Opponents adjust, play ‘keep away’
Harbaugh flummoxed by penalty on fake punt; Stanley’s status uncertain
The Ravens led the NFL in takeaways (17) and turnover differential (plus-5) last season, putting together one of the best statistical seasons in franchise history. This fall, they have only seven takeaways and a minus-4 turnover differential, tied for 21st and 23rd in the league, respectively.
The dramatic contrast has contributed to the team’s 4-4 record. In the Ravens’ four wins, they have forced four turnovers and enjoyed a plus-1 differential, but they have only three turnovers and a minus-5 differential in their four losses.
While noting that opponents have tended to be especially cautious with the ball, perhaps because of the defense’s reputation, coach John Harbaugh said the team has to be more proactive in causing turnovers.
“We haven’t made plays on the ball all the time like we need to, and sometimes the ball hasn’t gone our way,” he said Monday afternoon during his weekly news conference. “We haven’t caused very many fumbles, and we haven’t gotten our hands on as many balls as we did last year. So we’ve got to find a way to do that. I’m disappointed in that. That’s something that we need to do better. We’re minus-4. You can put it right on that if you want. If we’re not minus-4, what’s our record? If we’re ever, if we’re plus-4, what’s our record? It’s probably completely flipped. So it’s a big part of it.”
The defense still leads the league in sacks with 27 after getting 11 in a 21-0 shutout of the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 14, but it got only one combined in back-to-back losses to the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers. Harbaugh said those two teams adjusted their game plans to blunt the pass rush.
“Yeah, people are playing completely different,” he said. “We’re not getting too much drop-back pass [plays]. People aren’t going to drop-back-pass and just let us rush the quarterback in coverage. So I think that’s the main thing. The game plans we’ve gotten in the last two weeks have been very different than the ones we’ve seen on tape — within the realm of what those teams do. But much more skewed toward exotic-run game-type stuff, I guess — play-action pass, boots, waggles, exotic motions and things like that to kind keep us off balance and not let us play downhill. We’ve got to adjust to that. I think part of that is, we’ve got to play with discipline. We’ve got to play with discipline across the board in terms of The Panthers’ C.J. Anderson eludes the Ravens’ Patrick Ricard, left, in the second half. Coach John Harbaugh said the Ravens have to be more proactive in causing turnovers. assignment, controlling the edge, eyes where they’re supposed to be.” Harbaugh still unclear on fake-punt penalty: Late in the first quarter Sunday, on fourth-and-1 from their 10-yard line, the Ravens lined up to punt. They led 7-0 then, and had no reason to fear what lay ahead: a torrent of Carolina Panthers points in a dispiriting 36-21 loss.
But punter Sam Koch did not punt. In fact, the ball never reached him. Long snapper Morgan Cox’s direct snap went to Anthony Levine Sr., the up back in the team’s punt package. Levine rumbled ahead for 7 yards. First down.
According to an examination of Pro Football Reference data by Pro Football Weekly, whose records date to1994, no team has gone for it on fourth down from inside its 15-yard line in the first half of a game. (That data set does not include the final 10 seconds of the half.)
Only a penalty kept the Ravens’ brazen fourth-down attempt from that bit of special teams history. Officials called an illegal-shift penalty on the play, and the Ravens punted on their do-over. On Monday, Harbaugh was still perplexed by the penalty.
Harbaugh said he had told the officials that the Ravens were planning on calling a fake punt during the game, specifically a dive like Levine’s. But Cox, Harbaugh said, was called for not being set for a second, as NFL rules require.
“They called it on the center,” Harbaugh said. “So I don’t know. That’s what the explanation was. We talked to them quite a bit on the sideline about it. Never seen that called in 21 years, and the center was set for a second. So I’m not sure what the call was. We sent it in. We’ll see. But you can’t control the official. The official makes the call that he makes. It was a huge play in the game.”
Afterward, Panthers cornerback Captain Munnerlyn said the play call was disrespectful of Carolina’s defense.
“That was kinda rude when it comes to football,” he said. “And it was kinda like, ‘Wow, did they really do this?’ It definitely ramped us up defensively. We needed some respect. So we tried to just go out there and makes plays to earn our respect.” Stanley’s status up in the air: Maybe the Ravens have a much clearer picture of starting left tackle Ronnie Stanley’s avail- ability for Sunday’s home against against their AFC North archrival Pittsburgh Steelers, but Harbaugh isn’t revealing his hand.
Stanley wore a walking boot on his left foot while leaving the locker room underneath Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte after Sunday’s game. Stanley suffered the injury in the third quarter when a Carolina defender rolled up on him.
Although he needed help getting off the field, Stanley returned later in that same quarter and played 49 of 68 snaps. Harbaugh shooed away a question Monday about Stanley’s status.
“I’m not going to get into all that,” he said. “We’ll just see how it goes.”
Stanley’s absence was filled by secondyear pro Jermaine Eluemunor, who played the other 19 snaps at left tackle. Eluemunor, who was promoted to the active roster from the practice squad Oct. 23, had spent most of his time working at either guard position, but Harbaugh was complimentary of the 6-foot-4, 335-pound Eluemunor’s ability to replace the 6-6, 315-pound Stanley.
“He actually did pretty good,” Harbaugh said. “He played pretty well. It was mostly pass protection. He’s good in pass protection. He’s stout and firm, and he handled the bull rushes really well. Probably the best of all of our guys throughout the course of the game. I was very encouraged by that.” Extra points: A day after wide receiver Willie Snead IV called a pair of offensive pass interference penalties on him “tickytack,” Harbaugh did not share his thoughts on the officiating crew’s rulings. “I don’t have any comment on it,” he said. “I don’t know. You’d have to call the guys that made the call.” ... Before replacing Joe Flacco for the final seven snaps of Sunday’s loss, rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson played three snaps on the unit’s first possession and four other snaps. Asked whether how the game unfolded changed the team’s plan for using the first-round draft pick, Harbaugh replied: “No, not really. We used him how we planned on using him.” ... In his 11 years as Ravens coach, Harbaugh has watched the Cleveland Browns cycle through six coaches, including Hue Jackson, who was fired Monday afternoon and replaced by interim coach and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. Harbaugh did not offer much regarding the news coming from an AFCNorth rival, saying only: “I just saw that a minute ago coming down. No, I haven’t followed that situation at all since we played them. So I have no reaction to it.”