ExtremeRavens Posted October 17 Posted October 17 Here’s how the Ravens graded out at every position after a 4-2 start to the season, including four straight wins entering a “Monday Night Football” showdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Quarterback Lamar Jackson has done just about everything humanly possible to win games. He was superb in the season opener against Kansas City but had a subpar game in a second straight loss to Las Vegas. Then he managed games perfectly in wins against Dallas and Buffalo, outplaying two of the league’s featured quarterbacks in the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott and the Bills’ Josh Allen. A good sign for the Ravens is that even though opposing teams are stacking the line of scrimmage, Jackson is throwing downfield to win games, something he has failed to do in previous postseasons. Jackson has completed 118 of 176 passes (67%) for 1,529 yards with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions and rushed for 403 yards, second-most on the team, and two scores on 64 carries. He has a passer rating of 108.4. Grade: A- Running backs There are some who think the Ravens were adjusting to having Jackson and running back Derrick Henry in the same backfield in the first quarter of the season, but they simply got outplayed by two of the better defensive lines in the NFL against the Chiefs and Raiders. The Ravens pounded weak run defenses the following two weeks as Henry rushed for 151 yards against Dallas and 199 yards versus the Bills. Before he signed with Baltimore in the offseason, Henry was known as the premiere closer in the fourth quarter and he has lived up to that reputation over the past three weeks against Buffalo, Cincinnati and Washington. Henry leads the NFL with 704 rushing yards on 119 carries. Backup Justice Hill has 94 yards on 20 carries and is tied for second on the team in receptions with 18 for 171 yards. Grade: B+ Offensive line As expected, this group struggled in the first two games. They were outclassed and outplayed, and that’s the bottom line. Since then, they have gotten better. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley is playing extremely well and no longer gives ground against power rushers. Right tackle will remain a problem area for most of the season with Patrick Mekari splitting time with rookie Roger Rosengarten. Right guard Daniel Faalele has gotten better with his hands and improved his physical conditioning, a problem in training camp. Center Tyler Linderbaum has played well, particularly making blocks into the second level, but has struggled with big nose tackles. Mekari has split time at guard and tackle but does better on the inside because he has Linderbaum to assist him. This group has gotten better over six games, but pass protection will be a problem, especially if the Ravens fall behind. Because of his elusiveness, Jackson makes this group better than it appears. Grade: B- Receivers This has been an interesting mix because it took time for this group to bond, and that will continue for the first half of the season. Jackson has turned slot receiver Zay Flowers into his best all-around weapon. Flowers has 33 catches for 401 yards and has rushed five times for 28 yards. After Hill, tight end Isaiah Likely has 18 catches for 207 yards and has become one of Jackson’s favorite targets inside the red zone. Rashod Bateman, a questionable performer before the season, has 17 catches for 273 yards and has become a clutch receiver in the fourth quarter. Like Bateman, tight end Mark Andrews (13 catches for 186 yards) has become a weapon again in passing situations. The lone receiver left out so far has been Nelson Agholor, but the crafty veteran will eventually come up big for the Ravens, especially late in the season. Meanwhile, Likely has started to block on the outside and down the field even as well as Bateman and Agholor. Grade: B Bills quarterback Josh Allen fumbles after being hit by Ravens defensive tackle Travis Jones, above. Jones has been a standout player so far this season. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Defensive line One of the best things about the Ravens’ defense is that this group can shut down the run and make opposing teams one-dimensional. The Ravens are allowing only 59 rushing yards per game, best in the NFL. Tackles Nnamdi Madubuike and Michael Pierce as well as backup Broderick Washington have cut down everything on the inside, but the most dominant player might be tackle Travis Jones, who can collapse a pocket as well as holes for running backs. Jones leads all Ravens linemen with 19 tackles, while Pierce has 13 and Madubuike 12. After a breakout season and a big contract extension, Madubuike has taken on a lot of double teams at the point of attack, which frees up both Jones and Pierce. It will be interesting to see how opposing teams handle Madubuike now that Jones has such a strong presence. The 2023 third-round pick creates a pile wherever he plays. Grade. A- Linebackers Despite a slow start, partly because of injury, middle linebacker Roquan Smith leads the team with 56 tackles, including 29 solo. Second-year weakside linebacker Trenton Simpson has 30, and both inside linebackers are tough against the run, especially inside the tackles. The Ravens, though, need more consistency on the outside. Kyle Van Noy has played well and has registered six sacks. Odafe Oweh has played well at times with 14 tackles, but he has not been a consistent force. The same can be said about third-year outside linebacker David Ojabo, who has only five tackles and one sack in the first six games. Malik Harrison, who can play inside or outside, has eight tackles but plays very stiff. He is great at going forward, but doesn’t bend well. The Ravens need more help from second-year outside linebacker Tavius Robinson, who was expected to be a factor this season but has just seven tackles and only one sack. Grade: B Secondary The secondary has struggled, especially in coverage. This group is ranked No. 31 in pass defense, allowing 275.7 yards per game. A lot of defensive backs get beat physically, but the Ravens just haven’t been in spots to make plays. Veteran Marlon Humphrey spends too much time freelancing, while fellow starter Brandon Stephens has great recovery speed but doesn’t turn his head to locate the ball. Strong safety Kyle Hamilton plays well near the line of scrimmage, but the Ravens might want to keep him on the backend as an enforcer. Why? Free safety Marcus Williams hasn’t been aggressive or made plays, and the Ravens could use a force in the middle of the field. Hamilton is second on the team in tackles with 36, while Humphrey has 31. Stephens has 28 and Williams 22. Overall, the Ravens have to get better in this area to go far in the postseason. The NFL is a quarterback-driven league, and a hot quarterback can take a team far. A poor secondary can lead to an early exit. Grade: C- Special teams Justin Tucker missed field goal attempts of 53 and 56 yards, both wide left, in the first four games and also a 46-yard try, but he has rebounded well in the past two weeks. Tucker might have been compensating for a lack of leg strength by kicking too hard, but he’s made 10 of 13 attempts overall, including his last five. Jordan Stout has averaged 45.2 yards on 18 punts, including a long of 67, and put nine inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. The Ravens have averaged 10.7 yards on punt returns and 22.3 yards on kickoff returns but were hesitant in their decision-making earlier in the year. Linebackers Chris Board and Josh Ross lead the Ravens in special team tackles with five each. Grade: C+ Coaching After losing the first two games of the season, there was criticism of coach John Harbaugh, but a lot of it was unwarranted. Harbaugh has made some poor decisions as far as clock management, but his style of coaching and philosophy easily makes him one of the best in the NFL. Offensively, coordinator Todd Monken finally started getting the offense to perform at a high level, but a lot of that was because of the dominant defensive lines he faced in the first two games. The Ravens are at their best when they can run the football mixed in with the play-action passing game and the run-pass options with Jackson. Defensively, there are quite a few adjustments to be made, most of those on the back end as far as communication. Coordinator Zach Orr is in his first season calling plays, but both he and his defense have struggled so far this season. The Ravens brought in former defensive coordinator Dean Pees, 75, as an adviser. This week will be key for the secondary, with Pees having been around the team for two weeks. Grade: C+ View the full article Quote
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