Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman has been on the receiving end of big-time criticism as that side of the ball continues to struggle with former NFL MVP Lamar Jackson sidelined.
Baltimore fell to the Cleveland Browns on the road Saturday afternoon, scoring all of three points in the process. The team has totaled 29 points over the past three games, including 19 points in the two outings Jackson has been sidelined.
After a tremendous 7-3 start to the season, Baltimore heads into Week 16 at 9-5 and likely looking at nothing more than a wild-card spot in the AFC.
Following their most-recent loss, edge rusher Tyus Bowser posted a video on Instagram that depicted “fire Greg Roman” signs on the ground.
During his presser with reporters on Monday, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh discussed Roman’s job security as well as Bowser’s social media activity.
“We’re not getting into all that. You guys can talk about all that, I respect that. I love the fans talking about everything they can talk about. We’re together. We’re a team. We’re spending all of our time getting ready for the Atlanta Falcons with every ounce of energy and fiber we’ve got.
"With a bunch of very, very good people at what they do who understand everything about our team better than anybody else possibly could. So all that other stuff, we don’t have time for that.”
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh on Greg Roman
As for Bowser, Harbaugh noted that the reserve pass rusher had a sit-down meeting with both himself and Roman.
“We talked about it. Ask Tyus about it, he’ll tell ya. He was great about it when I talked to him. I think he talked to Greg about it,” Harbaugh said. “You find out there’s really not much there in terms of what people are thinking.”
It’s not a coincidence that Baltimore’s struggles on offense have coincided with Jackson being sidelined. The Pro Bowl quarterback suffered a PCL injury back in Week 13 and has been forced to miss each of the past two games. Even then, there’s some growing concerns over Roman’s performance as the Ravens’ play-caller.
Greg Roman is not without fault for Baltimore Ravens struggles
Fair or not, Roman has been on the receiving end of criticism dating back to his days as the San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator under Jim Harbaugh from 2011-14. He then spent two seasons as the Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator from 2015-16. This span saw the veteran coach lead scoring offenses that ranked in the middle of the pack each season.
Since joining Baltimore, the results have been mixed. They ranked No. 1 overall in points scored and total yards back in 2019 en route to Lamar Jackson winning the NFL MVP award as a sophomore.
It’s been downhill since with Baltimore ranking 17th in scoring last season and right in the middle of the pack in that same category thus far during the 2022 campaign.
Despite all of this, Baltimore is pretty much a lock to earn a spot in the playoffs. As of right now, it would visit the Tennessee Titans in the wild-card round. With games coming up against the Atlanta Falcons and Pittsburgh Steelers before a regular-season finale against the division-rival Cincinnati Bengals, there’s still time to turn this around.
With that said, Baltimore needs Jackson to return to the field. It also needs Greg Roman to turn things around from a play-calling standpoint. Should that not happen, he’ll likely be calling another city home in 2023 with Baltimore enjoying an early playoff exit.
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