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News & Notes: Justin Tucker Broke His Skid With 'Pure Vibes'

K Justin Tucker
K Justin Tucker

When Justin Tucker lines up for a kick, one of the main rules passed down from Senior Special Teams Coach Randy Brown is that Tucker aims somewhere between the uprights.

With a wind whipping across Paycor Stadium last Sunday in Cincinnati, it crossed Tucker's mind that this was just his luck. In one of the toughest stretches of his 13-year career, Tucker was lining up for a 56-yarder to tie the game in tough conditions.

So as he stepped back and squared himself up for the kick, Tucker decided he was going to go rogue. He was going to aim outside the uprights.

"Sometimes you have to go just based off pure vibes and just hammer the ball and see what happens," Tucker said.

"So Randy, I'm sorry. I did kind of bail on one of your most important coaching points for that particular kick, but I think it's one of those all's well that ends well type of things."

Tucker said he usually communicates with holder Jordan Stout on what the target line will be. Typically, it's like a letter or edge of a letter on the background behind the uprights. This time, Tucker told Stout a target line within the uprights to "pseudo hold to the principle" but then actually took aim "maybe a bit outside of it."

"If you can feel [the wind] down on the field as significantly as we did, we knew we were going to have to make an adjustment," Tucker said.

Making that kick confirmed the coaches' faith in their GOAT kicker. Afterwards, Tucker yelled in Head Coach John Harbaugh's face, "Let's go win the game!" Tucker did just that with his 24-yard field goal in overtime.

"With what was going on with that wind – he smashed that ball. That's the guy that we know," Special Teams Coordinator Chris Horton said.

This week, Tucker is up to his usual antics in the Ravens locker room, clearly happy not to be answering tough questions for another week. Asked whether it feels like his troubles now feel like they were years ago, he said, "Yes and no."

"Very realistically, this is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business," he said. "I'm just as eager and excited for my next opportunity as I ever have been."

Ravens' Red-Zone Offense Is Cooking

The Ravens offense has scored a touchdown on 14 of its last 15 trips to the red zone. The only exception was Tucker's overtime game-winning field goal, which they kicked on first down.

Baltimore has scored touchdowns on 75% of its red-zone trips this season, which is tied for the second-best mark in the league behind the New Orleans Saints (76.5%).

Lamar Jackson has a 119.4 passer rating in the red zone this season, producing eight touchdowns and zero interceptions. He has not been sacked in his 22 red-zone dropbacks.

"[We have] good players. Good players help you score down there," Monken said. "You have a running back that can score when it's not perfect; you have a quarterback that can score when it's not perfect; you have tight ends that you like in the red zone; you have wideouts that can separate; you have an O-line that continues to develop, so that gives us the best chance."

Monken also said the Ravens' red-zone improvements go back to last season in London, when Tucker kicked six field goals in a 24-16 win against the Titans. He commended his staff on being creative with scheming in the red zone.

"Since London, where we basically tried to win a game by kicking as many field goals as we could, we've made it an emphasis to change who we were, and what we're going to be moving forward, and how we do it," Monken said.

"It's always evolving. We're always sitting there going, 'OK, what's next? What can we do now?' Because we understand how important that is to winning. It's one of the top five reasons you win is scoring touchdowns in the red zone. I think our staff has done a great job; we have really good players."

Monken Doesn't Care About Spreading Targets

The Ravens had nine different players catch a pass Sunday in Cincinnati, showing the offense's true pick-your-poison dynamic.

It seems each game thus far the Ravens have had a different player either lead the offensive production or step into a key role. Last week, it was tight end Charlie Kolar catching three passes for 64 yards and a touchdown.

Monken was asked if he was pleased to see everyone get involved.

"Not as happy as they were," he joked. "I really don't care. I love that our guys touch the ball, [but] what really matters, is that we score points.

"I don't always control that, but I did tell the players, I do truly understand skill players and their value of being able to touch the ball [and] being able to contribute in that way. Is it great for us moving forward, with morale, practice [and] opportunities? Of course."

Zach Orr Doesn't View Jayden Daniels as a Rookie

One of the storylines of Sunday's game is the Ravens’ success against rookie quarterbacks.

The only thing is, Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr said Daniels doesn't play like a rookie. The Ravens are 26-7 against rookie quarterbacks, including 18-2 at home, since 2008.

Daniels seems more poised than most rookies, and Orr is particularly impressed with how he handles different tempos.

"He does a great job of having his poise. He looks really comfortable out there, [and] he's continuing to get better every week," Orr said.

"We don't look at him as a rookie; we look at what we see on film, and what we see on film is one of the top quarterbacks in the league. So, we know that we have a big challenge in front of us, and we've been preparing that way."

Look back on every matchup against a rookie quarterback during the John Harbaugh era.

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