Harbaugh: ‘D’ ‘trying to do too much’
Coach says execution, not communication, reason for struggles
Ravens coach John Harbaugh on Monday said execution, not communication, is at the root of the team’s defensive struggles in recent weeks.
After multiple players in the secondary said communication wasn’t sufficient, Harbaugh denied that notion last week, saying it was a “buzzword.”
“I think we’re overplaying some of our zone coverages,” Harbaugh said at his weekly news conference Monday. “We’re overplaying some routes, we’re chasing some patterns that really fall in the category of trying to do too much.”
One of the more egregious instances during Sunday’s 40-25 loss to the Cleveland Browns came on a 59-yard catch-and-run by tight end Ricky Seals-Jones
Safety Tony Jefferson was lined up across from Seals-Jones in the slot but dropped to wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who was lined up against cornerback Marlon Humphrey on the outside and ran a dig route.
Seals-Jones ran a seam route and was left wide-open for another large gain.
“The one, I think, maybe it was one of the tight ends, I know one of those was a coverage bust by me,” Humphrey said after the game. “I can’t be doing that. I have to know the coverage, know what we’re doing, how we’re playing it that week and execute it.”
Harbaugh defends Thomas
Ravens safety Earl Thomas III faced a decision as Nick Chubb accelerated down the right sideline in the fourth quarter Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium.
He could try to catch the Browns’ star running back and deny Cleveland a twotouchdown lead. Or he could ease up, knowing that Chubb was too fast and too far away, and that a full-sprint chase might imperil the health of his hamstrings.
Thomas decided on the latter strategy, removing himself from the play, an 88-yard touchdown, that defined the Ravens’ 40-25 loss. Ravens coach John Harbaugh said he trusted the newcomer to know his body and the circumstances of the play.
“If that’s what he said about his hamstrings — he was a good bit behind Chubb in that situation, as I watched the tape — he wasn’t going to catch him,” Harbaugh said. “Yeah, we want everybody to finish, but if he felt some tightness in his hamstrings right there, I’m glad he’s out of the game healthy, in all honesty.
“I want everybody running to the ball as much as they can, but … I certainly don’t want a hamstring pull from my starting safety right there, so I take him at his word. You know why I say that: Because I watched the game and saw how hard he played. The guy was all over the field. He made a bunch of hits. I respect that.”
Skirmish still on minds
One day after Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey and Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. were involved in a heated exchange during a play that drew multiple unnecessary roughness penalties, coach John Harbaugh declined to say whether an ejection was warranted.
Harbaugh said Mondaythat his focus is on his team’s reaction to such altercations.
“I’m not exactly sure why[Humphrey] got the foul, but I’m sure they’ll [the NFL] tell us what they thought they saw,” Harbaugh said. “Based on the close-up that we have of the footage that we had, [Humphrey] pinned him on the ground after about three or four things happened. And I don’t want to alleviate him from any responsibility, because we can’t get flags in that situation.”
Browns coach Freddie Kitchens told reporters Monday that he planned to reach out to the league about the situation.
“I don’t like seeing our player on the field and someone’s hands around his throat,” Kitchens said. “I don’t think that needs to be in our game and I would be the first to say that if it was our guy doing it. And I want everybody held to the same standard.”
Injury concerns
Harbaugh said starting defensive tackle Brandon Williams, who missed Sunday’s game with a knee injury, does not have a “long-term injury” and will not need surgery. The Ravens will monitor the injury this week, which Harbaugh on Sunday said “flared up.”
“I don’t even know if I want to categorize it, because it’s just something that he has to deal with,” he said Monday.
Harbaugh also said tight end Mark Andrews, whose foot injury limited him to just one practice last week, came out of Sunday’s loss “well.” After two straight 100-yard receiving games, Andrews has 46 yards over the past two weeks.
Extra points
The Ravens signed inside linebacker L.J. Fort, adding depth and another option at a position that has struggled mightily in recent weeks. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Philadelphia Eagles released Fort, 29, on Friday. Fort, who signed a three-year, $5.5 million deal with the Eagles in March, didn’t play on defense during the Eagles’ first four games, though he did play 75 special teams snaps.
Harbaugh said that the team decided to give Jefferson the helmet with communication capabilities against the Browns to simplify the defense.
Inside linebacker Patrick Onwuasor entered the season with communication responsibilities and handled it through the team’s first three games.
Harbaugh declined to comment on an NFL Network report claiming Thomas and defensive tackle Brandon Williams engaged in a “heated” talk in the training room.