OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Tuesday, numerous Ravens' coaches addressed the media while the team is on their bye week with only four games left.
Going into Week 15, the Ravens' offense ranks as the NFL's best. A huge reason why is the reigning MVP, Lamar Jackson. He's first in passer rating and second in both passing yards and touchdowns.
"Coaching him every day, listening to him, working with him—his mind is on another level. What he sees, what he thinks about, what he anticipates, how he acts is another year advanced. I'm really proud of where he's come from and where he's at right now," says Tee Martin, Ravens' quarterbacks coach.
On the defensive side of the ball, the defense hasn't lived up to the Ravens standard for the majority of the season. But over the past few weeks, the defense has improved, not giving up many big plays.
"It's really about the continuity, and we probably have simplified a lot of things in our defense too. We're not doing as much. When you don't do as much and try to do too much out there on defense, when you got new guys and all these toys, you try and put them in positions to confuse the offense, and in turn sometimes it confuses the defense," says Chris Hewitt, assistant head coach/pass game coordinator.
As the season winds down, a concern is Justin Tucker. He's been one of the most reliable legs in NFL history. This year he's 19/27 on field goals, going 4/9 on kicks 50 yards plus. Special teams coordinator Coach Chris Horton believes the bye week could be good for him mentally.
"He's been going through it, so for him to clear his mind, ease himself out of football for a little bit, I think that's going to be good for him, but me knowing Justin, Justin's probably going to be somewhere kicking," says Horton.
Currently, the Ravens sit at 8-5 on the year. They have two division games left against the Steelers in Week 16 and the Browns in the season finale.
