Mike Preston’s Ravens mailbag ahead of Week 12 vs. Chargers

Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Preston will answer fan questions in the middle of each week throughout the Ravens season. After an 18-16 loss to the Steelers, Baltimore (7-4) faces the Los Angeles Chargers (7-3) on “Monday Night Football” in a clash between AFC contenders coached by the Harbaugh brothers.

Here’s Preston’s take on a handful of reader questions:

(Editor’s note: Questions have been edited for length and clarity.)

The Ravens lead the NFL in terms of number of penalties as well as penalty yardage. It costs the Ravens time and time again. Shouldn’t this be a coaching problem? And as usual, Mike Tomlin once again outperforms John Harbaugh. — Bob in North Carolina

Bob, any time a team has a high number of penalties it goes directly to the head coach. This shows a team lacking discipline and direction, and Harbaugh bears all the blame. This reminds me of when Brian Billick was coach and the Ravens had similar issues. As for Tomlin coaching Harbaugh again, I don’t know about that one, but Tomlin has coached many of his peers. His career winning percentage of .639 ranks 23rd all-time and he has never had a losing season.

I’m amazed that since he was named coach of the Steelers on January 22, 2007, at the age of 34, Tomlin has never won the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year award. He is only the third coach hired by Pittsburgh since 1969.

My question is about the personnel package that Todd Monken used for the 2-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter of the Steelers game. If the play call was for Lamar to run left, why not have Derrick Henry and Patrick Ricard in the backfield to draw attention and potentially block? Also, why not let Zay Flowers run a route, since he was drawing two defenders all afternoon? Nelson Agholor and Tylan Wallace were on the field. Once again, it looks like our OC choked in a big game. And in my opinion, Henry and Ricard should be on the court for every 2-point conversion, regardless of the play call. It just gives the defense more food for thought. —Richard Peltz

Richard, I agree with almost every point you made. Yes, Henry and Ricard should have been on the field because that at least makes the inside linebackers freeze for a second because they have to honor the run. Without those two in the game, that at least indicates that the Ravens were either going to pass or come up with some sort of trick play. As for Flowers, there was no reason to worry as there was very little room to run. I prefer bigger targets like tight ends Mark Andrews or Isaiah Likely.

I also would have hit Henry more, even though the Steelers seemed to know what was going to happen with the Ravens throwing to Henry on the outside.

I understand the logic of Monken’s appeal. It gave Pittsburgh a different look, which is why Tomlin called the timeout. The Ravens used a similar play with Jackson going to the short side of the field a week earlier against Cincinnati and had success. This time it didn’t work, even though the Ravens seemed to have enough blockers. It would have helped if Agholor had gotten better blocking at the point of attack as well.

I had an offensive line coach at Towson University named Rich Bader, and one of his favorite sayings was “sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you.” »

This time the bear was dressed as cornerback Joey Porter Jr. He wasn’t fooled at all and brought down Jackson.

To me, part of the Ravens’ problem is that, since the Ray Lewis and Ed Reed era, they can be intimidated and disrupted. Why don’t leaders step up and say just go away and let them know what they’re wrong on the ground? It’s tough watching the Ravens get bullied and, even worse, not knowing how to respond. —Jay Parker in Salisbury

I don’t think the Ravens were bullied. Whether the players want to say it or not, the Steelers own the Ravens, winning eight of the last nine matchups. Rivalry? It’s not one anymore because Pittsburgh has dominated this series lately.

It wasn’t like the Steelers pushed the Ravens all over the field. Baltimore lost two fumbles and Jackson threw an interception. When a team has three turnovers and is penalized 12 times for 80 yards, they probably won’t win.

Jackson played poorly and the offensive line struggled as well. Defensively, the Ravens played better than in recent weeks, but that was more due to Pittsburgh’s passing game rather than any significant improvement in the secondary.

There’s a lot of sadness in Baltimore this week because of the loss, but I’ll say it again and again: There are no great teams in the NFL in 2024. The Ravens can be as good as any of them, but they have to do it. get hot before the playoffs.

It’s not where you start, but where you end.

Why do Eddie Jackson and Marcus Williams have healthy scratches? What’s going on with the Ravens? Harbaugh was a players’ coach, but it appears there are personality and motivation issues in the locker room. —David M. Yousem

Sorry, David, but Jackson and Williams and outside linebacker David Ojabo didn’t play well. There’s not much else to discuss. You play well, you play. If you don’t, you sit down. It’s not difficult to understand.

I know the Ravens would like to maintain consistency with the starting offensive line, but with the amount of penalties Patrick Mekari has racked up so far this season, is it time for Andrew Vorhees to return to the lineup and Mekari to go back to being substitute. Again? — Paul in Orlando