Monday Night Observations
Brutal
As you know the night games start very late here, so I watch the edited version the following morning. When I went to bed last night, I had this weird feeling that I was forgetting to do something, but it was Monday night, and I don’t have to make FAAB bids (Wednesday) or set lineups/make an ATS pick (Thursday). So I dismissed it and went to sleep.
When I hit play on the game this morning, my key player J.K. Dobbins hit for a 17-yard run, and Joe Buck commented that running might be easier without Roquan Smith playing. FUCK! I meant to see whether Smith, who I have in the Steak League, was active (he was questionable) and if not drop Justice Hill for whoever his replacement was and use him. That’s what I forgot to do. So I missed out on Malik Harrison’s 12 tackles, points I’ll never get back.
But I’m burying the lede. My key player, Dobbins, who I have in the Primetime and my best BCL hurt his knee in the first half. It looked like he was set for a big game too as they kept throwing to him out of the backfield. I expected Dobbins to get hurt eventually — in fact I’m surprised he lasted this long — but this was another blow.
On the plus side the Ravens covered, Ladd McConkey played and got me 14 points and Rashod Bateman got 11 in the Steak League. I just have to imagine Bateman was my middle linebacker and my fourth WR got blanked.
Justin Herbert looked good, but once Dobbins went down, and Herbert was in obvious passing downs, the Ravens were able to tee off.
Quentin Johnston is a drop machine, and it’s not just the passes that slipped through his hands, but constantly losing his footing. Once in a while it’s bad luck, but keeping your footing while changing direction on a route is kind of an important skill. McConkey is Herbert’s only plus target.
The Ravens just make it look so easy. Long TD runs, Lamar Jackson wearing out the pass rush with amazing instincts. You never know when he’s going to stop or in which direction he’ll pivot. I’m always surprised watching him.
The game really changed when Jim Harbaugh punted on 4th-and-3 from midfield two minutes before the half, and John went for it on 4th-and-1 from his own 16! which led to a TD drive. Granted, the Chargers don’t have the personnel the Ravens do to convert, (though the Ravens bizarrely opted to snap the ball to Mark Andrews.) I don’t think you should *always* go for it just because the math says so, and there’s a big difference between three yards and one. But Jim Harbaugh should have realized the offense he was facing and not quibble so much about *where* they got the ball, but resolve not to let them get it at all. After all, if you trust your defense, trust them to handle it at midfield should you fail. And if you don’t trust your defense — which you should not against the Ravens — then don’t give them back the ball period.