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The Baltimore Ravens are jockeying for playoff position during the final weeks of the 2024 regular season. Baltimore is 8-5 heading into their Week 14 bye week and is slightly behind Pittsburgh in the AFC North division standings. Their battle for the rest of the season will be chronicled on HBO's Hard Knocks: In Season With the AFC North. One Ravens coach is not thrilled with being in the spotlight.
Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken shared his true feelings about being on Hard Knocks during media availability on Tuesday.
“I even forgot about it until you brought it up, so that sucks you brought that up,” Monken said. “I think it's a major distraction, so I don't deal with it.”
Monken explained that having the cameras around makes his job feel even harder.
“I know that's not what they want to hear, but it's hard enough to focus and get ready and then worry about … I just have to worry about [meeting with the media] once a week,” Monken continued. “I don't want to worry about it every day of what I say, how I say it, how it's perceived, whatever it is. It's hard enough to win in the NFL then to stay focused. What we have to do this week as a coaching staff [is] let our guys get rest, get ready to go for this four-game stretch, analyze who we are, where we want to continue to go, how we've got to continue to get better, [and] who we're playing going to be playing to give us the best chance to win every week.”
The silver lining for Monken is that the Ravens aren't the only team dealing with the extra attention for the rest of the season.
Bill Belichick critical of Justin Tucker after Ravens' loss to Eagles in Week 13
The Ravens suffered a brutal loss on Sunday against the Eagles. One player who has come under fire since that game is veteran kicker Justin Tucker.
Former NFL coach Bill Belichick joined other pundits in asking what's going on with Tucker this season.
“Obviously, there’s something that’s a little bit off from a technique standpoint,” Belichick said on the Let's Go Podcast. “But I don’t see that there’s like a lack of talent. I think there’s something mechanically that he’s not doing consistently. If you have the key to unlock that problem, then probably everything could be great.”
It may seem odd that Tucker is under such scrutiny as a kicker. Tucker has been the best kicker in football for several seasons, so his expectations are higher than most.
Tucker missed two field goals and one extra point against Philadelphia on Sunday. He is 19-of-27 on field goal attempts this season, which gives him a 70.4% completion percentage. Those eight misses tie Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo for the most in the NFL.
If the Ravens want to make a deep playoff run in 2024, they could really use vintage Justin Tucker.
Next up for the Ravens is a Week 15 matchup against the Giants.
