A Stout Performance

When Brian Billick came to Baltimore to become the franchise’s second head coach in 1999, he arrived with the label of “offensive genius” given his accomplishments as the coordinator of the Vikings record-setting, high-powered offense. But in Charm City, he didn’t have the weapons that he grew accustomed to in Minnesota. There, he had gunslingers like Warren Moon and Dante Culpepper with receivers named Moss, Carter, Reed and Ismail and running backs like Robert Smith and Amp Lee. The lack of offensive firepower was eye-opening for Billick, but being a resourceful guy, he adopted his style to the team’s personality.

The Ravens became a run-first team – one that protected the football on offense while on defense, they made teams one-dimensional by stymieing the run and forcing teams into undesirable down and distance situations. They also managed field position extremely well. The longer the field for opposing offenses, the better their chances were to minimize scoring.

Billick often said that he had gone to the “dark side” to get the most out of his team. And it worked.

Part of playing the dark side game was having a punter who could help flip the field. Yesterday, I was reminded of this approach by the efforts of third-year Jordan Stout.

Admittedly, I’ve been a harsh critic of Stout’s. It just seemed that whenever the Ravens needed a big punt to flip the field, Stout would do the opposite. It was akin to needing a big drive off the tee to be in position for a birdie to gain a stroke on the field. But when striking the football or golf ball, muscling up almost always seems counterproductive.

Against the Browns on Sunday, despite the Lake Erie crosswinds that can play havoc with results, Stout crushed balls from for 60, 55 and 64 yards. On one of his punts, Stout tried to shorten up and pin the Browns back and did so at the 13-yard line when his 30-yard punt landed. Going forward, the Ravens will need more games like this from the 2022 4th-round pick from Penn State.

And given Justin Tucker’s struggles of late and those of his defense, John Harbaugh might be reluctant to try kicks beyond 50 yards. The team will need Stout to start pinning punts.

Despite the team’s loss on Sunday, Stout’s efforts helped to keep the game close and give the Ravens a chance to win – efforts that will probably go unnoticed, unrecognized except on this page.

Jordan Stout is our Week 8 unsung hero – The Jimmy’s Famous Seafood Big Crab Cake.

[Related Article: The Good, Bad & Ugly, Ravens at Browns]

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