Ravens have the real pressure - Browns Daily Dose

Ravens have the real pressure

By STEVE KING

What with a new general manager and head coach in Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski, and all their new players, such as first-round NFL Draft pick Jedrick Wills Jr., Jack Conklin and Austin Hooper, the Browns have really been under the microscope as they try to find a way – or least start heading in the right direction for such – to reverse two decades of losing in this expansion era.

But, there’s even more focus – and much, much more scrutiny; it’s not even close – on their opponent for Sunday’s regular-season opener, the host Baltimore Ravens.

These are the same Ravens who have won 24 of their last 32 regular-season games and two straight AFC North championships.

These are the same Ravens who have all-world quarterback Lamar Jackson.

These are the same Ravens with the always stout defense.

And these are the same Ravens who have bombed out – completely, fully, embarrassingly so – in the postseason the last two years, losing their opening games – at home, no less.

The Ravens were convinced they were really going places these last two years – they were built for it and, during the regular season, had exhibited all the characteristics of being able to do it in the playoffs as well – and they were exactly right, but not in the way they thought. Yes, they were going places — home, stunned and disappointed.

One time can be explained away. It happens to a lot of teams, right?

But two times, two consecutive seasons, with Jackson playing poorly both times? That’s when it starts working on a team’s psyche and also that of its quarterback, for it is his job to win games, especially big ones.

These windows of opportunity that the Ravens are experiencing don’t stay open forever. So, a team has to jump through them as soon as possible, lest it risk being shut out for good with that group of players.

The Browns of 1985-89 found that out. They won four Central Division titles, got to the playoffs all five seasons and made it to the AFC Championship Game three times, but they never got to the Super Bowl. Their best shot was in 1986 when they finished 12-4 and had home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs, but they lost in overtime – at home — to the Denver Broncos in the conference title game.

Last season, the Ravens finished 14-2 to gain home-field advantage yet met a similar fate when they were beaten up – as mentioned, also at home — by the Tennessee Titans, 28-12, in the divisional round.

Was that the best shot they’ll ever get with Lamar Jackson and this group of players?

That’s the question everyone in Baltimore is asking themselves, but quietly, to themselves. That way, no one knows how worried they really are.

So, then, the next time you think the pressure – the real pressure — is on the Browns on Sunday, think again.

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