RAVENS
Players happy Harbaugh will be back in 2019
Alex Lewis misses third straight game; team debates merits of best burgers
On Friday night, the Ravens welcomed a comedian to lighten the mood on the eve of their biggest game of the season. Eventually, the comedian hit on something topical: that
“He kind of blurted it out,” Carr said. “I was like, ‘Oh, we got Coach for another year. That’s cool.’? ”
In a statement, the team said it is working with Harbaugh to extend his contract, which expires after the 2019 season. The Ravens mostly had other topics on their mind after the win Saturday — how they shut down
“It was pretty cool to see that from up top, they have confidence in him,” Carr said, referring to the team’s ownership. “And I think just [from] being in different locker rooms, the players respond to him because he has a good mix of being a coach but also being that players’ coach. It’s a fine line, but he’s definitely doing a great job doing it.”
Team owner Steve Bisciotti said after the Ravens failed to make the playoffs last season that he considered firing Harbaugh. On Saturday, the team moved one step closer to securing at least the AFC’s No. 6 seed and returning to the postseason for the first time since 2014.
Inside linebacker
“We love Coach Harbaugh,” he said. “We love his mentality. Especially being our team, we love how he gets everybody riled up. He’s an offensive coach, a defensive coach and a special teams coach. We love that about him.”
Added Young: “He cares about us.”
Quarterback
“He was the coach that was here when I got drafted, and he’s going to be here when I keep excelling and keep improving,” Jackson said. “So yeah, I love it.”
This was Lewis’ third straight absence.
Tight end
The Ravens’ six other inactive players were largely no surprise: quarterback
But his first-quarter miss from 53 yards ended a streak of 21 straight made field goals from between 50 and 57 yards. From Dec. 13, 2015, until Saturday night, not including four blocked field-goal attempts, Tucker had made 107 straight kicks from 57 yards and in.
Tucker also had a chance at breaking
The argument over whether In-N-Out Burger is the best fast-food hamburger establishment came up Monday when strong safety and Chula Vista, Calif., native
“Levine made an obnoxious comment saying that In-N-Out is comparable to McDonald’s,” Jefferson said Tuesday. “I love McDonald’s fries, but I don’t know if you all have seen — what’s that McDonald’s thing where the guy ate all the fries?”
Informed that the 2004 documentary is called “Super Size Me,” Jefferson continued, “I can’t eat McDonald’s again after that. Not the McFlurry though. But In-N-Out is by far the best burger spot in the world that I’ve tasted. There’s a bunch of people on this team who haven’t had it. So when we get to L.A. on Thursday, that’s the first place we’re going.”
The next day, Levine, who grew up in Louisiana, fired back, arguing that only Californians believe In-N-Out is the Valhalla of fast-food burgers.
“Is the burger good? Yes, it’s a good burger,” he conceded. “But is it the best burger that I ever had? Is it life-changing like all these guys from California are saying? No, it’s not. I had one, and it is not life-changing. It’s a regular burger. I’ve been there once, only been there once. We’re going to go to L.A., and I’m going to try it again. But it’s a regular burger. It’s a burger.”
Burgers can be a touchy subject. Although McDonald’s has more franchises across the country, In-N-Out’s popularity is strong enough that the company pointed out on its website that an expansion to the East Coast was unlikely because of the company’s promise to never freeze its patties. All In-N-Out restaurants are within 300 miles of the patty-making facilities, which are only in California and Texas.