Tag Archives: Jordan McNair

Podcast Episode 24: End of Harbaugh era on the horizon for the Ravens?

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Image Credit: Sporting News

Welcome to Episode 24 of the Charm City Bird Watch Podcast with site owner Jake McDonnell, editor Nolan McGraw, and author Ian Schultz.

At the top of Episode 24, we analyze where the 4-5 Ravens are following their third straight loss on Sunday at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers (5:44). We take a deep dive into the biggest moments that led to Baltimore’s loss, and look at the big picture issues that have made the Ravens a mediocre team since winning Super Bowl 47.

With the Ravens currently on their bye, Jake, Nolan, and Ian dished out their Positional Report Cards (25:28) and went over Who’s Trending (36:35) following Baltimore’s loss.

Up next, we welcome in our latest guest, Wayne Viener of Terp Talk and Capital Sports Blog (43:22). Wayne and Jake went over the fallout of the D.J. Durkin firing and predicted what’s next for the administration of Maryland athletics. Viener also went into the X’s and O’s of both the Terps’ 24-3 defeat to Michigan State and Maryland’s upcoming game in Indiana this Saturday.

After Wayne’s call-in, Nolan and Ian jump back in and share their thoughts on what’s happened at College Park over the last week (58:00). Jake also has a rant for Don’t Be A Jerk (1:02:53) stemming from a bad experience at M&T Bank Stadium this past Sunday.

To wrap up the show, we dive into our weekly numbers segment, taking a look at the best Baltimore sports athletes to wear the number 24 (1:16:09).

You can find the Charm City Bird Watch Podcast on SoundCloud, iTunes, and Google Play. Please leave us a review on iTunes, we love to hear your feedback and may read it on a future episode. Thank you for listening!

The Charm City Bird Watch Podcast is brought to you by Seven Sports Bar & Grille. For a limited time only on behalf on Charm City Bird Watch, you can receive a 10% discount off any entree dish when you tell your server or bartender the promo code ‘Charm City.’

Filet Mignon, sautéed mushrooms, Mac n’ cheese, dinner roll
Crabcake, sweet potato fries, asparagus
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Podcast Episode 23: Ravens entering crisis mode, Maryland admin creates crisis at College Park

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Image Credit: Boston Globe

Welcome to Episode 23 of the Charm City Bird Watch Podcast with site owner Jake McDonnell, editor Nolan McGraw, and author Ian Schultz.

At the top of the show, we dive into the Ravens’ 36-21 loss to the Carolina Panthers (4:12). Ian goes to therapy to vent over Ravens fans already calling for the heads of John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco. With the Ravens sitting at 4-4 halfway through the schedule, you’ll hear a lot of midseason assessments and assumptions on what the Ravens will do if they find themselves out of contention before the end of the season.

Also on the Ravens front, we react to the Ty Montgomery trade (24:58), go over Who’s Trending (27:21) and discuss some things to watch for on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers (33:10) in what’s being called a ‘must win’ game.

Up next, we welcome in this week’s guest, Bruce Posner of Terp Talk and CBS AM-1300 Baltimore (40:08). This interview was recorded hours before the University of Maryland Board of Regents announced that football head coach DJ Durkin will return as head coach following his May 29-led practice that left 19-year-old offensive lineman Jordan McNair dead from heat stroke. At the time of the interview we had no inclination of what would happen, but Posner had an itch that something was coming.

Following Bruce’s call-in, the guys react to Durkin’s reinstatement (1:02:15). This is a horrible look for the University and the state of Maryland, and it will hurt the school for years to come. The facts are still coming, the backlash has begun, and one thing is certain – this topic isn’t going away anytime soon.

Of course, we had to talk about the results of the World Series that saw Steve Pearce win MVP and left Manny Machado in an unimpressive 4-for-22 slump before he hits free agency (1:09:49). Hear the guys’ thoughts following the Boston Red Sox’ 4-1 series rout of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

To wrap up the show, we dive into our weekly numbers segment, taking a look at the best Baltimore sports athletes to wear the number 23 (1:15:54).

You can find the Charm City Bird Watch Podcast on SoundCloud, iTunes, and Google Play. Please leave us a review on iTunes, we love to hear your feedback and may read it on a future episode. Thank you for listening!

The Charm City Bird Watch Podcast is brought to you by Seven Sports Bar & Grille. For a limited time only on behalf on Charm City Bird Watch, you can receive a 10% discount off any entree dish when you tell your server or bartender the promo code ‘Charm City.’

Filet Mignon, sautéed mushrooms, Mac n’ cheese, dinner roll
Crabcake, sweet potato fries, asparagus

KEYS TO VICTORY: Maryland Terrapins vs. Illinois Fighting Illini

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As the Terps welcome the Illinois Fighting Illini (3-4) to College Park today, they look for a bounce back win after being shutout in Iowa 23-0 just a week ago. A windy day in Iowa last week looked to help the Terps run-heavy offense, but that simply was not the case.

The Terps were absolutely dominated in every facet of the game. The offense was abysmal behind another poor outing from Kasim Hill, who completed just six passes for 47 yards. The Terps run game was also stymied all day as they ran for just 68 yards after entering play averaging 245 a game on the ground. The once stout Maryland front was bullied by the Iowa offensive line and the defense simply could not get off the field as Iowa was 9 of 18 on third downs and 3 of 4 on fourth downs. The Hawkeyes possessed the ball for more than 40 minutes of the 60 minute ball game. Matt Canada expressed his feelings post game:

“It was very disappointing that we played the way we played and I take full blame for it.”  “You have to find a way to win. I take it very personally. We’re trying to find the best way to get our players going. They chewed the ball up the first quarter. We have to play better on offense, we have to play better all-around though. We have to get them off the field on defense. I take it personally, yeah, for sure.”

Today’s match up will be the first time ever the Terps and the Fighting Illini have ever played each other in football. They both sit in 3rd place in their respective divisions, the Terps at (4-3, 2-2) and Illinois at (3-4, 1-3). The Illini have lost two straight games to Purdue and Wisconsin. Both teams are becoming desperate for wins at this point in the season as they try to reach the six win threshold for bowl game eligibility. The Terrapins have yet to lose back-to-back games this season and they are 3-1 at home while outscoring visiting teams 124-84.

Keys To Victory:

Find the offense – The Maryland offense has been atrocious in each of their three losses this season. They have also failed to score an offensive touchdown until the fourth quarter in each of their three losses. Last week the Terps were only able to muster 115 yards of total offense and that’s just not going to cut if they want to become bowl eligible. Poor quarterback play certainly doesn’t help things for the run game as it make the offense extremely limited. I hope Matt Canada can swallow some pride and make a change at quarterback. Maybe Tyrrell Pigrome can bring more to the table. He is certainly the more athletic option at quarterback. If the offense struggles today, and Kasim Hill continues his crummy play, look for Canada to make a change. This team is getting desperate for wins and the road ahead is not very promising, with games against Penn State, Michigan State, and Ohio State still left on the schedule.

Get Ty Johnson More Involved – Johnson now ranks third in all-purpose yards in program history but last week he didn’t get one touch until the third quarter. There is simply no excuse. Johnson is easily one of the most explosive players on this team and he should be seeing the ball early and often. Matt Canada needs to take a step back and re-evaluate the distribution of touches on this offense. Johnson is leading the team in rushing yards at 450 and is averaging more than seven yards per attempt.

Off The Field Distractions – The University System of Maryland Board of Regents met with DJ Durkin, Wallace D. Loh, and Damon Evans Friday to discuss finding from two separate investigations. The first investigation was the conclusions surrounding the June 13th death of 19-year-old offensive lineman Jordan McNair. The second was a two-month-long investigation into the overall “Toxic” culture of the program under head coach DJ Durkin. Matt Canada has been excellent at rallying his troops every time there has been an off the field distraction this season:

  • August 11th – DJ Durkin placed on administrative leave / Sept 1st – Terps upset #23 Texas in season opener 34-29.
  • September 21st – Walters report released which found Maryland athletic trainers failed to properly diagnose and treat the heat stroke symptoms McNair that led to his death / September 22nd – Terps route the Minnesota Golden Gophers 42-13.

The Board Of Regents met individually with all three men, Coach DJ Durkin, University President Wallace D. Loh, and Athletic Director Damon Evans. No decisions about their job statuses has announced following the five-hour meeting.

Prediction: Terps 35, Fighting Illini 17

The Details:

  • When: Saturday October 27th, 3:30pm
  • Where: Maryland Stadium, College Park, Maryland
  • Radio: 105.7TheFan
  • TV: BIG10 Network

Image Credit: The Baltimore Sun