Ravens inside linebacker Patrick Queen isn’t a giant fan of chilly tubs. Not a giant fan of scorching tubs, both, no less than through the season.
But once you play 59 snaps within the seventh sport of a 17-game NFL season on a Sunday afternoon, and the eighth sport comes simply 4 days later, priorities change. Suddenly, you’re slightly extra prepared to take a dip in an ice bathtub.
“It’s frickin’ four days and stuff — excuse my language — but whatever you can do to refresh your mind, refresh your body, however you do that, whatever the best way for you, personally, that’s what you’ve got to do,” Queen mentioned Tuesday within the Ravens’ locker room, the place the staff was packing its baggage for Thursday’s sport towards the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “So whatever I can get a head [start] on for this game, that’s what I’m going to do.”
Their prime-time matchup inside Raymond James Stadium doesn’t appear to be the potential Super Bowl showdown it was a month in the past. The Ravens (4-3) are coming off an unsightly victory Sunday over the Cleveland Browns and haven’t strung collectively two wins in a row this season. The Buccaneers (3-4) have dropped 4 of their previous 5 video games, together with a 21-3 blowout loss Sunday to the rebuilding Carolina Panthers.
But no matter strategic assessments await the groups Thursday, the bodily challenges could be even larger. Eight Ravens and 11 Buccaneers gamers had been listed on Tuesday’s damage report. In a traditional sport week, the Ravens would maintain their first follow of the week on a Wednesday. This week, they’re flying to Tampa on Wednesday. Some gamers don’t really feel totally recovered from the bodily toil of a Sunday sport till the next Friday. So, sure, Thursday evening video games are a sore spot for gamers and coaches.
“These guys are going to be out there playing on four days,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh mentioned Monday. “You watch the Thursday evening video games and also you see the consequences of that; I feel everybody can type of see that in case you’re a fan. So that’s a giant problem. Travel, once you’re on the street, it’s powerful to journey on [Wednesday]. So we’ve to be aware of that.
“Then, in terms of the game-plan stuff, just trying to put a game plan together that addresses the issues that you’re facing, like, for instance, the Buccaneers’ blitz package. Do it in a way that you can actually get it down quickly and execute it on Thursday night in real time. So those two things are the main issues.”
While “Thursday Night Football” has develop into a simple goal for critics with its lower-stakes, lower-scoring matchups, its damage charge stays comparatively steady. A 2021 evaluation discovered that, in video games from the 2012 to 2020 season, in-game accidents had been barely much less widespread on Thursdays (1.55 accidents per 100 performs) than on different days (1.58).
But the brief week is taxing in different methods. Outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul, who’s performed in three Thursday evening video games since 2019 and 7 whole in his profession, mentioned managing the Sunday-to-Thursday turnaround is “all mental.”
“At the end of the day, yeah, you just came off a game Sunday and you’ve got to play a Thursday night game,” Pierre-Paul mentioned Tuesday. “Most teams don’t practice. They just do walk-throughs and stuff. But at the end of the day, it’s all mental. The physical part doesn’t go nowhere. You’ve just got to turn it on and turn it off. It’s easy to turn it on. It’s all mental with everybody around me. We did a great week of practice, and the mental part is all taken care of. Now we just have to figure the physical part out. I’m pretty sure we’ll do that.”
Preparation began within the hours after the Ravens’ win Sunday. Outside linebacker Justin Houston mentioned within the locker room that he was preparing “right now — like, literally.” Cornerback Marlon Humphrey mentioned he’d most likely examine movie of Tampa Bay’s offense as he watched “Sunday Night Football.” To assist with the staff’s restoration, the Ravens held a brief walk-through Monday evening earlier than returning to follow Tuesday afternoon. Quarterback Lamar Jackson known as the week a “quick turnaround.”
“It’s only probably, like, two or three days before you’re traveling and doing all the necessary stuff to get to your opponent, and we’re going away again,” he mentioned Monday. “So that’s about it, but it’s football. We’ve just got to get prepared.”
If there’s a silver lining to the Ravens’ time crunch in Week 8, it’s the lengthy look ahead to Week 9. The staff’s subsequent sport, towards the New Orleans Saints, isn’t till Nov. 7 — 11 days after Thursday’s sport. Win or lose Thursday, the Ravens ought to be feeling higher about that.
Week 8
Ravens at Buccaneers
Thursday, 8:15 p.m.
TV: Ch. 2 Stream: Amazon Prime
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
Line: Ravens by 1 1/2
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Source: www.bostonherald.com