57 replies to this topic

[PrimeTime]

For better or worse, it's about that time. 

 

https://baltimorespo...wild-card-week/

[ivanbalt]

Barely feels like a playoff game.  This team has been sleepwalking for two months.

[St.Steveg]

Is it known yet whether Lamar is practicing? Obviously the key to the game is having him playing and playing well.

 

I assumed from the day of the last draft that the Ravens had in mind heavy usage of multiple TE formations. It's definitely time to open up the vault on that concept.

[bmore_ken]

Barely feels like a playoff game. This team has been sleepwalking for two months.

There's truth to that. On the other hand,
the Bengals didn't really look all that dominant yesterday. Especially against a 3rd string undrafted rookie starting his first game.

[jamesdean]

Is it known yet whether Lamar is practicing? Obviously the key to the game is having him playing and playing well.

 

I assumed from the day of the last draft that the Ravens had in mind heavy usage of multiple TE formations. It's definitely time to open up the vault on that concept.

I think we'll know something starting tomorrow when they begin practice.  If it's still a big mystery, that tells me they had no intention of expecting him back in 2022-23.  For all we know, Harbaugh & Co. have known for weeks that Lamar was never coming back.  It wouldn't surprise me. 

[Ravens2006]

His practice participation status is the best indicator of whether he has a chance to play this Sunday night. Nothing else matters. Nothing John or anyone in the castle says can be counted on either way when it comes to injury and recovery. They don't believe there's any value giving the opponent any idea of who exactly they're facing that week...

[Mackus]

For all we know, Harbaugh & Co. have known for weeks that Lamar was never coming back. It wouldn't surprise me.

If they knew he was definitely not coming back within 4 weeks then they would have IR'd him. Like they did with Duvernay. They wouldn't just delete a roster spot by keeping him active for no reason.

There is absolutely no way that the Ravens knew 5 or 6 weeks ago that Lamar had no shot at playing in the regular season. Not a reasonable suggestion.

[cprenegade]

I think it's pretty much what has been reported.  The swelling on his knee continues to be a problem.  Now, why that is, anybody's guess.  If it's down enough that he can at least be out there moving around, he will play.  If it continues to be more pronounced swelling that limits his mobility too much, he probably won't play.  

[PrimeTime]

I think it's pretty much what has been reported.  The swelling on his knee continues to be a problem.  Now, why that is, anybody's guess.  If it's down enough that he can at least be out there moving around, he will play.  If it continues to be more pronounced swelling that limits his mobility too much, he probably won't play.  

 

I'm very far from a high level athlete and I'll throw this all out as spitballing/conjecture based on personal experience. I've had my share of knee issues due to a long bowling "career" (patellar dislocation, multiple meniscal tears and an MCL issue) that have resulted in 4 total operations. Even after a significant knee sprain that wasn't surgical, the swelling subsided after a few days of rest. It's odd to me that there would still be swelling at 4ish weeks post injury and that it hasn't been alleviated by draining the knee. If that's been done and the swelling returns, there must be a more significant tear to the ligament than originally thought. Or, perhaps Lamar is just an incredibly slow healer. 

[jamesdean]

If they knew he was definitely not coming back within 4 weeks then they would have IR'd him. Like they did with Duvernay. They wouldn't just delete a roster spot by keeping him active for no reason.

There is absolutely no way that the Ravens knew 5 or 6 weeks ago that Lamar had no shot at playing in the regular season. Not a reasonable suggestion.

Just because it's unreasonable doesn't mean it's not true.  According to Harbaugh, he doesn't know anything so we can all play along with him. There's a lot more going on behind the scenes that we'll never know about. 

[Mackus]

Just because it's unreasonable doesn't mean it's not true.  According to Harbaugh, he doesn't know anything so we can all play along with him. There's a lot more going on behind the scenes that we'll never know about. 

 

It does.  Its not true.  There is absolutely no possible reason for them to keep him on the regular roster, taking up a roster spot, if they knew he was going to miss 4+ games.

 

It may have been a possibility in their minds that it wouldn't heal quickly and he'd miss the rest of the year.  I believe that.  But it wasn't something they knew would happen.  Obvious proof is that they chose not to IR him, because they did that we know that there was at least some possibility of him to return after missing only 4 full games (which would've been Week 18) so they decided that possibility of getting him back after 2 or 3 weeks was worth more than the roster spot.  If you're certain a guy is out, you IR them, and then they can return after 4 missed games and you get another roster spot while the guy is out.  Ravens didn't do that.  Ergo, they weren't certain he'd miss Week 18 at the time of the injury (or a week later). 

 

Its possible they realized two or three weeks ago that it wasn't healing fast enough and he was gonna miss the rest of the regular season and didn't IR him so he'd have a chance to be eligible for Wild Card weekend.  That's another variation that I could believe.

[Biggsy]

I'm very far from a high level athlete and I'll throw this all out as spitballing/conjecture based on personal experience. I've had my share of knee issues due to a long bowling "career" (patellar dislocation, multiple meniscal tears and an MCL issue) that have resulted in 4 total operations. Even after a significant knee sprain that wasn't surgical, the swelling subsided after a few days of rest. It's odd to me that there would still be swelling at 4ish weeks post injury and that it hasn't been alleviated by draining the knee. If that's been done and the swelling returns, there must be a more significant tear to the ligament than originally thought. Or, perhaps Lamar is just an incredibly slow healer.

I tore my ACL about 12 or so years ago. Thats a complete tear. I was sore and swollen, and limited in movement for about 4 weeks. after the 3rd week I was able to bear weight on it. Albeit with a very pronounced limp. In about 6 weeks the swelling was almost all gone, and I could walk normally on it. But still had the instability feeling when I would step or turn certain ways. Unfortunately, due to my service time at the job I had, and the nature of the work in my career, I couldn't afford to miss the 10-14 weeks necessary to get it surgically repaired at the time.

So at 25 years old, with a complete tear, I was able to resume normal activity on my knee in about 6 to 7 weeks.

Everyone is different. Everyone's body is different. But it's just hard for me to believe his knee is still that bad off after this amount of time.

Of course, after hearing Wolfe talk about our strength coach, maybe he had Lamar doing burpees and weighted walking squats as part of his rehab program.

[mdrunning]

I think it's pretty much what has been reported.  The swelling on his knee continues to be a problem.  Now, why that is, anybody's guess.  If it's down enough that he can at least be out there moving around, he will play.  If it continues to be more pronounced swelling that limits his mobility too much, he probably won't play.  

And if Lamar were a Tom Brady type, they could just wrap the knee and send him out there because he wouldn't be relying on his legs to begin with. But with Lamar, it's obviously a much different scenario.

 

If Lamar can't go, I'd rather see Anthony Brown start the game. He wasn't great yesterday, obviously, but part of that I blame on the game plan. Once he seemed to settle in a bit, he did OK. And if we have to run 10 tight ends out there, do it since the wide receivers are the biggest waste of space since Greenland. Brown and Likely seemed to develop a connection yesterday, and with Andrews back next week, at least he'll have a couple of guys he be comfortable throwing to.

[jamesdean]

It does.  Its not true.  There is absolutely no possible reason for them to keep him on the regular roster, taking up a roster spot, if they knew he was going to miss 4+ games.

 

It may have been a possibility in their minds that it wouldn't heal quickly and he'd miss the rest of the year.  I believe that.  But it wasn't something they knew would happen.  Obvious proof is that they chose not to IR him, because they did that we know that there was at least some possibility of him to return after missing only 4 full games (which would've been Week 18) so they decided that possibility of getting him back after 2 or 3 weeks was worth more than the roster spot.  If you're certain a guy is out, you IR them, and then they can return after 4 missed games and you get another roster spot while the guy is out.  Ravens didn't do that.  Ergo, they weren't certain he'd miss Week 18 at the time of the injury (or a week later). 

 

Its possible they realized two or three weeks ago that it wasn't healing fast enough and he was gonna miss the rest of the regular season and didn't IR him so he'd have a chance to be eligible for Wild Card weekend.  That's another variation that I could believe.

You make valid points based on a logical perspective.  I get it.  What I'm saying is that Lamar Jackson isn't Tyler Huntley.  If the roles had been reversed, do you think Huntley would still be active?  He would have been IR'd weeks ago.  If there's even a sliver of hope that Lamar could come back, they have to roll with it.  That doesn't mean he will and Harbaugh knows that.  Why didn't they IR him last year when he missed all those games to end the season?  My guess is there's plenty of people working with Lamar who had their doubts he'd be back this year, especially over the past couple of weeks.  So, I get what you're saying but that doesn't mean it's true. If he misses the play-off game too, then the injury was obviously more serious than Harbaugh was presenting to the media.  And he knew it was more serious.  But Harbs being Harbs, all you get are cryptic responses or outright denial.  He tells you what he thinks you want to hear.  If Lamar is a no show come Sunday, you better believe Harbaugh expected it and has for several weeks. 

[jamesdean]

And if Lamar were a Tom Brady type, they could just wrap the knee and send him out there because he wouldn't be relying on his legs to begin with. But with Lamar, it's obviously a much different scenario.

If Lamar can't go, I'd rather see Anthony Brown start the game. He wasn't great yesterday, obviously, but part of that I blame on the game plan. Once he seemed to settle in a bit, he did OK. And if we have to run 10 tight ends out there, do it since the wide receivers are the biggest waste of space since Greenland. Brown and Likely seemed to develop a connection yesterday, and with Andrews back next week, at least he'll have a couple of guys he be comfortable throwing to.

If Lamar can't go, it doesn't matter who's out there. And it won't matter if Lamar is out there. The only difference will be the point spread. If Lamar plays, they'll lose by 10-14 points. If not, they'll lose by 17-20 points. Either way, it's one and done, baby and it won't be pretty.

[mdrunning]

If Lamar can't go, it doesn't matter who's out there. And it won't matter if Lamar is out there. The only difference will be the point spread. If Lamar plays, they'll lose by 10-14 points. If not, they'll lose by 17-20 points. Either way, it's one and done, baby and it won't be pretty.

I think they have a chance either way. I think the Bengals will be a tad more focused than yesterday, because quite frankly, they looked flat and careless at times. But this is the second game this year that the Ravens have managed to hold Joe Burrow to rather pedestrian offensive numbers.

 

I'm looking for a close game, and if given the breaks, the Ravens could certainly pull this out. I'm just not ready to put my money where my mouth is at this point.

[Mackus]

I'd say 40% chance if Lamar plays. 4% if he doesn't.

[Mackus]

That's an exaggeration, but not by much.

[CantonJester]

If they knew he was definitely not coming back within 4 weeks then they would have IR'd him. Like they did with Duvernay. They wouldn't just delete a roster spot by keeping him active for no reason.

There is absolutely no way that the Ravens knew 5 or 6 weeks ago that Lamar had no shot at playing in the regular season. Not a reasonable suggestion.

 

The advantage to not IR’ing him is to force teams to game-plan on the contingency that Jackson gets activated. 

[Mackus]

The advantage to not IR’ing him is to force teams to game-plan on the contingency that Jackson gets activated.

That is not worth doing at the expense of a roster spot.

The advantage of not IR-ing him is he can play in Week 18 or earlier if he's able. You IR him after Denver and he's forced to miss weeks 14-17.