Ravens coach John Harbaugh typically doesn’t like overarching themes or big-picture evaluations, however he has used one this week.
The Ravens seem to have gotten the message, despite the fact that the reply gained’t come till Sunday once they journey to play the Arizona Cardinals.
The Cardinals (1-6) are within the combine for the No. 1 general draft decide in April whereas consistency is the theme for the Ravens (5-2) coming off a 38-6 win towards the extremely regarded Detroit Lions final weekend.
“I believe we’re going in the right direction right now, if anything,” quarterback Lamar Jackson stated. “We just need to keep going. Like I said, keep being consistent.”
That hasn’t been the case lately, and definitely not in 2023. The Ravens beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 27-24, on Sept. 17 and misplaced every week later, 22-19, in extra time to the struggling Indianapolis Colts.
They beat up the Cleveland Browns, 28-3, then misplaced seven days later to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17-10, in one other sport they simply ought to have gained however collapsed late.
So, which Ravens crew will present up in Arizona?
“That feeling was incredible, but we know the type of league that this is,” tight finish Mark Andrews stated about Sunday’s lopsided win. “It’s any given Sunday, so every game is different. It’s not going to feel the same as it did last week, but if we go out there and do our job and continue to get better, we’re going to become the team that we need to be.”
At least verbally, the Ravens have gotten the message. When a coach has a robust command of the locker room, the gamers repeat the identical issues, full with the thrill phrases.
They develop into parrots.
The Ravens aren’t shopping for into the Cardinals sport being a “trap.” That’s media jargon. They know that that is the NFL and in the event that they aren’t ready, they’ll lose.
“You come out and treat them the way you treat all the other games,” cornerback Marlon Humphrey stated. “The thing about a one-win team is they’re hungry for that second win, so they’re going to come out, play hard and we just have to play a little bit harder.”
The Cardinals are more likely to be with out three of their prime offensive gamers due to accidents to quarterback Kyler Murray, operating again James Conner and tight finish Zach Ertz. The Cardinals rank nineteenth in complete offense, averaging 319.9 yards, whereas the move offense ranks Twenty eighth, averaging 180.9.
Their Twenty eighth-ranked protection permits 368.3 yards per sport. They additionally rank twenty fifth towards the frenzy and twenty third towards the move. Arizona is so unorganized and anxious about cash that they don’t even repeatedly play their greatest outdoors linebacker, Victor Dimukeje (Boys’ Latin), who’s tied for second on the crew with 3 1/2 sacks.
So, to assist get his message throughout, there may be the usual Harbaugh buildup of a crew that’s actually a large number.
“I see a really tough team,” Harbaugh stated of the Cardinals. “They have plenty of nice gamers, they usually’re constructing of their new offensive and defensive programs. They play tremendous laborious — each side of the ball are very bodily. It’s a younger crew. You have guys like [safety] Budda Baker over there, that’s top-of-the-line gamers within the National Football League. They’re spectacular with what they attempt to get performed. They’ve been in plenty of shut video games.
“They’ve been in games in the fourth quarter, they were one-score-or-less games where they had the lead and then didn’t finish, so I’m sure that’s what they’re talking about — play hard, get the game in the fourth quarter and find a way to finish the game.”
It’s two groups on the other finish of the spectrum. The Ravens protection, ranked No. 2 within the league, has proved they will succeed towards any offense within the NFL.
Offensively, the Ravens need to show that final week’s complete of 503 yards wasn’t an aberration, however the signal of a unit getting higher. Arizona has had every week to research coordinator Todd Monken’s offense. The Cardinals know the Ravens are constructed extra round faculty ideas than these within the NFL. Baltimore will play with extra persistence than it did towards Detroit.
Regardless, the Ravens must get higher. It all begins with consistency. Last week, they confirmed they may do it from quarter to quarter. Now they need to show it from sport to sport.
“We played well against Detroit and we’d like to continue that pace and build,” heart Tyler Linderbaum stated. “Arizona is a good team that plays a lot of multiple fronts, they give you a lot of different looks, but we have to be prepared to play. It’s like that every week in this league.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com