We aren’t even close to the holiday season. Heck, we haven’t even made it to Halloween! And there are still almost two months until Festivus, the holiday created by _Seinfeld_ that comes on December 23.
But after Sunday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens fans deserve an early chance to air their grievances. In todya
**Nikhil’s grievance:** I’ll have to dive into the film to dissect what went wrong in coverage beyond individual mistakes, but on offense, the short-yardage issues are absolutely inexcusable. What is most frustrating is the variety of mistakes. A one-yard distance was extended to six after a false start _three times._ Derrick Henry was stuffed (again). After a couple of conversions, Declan Doyle got too cute with his play-calling. Tyler Huntley and Ja’Kobi Lane failed to connect on a potential touchdown that Lamar Jackson probably completes. Which brings me to the obvious: yes, the Ravens should be better in short-yardage in Jackson. And yet, it was already a problem when he was on the field.
The solution comes from identifying the failures. Opponents are already stacking the box on third-and-short waiting to swallow up Henry – why run him into the pile when the pile includes Dexter Lawrence? Doyle found early success with two-RB ‘pony’ packages featuring Henry and Justice Hill, but the Bengals were ready when he went back to the well for a third time. The element of deception was lacking on Hill’s second-quarter sweep; Zay Flowers had only been eye candy, so the defense barely reacted to his jet motion. That actually would have been the time to mix in a sweep and keep the menu open for the rest of the game!
As for the penalties, we’re well beyond the acceptable adjustment window for a new staff and a new scheme, even including the grace period for changes along the offensive line and at quarterback. (That last part matters less when full-year starters are committing the pre-snap fouls.) The Ravens have actually improved post-snap in the last three weeks, but after just two pre-snap penalties in Atlanta, they have 12 in their last two weeks. Like I said: well past acceptable.
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* [Baltimore Ravens discussion](/baltimore-ravens-discussion)