Tag: ravens analytics

Todd Monken says the Ravens’ analytics department gives the team an edge

Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken said the analytics department gives the team an edge

The Baltimore Ravens are always looking for every advantage to win games and be as successful as possible. They have plenty of great strategies in place, which only add to what they try to do year in and year out.

When talking to the media, Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken shared that analytics are a huge part of the team’s work and that the NFL game, in general, is currently moving in this direction. He mentioned how Baltimore has a lot of intelligent people who run its analytics, and that gives it an edge.

“They’re a huge part of it. In terms of where it’s gone over the last few years in terms of information – the power of information that’s out there. I think information’s unbelievably useful – what you do with it is up to you. Whether the situation arises, whether it be by personnel, whether it be by game situations. We’ve got some really really smart people in those departments that I think give us an edge.”

The Ravens are an extremely analytics-based team, with head coach John Harbaugh and others trying to play the percentages as much as possible. While this strategy doesn’t always work, the Ravens are committed to it and should use it plenty in 2024.

Play design, not analytics, doomed Ravens’ two-point attempt vs. Packers

Analytics didn’t stop the Ravens from beating the Packers on Sunday night. A flawed play design doomed Tyler Huntley outside of the numbers.

You’ve undoubtedly heard more about analytics in the NFL over the last week than you’d prefer. Following Chargers head coach Brandon Staley trying to convert fourth down after fourth down last Thursday, converting two of five attempts in a 34-28 overtime loss to the Chiefs, everybody on both sides of the argument were loaded for bear. Either old-school football cavemen didn’t understand the analytical argument in favor of going for it on fourth down, or new-school nerds weren’t up with the realities of the game.

It has been tiresome, no matter which side you’re on. And on Sunday night against the Packers, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was going to extend the debate with the decision to try a two-point conversion with backup quarterback Tyler Huntley. Baltimore was down 31-30 with 42 seconds left after scoring two unanswered touchdowns in the last five minutes of the game. They could have kicked the extra point and headed to overtime, or they could have tried to win it right there.

We all know what happened.

Huntley rolled to his right, tried to hit tight end Mark Andrews at the end of the end zone, and the Packers prevailed. It was the second time in three games that Harbaugh had tried a late two-point attempt, and it was the second time his team was unable to convert. That led to losses to the Packers last night, and to the Steelers in a 20-19 heartbreaker in Week 13.

Harbaugh was unapologetic after the fact.

“Yes, we were just trying to go get the win right there,” Harbaugh said about trying to steal the win from the Packers in regulation, as opposed to giving Aaron Rodgers another shot. “In overtime… I think our chances of winning right there were a little bit higher than in overtime, maybe, if you calculate it out. I felt good about it. I thought we had a good play. Again, they made a really good play. I have to give that safety a lot of credit for getting out there and tipping that ball.”

Harbaugh wasn’t wrong about the decision, per se. The problem was the failed play call.