Qadry Ismail Calls Out Ravens' Marquise Brown For Poor Routes, Lack Of Aggression
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The Ravens suffered their second loss in the last three games on Sunday night, 23-17, against a New England Patriots team that has struggled to stop opponents this season. While injuries and the weather certainly played a factor, former Ravens wide receiver and current WJZ analyst Qadry Ismail had some bones to pick with the play of top receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown.
Brown was targeted six times on Sunday night but hauled in just two of those passes for 14 yards. One of the intended targets resulted in an interception that killed any chances of the Ravens scoring to tie the game before the half. Ismail's main points of contention with Brown's performance was in the second-year receiver's route running and aggression at the point of the catch. He kept a running commentary throughout the night on his Twitter account starting early in the game on the Ravens first drive when a deep ball for Brown fell incomplete.
Later in the first half, Ismail pointed out that a true "#1 receiver" wouldn't allow himself to be covered the way Brown did.
On the pass that resulted in the interception, Ismail took issue first with the way the route was run and second with Brown not being aggressive at going up to fight for the ball.
Brown's performance this season has been a source of frustration for Ravens fans who expected a big campaign from the second year receiver. After coming out of the gates blazing with a five catch, 101-yard performance against the Browns in Week 1, Brown has recorded more than 60 yards receiving just twice in the eight games since.
On the season, he has 32 receptions for 431 yards and two touchdowns. But, his catch percentage has dropped from 64.2 in his rookie season to 58.2 this year. In each of the last three games, Brown has failed to record more than three catches with a combined 55 yards over those three games.
The recent struggles for Brown come just a few weeks after he tweeted "What's the point of having [soldiers] when you never use them (Never!!)." Brown deleted the tweet and Lamar Jackson stated that he would work to get Brown more involved in the offense. Considering Brown was third on the team in targets Sunday night and tied for the team lead in targets against the Colts, it would seem Jackson is certainly living up to that statement.
Ismail certainly knows a thing or two about being a No. 1 receiver, leading the Ravens in receiving in both 1999 and 2001, surpassing 1,000 yards in each of those seasons.
Next up for the Ravens is a matchup against the Tennessee Titans this Sunday. The Titans have allowed the third-most receiving yards to wide receivers in the league this season.
