Did Baltimore Ravens Hold 'Emergency Meeting' After Playoff Loss?

Did Coach John Harbaugh's Baltimore Ravens Hold 'Emergency Meeting' After Falling One Game Short of Super Bowl?

Words matter. They matter when they are used inside NFL teams' meetings ... and they matter when we describe the existence and meaning of those meetings.

So Baltimore Ravens fans should know: Yes, after a dominant regular season in which the coach John Harbaugh's club clinched the No. 1 seed and therefore the inside track to the AFC berth in the Super Bowl ... and then after Baltimore  fell in the AFC Championship Game, 17-10, to the Kansas City Chiefs. ...

There was a meeting. But was it an "emergency meeting''?

USA Today Sports

That is the phrase being used by our friends at Clutchpoints, and while we understand the temptation to, upon the discover of such a seemingly colorful thing, to paint an extra coat of drama on it ...

The drama is unneeded.

Harbaugh did not "revealed that an emergency staff meeting occurred a day after the loss.'' All he did was "reveal'' standard operating procedure for every NFL team after a game. A win or a loss. A regular-season outing or a playoff meeting.

What did Harbaugh actually say about this "emergency meeting''?

We want to do right by our players,” he said, per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. “And we want to do right by Lamar (Jackson) and build the best operation that we can for him so his talents can really shine.”

There is certainly "urgency'' to accomplish that; Harbaugh and company built a defense that seemed Super Bowl-worthy, and in fact allowed just 17 points to Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs. Meanwhile, Jackson was named league MVP, so the offense in general was highly-accomplished.

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But "emergencies''? There are no "emergencies'' when it comes to the recent staff moves, or when it comes to NFL free agency, where decisions are about to be made on Odell Beckham Jr. Jadeveon Clowney, Justin Madubuike, Geno Stone, Patrick Queen and Kevin Zeitler.

There is simply work to be done. Standard-operating-procedure work.