OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The quarterback question. It is the conundrum concerning the Ravens as they get back to work. Lamar Jackson is still out with a sprained knee. Tyler Huntley was limited in Tuesday’s walk-through two days after entering concussion protocol following a hit during the win over the Steelers.
"It’s part of the process, what [Huntley] did today," said head coach John Harbaugh. "He is in the protocol and he was allowed to do walk-through."
If Huntley can’t play on Saturday night in Cleveland it will be undrafted rookie Anthony Brown getting his first NFL start. Whoever is under center they would be wise to lean heavily on the run. The Browns rank 22nd in the league in rush defense averaging 128.1 yards per game. The Ravens are coming off a 215-yard game on the ground in Pittsburgh. J.K. Dobbins ran for 120 yards in his first game in eight weeks. It was his first since getting scar tissue removed from his knee.
"I’m just going to get better figuring things out with my knee. The more games I play the better I’ll get," he said.
The Browns offense will look different than the last time Baltimore played Cleveland - that 23-20 win in October. Deshaun Watson will start his third game at quarterback since coming off suspension. It will be his first in the Ravens-Browns series.
"We want to give him a not-so-soft welcoming, you know what I mean? It’s cool to welcome him to the rivalry. Hopefully it won’t be a good rivalry welcoming for him," said cornerback Marlon Humphrey.
"[He is] still a great quarterback, still can move, still can make the throws on the move. [He] can still do everything that any other quarterback can do," said linebacker Patrick Queen.
The big news around the NFL and college football world on Tuesday was the sudden death of Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach. He passed away on Monday night following complications from a heart condition. He was 61 years old.
Harbaugh offered his condolences and said many of Leach’s innovative philosophies from his 'air raid offense' are present in the current Ravens offense.
"That whole kind of idea, in terms of going fast, spreading people out, seeing what the defense looks like, running the play based on that has been transformative. Leach was definitely one of the first guys to do that, really out of the box kind of the way he saw the game and stuck to it. He never was apologetic in any way. He did it differently and did it really well."
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