The drops. Oh, the drops.
The Baltimore Ravens (3-2) are coming off a very disgusting 17-10 loss against fierce divisional rival Pittsburgh. And the truth is, in fact, that Baltimore lost that game. What I mean, is that the Steelers didn't win it, but rather got served a sweet W by the ever-stumbling (literally and figuratively) Ravens.
Pundits across the nation took no time to start blaming everything on quarterback Lamar Jackson, who coincidentally had one of the best games of his career and could have put on a decade-best type of outing had not been for his butter-fingery pass catchers.
𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚: Stephen A Smith says the #Ravens aren’t getting their money’s worth on Lamar Jackson 🤨
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) October 9, 2023
“Even though you got those drops, at the end of the day, if you don’t turn the ball over, you win anyway. This man has been turning the ball over and that is not what they… pic.twitter.com/7GsThXAsen
Of course, those "analysts" forgot about Lamar's game, and only focused on the "Ravens drop seven passes!" headlines, and so we arrived at the most comical and completely bizarre point you could have ever imagined.
The Ravens drop so many passes because they train with rugby balls.
The most incredible thing about that, however, is not the sentence itself but who made that statement: former NFL head coach Rex Ryan.
🚨Rex Ryan speaks on the Ravens usage of Rugby balls:
— STONE (@stone_2x) October 9, 2023
“I’d take that Rugby ball and kick it out of my building…” pic.twitter.com/OHI7gIeWd3
"Look at how wide his hands are," started Ryan. "Why are they out there? Why aren't the fingers together?" he questioned.
Well, according to Ryan, the problem with the Ravens and their drops just comes down to training with rugby balls. Say what!?
Ryan Mink of BaltimoreRavens.com took on a question from a fan and explained what the Ravens do with and without rugby balls in practices. Before that, though, Mink made a very pinpoint-accurate remark: "This whole narrative has spun ridiculously out of control."
According to Mink (who just in case and if you're reading this, Rex Ryan, covers the Ravens live on location on a daily basis), the Ravens "sometimes warm up using rugby balls."
Mink acknowledged that "part of the problem" with the drops was that the receivers hands were "too far apart," although he made clear that "blaming that on the rugby balls is ridiculous."
The reason? Well, let Mink explain that for me. "They've been using them for the past couple, maybe three, years and we hadn't seen a drops epidemic like we witnessed in Pittsburgh before."
So, there you have it, Ryan. Perhaps the next time check the numbers, check the training drills, check what a team does in practice, in if nothing else works, ask beat reporters informed of the franchise's ongoings rather than throwing away wild remarks without having much clue about them.