Baltimore Ravens coaches removed ping pong tables and other fun activities from the players’ locker room in a bid to resurrect their abysmal season.
Considered to be Super Bowl contenders by many NFL fans and analysts before the season started, John Harbaugh’s team remarkably find themselves at 1-5 after six games.
Star quarterback Lamar Jackson has also been dealing with a hamstring injury but will return to action against the Chicago Bears on Sunday following their bye week.
The Ravens are in the midst of a four-game losing streak and need a remarkable turnaround to have any chance of making the playoffs.
According to the Baltimore Sun, Harbaugh and his coaching staff tried to change the atmosphere in the locker room by enforcing some sweeping changes after the Week 4 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
When players returned to the Owings Mills facility after that game, the ping pong tables, basketball hoop, cornhole boards and video games consoles had all been removed.
Ravens coaches removed ping pong tables and other fun activities from the locker room
Lamar Jackson and his teammates remarkably find themselves at 1-5 after six games
A basketball hoop, cornhole boards and video games were removed from the team’s facility
It’s claimed the decision came from the coaching staff, who wanted to remove any distractions and get their players focused on football. It is a tactic Harbaugh has used before when things have not been going his team’s way.
The move is likely to cause anger among his players, however. They say having fun activities helps to break up long days and allows for a relaxed atmosphere.
It also clearly hasn’t had any impact so far because the Ravens went on to lose to the Texans and Rams in the weeks after the change was made.
The bye week came at the right time for Harbaugh and his team after Jackson missed their last two games because of a hamstring injury sustained against the Chiefs.
Only four teams since the merger have started 1-5 and still made the playoffs.
Their schedule eases up, with games against Miami, Cleveland, the Jets and two against Cincinnati in the first eight weeks after the bye.
‘If I didn’t think we had the talent, the ability, the work ethic or the care factor from everybody in the building, then I wouldn´t be as optimistic as I am,’ Harbaugh said last week.
‘I’m not trying to stand up here and feed anybody any baloney or say things that aren’t true or talk out of both sides of my mouth.
‘I’m trying to be as honest and straightforward as I can about where we’re at and what we need to do.’
