ExtremeRavens Posted August 23 Posted August 23 Every spring, as they prepare for a new wave of free agency and another draft, Eric DeCosta and John Harbaugh trumpet the same philosophy: A great offense is built on the bedrock of a great offensive line. So it was surprising when the Ravens, coming off a dominant 2023 season and pegged as a Super Bowl contender again for 2024, embraced significant risk with the unit that protects franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson and paves trails for one of the sport’s most efficient ground attacks. They had right tackle Morgan Moses under contract for another year and likely could have re-signed right guard Kevin Zeitler for a modest price. Both veterans played well in 2023 until injuries caught up with them late. The Ravens kept neither, calculating that Moses and Zeitler’s health risks would persist as they play into their mid-30s. DeCosta also did not sign an experienced starter in free agency. He chose youth, drafting tackle Roger Rosengarten in the second round and putting Andrew Vorhees and Daniel Faalele, who’ve started one NFL game between them, in position to win the left and right guard jobs, respectively. Only left tackle Ronnie Stanley and center Tyler Linderbaum were guaranteed starting spots when the Ravens opened camp in late July. As such, analysts routinely pointed to the offensive line when questioning the team’s Super Bowl qualifications. Pro Football Focus placed the group 25th in its preseason unit rankings (the Detroit Lions, with Zeitler at guard, topped the list). A month later, with the Ravens about to play their final preseason game and the season opener with the Kansas City Chiefs less than two weeks away, the same questions persist. We have a clearer idea who’s going to start — Faalele and Vorhees at guard with Rosengarten and Patrick Mekari still battling at right tackle — against the two-time defending Super Bowl champions on Sept. 5. How effective they’ll be is far less certain based on what we’ve seen this summer. This could be the gamble that undermines a roster designed to take the Ravens all the way to February. “I understand why the concern,” Harbaugh said Tuesday as the team prepared to fly to Green Bay for a joint practice and the preseason finale against the Packers. “I get the questions, and we’re all going to find out real soon, and it will be an ongoing [process].” He’s in the bunker now, working with the tools he has, so he has little choice but to push forward optimistically. The Ravens have their eye on the outside market, and it would be no surprise if they add a veteran lineman or two once teams cut their rosters next week. But everyone is looking for quality blockers, so the chances of finding a starting candidate are slim. The Ravens’ offensive line is relying on three new starters this year. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Instead, the Ravens have to hope that Vorhees’ inconsistent preseason is just him working out some technical kinks, that Rosengarten’s relatively slender frame will hold up to NFL bull rushers and that Faalele will acclimate to the quicker twitch required for interior blocking. To Harbaugh’s point, all three have flashed promising signs. There’s just considerable uncertainty packed into a five-man group that needs to become a dependably synchronous unit. “It’d be nice to have 22 starters out there that they’ve been playing, and they’re all great players, and you knew how they were going to play, and they were self-sufficient and proven guys, but that’s never the case,” Harbaugh said. “I’m excited about these guys, and the exciting thing about that kind of a situation is that the upside is something you kind of lean into. From an optimistic point of view, you say, ‘What can these guys be? Why not be great?’” Faalele’s seeming hold on the right guard job is the biggest surprise. He was drafted as a developmental tackle and seen as a candidate to succeed Moses going into offseason workouts. Instead, the Ravens redirected his remarkable 6-foot-8, 380-pound mass inside. He has worked hard to shorten up his pass-blocking sets against hard-charging interior rushers and graded well in that area in the Ravens’ second preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons. He missed an early run block that led to a stop for no gain, highlighting the degree to which he’ll need to compensate for his lack of natural quickness. But Faalele has performed well enough in games to strengthen his grip on a starting job. Considering his wildly inconsistent pass blocking at tackle last season, the Ravens will be thrilled if this guard experiment works. “He’s done a really good job in terms of pass protection,” Harbaugh said. “His room for improvement is really vast, because he’s so talented, and he’s naturally able to do so many good things. When he takes the next step in terms of an urgency in the movement that comes with confidence, you’re going to see a more physical player, because the physicality is there. He’s big, and he can move, and he can bend. He’s a powerful man, and he wants to be good. I think the upside is pretty immense.” The powerful Vorhees, meanwhile, was seen as the most likely starter among the inexperienced linemen entering camp, but he has struggled the most in games. He’s not controlling pass rushers with his hands, and backup quarterback Josh Johnson was buried on an early snap against the Falcons because of it. Vorhees, who missed all of last season as he rehabilitated a knee injury that dropped him to the seventh round of the 2023 draft, received a 0.0 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus for that performance. Ravens rookie Roger Rosengarten has looked steady at right tackle. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Rosengarten, the rookie from Washington, has looked steadier on the right edge, flashing the mobility that made him a well-regarded second-tier prospect in a loaded tackle class. His run- and pass-blocking grades improved as his snap load grew in the second preseason game, so he’s pointed in the right direction, perhaps giving the Ravens enough evidence to keep Mekari in his familiar super-utility role. Having Mekari as insurance feels more important than ever because this isn’t a deep group beyond the top six. Ben Cleveland has not pushed for the starting guard role many thought would be his. Josh Jones is a viable reserve tackle, but he’s penalty-prone. The Ravens averaged just 1.7 yards per carry in the first half against Atlanta, an alarming statistic that highlighted a less-discussed weakness on their offensive line — the lack of a bruising in-line blocker at tight end. They would like to reduce their reliance on Patrick Ricard because they believe their offense becomes too predictable when he’s consistently leading the charge on runs. But third-year tight end Charlie Kolar remains a work in progress no matter how much he has bulked up and embraced becoming a battering ram. Nick Boyle he ain’t. Even the certainties on this line don’t feel entirely certain. The group is trying to come together without the familiar guidance of ailing coach Joe D’Alessandris, replaced for now by George Warhop, who’s still learning his personnel. Stanley took a pay cut in the offseason and is confronting his crossroads season with vigor, looking trim and participating in every workout. But he has played just 31 games over the past four seasons, and injuries kept him from performing to his usual standard for much of last year. Another significant one could imperil the 30-year-old’s NFL future and leave the Ravens stretched impossibly thin. Linderbaum is a rising star at center but missed much of training camp with a neck injury. Harbaugh said Monday he’s on track, and the Ravens have to hope his health is not added to the list of worries around their most worrisome position group. Perhaps we’ll look back in January and say all this fretting was misplaced. Perhaps we’ll say DeCosta was astute in overhauling a creaky 2023 unit and managing his salary cap in the same fell swoop. The Ravens won big with young, lightly tested lines in Harbaugh’s early years. Maybe they will again. Maybe. View the full article Quote
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