Like can someone put it into words? I have no idea how to explain how this keeps happening to specifically us.
With Lamar Jackson we lose fewer games than basically any other franchise in the sport, so when we do lose, it’s usually after some really ugly sequence of unlikely events.
I mean, I’d rather this than to get blown out, but apparently I’m alone in this.
It’s John Harbaugh. Downvote as much as you want,but it’s a Harbaugh problem. Since we won the Super Bowl, how many games have followed the following formula: team dominates the first half but can’t put opponent away due to stupid mistakes, the offense closes up shop in the 4th quarter, and the “vaunted defense” gets walked down the field in the final two minutes and gives up a walkoff touchdown/field goal? How many games has that happened in since 2013? 20? 25? It doesn’t matter who the quarterback is. It doesn’t matter who the coordinators are. It doesn’t matter who the defensive personnel are. Same exact recipe for defeat over and over and over and over again. What’s done about it? Just more platitudes about how we need “to tighten up” and “look at some things.” Harbaugh’s message is as stale as that month old Great Value bread i just threw out. It’s been over a decade since the Super Bowl and we still have to hear that “who’s got it better than we do” and other stupid old school Jack Harbaugh maxims. Anyone want another game ball? Tanning Bed Steve needs to move on from this has-been or nothing will change.
It’s not even a post Super Bowl thing either. If you go look at the ravens 49ers Super Bowl on YouTube, you’ll see that we were dominating at the start, then we’re getting run over at the end. Only reason we won is because we got lucky and stopped them on 4th and goal.
A few reasons that are obviously just my opinion.
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Coaching preference: Harbaugh’s whole mantra for winning games is controlling the amount of possessions. When the team gets a lead, they start playing differently by trying to shorten the game. They do that by playing more off coverage on defense and by slowing things down on offense. Basically asking teams to nickel and dime them up the field. In the past, this would work because a team isn’t going to mount a comeback through field goals. In todays game it doesn’t work because teams are scoring TDs instead of field goal. A 14 point lead is a two possession game.
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This is what happens when you don’t have stars on your front. We have good not great pass rushers and a good not great OL. These late game situations extend the game because we can’t get sacks and can’t blow teams off the ball.
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Coaches are amplifying the issues at time for sure, but basically the team is just unable to pull out of nose dives when things start going wrong, as soon as you feel the momentum shift it’s over, and has been like that for a while