Todd Monken called the Baltimore Ravens’ offense for three seasons. On Sunday he will be on the other sideline as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, and the Ravens spent Wednesday fielding question after question about it.
Jesse Minter tried to take the air out of the storyline. “It’s probably overblown at this point,” the Ravens head coach said. “I think there are so many of those things where it’s like, ‘Well, they know that we know that they know.’ I don’t put a lot of stock into it.” He called Monken “a great offensive play-caller” and “a guy I have a ton of respect for. I’ve known him for a long, long time.”
Humphrey: “One of my favorite coaches of all time”
Cornerback Marlon Humphrey was far less guarded. “I freaking love Todd,” he said. “He was probably one of my favorite coaches of all time.” Humphrey said the two talked for about two hours at a preseason game in Green Bay and spoke during Monken’s head-coaching search in the offseason. “If I know Todd the way I think I know Todd, he will want to kick our tail,” he said. “So, I am trying not to let that happen.”
He said the Browns are not simply running the Baltimore playbook. “We are familiar with Todd, but I think they are running a little bit different offense than they were running just a year ago,” Humphrey said, pointing to Deshaun Watson, Jerry Jeudy, rookie KC Concepcion and running back Quinshon Judkins. “They really like explosives.”
Humphrey also pinned the third-down issues from the Atlanta win on one-on-one losses, including his own. “I had two opportunities to get off the field on third down,” he said. “If we can win half of those, I think that game can possibly be a runaway-type game.”
Bateman keeps it business
Receiver Rashod Bateman, who said he had his best season under Monken, framed the week the opposite way. “You have to make the choice whether you want to make this game about Todd Monken or do you want to make it about going to play football,” he said. “I am pretty sure Todd Monken is not worried about Rashod Bateman or what he has done in Baltimore.” Bateman said he texted Monken congratulations when he got the Cleveland job.
Bateman was in a red jersey and limited on Wednesday, but Minter said he “should be fine” and expects him to be good to go. Bateman’s own answer was shorter: “I will see you all out there.”
Madubuike back to full go
Defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike, back after neck surgery, said the plan to contain Watson starts with keeping him in the pocket. “He can do damage when he leaves and scrambles out of there,” he said. Madubuike added that he told Minter and his position coaches he did not want a part-time role. “I want to be even a better player than I was even before the injuries,” he said.
Where Lamar Jackson stands
Lamar Jackson missed practice again Wednesday with his sprained left ankle, and Minter called him day to day. Asked whether Jackson could go a second straight week without practicing and still play Sunday, Minter said: “There is a level of player that is able to do that, and he certainly falls into that category.” If Jackson cannot go, Tyler Huntley would make another start after leading the overtime win in Atlanta.
Minter also called division games different. “I’ve always felt like the division games mean a little bit more,” he said, noting that Cleveland now pairs its defense with “a really, really physical running game.” The 4-1 Ravens visit the Browns on Sunday, October 18.
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