OWINGS MILLS
Chargers Derwin James Jersey , Md. (AP) Forced to assess the 2017 season far sooner than anticipated, Ravens coach John Harbaugh acknowledged changes must be
made for Baltimore to snap its three-year run missing the playoffs.
He will not, however, shuffle the coaching staff.
Harbaugh will fill the void left by the retirement of defensive coordinator Dean Pees, but said Thursday he will bring back offensive coordinator Marty
Mornhinweg and attempt to keep the rest of the staff intact unless ”guys get
opportunities to go somewhere and do some different things.”
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Pees announced his retirement Monday, less than 24 hours after the Ravens (9-7) were bounced from the playoff chase with a 31-27 loss to Cincinnati.
The in-house contender for the coordinator job is Ravens linebackers coach Don Martindale. Chuck Pagano, fired as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts on
Monday and Baltimore’s defensive coordinator in 2011, is also among those being
considered.
Asked to describe what he’s looking for from Pees’ successor, Harbaugh replied: ”Definitely continuity. I’m a believer in this system. I think this
system has been something that’s been developed over a long period of
time
Panthers Ian Thomas Jersey , and we have worked really hard every single year to make it better. We’ve evolved it and grown it, and I think you see the
results.”
The Ravens have long been known for their defense, and this year that unit was the strength of the team. Baltimore recorded three shutouts, led the NFL
with 34 takeaways and ranked 12th in yardage allowed.
The offense, on the other hand, needs help. Harbaugh lauded the performance of quarterback Joe Flacco , who rebounded from a back injury to come on strong
during the Ravens’ late-season playoff push.
But the coach was unrelenting in his assessment of the wide receivers, noting that there were too many dropped passes and far too few big plays from a unit
built around veterans Mike Wallace and Jeremy Maclin and featuring 2015 draft
pick Breshad Perriman, who is thus far a first-round bust. Baltimore ranked 29th
in net yards passing per game (189.4).
”That’s an area we’ve got to look at really hard
Cheap Adam Butler Jersey ,,” Harbaugh said. ”The passing game wasn’t where it needed to be.”
Tight end Benjamin Watson led the team with 61 catches and six touchdowns. Wallace and Maclin combined for only seven scores, and Baltimore had only five
catches of at least 40 yards.
”We want to get playmakers. That’s something that we need,” Harbaugh said. ”We’re going to add players. It’s not to say that we can’t add some players
through free agency. That’s the way that the salary cap works. The draft will be
the major part of it.”
Covering a variety of topics in a session that lasted nearly 40 minutes, Harbaugh said he and owner Steve Bisciotti, along with general manager Ozzie
Newsome, are looking forward to improving upon a three-year stretch in which the
team has gone 5-11, 8-8 and 9-7.
”Our focus is on, can we be better tomorrow than we were today? And that’s just the truth of it
Cheap Harrison Phillips Jersey ,” Harbaugh said. ”To me, that’s our focus. It’s not looking back and saying, `Hey, we didn’t do this or we didn’t do
that.’ Everybody is full speed ahead to be the best we can be, and has been for
the last three years.”
Had Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton not thrown a 49-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-down play with 44 seconds left, the Ravens would have spent this week
preparing for the playoffs amid a city bathed in purple. Instead, Harbaugh was
left trying to appease a fan-base that responded to mediocrity and the team’s
take-a-knee stance during the national anthem on Sept. 24 by staying away in
record numbers on Sundays.
”We understand our fans. We understand what they respect,” Harbaugh said. ”And we want nothing more than to get it there, so we can have that
moment
http://www.washingtonredskinsteamonline.com/pernell-mcphee-jersey , we can complete that pass and we can have the whole city going crazy and dancing
in the streets. That’s what we’re fighting for.
”I wanted it to happen this year. I wanted it to be the miracle year this year. Maybe we could have done it, and then all of a sudden, it’s not to be. OK,
are we going to lament it and look back and beat ourselves up, find reasons that
aren’t there and point fingers? That’s not what I’m going to do. That’s not what
leaders do. Let’s go to work.”
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