Josh Tolentino: Ravens should practice what they preach

BALTIMORE — Bills quarterback Josh Allen has rushed for nearly 3,500 yards after contact in his NFL career.

The Ravens should sit with that for a moment.

Before another encouraging assessment of practice, before declaring themselves ready to respond to consecutive defeats that featured double-digit collapses and demanded uncomfortable conversations, they should consider how much ground Buffalo’s quarterback has covered after a defender got close enough to stop him.

Too often, a Ravens defender’s first contact has become an opponent’s second chance.

The Ravens missed 11 tackles in Cleveland and another 11 against Cincinnati, according to Pro Football Focus, matching their season high in consecutive defeats to division opponents. Eight of Sunday’s misses came after halftime, when the Bengals erased a 13-point deficit and kept going until the scoreboard read 35-13.

This weekend, Allen presents a bruising challenge for even the surest-tackling defenses. For one whose missed tackles have climbed steadily since the opener, he poses a pointed question.

What, exactly, gives anyone confidence the Ravens will hold on this time?

Quarterback Lamar Jackson’s return after missing three games with a high-ankle sprain will restore the Ravens’ most powerful advantage. But bringing back their two-time NFL Most Valuable Player won’t absolve them of the task of bringing down another MVP winner.

First-year coach Jesse Minter put his players in pads Wednesday, citing the run game awaiting them in Buffalo and the short week ahead, with the Ravens hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars next Thursday night, all part of three games in 12 days for Baltimore. Minter praised his group for responding to the Week 7 loss with “great mentality” at practice.

I asked how that “great mentality” translates into sure tackling. Minter described the repetition required to keep proper technique from falling apart in a game. Players used practice huddles to rehearse the situations Baltimore keeps mishandling, reminding one another to sustain their effort through the second half.

Coaches, Minter said, point out practice plays that could become missed tackles in games “because we only have one guy at the point of attack and a couple other guys relaxed.”

Relaxed is a curious condition for a defense that keeps watching leads disappear.

There is an understandable difference between knowing where to be and getting there with force against Buffalo’s high-powered offense, ranked No. 4 in the NFL in total offense and first in scoring. A defensive back retreating in coverage might have to reverse course when Allen takes off, then bring down a 6-foot-5, 237-pound moving target with momentum on his side.

But easing up because a teammate appears ready to finish the play? That is volunteering to become part of the problem.

Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said defenders start “searching for plays” when games tighten instead of trusting teammates to handle their assignments. He likened the recurring discussion of Baltimore’s past failures — including an NFL-high 18 blown double-digit leads since 2018 — to dating someone who keeps bringing up an ex.

“Let’s move forward so this relationship can blossom,” Weaver said.

The trouble is, the Ravens keep ending up at the same unhappy place.

Rebuilding trust starts with putting a ball carrier on the ground and finishing games.

Against Allen, assuming the first defender will finish the job invites plenty of punishment. He has accumulated 4,961 rushing yards and 87 rushing touchdowns over nine seasons. Buffalo also comes off its bye, giving Allen an extra week to study a defense that keeps letting runners escape.

Baltimore leads the AFC North with 62 missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus. Safety Malaki Starks has seven, followed by safety Kyle Hamilton and linebacker Roquan Smith with six apiece and cornerback Marlon Humphrey with five. Hamilton and Humphrey each missed three tackles in Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati.

Second-year linebacker Teddye Buchanan remembers tackling Allen one-on-one during his NFL debut in Buffalo last season. He welcomes another opportunity, although his preferred solution involves company.

“I think the emphasis for us is just get multiple bodies to the ball and finish,” Buchanan said.

Hamilton said this week included “very real grown man conversations” inside the team’s headquarters in Owings Mills.

Asked about social media posts in which Ed Reed criticized the coaching and Terrell Suggs expressed disbelief that Baltimore surrendered 35 unanswered points, Hamilton said he hadn’t seen them.

“They’re not about to walk through the door and play for us,” Hamilton said. “The logo says something [about Baltimore’s defensive tradition]. Our tape needs to say the same thing.”

The tape from Sunday’s second half betrayed that proud defensive standard. Weaver called it “two quarters of horrendous football.”

The Ravens opened the season with four missed tackles at Indianapolis. That number doubled to eight against New Orleans in Week 2 and Dallas in Week 3, climbed to 10 against Tennessee in Week 4 and Atlanta in Week 5, then reached 11 in consecutive losses to Cleveland and Cincinnati.

What began as a flaw to correct has become a weakness opponents can expect and exploit.

The Ravens will get their arms around Buffalo’s battering-ram quarterback Sunday in Orchard Park, New York. Allen has built a career on what happens after that. The Ravens keep insisting they have an answer.

They should know by now how much can get away.