY BEASTS! Marylander: THE RAVENS WILL WIN THE DIVISION!
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