Category: Ravens

Lamar Jackson sets deadline for contract talks with Ravens

Lamar Jackson is laying down the law on a new contract

Betting on himself is working for the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge. And now Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is going to follow a similar path in his contract talks with the NFC North team.

Jackson said Saturday he will end negotiations when the regular season begins.

“We’re coming up to it. It’s coming up,” said Jackson, who represents himself. “The season’s coming up. We’re going to be good for the season.”

Asked if it’s fair to say he wants his contract situation settled by Week 1, Jackson replied, “Yeah, for sure.”

Jackson is entering his fifth-year option, which will pay him $23.016 million this season. If a deal isn’t finalized by March 7, the Ravens would have to place the franchise tag on Jackson to keep him from becoming an unrestricted free agent.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has faith the deal will get done.

“The business part of it’s the business part of it,” Harbaugh said. “I’m very confident that’ll get done when it gets done. You can’t really rush it. I don’t think either side wants to rush anything.

“Both sides want to be happy when it’s all said and done, and probably both sides unhappy, when it’s all said and done, to some degree, right? That’s kind of how it works. But he’s doing a great job. He’s practicing well. He’s a great leader. On the sideline, he’s right into the games. So everything thumbs up.”

Isaiah Likely impresses in NFL debut, and this shouldn’t have been a surprise

Touchdown Wire’s Laurie Fitzpatrick dives into Ravens rookie tight end Isaiah Likely’s NFL debut in Baltimore’s win over the Titans.

Ravens rookie tight end Isaiah Likely caught four of four targets for 44 yards in Baltimore’s 23-10 preseason win over the Tennessee Titans.

The rookie fourth-round pick was a starter in last night’s debut, and after the game, he said that he felt “like a little kid on Christmas”. Likely was on the field for most of the first half with quarterback Tyler Huntley and the second team offense.

Likely was called for two holding penalties, but he also made some tough catches and made impressive moves after the run. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as he was showing his potential when at Coastal Carolina last year.

Let’s dive into his performance in Thursday night’s game and how he has the potential to help the Ravens offense in his rookie year!

Mike Vrabel took Malik Willis out of his first NFL game because he wasn’t throwing the ball

Titans head coach Mike Vrabel pulled rookie quarterback Malik Willis mid-drive in the third quarter. Why? Because he wasn’t throwing the ball.

In his first NFL start — albeit in the preseason — Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Malik Willis completed six of 11 passes for 107 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 88.1. Willis did come up with an amazing rushing touchdown in Tennessee’s 23-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, but there was at least one person on the field at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium who wished Willis would have thrown the ball more.

And that person is Titans head coach Mike Vrabel.

That was indeed what Vrabel said. “Logan” is backup quarterback Logan Woodside, who, on his first play from scrimmage, ran for five yards up the middle.

Ah, well. You can’t always get what you want. Woodside, for his part, completed 14 of 24 passes for 102 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 33.7. So, he was more apt to throw than Willis was, but hardly to great effect.

The Willis play that got him bounced from the game happened with 8:23 left in the third quarter, and the Titans down 17-10. Tennessee had second-and-4 at their own 37-yard line, and Willis, after scanning the field and apparently seeing nothing to his liking, decided to take off. This was an issue for Willis in college, and perhaps Vrabel and his staff are trying to get Willis to think differently.

“We have a lot to learn from, a lot to look at on film, but it was good to get out there again and play football,” Willis said, via Jim Wyatt of Titans Online. (via Titans Wire). “I missed some things probably, and I just made up for it with my legs. I can’t continue to rely on that, but that is what the preseason is for.

“I’m going to remember the things I should have done better. But it is a learning experience – it’s the preseason, but it’s an opportunity at the same time. I just have to continue to work.”

Vrabel had a lot to say about his rookie quarterback, and the timing of certain plays that just didn’t look right to the coach.

“He needs to try to throw the ball when guys are open. Be more decisive, so we’ll evaluate that and see if there is a timing issue or what’s going on. I wanted to get him out there and see how he responded. He did OK. There were some good plays. Obviously, some plays that we will have to look at the timing on the release and if we are making the right decisions.”

It’s a learning process. And for all Willis did to impress, there’s still obviously miles to go in the eyes of the one guy whose opinion matters above all.

Unheralded HBCU WR Shemar Bridges was a secret superstar for Ravens in NFL debut

Fort Valley State receiver Shemar Bridges, ignored in the draft process, blew it up for the Ravens in his NFL debut.

Shemar Bridges doesn’t currently have an entry in the Pro Football Reference or College Football Reference databases. NFL.com’s comprehensive draft prospect tracker didn’t write him up. Bridges did show up in Dane Brugler’s pathologically detailed “The Beast” draft guide… as the 178th-best receiver in this class. Other than that, mostly crickets from the Draft Industrial Complex. Bridges was interviewed by Damond Talbot of the Draft Diamonds site in June, 2021, which is about the most recognition he’s received from anybody.

“My work ethic and want to be the best,” Bridges said back then about his value as a prospect. “My size/speed combination and ability to move at my size. Also, my ability to make touch catches and tough plays. Opting out and coming back for another season has helped me earn a draft grade and opportunity to prove to people what more I can do to move up in stock while also looking to compete for a championship.”

The Fort Valley State alum, one of the few HBCU players currently in the NFL, signed with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent, and is now just trying to make the team.

Bridges participated in the first annual Legacy Bowl in New Orleans, a game which allows lesser-known HBCU players to show NFL teams what they can do. He also was involved in the first HBCU scouting combine, which similarly helps players who aren’t invited to the actual combine to display their skill sets to NFL teams. 

The 51 greatest HBCU players in NFL history (slight return)

“I performed well. I showed what I can do,” Bridges said in late February, per Chris Porter of First Coast News. “I talked to about seven different teams, and I got good feedback from them.”

Given his performance against the Tennessee Titans in his preseason debut, Bridges might be on his way to surprising a lot of people. He caught four passes on five targets for 62 yards and a touchdown in Baltimore’s 23-10 win, and two of those catches were similarly spectacular. 

With 2:10 left in the third quarter, Bridges got vertical for this 38-yard reception on a pass from Anthony Brown Jr.

The overhead looks even better.

Bridges had already made a great like-as-like play on this 14-yard touchdown near the end of the first half on a fade ball from Tyler Huntley.

We don’t yet know how things will turn out for Bridges, but given the Ravens’ perpetually receiver-light status… if he keeps making plays like this, his new NFL team would have to think more than twice before letting him go.

Titans rookie QB Malik Willis showing off in NFL debut against Ravens

Tennessee Titans quarterback Malik Willis is putting on a show in his NFL debut against the Baltimore Ravens.

Liberty quarterback Malik Willis was thought by some experts (including our own Mark Schofield) to be the best quarterback in the 2022 draft class. But Willis was the third quarterback selected, after Kenny Pickett and Desmond Ridder, and it was the Tennessee Titans who stole him away with the 86th overall pick in the third round.

Willis did have some things to work on in his NFL transition, but early on against the Baltimore Ravens in his preseason debut, he looked pretty seasoned out there.

There was this seven-yard escape touchdown with 14:18 left in the second quarter, in which he eluded fellow rookie Kyle Hamilton, our best player in the 2022 class…

…and this 44-yard burner to receiver Racey McMath…

…and this nifty sidearm throw to tight end Tommy Hudson.

If we wanted to nitpick, we might say that Willis could have avoided this sack by stepping up in the pocket as opposed to looking to bail.

The general consensus on Willis was that he would need a season to sit and learn the game at the next level before he would be able to help his NFL team in the regular season and beyond. That may be true, but so far, Willis is showing as much as he possibly can as a young, developing player.

Touchdown Wire’s NFL power rankings podcast with Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield get you ready for the 2022 NFL season through the view of Doug’s recent power rankings.

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield get you ready for the 2022 NFL preseason and regular season with a look at every NFL team through the view of Doug’s recent power rankings, and where every team stands as they come into the new campaign. We have separated teams into tiers:

  1. Total rebuilds: Falcons, Bears, Jaguars, Panthers, Seahawks, Giants, Lions.
  2. Feisty, but not there yet: Jets, Texans
  3. WTF? Patriots, Cardinals, Dolphins, Commanders
  4. Possible playoff teams with major concerns: Steelers, Vikings, Colts, Titans, Saints
  5. The Deshaun Watson category: Browns
  6. Great, if everything goes right: Eagles, Raiders, Cowboys
  7. One potentially fatal flaw away: Chargers, Ravens, 49ers, Packers
  8. Have to take them absolutely seriously: Chiefs, Buccaneers, Bengals, Broncos, Rams
  9. Who’s going to stop them? Bills

Check it out in the link below, and enjoy the new season!

On BlogTalk Radio:

Preseason power rankings: Is this finally Buffalo’s season to win a Super Bowl?

Doug Farrar’s preseason power rankings have the Bills headed to (and winning) Super Bowl LVII. Which teams could knock them out of that dream?

Legendary head coach Marv Levy is justifiably in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and one primary reason is that, from 1990 through 1993, he led the Buffalo Bills to four straight Super Bowls. No other coach has ever done that.

The problem, of course, is that the Bills lost all four of those Super Bowls. The Bills capped off the old millennium with a handful of wild-card and divisional round losses under Levy and then Wade Philips, and then entered a postseason drought that started in 2000. and lasted until 2017.

Now, things are different. With perhaps the most stacked roster in the league and a superstar quarterback in Josh Allen, there’s little doubt that the Bills are Super Bowl-ready. They may have been last season were it not for a heartbreaking loss and defensive implosion in the divisional round to the Kansas City Chiefs, but in our preseason power rankings, we have the Bills as the NFL’s best team — and 2022 as the season in which the Bills win their first league championship since 1965, in the old American Football League.

Of course, there are all kinds of teams who could knock them from that dream. On the other side of things, there are NFL teams rebuilding, just trying to tread water, confident but with concerns, and on the precipice of something special.

As the 2022 preseason begins, here are our first power rankings of the new NFL campaign.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Sports Info Solutions, Pro Football Focus, and Football Outsiders unless otherwise indicated).

Ravens make Justin Tucker the highest-paid kicker in NFL

The Baltimore Ravens announced a four-year contract extension with kicker Justin Tucker.

The Baltimore Ravens took care of a little business on Monday, announcing a four-year contract extension with kicker Justin Tucker.

Widely regarded as perhaps the best kicker in the league, Tucker has been a rock for Baltimore since his rookie season back in 2012. He is coming off perhaps his best season as a professional, as his field goal percentage of 94.6% last season was his career-best.

Tucker also set an NFL record with a 66-yard field goal to beat the Detroit Lions on the final play last season:

The team announced the extension on social media:

As noted, the deal will likely make Tucker the highest-paid kicker in the game. And with the terms of the deal announced, Tucker is indeed the highest-paid kicker in the league:

The Ravens — and their fans — probably believe he will be worth every penny.

Ravens rookie Tyler Linderbaum dealing with Lisfranc injury

Baltimore Ravens rookie center Tyler Linderbaum is dealing with a recurrence of a Lisfranc injury suffered in his last game at Iowa.

Baltimore Ravens rookie center Tyler Linderbaum is dealing with a Lisfranc injury, that could see him sidelined for a few weeks.

Linderbaum first hurt his foot during his final game at Iowa, as the Hawkeyes took on the Kentucky Wildcats in the Citrus Bowl. He suffered the injury in the fourth quarter and was held out of a critical fourth-down attempt for the Iowa offense, but managed to return for their final drive of the game:

“That’s probably the worst part about it, I wasn’t out there for those three most important snaps … in the game,” Linderbaum said. “And that’s the game of football. Injuries happen. Luckily, it wasn’t as severe.”

Amazingly, Linderbaum did come back and play through the pain — a Lisfranc injury can linger for months or longer, depending on the severity — for Iowa’s last-gasp attempt in the final minute that failed. Even as certain NFL millions were waiting for him, Linderbaum was determined to give everything he had in his final moments as a Hawkeye.

The injury has been described as a “recurrence,” and a “sprain,” as opposed to a “rupture:”

Baltimore drafted Linderbaum, largely considered the best center of the 2022 draft class, in the first round last April.

One stat that matters for every NFL team

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar brings forth one stat that matters for every NFL team coming into the 2022 season.

When you ask NFL coaches, executives, and scouts about analytics, you’ll get all kinds of answers which tend to reveal which teams value them — and which teams are paying lip service, because they don’t really consider advanced metrics, but they don’t want to be pilloried on social media as dinosaurs.

The teams that don’t value analytics, or don’t want you to know that they do, will tend to give more generic answers. Teams that are all in will be more specific.

Whether you believe that analytics can help your player evaluation process or not, the simple fact is that they represent a tool that can be helpful in the right hands. In the wrong hands, it’s just statistical noise.

We’re not sure if my hands are the right ones or not, but in this article, I have endeavored to find one specific metric for each NFL team that reveals a larger strength or weakness each team will either benefit from, or must address, in the 2022 season.

So, get your tape-repaired glasses, dust off your pocket protectors, and let’s nerd out with one stat that matters for every NFL team!

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Sports Info Solutions, Pro Football Focus, and Football Outsiders unless otherwise indicated).