(Omar Whistle/Warriors playing)………………………………………………………………….
Bragging Rights Sports Presents:
A Maryland Culture Production
“In 1996, they arrived in Baltimore away from an angry Dawg Pound. They have been criticized by many people outside of their city ever since their inception. Despite 2 championships and many Hall of Famers they get little respect. They get called names such as Murderer, Running Back, Hypocrite, Overrated, Soft, and others. But even if they are disrespected more than any team in the NFL the goal is still the same. Win the Lombardi Trophy. No one outside of the 410 cares about them, yet they work harder every single day. These boys have a swagger, and like to be pushed no matter what. We as Marylanders call them…………………………….”
CHARM CITY BEASTS
The Unrivaled Themed Story of the Baltimore Ravens
(It’s Never Pretty, It’s Never Perfect, BUT IT IS US!)
(XXXV, XLVII)
(BIG TRUZZ)
(THE TEAM, THE TEAM, THE TEAM)
Lamar Jackson, Mark Andrews, Justin Tucker, Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters, Rashod Bateman, JK Dobbins, Calais Campbell, Kyle Hamilton, John Harbaugh, Greg Roman, Mike Macdonald, Eric DeCosta, Sashi Brown, Steve Bisciotti, Edgar, Allan, with Poe, and the Salty Marylander/Narrator Michael Hession.
Location: Gillette Stadium Opponent: New England Patriots
(Season 3) Episode 3: Angry Birds (“I Ain’t Worried”)
R-A-V-E-N-S RAVENS!
Narrator: Nothing motivates a team more than blowing a massive lead in the 4th Quarter of a game early in the season. In the Ravens case this usually happens every year. After an embarrassing secondary performance due to injuries and playing a team with world class speed, the Boys and Purple have it clear that they won’t let this happen again. Boy Wonder Johnny Harbaugh made it clear on Monday during team meetings, the meltdown against Miami is not going to ruin our season. (Shout out to Harbs for entering the 60 year old club this week) It will not break us going forward. He has the right point. During a majority of the Harbaugh Era, the Ravens following an ugly loss or blown lead have usually gone on a hot streak shortly afterwards. For example, Baltimore gave up 29 points in the 4th Quarter and Overtime last year against the Raiders on Monday Night Football in Week 1, the following week they stormed back from a 11 point deficit to beat their boogeyman in the Chiefs. Which was the beginning of 8 wins in 10 games. However there was a concern surrounding the team. Beginning in Week 15 of the previous season, the Ravens have lost their last 4 home games, all in the final minute or overtime. It mostly can be due to late game defensive meltdowns, or bad play calling, or being outclassed by much better teams, but according to the patriotic fans and many Ravens PSL Owners one thing stands out. Since getting rid of the Color Guard Trot with Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA playing during the Trot, on top of getting rid of their longtime introduction song in U2’s Where the Streets Have No Name in 2020, the Boys in Purple have a 10-9 record at M&T Bank Stadium. Many die-hard fans are begging Team President Sashi Brown or PA Announcer Greg Davis to bring those 2 songs back like they did with Edgar and Allan. (My grandparents just happen to be 2 of those angry Marylanders who want their traditions back) Poe: Whistling (If this keeps up they better) Narrator: Poe, I’m with you. Hopefully we’ll be able to win a game at home soon. The fans need something good to cheer about. Much of the heat after the Dolphins loss went to DC Mike Macdonald. However the issue that Mike Man is facing is the same one that every other Ravens Defensive Coordinator that has come before him. The inability to defend offenses with speed. Something about not being able to run with track stars or picking your poison have taken its toll. Mike Man called it a learning experience game. Considering that the NFL is allowing wide open offenses with receivers that are uncontained, it’s certainly not a bad point of view.
This leads us to the next whipping boy of Ravens fans, especially the Lamar Fanboys. Eric DeCosta. Some people are saying that his roster construction has been bad ever since he took over for Ozzie Newsome, but in reality he has had either bad luck or trying to get out of the shadows of perhaps the Greatest GM of All Time. (I feel like S, MLB, LT, QB, and OLB are such hard acts to follow considering who has played for the Ravens over the year) DeCosta still is a solid GM, considering that the Ravens pick near the end of the 1st Round and are up against the cap every year there is nothing to be upset about. But some of these fans are both spoiled and are total perfectionists. Edgar: Whistling (Sounds like a Marylander to me) Narrator: Edgar I was just pointing that out. In some ways Ravens fans rival their division counterparts from Pittsburgh. When they win, the fans say that they are going to the Super Bowl no matter how they win. When they lose, they want everyone fired, say the team sucks, and should tank for the draft. Allan: Whistling (We have so much in common with YinzerLand) We sure do Allan. Even as the Ravens injury concerns have grown once again, and the calls for Steve Saunders and Adrian Dixon heads have begun, there at least is some hope for the Boys in Purple. JK Dobbins is expected to make his long awaited return this weekend. It may take him a game or 2 to get up to speed but this is a very good sign. Marylander: UGH! Narrator: What? Marylander: We need to talk about Ronnie Stanley, NOTHING GOOD EVER COMES OUT OF NOTRE DAME! Narrator: Oh please, they aren’t trying to rush him like last year. Marylander: YES BUT THIS SUCKS! Narrator: Ok buddy, same some energy for the game. Hey Poe, you want a snow cone? Poe: Whistling (Sure) Narrator: Here you go, Edgar and Allan I also got you guys some snow cones. Edgar/Allan: Whistling (Sweet)
Narrator: One week after perhaps the worst defensive quarter since 2007, the Boys in Purple head north to face a long time rival. New England. Unlike Miami, the Patriots offense isn’t as explosive but Mac Jones is searching for that one game to get him going. Even with Matt Patricia calling plays, Jones certainly has the confidence of a young Tom Brady. Last week against the Steelers was a start, but Baltimore’s unit should be a test. Not to mention the Ravens have never won at Gillette Stadium during the regular season despite 2 playoff wins in 2009 and 2012. Speaking of 2012 the Ravens that season blew a huge lead in Week 2 as well. Who did they play in Week 3? The Patriots. Who knows history could repeat itself (Who will be chanting BS this time?) Early on Mac Jones would take advantage of one mismatch. DeVante Parker being guarded by rookie Jalyn Armour-Davis. Armour-Davis, the major whipping boy of last week’s loss against the Dolphins. Got burned on the Pats 1st play of the game. However the Ravens defense stuffed them thanks to a sack from Patrick Queen on 3rd Down. That gave the ball to Planet LJ and the offense. In a game that proved to be the 1st big test for the Baltimore offense considering that the Pats had a Top 10 defense, and Matthew Judon looking for payback, the task of victory and being able to run the ball would be harder. CRACK! Marylander: OH COME ON FOOTBALL GODS! NOW WE’RE OUT OF LEFT TACKLES! First Ja’Wuan James suffering a career ending injury against the Jets, now this? Narrator: The injury meant that 4th Round pick Daniel Faalele would be playing out of position. So far the concerns up front didn’t matter. Jackson and Mark Andrews went to work. They connected 4 times including a shovel pass for the 1st points of the game. Poe: Whistling (Greg Roman running a shovel pass ala Eric Bienemy, LOVE IT!) Narrator: Poe good observation. However the Patriots wouldn’t let their arch rivals get away with an early lead. Jones led his men deep into Raven territory with DeVante Parker continuing to burn JAD. (Welcome to Harbs Doghouse) But they only would get 3 points out of it. From that moment on, the 2 defenses would trade key stops. Belichick and his execution of Order 66, would give the Ravens O-Line fits. Baltimore countered by stopping New England on a 4th and Short. This should be the boost to wake up the offense, but Planet LJ was schooled by an excellent read from Jonathan Jones. His interception, set up the go ahead TD and a 10-7 lead. But just like many great battles between these 2 teams over the years, the Boys in Purple responded to the challenge. Jackson used both his arm and his legs to get Baltimore into the opposing redzone. After chewing up 5 minutes of clock, Lamar connected with GoldMine Andrews for a 2nd touchdown. This time Andrews gave Devin McCourty PTSD of getting mossed by Anquan Boldin in the 2012 AFC Championship Game. Same endzone. As the 1st Half ended there was one thing that was being realized, this game was a mirror image of that Week 3 game 10 years ago at M&T.
As the 2nd Half began, the script played out the same. Patriots get the ball to start the 2nd Half, then march down the field to take the lead. (Thank Patrick Queen for dropping a sure pick thanks to him tripping) The Ravens then responded by going Schembechler Style on the Hoodie. Who knew that Josh Oliver would still be involved in this offense? Well in this case he caught his 1st NFL Touchdown to give the Ravens the lead right back. BOOM! Then Mike Man and his scrapy defense came out of hibernation! They forced a quick 5 drive that ended in a punt. Devin Duvernay took the punt 44 yards into Patriots territory. (A nice block from Kyle Hamilton sprung him free) Planet LJ with a short field would take advantage of it. Speaking of Duvernay, he ended up catching the TD pass to extend the lead to 8. That’s a scoring drive he created right there. At that point, Mac Jones had played mistake free football to this point, all that ended when he was picked clean by Josh Bynes. (By the way his 1st INT since Week 11 of 2019) Luckily for the fans in Foxborough, it would only lead to a field goal, as JT would connect from 56 yards out. (Justin Tucker and 50+ yard field goals = Money in the Bank) Leading by 11 at the end of the 3rd Quarter, the Ravens were facing a similar situation as the previous weekend. Up double digits in the 4th Quarter in a game they need to win for eventual playoff seeding. Just like last week, the nerves from every Marylander began to creep in. The Patriots as expected in a clash like this answered with a touchdown drive just like that. They would have gotten a spectacular 2 point conversion had Rhamondre Stevenson not been tackled by Marcus Peters. This was now a tight game again. Let all of those Patriots fans in the stands think they will pull off an emotional win, because the Boys and Purple will strike back as Marylander: No! BATEMAN! NOOOOO! WHY DO YOU BETRAY US NOW! WHY IS THIS CHAOS HAPPENING! (Don’t worry Hollywood would have fumbled that too) Narrator: Once again, every Ravens fan had deer in the headlights. Taking advantage of the fumble, New England made it to B-More 10. At this rate I’m starting to believe that Harbaugh can’t adapt to the modern offense. Actually I’d take that back. Why? HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAY! High End Talent that’s why! DeVante Parker had been dominating for most of the day, and once the Ravens changed their matchups, he was put on lockdown. Marlon Humphrey’s endzone interception is evidence. But even with the interception, the Ravens can’t get any points out of it. On top of that Jordan Stout got his Welcome to the NFL moment by shanking the punt to end the drive. Oh god this can’t happen again can’t it? “Ravens bring some pressure, Jones beats it with a strike to Agholor! (Hamilton the Musical theme playing) KNOCKED OUT FROM BEHIND! BALL TO THE SIDELINE! WAS HE INBOUNDS! YES HE WAS!” Marylander: JUST! YOU! WAIT! Narrator: Wow you’re fired up my man! Marylander: NO MORE SHENANIGANS FROM LAST WEEK! WE’RE ENDING IT NOW! Narrator: If you say so, Salty Marylander. Now the Ravens can go for the knockout punch. Rashod Bateman, who had been quiet all day, came up with a huge 35 yard catch to put the Ravens in scoring range. Lamar and his legs would do the rest. You know what that means boys? We got a Jackson 5! Edgar: Whistling (ABC) Allan: Whistling (Is easy as 1-2-3) Poe: Whistling (Oh baby, Do-Re-Mi) All 3: Whistling (ABC, 1-2-3, baby you and me) Narrator: Even as Justin Tucker missed the extra point, the game is likely out of reach. Up by 11 with the Patriots out of timeouts it’s time to bring out Sandman. Juiceman would do the rest. 2nd straight possession for Peters with a turnover. 4th of the game for the Ravens. How does this get worse? BOOOOOOOM! Oh God? Oh God? I have a mad respect for the Patriots but why Mac? Until the 4th Quarter he had a flawless performance. I bet the Football Gods want to get after Bill Belichick after years of them being on his side. That may be the only other explanation. PAUSE.
As Big Sean would say last night took an L, but tonight I’ll bounce back. That’s what the Ravens did in this game. The reward is John Harbaugh becoming the 1st Coach in Ravens History to win 150 games. A solid boost of morale going forward. This was a game that really proved how far they had come from last week. When Baltimore got down into the same situation, they didn’t crumble. They had their top DBs on the field. And it made a difference. Yes they need to fix the total yards allowed problem, but considering that they have a new system on defense, playing a good bit of rookies, and are dealing with players being out with injury or just coming back from it, I wouldn’t panic. (They went through this in 2019 as well although Martindale was in Year 2) What a difference a week makes eh. Last week Kyle Hamilton was being declared as a bust, this week, he made 2 of the biggest plays of the game. That’s gonna boost his confidence going forward. If he keeps this up, that would be great. As for the offense, it’s much improved from last year. Not many people will say this but I will. Trading Marquise Brown was the best thing that could have happened for Lamar Jackson. Not having to focus on how many targets his BFF would get has allowed him to spread the ball all over the field. Through 3 games he has an NFL Leading 10 Touchdown Passes. He has become the 2nd player ever to have a 3TD Pass, and 1 Rushing TD game in consecutive weeks. (The other? Josh Allen in 2020) Plus he has recorded 39+ Fantasy Football points in those 2 games as well. Only Dalvin Cook in 2020, and LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006 have done that since 1950. Not to mention the Ravens have a deadly trio of weapons for him to work with. Mark Andrews is still putting up his typical numbers. But Devin Duvernay and Rashod Bateman have come on strong these 1st 3 weeks. And with JK back to full strength, plus Ronnie Stanley and Gus Edwards return looming, this offense could be even scarier. We could have another 2019 type offense… BUT BETTER! It’s still early and they play a tough opponent in the Buffalo Bills next week at home. If they win that game, which there’s a 50-50 chance they will, it will banish what happened against the Dolphins who by the way beat the Bills in epic fashion. Anyways I have one thing to say. Hit it Boys! Marylander: I ain’t worried ‘bout it right now. Ravens doing well, 2012, Big Truzz! I ain’t worried ‘bout it right now. LJ in the flesh, the D is gonna mesh, Big Truzz! I ain’t worried ‘bout it. Edgar/Allan/Poe: Whistling (……………………………………………………………………) Marylander: I ain’t worried ‘bout it. Edgar/Allan/Poe: Whistling (……………………………………………………………………) Marylander: I ain’t worried ‘bout it. Crowd: R-A-V-E-N-S RAVENS!
Bragging Rights Sports 