Ravens fire their offensive coach
Cameron had been team’s coordinator since 2008; Caldwell takes over.
Cam Cameron was fired Monday as offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, who have lost two straight and are still striving for consistency in the running and passing game.
Cameron ran the Baltimore offense since the start of the 2008 season for coach John Harbaugh. Since that time, the Ravens’ attack has repeatedly taken a back seat to the team’s defense, and this year the offense ranks 18th with 344.4 yards per game.
Jim Caldwell, who was hired as quarterbacks coach before the season, will assume Cameron’s duties. Caldwell was head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2009-11.
Harbaugh didn’t give a detailed explanation for the move, which came less than 24 hours after the Ravens lost to the Redskins 31-28 in overtime.
“We put 28 points up, so you’re not going to say it’s a reaction to a down offensive performance. It’s not that. I think that’s really important to point out,” Harbaugh said. “It’s what I believe is best going forward for our offense and for our football team.”
Bears: Quarterback Jay Cutler said he expects to play this weekend against Green Bay. Cutler left Sunday’s loss at Minnesota with a sore neck.
Bills: Running back Fred Jackson will miss the remainder of the season with a sprained ligament in his right knee. Jackson, who suffered the injury in Sunday’s loss to the Rams, won’t require surgery after being diagnosed with a Grade 2 sprain to his MCL.
Cardinals: Team president Michael Bidwill said a decision on whether Ken Whisenhunt remains as coach will be made after the season. Bidwill calls the team’s 58-0 loss at Seattle on Sunday “unacceptable.”
Chargers: Team president Dean Spanos presented Norv Turner with a game ball Sunday after San Diego’s first regularseason victory in Pittsburgh in 15 tries.
Chiefs: Receiver Dwayne Bowe will miss Sunday’s game at Oakland with a rib injury, and coach Romeo Crennel said it’s possible he could be out the rest of the year.
Eagles: Tight end Brent Celek sustained a concussion in Sunday’s win at Tampa Bay and won’t play against Cincinnati on Thursday.
Falcons: The Georgia World Congress Center Authority approved the framework for a deal to build a $1 billion stadium with a retractable roof, replacing the 20-year-old Georgia Dome.
49ers: Running back Brandon Jacobs was suspended for the final three games following a series of posts on social media sites addressing his lack of playing time, including one during the weekend saying he was “on this team rotting away.”
■ The 49ers at Seahawks game on Dec. 23 that could decide the NFC West is moving to NBC’s Sunday Night Football. The Chargers and Jets were originally in that slot, but both teams have losing records.
Jaguars: Coach Mike Mularkey was released from a hospital and was OK after feeling ill Monday morning. He is expected back at work today.
Lions: Detroit blew a 10-point lead in a third straight game in Sunday night’s 27-20 loss at Green Bay to match an NFL record. The 2011 Vikings, 1999 Saints, 1991 Browns, 1980 St. Louis Cardinals, 1952 Redskins and the 1947 Packers are the other teams in NFL history that have lost three in a row after leading by at least 10 points in each game, according to STATS LLC. “We are the best three-quarter team in the league,” Lions linebacker Stephen Tulloch said.
Raiders: Linebacker Rolando McClain was reinstated from the suspended list and starting cornerback Ron Bartell was released. They also cut fullback Owen Schmitt and promoted cornerback Chimdi Chekwa from the practice squad.
Noteworthy: Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue will rule today on the latest round of player appeals in the NFL’s bounty probe, and any potential punishment will be delayed by a week. ASHBURN, VA. — All the medical terms associated with Robert Griffin III’s knee injury can be boiled down to one simple message: It’s not too bad.
Beyond that, there are still some very important unknowns.
The NFL’s top-rated quarterback might or might not play Sunday when the Washington Redskins visit the Cleveland Browns. Coach Mike Shanahan, knowing that it makes the other team work extra to prepare for two quarterbacks, will no doubt wait as long as possible to publicly commit one way or the other to Griffin or fellow rookie Kirk Cousins.
“Both of them will have a game plan,” Shanahan said Monday.
The interior of Griffin’s right knee was the subject of intense scrutiny during Shanahan’s weekly news conference, when it was shown that an injury to a franchise player like RG3 can flummox even a seasoned coach. Shanahan initially said Griffin had a “strain of the ACL” before later correcting the diagnosis to a sprained LCL, with the coach stepping away from the podium to demonstrate the location of the ligament involved.
The upshot: Griffin has a mild, or Grade 1, sprain of the lateral collateral ligament located on the outside of the knee, caused when he was hit by defensive tackle Haloti Ngata at the end of a 13-yard scramble late in regulation of the 31-28 overtime win over the Ravens.
“When I looked at it on film,” Shanahan said, “I thought it would be worse than it was.”
The LCL is one of four ligaments in the knee. A Grade 1 sprain typically means the ligament is stretched or has some minor tears and usually doesn’t require surgery. Griffin will get multiple treatments daily and will probably have to wear a brace for several weeks.
The next major benchmark is whether Griffin will able to take part when practice resumes on Wednesday.
“You’re hoping with rehab it gets better very quickly,” Shanahan said. “But we don’t know for sure. ... He’s definitely not ruled out for the Cleveland game.”
Griffin’s father, Robert Griffin Jr., said in a text message that his son was “feeling good” and that “we will know by Thursday” whether Griffin III will be able to suit up against the Browns.
The most severe knee injury usually associated with sports is a seasonending torn ACL, the anterior cruciate ligament. Griffin tore the ACL in his right knee while playing for Baylor in 2009, but Shanahan said Griffin’s reconstructed ACL “looks great” and that there’s “no problem there.”
“He’s doing good. He’s in high spirits,” left tackle Trent Williams said after speaking with Griffin on Monday. “It was a pretty nasty, awkward hit, and for him not to be seriously injured is a blessing.”
No. 2 overall pick Griffin has become a phenomenon in his debut NFL season, leading the Redskins — a team that went 5-11 last year — to four straight victories to put the record at 7-6, one game behind the firstplace New York Giants in the NFC East.