Pundit Predicts Ravens Will 'Steal' AFC North Title From Steelers
Even though the Ravens trail the AFC North-leading Pittsburgh Steelers by a game-and-a-half with five weeks remaining in the season, CBS Sports’ John Breech still believes Baltimore will win the division.
"I think [the Ravens] on paper are the more talented team. It's just a matter of they can't have any more slip-ups. There is no more margin for error," Breech said. "The Ravens have to put up or shut up now and I do think they will do that coming out of their bye, and I think they will steal this division back from the Pittsburgh Steelers and end up as the AFC North champion."
Breech said the Ravens should benefit from having a late bye and a more favorable schedule than the Steelers, who still have to face the Kansas City Chiefs (11-1) and Philadelphia Eagles (10-2), in addition to a rematch with the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Week 16.
"The key game obviously is that Steelers-Ravens game in Baltimore. If the Ravens win that there is no reason they can't win this division," Breech said.
A Special Teams Coach Analyzes Justin Tucker's Kicks
Justin Tucker entered this season as the most accurate kicker of all time and the least of the Ravens' concerns, but his prolonged slump has become the team's most perplexing situation.
Given Tucker's long track record of success, Head Coach John Harbaugh's confidence that the seven-time Pro Bowl kicker will "get it fixed" makes sense. The question on the minds of fans and pundits is what specifically needs to be fixed.
SB Nation’s Alex Katson reached out to Fresno State Special Teams Coordinator John Baxter, who has 35 years of collegiate special teams coaching experience, for his analysis of Tucker's struggles this season.
The first thing Baxter did was shoot down the theory that holder Jordan Stout and/or long snapper Nick Moore are at fault.
"Not only are those holds exceptional, their operation is the envy of the league," Baxter said. "Their snap-hold-kick process is one that a lot of people try to emulate."
Baxter offered his theory on why all but one of Tucker's 10 misses have been wide left.
"Tucker has always been a guy who hits the ball really hard," Baxter said. "He does what I call 'crossing up.' When his right leg hits the ball, his left side crosses over, which tightens your follow through to stay on balance. The harder you swing, the more active your left side has to be. If your left side is late, the ball is going to track left. When you pull it as hard as he pulls it – you can talk to a fade but a hook won't listen. He swings as hard as any player that's ever kicked. When you swing that hard, it's easy to pull one."
Baxter said another part of what has made Tucker so brilliant could also be causing issues.
"Tucker's plant foot is also tighter to the ball than most kickers' - notoriously so, Baxter says," Kaston wrote. "That allows him to generate the 66-yard power he's displayed as recently as 2021, but it also means that if he's even a fraction off, the ball drifts left. As Baxter puts it: 'When you start flirting with the left upright … if it's going left, it's not coming back.'"
Katson said Baxter's assessments are in line with what Tucker has said about this season's results.
"The 35-year-old has told the media that he's simply let a few kicks get away from him this year, something that happens to every kicker," Katson wrote. "His 10 misses are already easily a career-high, surpassing a seven-miss season in 2015. But there's also been a four-week stretch where he was 7-for-7 on field goals and 18-for-18 on extra points this season, and he still hasn't missed a field goal inside 40 yards in four years.
"Tucker, despite his status as the second-most accurate kicker in the history of the sport, is still human. It's very difficult for humans to replicate a process as ultra-precise as kicking under duress 71 times in a row with no flaws. Tucker's ability to do it 69 times with only two faults in 2021 made him the GOAT to many people because it was insanely impressive. … When you take one of the hardest swingers in the history of the game, with a notoriously narrow plant foot, and narrow the margins – Tucker has attempted 17 of his 27 field goals from 40+, the fifth-highest ratio in the NFL this season – there is bound to be some variance."
What's not in question is Tucker's dedication to honing his craft. He also has the benefit of working with a skilled coaching staff, including Senior Special Teams Coach Randy Brown
"The proficiency of the Ravens staff is unrivaled, and if anybody is going to [help Tucker get back on track], it will be Baltimore," Katson wrote.
Ronnie Stanley Projected to Be One of the Top 2025 Free Agents
What a difference a year makes. Last season around this time, Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley was playing through injuries and not up to the high standard he has set for himself.
The Ravens and Stanley reportedly reached a restructured contract this offseason that essentially made it a prove-it year for the veteran.
Well, Stanley has proven it and is projected to be one of the top free agents in 2025 by Pro Football Focus, which ranks him at No. 8 overall and the top offensive tackle, one spot ahead of Denver's Garrett Bolles.
"It's hard to argue that any player has improved their stock more this season than the Ravens' left tackle," PFF wrote. "After a devastating ankle injury in 2021 seemed to stall his career, Ronnie Stanley is finally back to top form in 2024, posting an impressive 80.6 PFF pass-blocking grade through the first 13 weeks."
PFF's grades have Stanley at No. 28 overall (among players with at least a 50% snap share) and tied for 14th in pass blocking, where he's been charged with zero sacks, four quarterback hits, and 29 pressures on 430 pass-blocking opportunities.
Jamal Lewis Reflects on His Historic 2003 Season
Former Ravens running back Jamal Lewis sat down for an in-depth interview on the “NFL Players Second Acts Podcast” and reflected on his historic 2003 season.
That year, Lewis chased Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards before finishing with 2,066, and he set the single-game rushing record with 295 yards (Adrian Peterson broke the mark with 296 yards in 2007).
Lewis said he tailored his training that offseason with the goal of reaching 2,000 yards in mind.
"I trained like hell," Lewis said. "My training that offseason, I did a lot of boxing, and on my speed training I worked more on my back-end finish, so when I get to my second level, boom, I can go finish and hit the home run. My power was good, but my stride length was off, so we worked on that pretty much all offseason."
Lewis' explosiveness was on full display in his 295-yard game against the Cleveland Browns in Week 2, when he had touchdown runs of 82 and 63 yards.
"Going into halftime, [left tackle] Jonathan Ogden was like, 'We're at about 180. We should just go for the record,'" Lewis said. "I said, 'That's on y'all.' And then he rallied the troops – that's where [having] good veterans come in – and he went and talked to [Offensive Coordinator Matt] Cavanaugh and [Head Coach Brian] Billick and got them on board, and then we came out in the second half and they just started feeding me.
"And the Cleveland Browns defense, you saw it in their eyes that it was over with. They wanted none of it. When you watched Michael Jordan back in the day and he was in a zone and you wonder what that feels like, that's what it felt like."
