Coach John Harbaugh defended his special teams and coordinator Jerry Rosburg after the unit allowed Philadelphia’s Quintin Demps to return a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.
Harbaugh said that one glaring mistake — the team’s second touchdown allowed on a kickoff this season — overshadowed an otherwise solid performance by the unit throughout a 36-7 win on Sunday.
Linebacker Jameel McClain blocked a punt for a safety, the Ravens’ fierce rush caused the Eagles to commit a 15-yard tripping penalty on another punt and kicker Matt Stover made field goals of 44 and 42 yards.
“The return game and the punt return game were solid and we’ve just got to keep working the kick return game,” Harbaugh said. “We’re close, [but we need] to make sure we get on our targets and block a little better. But really, if you take all of those things, I’m proud [the way we played].”
The Ravens also are committed to return specialist Yamon Figurs, who has been slowed by injuries and has made several bad decisions to try to return kickoffs he catches instead of taking a knee.
Figurs averages 6.7 yards a punt return and 21.2 yards on kickoffs this season after averaging 10.7 yards and 24.7 yards, respectively, last year.
“He’s our returner right now,” Rosburg said. “We’ve got him back there. We do have other guys that can return the ball, and they’re always looking for opportunities. But we expect big things out of Yamon.”
Three-headed monster
Harbaugh said the Ravens will continue to utilize running back Willis McGahee, Ray Rice and fullback Le’Ron McClain.
Each of the three has led the Ravens in rushing at least once this season, with McClain pacing the trio with 88 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries against the Eagles. McClain, a second-year player from Alabama, had just 58 yards on 21 carries collectively the previous three games.
“We were going into that game with the idea that we were going to get each back a significant amount of carries,” Harbaugh said. “All three guys bring a different style to the table, and we wanted to use all three backs in this game. We got Le’Ron going a little bit, so he got a few more carries.”
Thanks for giving
The Ravens’ 13th Annual Family Food and Funds Drive collected 28,000 pounds of nonperishable food items and $17,494.83 in donations on Sunday.
