How have Harbaugh’s Ravens challenged the Patriots so much? By being a lot like them
By Matt Dolloff, 985TheSportsHub.com
There’s a lot of “test” talk this week. The Patriots are certainly getting one compared to the rest of their schedule when they face the Ravens Sunday night.
But Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has a test of his own in front of him: prove to the Patriots that you still do what they say you do at a high level.
Baltimore has played New England just once since 2014. They’ve had a couple of relative down years. But there’s a reason that under Harbaugh, the Ravens have historically been one of the AFC’s top teams and given the Pats their most consistent challenges in the playoffs.
Since the start of Harbaugh’s tenure in 2008, the Ravens are 119-80, the third-most wins in the AFC and the third-best win percentage behind only the Steelers. They have more playoff wins (10) than Pittsburgh (8) over that span and each have one Super Bowl win. And head-to-head, Harbaugh has given Bill Belichick trouble more consistently than Mike Tomlin ever has.
So how have the Ravens done it? By doing a lot of the same things as the Patriots. They’re aggressive and physical. They do their best not to beat themselves. They try to play all three phases at a high level. They tailor gameplans to their opponents. They understand situations. They take it one week at a time. And they’ve done it more consistently than most of the conference, despite significant roster and coaching staff turnover. A lot of that identity comes down from the consistency and influence of Harbaugh and the front office.
“They do everything well, good on defense, top of the league in special teams, top of the league in offense, they’re a very physical team, play very good situational football, win a lot of close games,” said Belichick on Wednesday. “Just do everything well, they’re very fundamentally sound, tough, don’t turn the ball over, play well in the kicking game, play good defense, can run the ball, can stop the run. It’ll be a great atmosphere down there Sunday night and a big challenge for us. We have a lot of work to do this week but looking forward to the opportunity.”
We’ll get an idea of how wide the gap between Belichick and Harbaugh is on Sunday night. But this definitely won’t be the Freddie Kitchens Experience.
Head coach John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens hugs head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots after winning the 2013 AFC Championship game at Gillette Stadium on January 20, 2013 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The Baltimore Ravens defeated the New England Patriots 28-13. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
The Ravens have just seven total giveaways, tied for the fourth-fewest in the NFL. They’ve lost only two fumbles. Despite drawing the most roughing the passer flags (7) in the NFL so far, their 53 total penalties are tied for the 12th-fewest. Their offensive line has committed just three false starts all season, tied for the lowest total in the league.
Patriots defensive tackle Lawrence Guy, who played for the Ravens from 2014-16, describes Harbaugh as a disciplined and passionate coach who can command the room and bring the best out of his players.
“Coach Harbaugh is a real good coach and he understands what it takes to coach,” said Guy. “He’s been there for many years, has coached many different players and gotten the most out of him he can, and I think he’s coaching his team to be successful and have success. And any negativity that they have, he kind of looks over that, ‘OK this is how we need to get it done’, and continues to keep fighting.
“You could tell by his coaching, you could tell by when he talks, when he’s in front of the room, you got to see what he means. He really, truly does care about the game and it shows.”
Simply having a stable and confident presence at head coach is so important and often so underrated in the NFL. Belichick has obviously done it at a higher level and far more consistently than Harbaugh or anyone else in the league. But Harbaugh may be the league’s best hope to match Belichick in terms of simply limiting mistakes and getting all of his players to do their jobs.
“They do everything well. So I think it’s not one thing, it’s kind of everything, and the coaches put them in a good position,” said Tom Brady on Friday. “They’ve had great players – I mean, Hall of Fame players – good schemes, and then good units. They have good players that play well and play within the style of play that their coach asks them to play, and they do a great job.”
Head coach John Harbaugh interacts with Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens prior to playing against the Cincinnati Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium on October 13, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Dan Kubus/Getty Images)
A lot of those aforementioned Hall of Famers aren’t walking through that door. Brady certainly doesn’t have Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, or Terrell Suggs to worry about. But he does have Brandon Williams, Michael Pierce, and Chris Wormley up front. A veteran secondary led by three-time All-Pro safety Earl Thomas and cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey, Brandon Carr, and the newly acquired Marcus Peters. A unit that’s allowing just 84.3 rushing yards per game (second in the NFL) and an 83.0 opposing passer rating (sixth).
The Ravens excel at the three things that Belichick always says can prove your toughness as a team: running the ball, stopping the run, and covering kicks. They’re 10th in yards allowed per kick return and 11th in yards allowed per punt return. They lead the league with 1,429 yards on the ground.
Harbaugh arrives to Sunday night with the league’s best running game, a stout run defense, and a fresh challenge for the Patriots at quarterback. But perhaps most importantly, his Ravens are unlikely to fall all over themselves to the degree that so many Patriots opponents have this season. They’ve made it to a lot of huge games and given the Patriots a tough run for a reason.
“This day and age, a lot of coaches don’t get to stay at one place for a long time,” said Devin McCourty. “So, I don’t know much about him, but I think obviously [Harbaugh] always gets his guys ready to go. They always have a good football team, no matter what changes they go through.
“I would say similar to here. There’s always a lot going on. We have players leave, coaches leave. They’ve had the same thing, but it always seems like they’re talked about, they’re in the big games at the end of the year, they’re in the playoffs, they’re trying to make a push for the championship. So, I would say he knows how to prepare his team and get them ready for a long season, and obviously, getting ready for the big games.”
Sunday Notes
Jun 5, 2019; Foxborough, MA: New England Patriots wide receiver N’Keal Harry during mandatory minicamp at the Gillette Stadium practice field. (Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports)
Let’s empty the bucket before the Patriots and Ravens finally kick off.
Harry 50-50 to be active at Ravens
The Patriots have officially activated rookie wide receiver N’Keal Harry to the 53-man roster, but that doesn’t mean he’s a sure thing to make his NFL debut Sunday night. According to *N’Keal Harry.* Apologizes. The fingers were faster than the brain. https://t.co/VzAQ0xgPIz
It looks like Belichick at least wanted to give himself the option of playing Harry in Baltimore if he needed him. But it wouldn’t be shocking if Belichick held the rookie out for at least one game. Throwing him in there against the Ravens on the road in prime time would be a massive spot for a rookie making his NFL debut.
Safeties could play unique role vs. Lamar Jackson
The Patriots may have found a #blueprint for how they can slow down Lamar Jackson, and it came in last year’s playoffs. The Los Angeles Chargers earned their way to the beating the Pats handed them in Foxboro last January because they deployed a unique but effective defensive gameplan against Jackson and the Ravens.
Key to the Chargers’ strategy was rushing only four on most plays and dropping everyone into coverage, and often those seven players were all defensive backs. It helped them come close to matching Jackson’s speed and limited big plays. If the Patriots want to try something similar – well, they don’t really have anyone like Derwin James on their roster. But you may see a lot of Patrick Chung, Terrence Brooks, or even Jonathan Jones in hybrid safety/linebacker-type roles.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – JANUARY 06: Quarterback Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens stiff arms free safety Derwin James of the Los Angeles Chargers in the second half during the AFC Wild Card Playoff game at M&T Bank Stadium. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
And keeping Jackson from exploding for big yardage is just a piece of the puzzle. They have speed to worry about covering Jackson’s weapons, too.
“It’s tough because, I mean, not only does he scramble to create time, but he has to the arm strength to throw it literally anywhere on the field,” said Harmon on Jackson. “When you have skill guys like they have, you know, ‘Hollywood’ Brown, [Willie] Snead, [Miles] Boykin, Seth Roberts, and [Mark] Andrews, those guys are great at scrambling, you know, to get open. They’re really good on a scramble. That’s when they’ve been able to make some some plays. So we’ve just got to do a good job of just trying to contain them, keep [Jackson] in the pocket. And when he scrambles, I mean, just try to get a head on him so that he doesn’t have too much time to just continue to make plays not only with his feet, but his arm.”
Whatever the Patriots cook up for the Ravens, it’s likely to look different from what they’ve shown at any other point this season. The unique talent on the Ravens offense will force them to switch it up.
Can the Patriots break Jackson’s fumble spell?
Lamar Jackson has fumbled the football four times this season. He’s lost it to the other team only once.
The Ravens QB is still prone to botched snaps and handoffs and just dropping the ball on the ground. But this goes back to the Ravens’ coaching and discipline. They’ve done a good job of being alert and falling on the ball when the play has been broken and ball security overrides everything else.
Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens rolls out of the pocket during the first half of the game against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on October 20, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
We’ll see if the Pats are able to put pressure on Jackson to protect the ball. Jackson feels due for a costly turnover, and he’s going up against the defense with the most total takeaways (25) in the NFL.
Matt Dolloff is a digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff or email him at matthew.dolloff@bbgi.com.
