Team prepares to play without Lewis
Starting left guard day to day with pinched nerve; Flacco trying to stand tall
No group of Ravens players welcomed Alex Lewis’ reappearance on the team’s charter flight from Nashville to Baltimore after Sunday’s 21-0 shutout of the Tennessee Titans more warmly than his teammates along the offensive line. The left guard suffered a neck injury in the fourth quarter, was carted off the field, and taken to nearby Vanderbilt University Medical Center for additional examinations.
“That was definitely an answer to prayer,” right tackle James Hurst said. “We were all worried about him. But we’re happy to hear that the worst didn’t happen.”
Four days before Sunday’s home game against the New Orleans Saints, the team is bracing for the possibility that Lewis will be unavailable. The organization’s fourth-round pick in the 2016 NFL draft was absent from Wednesday’s portion of practice open to the media because of what coach John Harbaugh described as “a pinched nerve.”
“That can heal like that,” he said, snapping his fingers, “or it can take a little bit of time. So it’s really just kind of day to day is the best way to describe it.”
Lewis has started all six games for an offensive line that has turned back opposing pass rushes on 75.6 percent of quarterback Joe Flacco’s dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. Among qualified quarterbacks, only the Chicago Bears’ Mitchell Trubisky ranks higher, according to the scouting website.
When Lewis went out on Sunday, Hurst briefly moved from right tackle to left guard, and rookie Orlando Brown Jr. filled in at right tackle. But Hurst was shifted back to right tackle and rookie Bradley Bozeman lined up at left guard.
The Ravens could continue with Bozeman at left guard or go back to Hurst at left guard and Brown at right tackle. Bozeman, the third of three sixth-round picks in April, said making the first start of his career would be thrilling.
“I’ve worked my whole life for this, and if I did, that would be awesome,” he said. “But if not, whoever goes in that position is going be well-off, and I’ll be happy. There’s nothing but tremendous athletes in this building, and even if they get in front of me, that’s fine because I know that they deserve it.”
Hurst said he trusts that offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris and Harbaugh will select the right personnel for Sunday against the Saints.
“We’ll have to move people around and put the best five out there,” he said. “That’s the Ravens guard Alex Lewis stays on the ground after being injured Sunday against the Titans. way it’s always been. Joe Dtalks about that all the time, and we’ve talked to Coach Harbaugh about that as well. It’s about giving us the best chance to win. So whatever combination that is, that’s obviously their call. We just go out there and play.” Flacco knows batted balls are a problem: Flacco is among the tallest starting quarterbacks in the NFL. The Ravens offensive line has protected him exceptionally well this season on drop-backs. And yet nearly two pass attempts per game are all but dead on arrival.
Through six games, Flacco is tied with the Minnesota Vikings’ Kirk Cousins for the most passes batted or deflected at the line of scrimmage (11) in the NFL this season, according to Pro Football Focus. No other quarterback has more than seven. Saints star DrewBrees, a half-foot shorter than than the 6-foot-6 Flacco, has zero ahead of Sunday’s matchup in Baltimore.
“Too many,” Harbaugh said Monday of Flacco’s total. “That’s something that’s a problem, because those are opportunities. A lot of times, those guys are open, and those are chances to complete passes. That’s something that we’ve been working on the last couple of weeks. We still haven’t it cleaned up the way we want to, and we’re not happy about it. We need to clean that up.”
The work has made Flacco laugh. It has also made Flacco mad. Some batted balls, he acknowledged Wednesday, “you can’t prevent.” But for those other times, quarterbacks coach James Urban has devised an unusual drill.
Simulating a pass rusher’s wingspan, he has had Flacco throw around a “bag in his hand that goes up to 12 feet high — unrealistically high for anybody’s hands,” Flacco said, grinning. He said he gets the point. He wants to correct whatever’s wrong. But at some point, enough is enough.
“Have you ever seen the drill where Ben just doesn’t dodge the balls, he just lets them bounce off of him and he hits them?” Flacco asked reporters Wednesday, referring to the viral video of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger intentionally botching a pocket-presence drill.
“I did that one time last week. I just threw the ball and I hit the bag on purpose. It’s just like, ‘I get your point. We got it.’ ” Steve McNair podcast released: The first episode of a Sports Illustrated true-crime narrative podcast re-examining the death of former Tennessee Titans and Ravens quarterback Steve McNair was released Wednesday
McNair was found dead in his downtown Nashville condominium on July 4, 2009, along with his mistress, Jenni Kazemi, in what police ruled a murder-suicide. Investigators concluded that Kazemi shot McNair as he slept before turning the gun on herself. But Vincent Hill, a former Nashville cop, later said Kazemi had no intention of seeing McNair the night before his death and did not shoot him.
McNair spent the final two seasons of his 13-year career in Baltimore, going 15-7 overall and passing for 4,163 yards, 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 2006 and 2007. He
Tonight’s picks
BRONCOS@CARDINALS Jen Badie: Cardinals Edward Lee: Cardinals Mike Preston: Broncos Peter Schmuck: Cardinals Jonas Shaffer: Broncos Childs Walker: Cardinals retired the following spring.
New “Fall of a Titan” episodes in the nine-part series will be published every Wednesday and are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher. Injury updates: Anthony Averett practiced Wednesday on a limited basis, making his first appearance on the field since injuring his hamstring Sept. 20 during a practice, and the rookie cornerback acknowledged feeling frustrated by the first major injury of his career.
The absence of Averett, whohas sat out the past four games, has left the defense with only four healthy cornerbacks in starters Brandon Carr and Marlon Humphrey, reserve Jimmy Smith and slot cornerback Tavon Young. Theformer Alabama standout said he does not feel like he is too far behind his teammates.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a lot to catch up on,” he said. “Alot of it is mental work. I feel like that’s what I need the most anyway. I know physically, I feel like I’m there, but mentally, I can always watch film. And I do. I still watch film and go to all the meetings because I’m a part of it. So I don’t think I’m going to miss too much.” Extra points: The Ravens are getting close to having to make decisions on whether to activate wide receiver Quincy Adeboyejo (upper leg muscle), linebacker Bam Bradley (ACL) and cornerback Jaylen Hill (right ACL, MCL) from the physically-unable-toperform list. … After three consecutive road games, outside linebacker Terrell Suggs is looking forward to playing at M&T Bank Stadium for the first time since Sept. 23, when the team beat the Denver Broncos, 27-14. “We don’t have to travel,” he said. “Weget to play in front of our home fans, so that’s going to be exciting. It feels like it’s been forever since they got the opportunity to see us play.”