Many people had brutal thoughts about the Baltimore Ravens’ collapse Sunday in the AFC Championship, but it doesn’t get much worse than what Rex Ryan had to say.
And Ryan had a national audience, too, on ESPN’s Get Up Monday morning.
The Ravens were upset by the Kansas City Chiefs, 17-10, and while they had turnovers and penalties that cost them dearly, they did not play well on offense.
Ryan pointed the finger at Todd Monken, who finished his first season as Baltimore’s offensive coordinator on Sunday. He said the Ravens’ collapse proves that former OC Greg Roman got a raw deal when he and the team parted ways in early 2023.
“This is the stupidest game plan I’ve ever seen, and you know what, Greg Roman? Every single person needs to apologize to you,” Ryan said. “Because you got blamed for everything about what was wrong in Baltimore, and it wasn’t you.
“This new guy that we praised the hell out of … Todd Monken, by the way, you don’t have Tom Brady … your quarterback is Lamar Jackson, not Tom Brady. What in the hell are you doing, dropping back 82% of the time? This is a team that led the NFL in rushing attempts. They had six whopping rushing attempts to their running backs.”
Rex Ryan all-out torches Todd Monken:
"This is the stupidest game plan I've ever seen, and you know what Greg Roman? Every single person needs to apologize to you. Because you got blamed for everything about what was wrong in Baltimore, and it wasn't you."
via @GetUpESPN pic.twitter.com/cN2sEUUnHc
— Bobby Trosset (@bobbybaltim0re) January 29, 2024
Ryan had a point. The Ravens were second in the NFL in rushing yards and in yards per carry this season. The Chiefs have a defense that is susceptible to the run.
Running backs Gus Edwards and Justice Hill rushed the ball six times for 23 yards. Even more baffling was that Edwards ripped off 15 of those yards on a run midway through the first quarter. Yet the team abandoned the run.
Monken’s certainly not the first coach Ryan has blasted with his commentary. In November, after Los Angeles Chargers coach Brandon Staley — who has since been fired — struggled at a press conference, Get Up host Mike Greenberg asked Ryan what he thought about Staley.
“I think he should go back to Division III football where he belongs,” Ryan said.
