ExtremeRavens Posted October 17 Posted October 17 The Ravens are a team of extremes, from their historically overpowering ground game to their surprisingly ragged pass defense. That means they’re ripe for statistical analysis, whether we’re talking the individual feats of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry or the collective frustration around their unusually spotty special teams performance. They’re a Super Bowl contender in need of repairs, and the numbers show it. With that in mind, here are 10 stats that tell their story through six games: 1,107 Jackson and Henry’s combined rushing total, the highest through six games for any quarterback-running back pair since at least 1950, per NFL researcher Tony Holzman-Escareno. Recall those questions about the Ravens’ offensive identity after Henry carried just 13 times for 46 yards in their opening loss to the Chiefs? As it turns out, pairing the greatest running quarterback of all time with the most imposing power-speed ball carrier of the past decade is a pretty workable concept. Opponents simply can’t defend both — or either, really — for 60 minutes. Baltimore fans have learned for six years that Jackson guarantees an elite running game, no matter who’s taking his handoffs. But no disrespect to Gus Edwards or J.K. Dobbins or Mark Ingram II: Henry is something else entirely. Keep feeding him, and he will break a big play, often when a tired defense is least able to absorb it. Among players with at least 50 carries, Jackson ranks first in yards per carry, Henry second. That’s nuts. Every so often in sports, we get to watch two special powers align: Kevin Durant and Steph Curry, Tom Brady to Randy Moss, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge hitting back-to-back (sorry). This feels like one of those cases. 6.9 Opposing quarterbacks’ average yards per attempt. The Ravens rank 27th in the league after ranking first at 4.7 yards per attempt last season. They rank 31st in total pass defense, the statistic you’re more likely to see when fans and pundits lambast their shoddy coverage. But that can be deceptive because they’re playing with a lead so much of the time. What’s more troubling is the efficiency. The Ravens are simply giving up too many chunk plays against top quarterbacks and receivers. It’s not a one-note or a one-player problem. Patrick Mahomes and Jayden Daniels wounded them in the middle of the field, notably picking on All-Pro linebacker Roquan Smith. Gardner Minshew II and Joe Burrow did it by trusting that their top targets would repeatedly win matchups against Ravens defensive backs. Tackling has also been a problem on harmful catch-and-runs. The culprits are many. First-round draft pick Nate Wiggins has struggled in three of his past four games. Safety Marcus Williams has made few plays on the back end. Cornerback Brandon Stephens has put himself in great position but hasn’t consistently broken up completions. Under first-year coordinator Zach Orr, the Ravens aren’t muddying the picture for opposing quarterbacks as frequently as they did last season under Mike Macdonald. 2 Pressures right guard Daniel Faalele has allowed over the past three games. Faalele allowed six pressures over his first three games, including a costly sack by Las Vegas Raiders edge rushing superstar Maxx Crosby in a shocking Ravens loss. Fans zeroed in on that play as evidence that Faalele would never be quick enough to be a competent NFL starter. He in turn became the chief focus of overall frustrations regarding the team’s overhauled and unproven offensive line. Coaches stood by him, adamant that he’d clearly won his job over Ben Cleveland and other aspirants. Since that Raiders defeat, Faalele and his linemates have done much to hush their critics. The Ravens had spent the summer searching for a five-man formula and finally found it with Patrick Mekari shifting to left guard and rookie Roger Rosengarten taking over at right tackle. A healthy Ronnie Stanley is playing his best football since 2020. Center Tyler Linderbaum appears headed for another Pro Bowl. But there’s no better face for the turnaround than Faalele, who has become a dependable pass protector and mauled opponents to open running lanes. The Ravens’ passing defense has been an issue, but they’ve done well to slow down opposing runners, including Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) 146 Yards per game by which the Ravens are outrushing opponents. It’s not just that they have the most efficient and prolific running game — they also allow the fewest rushing yards per game and per attempt. They’re the first team to outrush each of their first six opponents by at least 100 yards. As much as passing defines the modern NFL, a team that can count on such an extreme running advantage becomes difficult to beat. The Ravens were outstanding on both sides of the ball last season, outrushing foes by 47 yards per game — significant, but in no way outside normal bounds. Even in 2019, when they set an all-time rushing record, their average margin was plus-112.6. What we’re seeing from them so far this year is freaky. 4-for-7 Justin Tucker on field goal attempts of 40 yards or beyond. In Tucker’s peak seasons — let’s say 2016 to 2021 — he routinely made more than 80% of his 40-or-longer attempts. So when he missed from 53, 56 and 46 in the first three games of this season, on top of a 1-for-5 performance from 50 or beyond last year, fears grew that the most accurate kicker in history had lost something at age 34. Coach John Harbaugh said Tucker, whose misses all hooked left, was dealing with a technical issue. Tucker acknowledged that the errant kicks gnawed at him but said he was confident the next one would split the uprights. With an unpredictable wind swirling over Cincinnati, he lined up for a 56-yard attempt to keep the Ravens alive in their wildest game of the season. He drilled it. He then made all three of his attempts without issue in a win over Washington. For now, the fretting over Tucker has quieted. Ravens kicker Justin Tucker hasn’t missed a field goal in his past two games, a positive sign after a rocky start to the season. (Karl Merton Ferron/staff) 12 Rashod Bateman’s targets over his past two games. You know the last time the fourth-year wide receiver saw the ball that much in two games? Try the first two of the 2022 season. All of last year, we heard how Bateman was open, but Jackson would not throw him the ball. Would these two gifted players ever find the same wavelength? Bateman signed a contract extension in the offseason and finally enjoyed a summer of good health. Harbaugh and general manager Eric DeCosta predicted a breakout. But then Bateman was right back to seeing the ball just 14 times over the Ravens’ first four games. But they had to throw to beat the Bengals and Commanders, and Bateman was a big part of both aerial outbursts. He consistently found open ground, and Jackson showed no hesitation going to him in crucial moments. Zay Flowers was great in both wins and is a clear No. 1 in the receiver pecking order, but the Ravens needed Bateman to be a viable No. 2. Right now, he is. Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman is second on the team with 273 receiving yards. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) 4 Travis Jones’ rank among all NFL defensive tackles, according to Pro Football Focus grading. Harbaugh’s more apt to dial down the hype around a young player than dial it up. But when asked about Jones this summer, he said: “Whenever someone blocks him, it’s like a superhuman feat almost. He’s like a superhuman player.” That accurately reflected the excitement around the 6-foot-4, 338-pound Jones coming into this third season. Given his taciturn nature and the difficulty of accumulating flashy stats at his position, he’s rarely going to be the headliner for this Ravens defense. But Jones has been awesome, collapsing the pocket and forming a one-man wall against interior runs. He’s the most talented interior defender — assuming we recognize Nnamdi Madubuike as a different type of player — the Ravens have had since Haloti Ngata. 5 Takeaways for the Baltimore defense this year after it led the league with 31 in 2023. Turnovers are volatile. Analysts often look for inflated totals when scoping for teams likely to regress the next season. So it’s not a shock the Ravens have come back to earth in this respect. At the same time, the low turnover rate is another reason why their defense isn’t performing up to expectations. We’ve seen too many dropped interceptions, too few aggressive moves to the ball along the back end. Marlon Humphrey’s interception, on which he muscled in front of Ja’Marr Chase, was as important as any play in the Ravens’ overtime victory over the Bengals. It was also a reminder of how infrequently this star-studded group has produced such moments in the early going. Marlon Humphrey’s interception against Cincinnati was one of the few turnovers forced by the Ravens this season. (Carolyn Kaster/AP) 671 Jackson’s passing yards over the past two games, the second-highest consecutive-game total of his career (he threw for 758 in a pair of wins over Indianapolis and Denver in 2021). Raw passing yardage can be one of the most misleading measures of quarterback play. Jackson has epitomized this throughout his career, winning two Most Valuable Player Awards as a low-volume, high-efficiency thrower. Heck, he won a pair of games this season in which he combined for 33 attempts. But the Ravens want to know they can win throwing on almost every down if they must. In the past, opponents stuffed the box with eight defenders, dared Jackson to beat them over the top and got away with it. When the Bengals tried that old strategy in Week 5, the reigning MVP lit them up and rallied his team to victory. It’s a testament to Jackson’s surging confidence and to the quality of weapons around him — the pick-your-poison offense he envisioned he envisioned as he looked forward to this season. 1 The number of quarterbacks the Ravens will face over their next nine games who rank top 10 in ESPN’s QBR. As much as we’ve talked about the failings of their pass defense, they have played a murderer’s row of quarterbacks. The last three they’ve faced — Daniels, Burrow and Josh Allen — rank third, second and first in QBR, respectively. They opened their season against Patrick Mahomes, the consensus best in the world even if his passing totals to this point don’t show it. The tests are about to get a little easier. Between now and their Christmas Day matchup with the Houston Texans’ C.J. Stroud, Burrow is the only quarterback the Ravens will face in the top 10 of ESPN’s all-encompassing metric for grading the most important position in the sport. They’ll go against prolific and gifted throwers, starting with Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield on Monday and including Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts and the Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert in subsequent weeks. But they won’t have to defend anything more dangerous than what they’ve already seen. Have a news tip? Contact Childs Walker at daviwalker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6893 and x.com/ChildsWalker. View the full article Quote
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