Players-Only Meeting Fuels Fourth Quarter Close Out
As the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game in New England began, all eyes turned toward the Ravens’ defense clutching an 11-point lead over the New England Patriots. This is when the Ravens faltered against the Miami Dolphins one week ago when they allowed a 21-point comeback.
It’s why, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec, the team held a players-only meeting the day after the loss to go over the film and atone for their mistakes.
Players only meetings aren’t unusual, but as Zrebiec wrote, “calling one a the day after at Week 2 loss is quite telling, particularly for a veteran-laden team like the Ravens.”
“The players watched some film, and it predictably wasn’t pretty,” Zrebiec wrote. “Several veterans spoke and there was a clear effort made to ensure the young players understood that the Dolphins game was unacceptable and everybody needed to take accountability. The Ravens couldn’t put the loss completely in the past, because they still had to watch game film with the coaches the next day. However, the meeting represented an important step forward.”
One of the younger players referenced was safety Kyle Hamilton, who Zrebiec states was “forced to watch and hear about their defensive breakdowns during last week’s players-only meeting.” Hamilton responded with one of the biggest plays in the fourth quarter, punching out the football from wide receiver Nelson Agholor, which was recovered by cornerback Marcus Peters.
