Lewis ‘looks good’ after injury scare
Starting guard could play Sunday; Harbaugh enjoys relationship with Showalter
After suffering what appeared to be a frightening neck injury in Sunday’s 21-0 victory at the Tennessee Titans, starting left guard Alex Lewis was back in the Ravens’ headquarters in Owings Mills on Monday, and it appears he might have dodged any debilitating effects.
“He came back with us last night,” coach John Harbaugh said of Lewis, who was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center on Sunday and released after undergoing a CT scan. “It looks good. There’s no serious kind of injury there in terms of neural-type issues. He’s possible for this week, as far as I know right now. So we just have to see as the week progresses, and [we] continue to test and see how he comes along. So that could change at any time. That’s what we’ve been told this time.”
Lewis, the organization’s fourth-round pick in the 2016 NFLdraft, injured himself as he pulled to the right side of the line and made a kick-out block on linebacker Sharif Finch. After several minutes of treatment from athletic trainers, Lewis was moved onto a stretcher and carted off the field. He appeared to give a small wave to Ravens teammates nearby.
Harbaugh said rather than move James Hurst from his customary spot at right tackle, the team inserted rookie Bradley Bozeman into Hurst’s position. Bozeman was taken with the team’s third of three sixth-round selections in April’s draft as a center out of Alabama.
“I thought Boze played really well,” Harbaugh said. “He did a good job, solid.” Chasing perfection: Sunday’s shutout coupled with Cincinnati’s 28-21 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers means the Ravens are tied with the Bengals for the top spot in the AFC North with 4-2 records.
After wrapping up a three-game road trip with two wins, the Ravens can look forward to playing four of their next five games at M&T Bank Stadium — beginning with Sunday’s game against the NFC Southleading NewOrleans Saints. It’s a comforting position, Harbaugh said Monday afternoon.
“We’re in a good place,” he said. “Not as good as we could be, but you can’t look back and lament that. You’ve got to move forward, Ravens guard Alex Lewis (72) could play this week after suffering a neck injury Sunday. “There’s no serious kind of injury there in terms of neural-type issues,” coach John Harbaugh said. and we’re happy to be at where we’re at. We’ve got to make the most of it. Like [outside linebacker] Terrell Suggs said in the locker room last night, winning a game like that on the road doesn’t mean nearly as much if you can’t follow it up. You’ve got to back it up with another win.
“What you need to do in the NFL is stack wins. You need to find a way to get on a roll, and you do that by getting better every single day — all the things we always talk about — and going out there and playing good, winning football on Sunday. That’s all our focus needs to be. If we can stack a win on top of that win, then it really starts to mean something. But a huge challenge — whether you’re on the road or at home playing against the Saints. I’m glad we’re going to be at home. I’m excited that our fans get a chance to see us and get to be a part of it.”
There’s certainly muchfor the players and coaches to be pleased with from their dominant performance in Tennessee. The defense pitched its 14th shutout, which ranks as the most in the NFL since the franchise’s start in 1996. The 51 passing yards were the fewest allowed in franchise history, and the 106 total yards were the second fewest.
But Harbaugh argued there was plenty for the team to review from Sunday’s game and even quoted a line from Rudyard Kipling’s “If—.”
“It’s never as good as you think, and it’s never as bad as you think, and when you go back and watch a game like that, sometimes you’re a little bit surprised by what you see in terms of, there’s more negatives than you remember,” he said. “So you get in there and you go to work, and that’s it. There’s an old poem. Meet triumph and disaster, and treat those two impostors just the same. … To me, that’s the approach. So yeah, you look for every single thing that needs to be corrected, and you try to chase perfection.” Owning clock: Thanks to holding on to the ball for 37:34 on Sunday, the team ranks second in the league in average time of possession (33:20), trailing only the Philadelphia Eagles (33:42).
The Ravens’ advantage in time of possession against the Titans was aided by three drives of seven minutes or more, including a series in the first quarter that chewed up 9:09 and ended with quarterback Joe Flacco connecting with wide receiver Michael Crabtree for a 4-yard touchdown pass. Harbaugh noted the importance of a running game that averaged 3.5 yards on 35 carries in keeping Tennessee’s offense off the field.
“I think a lot of things went into that,” he said. “We ran the ball a lot — toward the end of the game with more success, obviously, and that’s kind of what you’re talking to. I think we had 16 defensive snaps in the second half, so that goes to the fact that we were getting three-and-outs and also to the fact that our offense was staying on the field. We had one really long drive. We kept the ball, didn’t score a lot of points, but we kept the ball a lot. We made a number of third-down conversions. I think we were maybe 12 of 17, I think, on third-down conversions, and one time, I think, we’d only missed one. And a number of those were long third-and-longs. So those probably two things went hand in hand.” Harbaugh praises Showalter: Harbaugh began his news conference by singling out former Orioles manager Buck Showalter, whom he had grown close to.
“Got a text, communicated with Buck Showalter after the game last night, and we’ve gotten to be good friends over the course of the last eight years — played, [did] a lot of things together,” Harbaugh said. “Really, really admire him, respect him. I’ve learned so muchfrom him over the years as a coach and a leader, and relating to players, all different things that come up. And just wanted to acknowledge that and, I think, what a great job he did in Baltimore, how amazing he’s been for the fans, for his fans in Baltimore, how much I’ve enjoyed watching his teams play, what a great job he did for the Orioles. So I just want to just say that and get it out there because he hit me last night about our team and stuff, and I always enjoy talking to him.” Extra points: One day after being promoted from the practice squad for De’Lance Turner, who was placed on injured reserve because of a hamstring injury, fellow rookie running back Gus Edwards gained 42 yards on 10 carries, including 34 yards on seven attempts in the second half. “He’s been doing that, and to see him go out there and, especially toward the end of the game, when we needed those key yards to kind of try to finish the game, he did a great job,” Harbaugh said. “He’s a big guy. He runs behind his pads and he’s a tough tackle. So that was a plus for us.” … The team was flagged a season-high10 times for a loss of 70 yards, and one of those penalties was an unnecessary roughness call on outside linebacker Matthew Judon for shoving punter Brett Kern after a punt in the second quarter. “That’s something that’s got to be cleaned up,” Harbaugh said. “It was unnecessary roughness, very unnecessary. And he knows that.” ... The Ravens signed running back Mark Thompson, linebacker Alvin Jones and offensive tackle Randin Crecelius to the practice squad. In corresponding moves, the team released defensive back Kai Nacua and wide receiver Andre Levrone from the practice squad.