[News] Eisenberg: Ravens' Defeat To Eagles Couldn't Matter Less

[BR News]

Preseason results are meaningless and don’t translate to the regular season. Just ask the Patriots.

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[steelcityraven]

Its not the loss as much as how they lost. I am not even worried about the offense being out of sinc... I get that... It was the way the defense got ripped and seemed to never be able to make adjustments to correct it. And even that wouldn't matter but this has been an issue since Peas took over and if there was not a pattern. IDK.... hoping HARBs gets a handle on this before Peas destroys our season! Never been a fan of DPeas

[ciro]

"But this wasn%u2019t a preseason game and the Ravens%u2019 starters didn%u2019t leave. They kept slugging the Redskins, injured Griffin, blunted the read-option and rallied to take a lead before losing late." yeah from this it seems like the ravens purposely injured him, I'm proud of the ravens who play hard but not dirty

[robbie29]

The end result in Philly didn't matter, and as long as there is at least SOME improvement this Saturday then even individual performances aren't that big of a deal. However, the absences by several key players (Campanaro, Webb), and the injuries that piled up during the game are cause for some concern. We'll see how everything shakes out on the 13th of September. It looks like Buck Allen and Darren Waller may get some significant reps much earlier than they may have dreamed. Best of luck to them and here's hoping Taliaferro and Perriman heal sooner rather than later. Go Ravens!

[sami]

Flummoxed...nice word.

It looked to me like the Eagles game-planned for us. I think Chip Kelly wanted to put some fear in the hearts of the Cowboys and Giants.

Edited August 25, 2015 by sami

[nevermorebmore]

I love Ngata (I'm retiring my 92 jersey this year), but I must say: I'm excited for Brandon Williams. The hit/atomic bomb he dropped on Bradford would have been a game changing hit. That hit soaked deep into Bradford's soul, reptilian-brain-jarring hit. There's no way QBs won't be shaken with that panzer coming through the center of the pocket.

[stixfix69]

Well...I take it as a very concerning loss, regardless if they game planne dfor us or not, they exploited our front 7 and secondary...

[steelcityraven]

We have the talent to fix whatever is wrong but we need to have Harbs tighten the reigns on our DC.... or this could be a long season. We are as talented as any team in the league from top to bottom but we need to be willing to take the handcuffs off of the D... DPeas reminds me of Cam Cameron's offense a few years ago... He just never trusted them enough to open it up.

[fusuymada]

I disagree to this extent. If Chip Kelly didn't gameplan and we didn't gameplan then it was simply mano a mano and what I saw was our first string defensive line being pushed back regularly. What I saw was our secondary in man to man coverage, beaten and beaten bad. What I saw was special teams that looked like they were lost out there. Now if you are telling me our guys didn't try and that's why they got beat then I have issues with that. But what I am saying is that if our defensive line doesn't ever have to get penetration or hold firm on the line or if you are saying our secondary will never play man to man or if you are saying our special teams don't actually have to tackle anyone then no I would not be concerned. But there will be times when our radios go down and our guys have to step up and play mano a mano and do an awful lot better than what they did. So where you may not have concerns, I have concerns that after practicing against these guys for three days, we came out and that was the best we could do. I am sorry but I am concerned with our front line holding runners after Haloti's departure. And I am concerned (and I am not the only one) with our secondary, especially since a lot of the names are the same as the group who routinely got beat last year. So I am glad we shouldn't be concerned, but I guess looking from the outside in and not the inside out, I don't have to be an apologist.  Or should I say, I'm not paid to be an apologist.

Edited August 25, 2015 by fusuymada

[January J]

Yawn. No worries over here. Infact I'm glad we lost the way we did. Let them know we can be touched and will make them fight even harder to improve and avoid that feeling of losing big.

[rmcjacket23]

Does the outcome on the scoreboard matter? No.

 

Does the process by which the outcome on the scoreboard was determined matter? Incredibly Yes.

 

The process by which we played that game for at least the first three quarters was bad. Very, very bad.

 

That matters.

[Crusader]

"Couldn't matter less" Until you see the same mistakes during the regular season but by then its too late. This is not backyard football where you can just plug and play.

[Crusader]

What bad is the Ravens will go out and beat up the helpless Redskins and say everything is all better now. Forget the 4th game. Then comes the Denver game, a butt kicking beat down in the making cause that's what Payton does to the Ravens thru out his career during the regular season.. Then its "only one game" and at the end of the season Ravens are fighting to get in because of "one" game.

[January J]

The life of a ravens fan. Extreme highs and extreme lows. The roller coaster ride has begun.

[The Mom Gene]

Every year we get torched in at least 1 preseason game.

[757RavensFan]

Every year we get torched in at least 1 preseason game.

 

Except for last year, we actually went 4-0 last pre-season.  I guess that's why there's an over-reaction to the loss to the Eagles everyone is expecting mid-season performance in the 2nd pre-season. 

[Edgar]

To say that, "it couldn't have mattered less" is to suggest that it is thoroughly insignificant and that, plainly put is hogwash.

[FloridalovesRavens]

Bad game for crying out loud forget it and move on. I am quite sure the Redskins can take care of their selves geez.

[riseNConquer81]

To say that, "it couldn't have mattered less" is to suggest that it is thoroughly insignificant and that, plainly put is hogwash.

no its not.

its a preseason game.

no game plan and most of it was played by guys who wont even be on the roster in 2 weeks.

The Lions were 4-0 in the preseason before posting the first winless season in NFL history.

Edited August 25, 2015 by riseNConquer81

[riseNConquer81]

What bad is the Ravens will go out and beat up the helpless Redskins and say everything is all better now. Forget the 4th game. Then comes the Denver game, a butt kicking beat down in the making cause that's what Payton does to the Ravens thru out his career during the regular season.. Then its "only one game" and at the end of the season Ravens are fighting to get in because of "one" game.

The Ravens are fighting to get in because unlike most other teams: they have the entire rest of their division also in qualifying position.

Incidentally, i dont think anyone that went 15-1 during the regular season has ever had trouble getting in the playoffs.

Edited August 25, 2015 by riseNConquer81

[Barry S]

How many home playoff games have the Ravens had since John has been head coach, to me they don't push hard enough to strive for perfection. They need to stop blowing off losses, look at last year when they backed into the playoffs when San Diego lost it's last game. What you do in practice carries over into real game situations, it matters!!!!!!

[#20=DA MAN!!]

OMG ppl it was a meaningless preseason game with at least 6 starters or valuable guys not playing. tell me how was dean pees gonna adjust when there wasnt a gameplan. Harbs specifically said that they wanted to see individual performances. would they have liked to win, sure. but chip did gameplan and it showed. because there is no way u can effectively run a no huddle without gameplanning. hell i would rather get blown out if it meant we would come out of the preseason healthy.

[J.O.14]

How many home playoff games have the Ravens had since John has been head coach, to me they don't push hard enough to strive for perfection. They need to stop blowing off losses, look at last year when they backed into the playoffs when San Diego lost it's last game. What you do in practice carries over into real game situations, it matters!!!!!!

Harbaugh has some of the most grueling practices in the NFL. Hard work is not the problem. Relax, its only the preseason. If this happens in week 1 or 2, then yes start complaining. And we don't need to strive for perfection, its impossible to get. We need to strive for excellence.

[BmoreB]

When we win SB 50 that game's going to matter a whole lot less, that's for sure.

[ravenwildman]

Quick (without looking them up) who did we play and what were the results of the last two preseasons?......yeah, forgotten right? Because these are evaluation tools for coaches and players to get ready for the real season....so, moving on are we now, yes?! GO RAVENS!

[Edgar]

no its not.

its a preseason game.

no game plan and most of it was played by guys who wont even be on the roster in 2 weeks.

The Lions were 4-0 in the preseason before posting the first winless season in NFL history.

His headline is clear hyperbole and the article borders on apologetics.

[RavensBaltimore]

How many home playoff games have the Ravens had since John has been head coach, to me they don't push hard enough to strive for perfection. They need to stop blowing off losses, look at last year when they backed into the playoffs when San Diego lost it's last game. What you do in practice carries over into real game situations, it matters!!!!!!

The Ravens have had 2 home playoff games in that span, which isn't bad in the AFC North. We had a 12-4 and an 11-5 season where we didn't get any home playoff games. If we were in the AFC East, we'd be getting them every year. What matters is that we get in and win on an annual basis. This team's ability to "blow off losses" has been a huge factor in their success. We got embarrassed by Denver at home in 2012, then beat them at their place on the way to the SB. We were blown out in Pitts last year, then destroyed them in the postseason. And it's been proven over and over that preseason performance does not necessarily carry over into the regular season. As someone else mentioned, the winless Lions team went 4-0 in the preseason. It's just a time to evaluate bubble players and shake off rust.

[hen826957]

Good teams lose in the preason because it helps you learn and too improve your mistakes. If you be winning by blowing teams out and winning your preason games you really have nothing to study believing your ready and being overconfident towards the regular season.. So I'm glad they got this beating because it improves the football team big time.

[RavensBaltimore]

His headline is clear hyperbole and the article borders on apologetics.

I don't think it was hyperbole at all. Preseason games are LITERALLY meaningless. They don't count at all, and history has shown that no matter how good or bad a team is in the preseason, it gives no indication to what is going to happen in the games that count. If a 4-0 preseason team can go 0-16, how can you possibly think preseason games matter? The Ravens were 4-0 in their first preseason, then went 4-12. I could go on all day, but I think the point is clear.

[rmcjacket23]

How many home playoff games have the Ravens had since John has been head coach, to me they don't push hard enough to strive for perfection. They need to stop blowing off losses, look at last year when they backed into the playoffs when San Diego lost it's last game. What you do in practice carries over into real game situations, it matters!!!!!!

Without context, its sort of pointless. With context, we see a much different story...

 

How many home playoff games have the Ravens had under Harbaugh? Two, the same number of times we won the division under Harbaugh (2011 and 2012).

 

BUT... how many home playoff games have the Ravens had PERIOD? That answer is Five. We won the division in 2000, 2003 and 2006 as well, and Brian Billick was the coach for all of those.

 

So Billick had three home playoff games in nine seasons, and Harbaugh has two home playoff games in seven seasons. And Ted Marchibroda obviously had none.

 

So really, with perspective, it doesn't appear to be a Harbaugh issue at all as much as its a total franchise issue.