Former NFL Referee Believes Catch Rules Should Be Changed
The Isaiah Likely touchdown catch that was overturned in the Ravens' 27-22 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday continues to be a hot topic.
A number of pundits and observers believe the touchdown should have stood, but it's not unanimous.
Former Ravens tight end Shannon Sharpe and former NFL wide receiver Chad Ochocinco of the “Nightcap” podcast and former NFL referee Terry McAulay are among those who agreed with the decision.
McAulay believes it was correct to overturn Likely's touchdown catch based on how "the current rule is written and applied." However, he added that he thinks the NFL Competition Committee should revisit the rule and tweak it so that a scenario such as the one involving Likely would be considered a catch.
"I know the rule. For a catch to be completed, you have to take three steps," Ochocinco said. "He took two. And on that third one, the ball got punched out. So, technically, if that was in the field of play or if it was in the end zone, it still would've been an incomplete pass. He had possession, but you have to complete the catch with momentum and take that third step."
Sharpe criticized Likely for extending the ball instead of tucking it, noting that in the Ravens' loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thanksgiving, Likely reached the ball out just before breaking the plane on a 44-yard catch, and safety Jordan Battle knocked it away for a touchback.
"Actions without consequences, no lesson can be learned," Sharpe said. "You would've thought the actions that he had on Thanksgiving would've taught him a lesson, because it was a valuable lesson to learn, because the consequences were that it was a touchback and not a touchdown."
Head Coach John Harbaugh gave a one-word answer when asked Monday if that was how Likely is coached to catch the ball.
"No," Harbaugh said.
Brian Billick: Ravens Can Overcome Adversity, Make a Run Like Super-Bowl Winning 2000 Team Did
The loss to the Steelers made the Ravens' path to the playoffs tougher, but certainly not impossible.
Former Ravens Head Coach Brian Billick said the main reason for fans to keep the faith is that while the Ravens have flaws, they're as talented as any team in the AFC.
"Clearly they've got some things to improve on and they have to play better, but the rest of the [conference] is in the exact same situation," Billick, who was in Baltimore over the weekend to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 2000 Ravens' Super Bowl win, said on “Glenn Clark Radio.” "I can make the same points for any of the top teams as to why they're going to win the Super Bowl, and I can give you four or five reasons why they're just not going to get there.
"New England seems to be the only team right now that has been able to keep the consistency, so that group probably is an outlier, but everybody else is in the exact same position. So, the talent's there for Baltimore. If they'll just keep their focus, and I know they will, and keep working through it."
Billick recalled how the 2000 team rallied after going five consecutive games without scoring a touchdown in Weeks 5-9, and he believes this year's team also is equipped to overcome adversity.
"It's day to day, player by player, coach to coach interaction with one another, supporting one another, not turning on one another, and going, 'We can still do this,'" Billick said. "And that's the thing they have to grasp. Once we came out of that tough month in October and started to get on a roll, having faced the crucible where most teams would've fallen apart, that team did not. They stuck together, and in doing so gained a strength because every opponent we played from that point on it was, 'Hey, we don't care what happens. We've stood at the abyss. We've already fought through this. We're not going to fall apart.' And it buoyed us all the way through the next 11 games and winning the Super Bowl.
"This team is capable of doing that. Even though obviously there's difficulties they're going through and strategically and tactfully some things have to get better, they're as good as anybody in the AFC right now. The goal for them [is] to get to the playoffs and then use that pedigree to make that run."
Lamar Jackson's Completion Rate in Red Zone Has Plummeted This Season
The Ravens have struggled in the red zone after thriving there last season. Part of it is that the Ravens have had difficulty running the ball inside the 5-yard line, but ESPN’s Jamison Hensley noted that Lamar Jackson is last in the league in completion rate in the red zone.
"Jackson has been off his game all season, but even more so inside the 20-yard line," Hensley wrote. "His 42.5% completion rate in the red zone (17-of-52) is lower than even rookies Dillon Gabriel (45.2%) and Jaxson Dart (42.9%). This represents a dramatic change from a season ago, when Jackson had the third-best completion rate in the red zone (70.3%). His struggles in the red zone are a big reason Baltimore is averaging 23.9 points per game, which is its fewest since 2022."
After the Ravens went 2-for-6 in the red zone on Sunday, Harbaugh said the team remains determined to be better in those situations.
"We keep working, and we keep developing, and we keep coming back and keep fighting," Harbaugh said. "We don't throw up our hands and say we're out of options."
