Dan Orlovsky Warns Ravens 'Don't Let Micah Be Maxx'
Heading into last week's game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Head Coach John Harbaugh referred to three-time Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby as a game-wrecker.
Crosby did indeed wreck the game for the Ravens. He was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week after registering six total tackles (five solo), four tackles for loss, two sacks, and a pass deflection while playing every defensive snap in the Raiders' 26-23 upset victory in Baltimore.
The Ravens will face another game-wrecker in two-time All-Pro outside linebacker Micah Parsons when the Dallas Cowboys host the Ravens on Sunday. ESPN's Dan Orlovsky said the Ravens' objective is "don't let Micah be Maxx."
"They're not handling people at the line of scrimmage the appropriate way," Orlovsky said on "NFL Live." "If they treat Micah Parsons the way that they did Maxx Crosby, they're going to lose this football game as well.
"Baltimore, you're not going to be able to gap scheme toward Micah Parsons. He's going to do that same stuff [Crosby did], understanding it's Derrick Henry in the backfield, play's going to get blown up. You can't pull people toward Micah Parsons. Second of all, you can't down-block one on one versus these elite edge guys. Micah is going to do the same thing; Maxx just gets upfield, blows up the play, five-yard loss."
Orlovsky contended that the Ravens' predictability on offense also was a factor in Crosby's dominant performance.
"When Derrick Henry is in the backfield on first and second downs and he is … lined up directly behind the quarterback in the pistol or underneath, they're likely to run the football there," Orlovsky said. "Micah Parsons is going to have tells. They've got to handle and have a plan for those elite edge guys in the pass and the run game much better."
Micah Parsons on Possibly Being Spy for Lamar Jackson: 'That's a Tough Feat for Anyone'
While the Ravens' offense faces the challenge of neutralizing Parsons, Parsons and the Cowboys' defense has the unenviable task of containing Lamar Jackson.
Parsons said he's excited to be playing against the two-time league MVP for the first time in his career.
"How do you prepare and match up with Lamar? It's hard, because he's so dynamic, he can make any throw, he's so fast," Parsons said on his Bleacher Report podcast. "He's been one of the best quarterbacks we've seen in our time. … This guy has been great for so long. I'm super excited to be matched up against him, to see what I see on TV in person.
"[Head Coach Mike McCarthy] said I might spy Lamar, but I don't know, that's a tough feat for anyone to spy Lamar. He's so fast, so shifty, and if that's my job I just have to step up and do my job so that we can win the game."
Parsons also is an admirer of good defenses, and he sees one in the Ravens despite the unit's uneven showing through the first two weeks.
"I still believe they have one of the best defenses in football," Parsons said. "I always talk about Kyle Hamilton. They got Roquan Smith. My guy Odafe Oweh just had two and a half sacks last week. They have the rushers. They paid [Nnamdi Madubuike] this offseason. Marlon [Humphrey], they got him. They got the young guy, [Nate] Wiggins.
"They got so much on that defense. They're so exciting to watch, and it's going to be fun watching that defense go against our offense. It's going to be a great game."
Distinguishing Overreactions From Legitimate Concerns About Ravens' 0-2 Start
The Baltimore Sun’s Childs Walker looked at several of the hot takes surrounding the Ravens' 0-2 start and rendered verdicts on which were an overreaction and which were cause for concern.
Here are some excerpts:
Take: The Ravens have already dug themselves too deep a hole.
"Most teams that lose their first two games are bad (the Ravens did it just once before under John Harbaugh and finished 5-11 in 2015). The Ravens, meanwhile, were the best team in football as recently as December. They lost some key players, but they still have the reigning Most Valuable Player at quarterback, playmakers to help him and Pro Bowl talent at all three levels of their defense. … [Harbaugh] has never lost his handle on a season when he had a healthy, stocked roster. There's no reason to think this team, built to chase a Super Bowl, will roll over.
"Will that argument become more difficult if the Ravens lose in Dallas this weekend? Yes. This isn't baseball. Every defeat is significant to a team's playoff positioning, even if the underlying talent is strong. But the sky hasn't fallen yet. VERDICT: Overreaction."
Take: The Ravens can't protect leads.
"Whenever the Ravens lose a game like [last week's to the Raiders], fans haul out statistics showing that they've blown more fourth-quarter leads than any other team in recent seasons. [Harbaugh] noted that the Ravens have given up more fourth-quarter leads than most teams because they've had more fourth-quarter leads than most teams, which probably isn't going to sate critics but is an accurate point. On balance, the Ravens did not struggle to put opponents away last season. They rolled up the best point differential in the league because they hammered quality opponents. Their losses, by contrast, were close and felt magnified because they were unusual.
"Was the Ravens' fourth-quarter performance against Las Vegas concerning? Absolutely. Was it indicative of a fatal flaw? It's too early to say. VERDICT: Overreaction."
Take: The Ravens' secondary is a massive disappointment.
"This was the natural conclusion after the Raiders' two most dangerous pass catchers, wide receiver Davante Adams and tight end Brock Bowers, did what they pleased down the stretch of Sunday's loss. The Ravens didn't agree with Brandon Stephens' pass interference penalty against Adams that set up the tying touchdown, but that was beside the point after all the completions they'd surrendered in the second half.
"There's too much talent here for the performance not to improve, but the Ravens need that to happen sooner rather than later given the quarterbacks they'll face over the next three weeks. VERDICT: Properly concerned."
Pundit Says Jackson-Zay Flowers Connection 'Looks Great'
NFL.com’s Kevin Patra ranked the Ravens as the best of the nine 0-2 teams, and said the biggest reason for optimism is that the connection between Jackson and second-year wide receiver Zay Flowers "looks great."
Flowers had seven catches for 91 yards and a touchdown against the Raiders.
"The most encouraging aspect of Zay's day was that it wasn't the quick bubble screens or gimmick plays where he did damage; three of his seven grabs came on throws of 15-plus air yards, and just one fell under four air yards," Patra wrote. "In 16 games last season, just 14 of Flowers' 77 catches came on tosses of 15-plus air yards.
"It's a painfully small sample size, but if Flowers becomes a consistent threat in intermediate, over-the-middle routes — à la Amon-Ra St. Brown in Detroit — the Ravens' offense could completely open up. The young wideout has shown the ability to swiftly get in and out of breaks, owning the talent to be more than a screen maven. The hope is Offensive Coordinator] that Todd Monken will continue to use him as such as Baltimore attempts to dig out of the early-season hole."
