[Baltimore Sun] Mike Preston’s Ravens mailbag: Were the Ravens bullied by the Steelers? | COMMENTARY

Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Preston will answer fans’ questions in the middle of each week throughout the Ravens season. After an 18-16 loss to the Steelers, Baltimore (7-4) faces the Los Angeles Chargers (7-3) on “Monday Night Football” in a matchup of AFC contenders coached by Harbaugh brothers.

Here’s Preston’s take on a handful of questions from readers:

(Editor’s note: Questions have been edited for length and clarity.)

The Ravens lead the NFL in number of penalties as well as penalty yardage by a large margin. This just costs the Ravens time and again. Doesn’t this have to be a coaching problem? And as usual, Mike Tomlin outcoaches John Harbaugh again. — Bob in North Carolina

Bob, whenever a team has a high number of penalties, it goes directly back to the head coach. It shows that a team lacks discipline and direction, and Harbaugh is fully accountable. It reminds me of the days when Brian Billick was the coach, and the Ravens had similar problems. As for Tomlin outcoaching Harbaugh again, I don’t know about that one, but Tomlin has outcoached a lot of his peers. His .639 career winning percentage ranks 23rd all-time, and he’s never had a losing season.

I’m amazed that since being named the Steelers’ coach on Jan. 22, 2007, at the age of 34, Tomlin has never won the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year Award. He is only the third coach hired by Pittsburgh since 1969.

My question involves the personnel package that Todd Monken used for the 2-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter of the Steelers game. If the play call was for Lamar to run left, why not have Derrick Henry and Patrick Ricard in the backfield to attract some attention and to potentially block? Also, why not have Zay Flowers running a route, since he was attracting two defenders all afternoon? Nelson Agholor and Tylan Wallace were on the field. Once again, it appears that our OC choked in a big game. And in my opinion, Henry and Ricard should be on the field for every 2-point conversion, regardless of the play call. It just gives the defense more to think about. — Richard Peltz

Richard, I agree with almost every point you covered. Yes, Henry and Ricard should have been on the field because it at least makes the inside linebackers freeze for a second because they have to honor the run. Without those two in the game, it at least indicates the Ravens were going to either pass or come up with some type of trick play. As for Flowers, there was no cause for concern because there was very little room to run. I prefer bigger targets such as tight ends Mark Andrews or Isaiah Likely.

I also would have pounded Henry more, even though the Steelers seemed to know what was coming with the Ravens tossing to Henry on the outside.

I understand the logic of Monken’s call. He gave Pittsburgh a different look, which is why Tomlin called the timeout. The Ravens used a similar play with Jackson going to the short side of the field a week earlier against Cincinnati and were successful. This time it didn’t work, even though the Ravens appeared to have enough blockers. It would have helped if Agholor had gotten a better block, too, at the point of attack.

I used to have an offensive line coach at Towson University named Rich Bader, and one of his favorite sayings was “sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you.”

This time, the bear was dressed as cornerback Joey Porter Jr. He wasn’t fooled at all and took Jackson down.

To me, part of the Ravens’ problem is since the Ray Lewis and Ed Reed era, they can be bullied and thrown off their game. Why won’t the leaders step up and say to just walk away and take it to them on the field? It’s tough watching the Ravens get bullied and, worse yet, not know how to respond. — Jay Parker in Salisbury

I don’t think the Ravens were bullied. Regardless of whether players want to say it or not, the Steelers own the Ravens, winning eight of the past nine matchups. Rivalry? It’s not one anymore because Pittsburgh has dominated this series lately.

It wasn’t like the Steelers just pushed the Ravens all over the field. Baltimore lost two fumbles and Jackson threw an interception. When a team has three turnovers and is penalized 12 times for 80 yards, it’s probably not going to win.

Jackson played poorly, and the offensive line struggled as well. Defensively, the Ravens played better than in recent weeks, but that was more because of Pittsburgh’s “small ball” passing game instead of significant improvement in the secondary.

There is a lot of gloom in Baltimore this week because of the loss, but I will repeat this again and again: There are no great teams in the NFL in 2024. The Ravens can be as good as any of them, but they need to get hot going into the postseason.

It’s not where you start, but where you finish.

Why are Eddie Jackson and Marcus Williams healthy scratches? What’s going on inside the Ravens? Harbaugh used to be a players’ coach, but it seems like there are personality/motivation issues going on inside the locker room. — David M. Yousem

Sorry, David, but both Jackson and Williams as well as outside linebacker David Ojabo have not played well. There isn’t much else to discuss. You perform well, you play. If you don’t, you sit. It’s not hard to understand.

I know the Ravens would like to maintain consistency with the starting offensive line, but with the number of penalties that Patrick Mekari has accumulated so far this season, is it time for Andrew Vorhees to be back in the lineup and Mekari return to being a backup again? — Paul in Orlando

Nope. The Ravens are ranked No. 1 in the NFL in total offense, averaging 430.1 yards a game. They are No. 2 in rush offense and No. 3 in pass offense while scoring 30.4 points per game, which is third best in the NFL. They also have the league’s No. 1 ranked offense in red zone efficiency. Sorry, I’m not making any changes to the offensive line, especially after Mekari played against standout tackles Cameron Heyward and Keeanu Benton. Entering Sunday, Pittsburgh was ranked No. 4 in rush defense, allowing an average of 87.1 yards per game.

This makes my head hurt, but is it time for a new kicker? I wonder if Justin Tucker’s legs aren’t what they used to be and he overcompensates, thus pulling the ball? — Jim Lahman

Tucker is in his 13th season, and I suspect his leg strength isn’t what it used to be. Is he overcompensating? Probably, but he has one of the better kicking coaches in the NFL in Randy Brown. The problem is that there aren’t any kickers available better than Tucker, and I’d still take him in crucial situations with the game on the line.

With that said, I’d bring in another kicker to challenge him in training camp next year. Competition is a good thing.

Why is Keaton Mitchell not in the running back rotation? — Rich Lee

I assume he isn’t ready yet. Plus, the ACL damage in his left knee was significant last December. There is no need to rush him back, especially with Henry and Justice Hill playing so well.

Have a question for Mike Preston? Email sports@baltsun.com with “Ravens mailbag” in the subject line and it could be answered in The Baltimore Sun.

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