ExtremeRavens Posted November 7 Posted November 7 Four days before the Ravens’ blowout win over the Denver Broncos at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday, Baltimore’s defensive maharishi and All-Pro inside linebacker Roquan Smith noted that the group was keeping “receipts” on all the “outside noise.” “We’re going to be perfectly fine,” he continued with the assembled media. “We’ll look back at this interview pretty soon, and you’ll be like, ‘You were right.’” Maybe. Maybe not. While the Ravens cruised to a 41-10 win over the Broncos, it hardly signaled the revival of a defense that has been one of the NFL’s worst after just a season ago being historically dominant. For one, Denver’s record had been forged in large part because of its stout defense that also benefitted from playing the second-easiest schedule in the NFL, according to defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA). For another, defensive coordinator Zach Orr’s unit still surrendered large chunks of turf all over the field to the Broncos and has consistently been one of the worst against the pass all season. In the first half Sunday, rookie quarterback Bo Nix had completions of 19, 26, 33, and 34 yards and juked out Smith on a 15-yard scamper up the middle. Down 31-10 after the Ravens scored on the opening series of the second half, however, Denver was forced into more predictable passing situations and only managed two long plays through the air. Notably, though, Smith again struggled, particularly against the pass with a 49 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus, marking the fifth time this season he has failed to crack a rating of at least 50 in a game. After performing at an All-Pro level each of the past two seasons, Smith, whom the Ravens acquired in a trade with the Chicago Bears midway through the 2022 season and later signed to a five-year, $100 million deal to make him the highest-paid off-ball linebacker in the NFL, hasn’t come close to achieving the same level — or even being particularly good. On the surface, his 85 tackles are the fifth-most in the NFL, but digging just only a little deeper, the numbers have been head-scratching and his play concerning. Through the first nine games of this season, Smith is ranked 59th overall out of 83 qualifying linebackers, according to PFF, is surrendering 9.4 yards per target and allowing the most expected points added among linebackers, per TruMedia. While Smith’s run defense has mostly been strong, he ranks 67th in coverage and has allowed the third-most yards receiving among linebackers at 343, with 229 of those coming after the catch. So, what gives? “We’ve had a lot of conversations,” coach John Harbaugh said. “We talk all of the time every day. We talk about plays, specifically — and I’m talking about plays in practice — we talk in the meeting room, we talk about how we’re handling a coverage or a rush, or how we’re handling a play. Those are all of the little detailed conversations that you have all of the time. “You also have some big-picture conversations, too, about how can we get better. What do we need to do? What are we missing? What are we doing well? With your leaders, you have those conversations.” Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith hasn’t played to his usual elite standards through the first nine games of the season. (Staff) So far, there haven’t been a lot of clear answers for the Ravens’ on-field play caller. Against the Broncos, Smith had just three tackles, which was three fewer than his previous season low. For the year, he’s giving up just over 2 yards per completion and 1.3 yards per target compared with a year ago. Part of the reason could be scheme. When Baltimore has been in a Cover 2 look, Smith and fellow inside linebacker Trenton Simpson have often dropped well back into a soft zone, thus limiting their speed and aggressiveness to the ball in a bend-but-don’t-break approach. Other times, though, like on Nix’s scramble on third-and-5 from the Ravens’ 36-yard line in the second quarter, Smith bit badly on a pump fake and was left in the quarterback’s wake, nary getting a hand on him as he made one cut and ran by him. The game against Denver marked the fifth time this season that Smith finished with fewer than 10 tackles in a game. One consistent issue has been communication. But how are the Ravens fixing it? “As a team and as having Ro as our leader, we’ve spent more time on the back seven watching more film together with just players,” Simpson said. “We got all the talent and coaching staff putting the game plans into place, but just as players and teammates we have to be on the same accord and on the same page.” Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith, left, is confident the defense can fix its issues in the second half of the season. (Staff file) The same issues — along with execution — have echoed throughout the secondary as well, all of it interconnected. “We’ve been searching,” cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. “It’s bad when what you’re being coached. … If you don’t have it to the T, that’s what’s kind of hurting us. “We’ve talked about doing your 1-of-11. So many times this year, just one guy is not exactly where he’s supposed to be, and that’s where it’s been hit.” Often, where it has hit has been in the middle of the field, or where Smith roams. That will likely be the case again on Thursday night at M&T Bank Stadium against the AFC North rival Bengals. When the teams met last month in Cincinnati, the Ravens won a wild 41-38 shootout in overtime. A similar consequence could emerge if Baltimore can’t protect the middle and shallow areas of the field, an area where the Bengals excel. Quarterback Joe Burrow has been stellar on throws inside 10 yards, completing 122 of 145 for 948 yards and 10 touchdowns with one interception. Over the middle in that range, he is 70-for-85 for 567 yards with five touchdown passes, and between 10 to 20 yards in the middle is 17-for-28 for 362 yards and two scores. Put another way, pressure will again be put on Smith. Not that anyone — including the man who delivers the team’s fiery pregame speech after warmups every game, nor the team’s coach — seems to be worried. “It’s a process through the whole season to get better at everything,” Harbaugh said. “It seems to be an expectation that you’re going to be perfect at everything — every aspect of your game — from the first game to the last game to the end. … It’s just not reality. “We understand that we can get better. We work hard to get better every single day at every single thing we do. … You face challenges, [and] you face circumstances, and you meet them as you find them; you meet them where they’re at. You meet your circumstances where they’re at.” For the Ravens, in many ways, that begins and ends with Smith. Have a news tip? Contact sports editor Tim Schwartz at timschwartz@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/timschwartz13. View the full article Quote
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