Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs says he knows why Baltimore turned in such an ugly offensive effort in Monday night’s 12-7 loss to the Jaguars: The Ravens’ offensive play calling stunk.
Suggs contrasted the Ravens giving their star running back, Ray Rice, only eight carries with the Jaguars giving their star running back, Maurice Jones-Drew, 30 carries.
“It baffles me that Ray Rice only had seven carries,” Suggs said, getting Rice’s carries wrong by one. “This is a Pro Bowl running back we’re talking about. You’ve got to feed the horse. They fed their horse. We got to feed our horse. He’s a good guy. He wants the ball. I think we should feed him. Ray Rice is a phenomenal player. You’ve got to use your phenomenal players.”
Although Suggs didn’t call out either the Ravens’ coaching staff or Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco directly, it’s clear that the Ravens’ pass-first offense was a mess on Monday night. Flacco finished the game completing 21 of 38 passes for 137 yards (a horrendous 3.6 yards a pass), with one touchdown and one interception. Suggs pointed out that Flacco only got the ball into Anquan Boldin’s hands four times.
“How many catches did Anquan have?” Suggs asked. “We have guys who can do phenomenal things. We’ve got to get them the ball. It’s that simple.”
The Jaguars took a different approach on Monday night, running a total of 42 times and passing only 20 times.
“They kept it simple,” Suggs said of the Jaguars. “Jones-Drew had 30 carries.”
Dreadful performances like what the Ravens’ offense turned in Monday night are the kinds of things that can split a locker room. So are comments like these from Suggs.