Welcome to the Ravens Press Pass Podcast is Thursday, October fifth, the Ravens preparing for this week's matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. And today we had a chance to hear from offensive coordinator Todd Munkett.
In last week, you know, halfway through last week, I'm like, you know where the chunk plays are? Where are they? And I assume they said Andrews breaks thirty five yard then there were a few more throughout it. But does it feel like I mean, obviously want chunk plays to be Everyone wants a chunk plays to be a part of your offense, but it's designed a bit more. Weren't your contented? Just like we're gonna take exactly what they
give us a march down the field. We feel the execution wise, that'll that'll be successful for us.
Not really, I mean, I don't think that's sustainable.
I mean the number in order turnovers, explosive plays, touchdowns on the red zone, lost charge plays, third down conversions. That's how you win both sides of the ball. So don't turn it over. Be explosive. If you're not explosive, you better be damn good on third downs. You got to keep drives or fourth downs, conversion downs, and we've been explosive in the run game, where we've got to get more explosives in the past game, we've got to
find ways to create. Some of that's been a by product of the defense, some of it's been a byproduct of play calling. Some of it's been a byproduct that we've been ahead in the fourth quarter. We really haven't. You know, we've tried to take it a little bit, you know, take the air out of the game, sometimes successfully, sometimes not.
But we know.
You get thirty two teams across the league, everyone's going to say, we got to find a way to be more explosive.
I think the air yards per attempt they're down.
Knowing why, it's just teams that are having trouble throwing the ball deep.
On defensive, have you seen defenses kind of evolve to take away the big play more or why do you think.
That might be?
I think there's more of that.
I think schematically you're seeing more and more teams play in a certain style than there was a few years ago. Probably, But at the end of the day, it's still within a given game, maybe not statistically over a year, but within a given game against the opponent you're playing.
Does that make sense?
So, whether your goal is to get x amount of explosives within that given game, you're trying to not turn over and be more explosive than your opponent.
I think in years past, you know, the offense would talk about how sometimes defensive coordinators with throw the game clients that they sprightly didn't expect based on Tennessee and stuff. Have you seen any of that this year? And I guess what do you think the kind of long term managers that are basic events where maybe they do things.
With their crew both at this event, you know, some of that might be true, but not really yet.
Have not seen that.
Some of the teams that we've played, I mean we've played three of the four teams have been structured similarly and they're married to really what they do. Some other teams are a little bit different in terms of how they schematically go up against Lamar And some of that has to do with formationalin who's on the field that does have something structurally, I think a lot of that
comes from not covered structure. But how big do you get in terms of your personnel, like how many tight ends, how many big people that's where a team has to get a little bit creative in terms of fitting gaps, Tod.
We ask players this all the time, but is there some extra excitement being involved in a Ravens Steelers game knowing for sure this rival country?
Oh, I think a divisional game.
I mean it felt like that the week before, you know, it felt like that going to Cincinnati.
I would think any anyone. I won't to speak for coach.
But I mean when your number one goes to win your division, I mean that's what you set out to do, is win your division, then obviously it's huge. It's an AFC game, it's a divisional game, it's a rivalry game. Obviously, the two head coaches have been in place for you know, a long long time in terms of number of games. So we're excited. We're excited to continue to grow as an offense, continue to execute each week at a higher level.
And that's that's our goal.
Coach.
I want to spend specifically working for you guys in the red zone. We've seen you go way more to Lamar Jackson there.
Than to rely on Justin Tuber like we've seen in past years.
Well, it's players, I mean, it's I shouldn't say. I mean, obviously it's it's all collectively. It's I think we've done a good job as a staff scheming it. We've had players make plays, you know, you think of all the different you know, we had a couple of third down conversion touchdowns against Cincinnati that were huge in terms of a three point win. You know, obviously Lamar adds a different element. Other teams at times down there, to give themselves a chance to run the ball will go wildcat.
Well we don't have to go wildcat. That doesn't mean we want to do that all the time. But he adds a different element that allows for a defense to have to play for and you're seeing that in terms of coverage structure.
But coaches have done a good job.
Scheming it, the staff has, the players have done a great job executing it.
And can always assume both teams getting up for this game. But the fact that the last six times the Steelers have been blown out, they've come back and one the next week you've got it again with Mike tom on one of his skillsho's having his team ready and not you know, going through his long term droughts. So I just kind of like, crap, did that really happen last week against Houston for them? And now we got to deal with a little extra from them.
Yeah, I mean it's it's a credit to them, but I mean that's gotten nothing to do with this year. I mean, we'll see, we'll be ready to go, and I'm sure they'll be ready to go.
About four weeks, do feel like you start to have enough information on your opponents, just their tendencies and stuff.
And with that, the do you feel that they.
Have a nine next mission you to start to scout to deal with and how do you incorporate like tendency breakers or things that you've condn't been doure so you aren't solved necessarily.
Well, it's a good balance. I think every team has tendencies. I think it's knowing what those tendencies are. How do you play off that because you're gonna have strengths and you've got to play to those strengths, be it personnel wise or schematically, because you can't be recreating the wheel each week. The key is is what do we do well? What do they do well? How can we attack them?
And they're thinking the same things and we've got to do a good job of masking that but still staying within the confines of what we want to be and we will want to continue to be moving forward.
I'm having this week. Does it help that you had two really good pass rushers last week?
Are they structured similarly and you feel like that helps your offensive line this gear?
Well, first off, I'd prefer nobody has great pass rushers. It's a lot more fun that way. When you talk about scheming stuff up. That's that's a lot more fun than when you're trying to figure out chip help and you know those kind of things.
I mean, so, I mean.
Yeah, I mean Miles Garrett's a handful and the other guys they've got and these guys are really good players. I mean, so we'll ever work cut out for us. We got to do a great job of staying ahut in the chains and you know, getting the ball out.
Do you kind of have a game overall philosophy on how this offense benefits or maybe in some ways doesn't benefit from motion. I know you've you guys, you've done a lot of different kinds of things, so it's not just one particular brand of it. But I thinks, how do you kind of fallow and when it helps and when.
It hurts change.
Some of it's kind of the price of doing business, you know. I think when you face defenses too that are like really get off the ball on a snap count, they would say false starts or illegal procedures is kind of the price of doing business. I think there's part of that. When you motion and shift, there's always give and take. The defense is moving run game protections where
your IDs are. So there's a cost benefit analysis right in terms of getting them to move, rotate those kind of things where it benefits you without too often times and at times it has hurt us. You know, early on in the first game that was we hadn't really all played together, and you know, and some of the motions and sifts are different than when you're in practice
and what you see and when bullets are flying. And so it's still a work in progress to eliminate, right the drag at times in terms of IDs where they're at. But it certainly is, you know, in terms of a benefit, it can be, it can be.
I'll just say.
That you guys have had explosive plays runner. Can you tell about you know, what you see that's working well and how much do you think it's benefited that this team is a team that is used to run a football.
Well, well, I think that's a great point.
I think that you know, I still don't believe you can control a game if you can't effectively run the football. It's hard to control the game. I mean, it's it is what it is. I mean, it's hard to stay ahead of the chains. And we wanted to when we came in trying to blend in terms of the physicality, Uh, some assemblances of the same run game that you could carry over and still be able to kind of do
some things schematically to help that. And I think our staff has done a great job of that, and I think there's a comfort level with the players in terms of some of the things that we're doing.
That was Todd Munkin. We also talked with the defensive coordinator Mike McDonald. His unit had a great performance last week against the Cleveland Brown's really dominant game, and he discussed building off of that game this week in Pittsburgh.
Again, it seems like every week you're they're a quarterback situation when the other team there, you know, someone's injured, and how much does that affect the game plan when there is some uncertainty.
At the quarterback ptation.
Uh, probably not as much as you'd expect. Uh, it's hard with path dependence, you know, offensive systems probably taking a you know, a ninety degree writer left turn. I'd say the timing of how news comes out does affect how you game planned. Like last week was a little bit of a unique situation, this one's a little same, you know, same idea kind of but a little bit different.
So we're definitely expecting Kenny, and you know, we'll be ready for for for Mitchell if if he happens to be out there as well.
So through the.
Season, with all the injuries in the secondary, you've seen a lot of guys come in and out pretty seamlessly, in your own words, and a lot of them have attributed to actual coaching. What have you seen from your defensive acts of coaches and the way they tag team, the way that they present information, whether if be in game or in practice to their players.
I'm r I'm really glad you asked that. I think both Chris Hewitt, Dennar Wilson, Brendan Clark, all those guys in that room just they done an amazing job, you know, the little bit different styles of how they go about it. Both you know, definite big personality, strong personalities, both great football coaches in their own right. And and I think they just have a great connection with our guys. And and then the players a lot deserve a lot of
credit too. I mean guys, I'm thinking of guys like Kevon Seymour coming in and playing Nickel and Graydon really highly over the course of the game and didn't didn't be Deny, you know when when he went in there. So a lot of credit goes goes should be going all around all those people. But yeah, definitely shout out to them.
Throughout the off season. I imagine you spent a lot of time things how do I best use these two incredibly skilled inside linebackers that you know, because they can do things most inside linebackers can't do in terms of their speed and physicality. We're seeing that and lots of different pressures and also encourages it is it like, yeah, this is what I thought we might be able to do with those two.
It's didn't think if we were being to do this much. Honestly, we're putting a lot on their plate. On a on a per game basis. But I was Zach and I were joking, you know, this week, and he goes, you know, they love it, you know they want they're asking for it, and and I think it shows our trust in them and what we what we can trust them to do
on a per week basis. So uh, definitely a lot of credit to Zach and the and row and PQ to you know, take on you know, the weekly game plan what we want him asking to do and execute at a high level like you guys are seeing, you know, on Sundays, and and the way they way that happens is just an everyday approach that they knock out out on the practice field. And sad it makes you feel good about calling things when those situations come up in a.
Game, especially given the number of injuries you've had to kind of overcome elsewhere. Right, is that more like all right, we're gonna need more maybe out of YouTube because because that situation.
Yeah, you might be able to say that. I don't think I've thought that specifically, but I think that's a fair assessment.
His rod quads proved his pass coverage.
I mean he's covering really well, as has that opened up more possibilities for you. I think he's always been a really good cover guy, you know, he see I think I think what how he wants to play the routes and how he's done it versus how he's done in the past has been a little bit of an evolution and that's definitely probably crystallized over time now. But I don't I don't I wouldn't say it's improved. I'd say its steadily been really really good.
What hoping to the kind of instance guys.
Like Tadevian and Pyle or when particularly.
When we lose, you know, without a couple of guys on the outside and being able to sort of lean on that in their.
Experience and so sort of well, obviously it's a big impact on us because you know, we kind of run out of guys, so they're able to come in there and and you know, obviously do a great job. But you know, I just think it's a credit to UH Eric and the personnel folks to get them in the building and then our coaches getting them ready to go. I mean, it's not easy to come in and and UH play twenty some odd plays we did with Josh Bines in twenty nineteen, and trust me, that was a
a j Ford. It was the same week again, it was against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. You know, so I can I understand what that feels like. And it's not an easy test. So you know, just credit to everybody around getting ready to go and uh obviously you know being productive on game day.
What most strikes you about this rivalry when you think of Pittsburgh? What are you especially going there?
What do you think of? Man?
A lot of thoughts.
This this this organization, This game is defined by how you are as a raven is defined in this game. You know, leave it at that.
That was Mike McDonald. We also talked with special teams coordinator Chris Horton.
It's Pittsburgh week and that's the thing we're trying to just convey to our players, just like, hey man, this one, this one here speaks for itself. So we're just out here, we're working hard, getting ready to go. Really just try to play again, try to play, put another sound game together and try to play our best football up in Pittsburgh. Questions, it looked like he can gimber at the point he put the duke paint where he caught.
The ball might have been some room there. It was at something that you guys just went it words. It's something that you talked on baby.
Where.
You know there was a there was I know those two incidents that you're talking about the first one. Let's go back to the first one where that that ball was punted and it came down and should have been going to our right, but it kind of faded back to the cut back to the middle of the field.
Uh.
I think in his mind he was thinking, you know what, this is one I could return. But at the last second he saw the gunner, so he call he called a fair catch. On the next one he got similar, He got the similar ball and it happened right away. So he he just assumed, Hey, that gunner's right there again, I better fair catch this ball. So he's in that instance, he's got to make the decision right cause we're not out there. And I think, uh we saw the frustration
from him, like literally on the field. He was like, that was my opportunity. I could have had that one, but you know what, our number one priorities get the ball back and give it back to our offense, and then everything after that is a positive force.
Do you think that was Jordan's best game start to finish?
I thought that was Jordan's best game by far. Uh obviously, Uh, consistency, right, one of those things that we talk about.
Uh.
Those first he had seven punts in the game. Those first two you know, obviously he he would have wanted to have back.
But after that, those next five, I mean they were they were spot on.
And with Jordan, that's where we're trying to That's where we're trying to get him to consistently, uh with with Randy's out there and Sam out there working on every day. Man, let's just find that consistency uh in those punts and and we see when he does that, and this guy can he can flip the field, and that's why he's here.
We talked you loved a couple of weeks split some of the challenge due during right now, was there too many manic games of tough after first altogether?
Did you a couple of guys go down and not everybody knew exactly they were supposed to be on the field.
Uh, Jeff not.
You know, not to make any excuses, man, because that's our that's our job as uh as coaches. Right to make sure we handle the substitutions. But that but that was that was kind of part of part of it, right, Uh, we thought we thought we made a sub with a guy, one guy stayed on the field, and then we're trying to get guys off off and on the field. But you know those are those are easy fixes if we
just communicate throughout the course of the game. So I don't think we should be we should be having that happening again.
That was a special teams coordinator Chris Horton. You're listening to the Ravens Press Pass podcast, make sure you leave a rating and a review and hit that subscribe button if you haven't done so already.