I don’t know about you, but I needed ten days before penning this ugly post-mortem. I’m unable to shed any light on Todd Monken’s bizarre avoidance of the run game. It’s as puzzling to me as it is to every other observer, including you. Did it cost the Ravens the game? Mostly likely, yes. But no need to dwell on that further.
This was the type of year that team dreams of. Virtually every one of Eric DeCosta’s late pre-season free agent signings were not just hits, but homers (I hate baseball analogies, but its apropos here). Furthermore, key young players blossomed to their full potential (Justin Madubuike), and some became major stars (Kyle Hamilton) while others came out of nowhere (Brandon Stephens). The quarterback was the league’s most valuable player. The defensive structuring and coordination was spectacular. The Ravens played in arguably the toughest division in football, yet smashed virtually every top end team they played and wound up with the number one seed. Continue reading “AFC Championship Game – The Ugly Post-Mortem”