ExtremeRavens Posted January 23 Posted January 23 The Ravens went 12-5, won the AFC North for a second straight season and advanced to the divisional round before losing the Buffalo Bills. Here’s how the Ravens graded out at every position this season: Quarterback Lamar Jackson set career highs in passing yards (4,172) and touchdown passes (41) while becoming the first quarterback to throw for more than 4,000 yards and rush for more than 900 in a single season. He is an incredible talent, a pure pleasure to watch. It’s uncanny the way he can escape, make and extend plays. There is no doubt he is the best running quarterback ever and has made significant progress as a passer, especially in the red zone. With running back Derrick Henry, the Ravens have the perfect combination of players who can run inside and out. There were many magical moments from Jackson this season, and the Ravens loaded up by giving him playmakers such as Henry, first-round wide receivers Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman and tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely. But the Ravens failed to make it back to the AFC championship game. Until proven otherwise, that will be the major criticism of Jackson, just as it was for former quarterback greats such as Buffalo’s Jim Kelly and Miami’s Dan Marino. After seven years, he has two NFL Most Valuable Player Awards (and potentially a third coming soon), but no Super Bowl titles. Jackson is 3-5 in the postseason, fumbling seven times and throwing 11 interceptions. Maybe someday soon he’ll be able to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, because that’s the only thing missing from his impressive resume. Grade: A Running backs Henry was the beast that this team missed for several years, but even he couldn’t get the Ravens to the Super Bowl. The former Tennessee Titans star rushed 325 times for 1,921 yards during the regular season, the second-highest total of his nine-year career. He also had a league-leading 16 rushing touchdowns and another three in two postseason games. There were a lot of games in which he was unstoppable, such as at Dallas in Week 3, vs. Buffalo in Week 4 and the final two games against Pittsburgh. There were some who thought Henry could have been used more, but the Ravens kept him healthy for an entire season at the age of 31. He could make big plays from anywhere on the field and showed surprising speed once he turned the corner. The Ravens probably should have used him more in the playoff loss to Buffalo, in which he had only 84 yards on 16 carries, but overall he was exceptional. The Ravens also got a strong effort from backup running back Justice Hill, who finished with 228 yards on 47 carries. He was a threat out of the backfield in passing situations, finishing with 42 catches for 383 yards and three touchdowns. He also blocked well when he was involved in pass protection. It’s hard to put a value on a player like him. The Ravens also had the game’s best fullback in Patrick Ricard. There wasn’t a better lead blocker in the NFL, and he would destroy opponents on wham blocks. With the possible emphasis being back on the running game after this season, Ricard could sign a big contract with another team as a free agent. Grade. A Offensive line The Ravens got more than anyone expected out of this group. First of all, a lot of credit goes to George Warhop, a late training camp addition after the death of longtime offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris. Warhop had to come in and learn a new system, as well as the players. The Ravens made an early transition, moving veteran Patrick Mekari from right tackle to left guard and starting rookie Roger Rosengarten in place of Mekari. Rosengarten played well most of the season and has a lot of upside once he gets a full offseason in the weight room. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Ravens moved him to left tackle if they don’t re-sign veteran Ronnie Stanley. Daniel Faalele made progress at right guard, but he needs to improve his offseason diet and weight training to get ready for the next training camp. Tyler Linderbaum had another strong season, and he is one of the more mobile centers in the NFL. His only weakness is holding up against bigger defensive tackles when they line up directly in front of him. Mekari was surprisingly healthy for most of the season, and technique-wise he was one of the better linemen on the team. Stanley was solid and dependable; it will be interesting to see what interest he might draw on the open market. He reshaped and rebuilt the bottom half of his body. The Ravens were good — dominant at times — but still struggled in pass protection. Jackson bailed them out quite a few times with his elusiveness, taking just 23 sacks. Overall, it was a good year and this group can only get better. Grade: B Wide receiver Zay Flowers became the star of the passing game, but a knee injury cost him a chance to play in the postseason. (Staff) Receivers First of all, let’s get this out of the way. Since the Ravens began play in Baltimore for the 1996 season, there has only been one player — Hall of Fame middle linebacker Ray Lewis — who worked harder in practices than Andrews. He dropped the 2-point conversion that would have tied the game in Buffalo late, but that has happened to all the great ones. They aren’t perfect, just human. Andrews had a strong regular season after a slow start, finishing with 55 catches for 673 yards and 11 touchdowns. By late in the season, he had become Jackson’s go-to receiver again. The Ravens had a pleasant surprise in fourth-year player Bateman, who had 45 catches for 765 yards and nine touchdowns, and he became another weapon for Jackson in the red zone. Backup tight end Likely also became a contributor in the team’s multiple attacking offense as he finished with 42 catches for 477 yards and six touchdowns. The player who made the passing offense work was second-year receiver Flowers, who missed both playoff games with a knee injury. Flowers was a weapon as a runner, in the slot or outside. He could make big plays from anywhere on the field on routes across the middle or quick screens. He had 74 catches for 1,059 yards and four touchdowns, and his absence was a key reason the Bills had success against Henry in the postseason. Without Flowers, Buffalo didn’t fear anyone who could beat one of their safeties deep and they could crowd the line of scrimmage. Without Flowers, the Ravens lacked a significant playmaker. Grade: B Defensive line Despite several injuries, this group held up and played well. Heading into the postseason, most teams failed to run the ball against Baltimore. Defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike got off to a slow start, but he was relentless and dominated throughout the second half of the season. He finished eighth on the team in tackles with 43, including 21 solo, and had 6 1/2 sacks. Travis Jones was only one tackle behind Madubuike despite being bothered by lower leg injuries. Fellow lineman Broderick Washington had 21 tackles, including two sacks, and nose tackle Michael Pierce, despite missing several games with injuries, still finished with 19 tackles. Pierce also became a rare inside pass rusher, finishing with two sacks, and had an unforgettable interception against the Browns. Reserve lineman Brent Urban had 20 tackles in 15 games. The only downside for this group was getting pushed around by the Bills, as Buffalo rushed for 147 yards on 36 carries. That’s not good enough in the postseason. Grade: B Linebackers Smith led the team in tackles with 154, but that’s nothing new. On most defenses, the middle or weakside linebacker as well as the strong safety usually lead the team in tackles. Smith had a good season, but he struggled through the first eight or nine games. Opposing teams attacked Smith in the passing game before the Ravens used him more consistently with blitzes in the second half of the year. Trenton Simpson, the 2023 third-round draft pick out of Clemson, was a disappointment. He started several games early before losing his spot to Chris Board and Malik Harrison. Simpson, though, finished with 70 tackles. Both Board and Harrison were upgrades, but Harrison (46 tackles) was limited because he is more of a straight-ahead player than one who can run sideline to sideline. Outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy led the team in sacks with 12 1/2 and had 41 tackles, but those numbers were built up against weak offensive tackles. Against the better ones in the NFL, he would disappear. Odafe Oweh, the starter on the other side, was less effective than Van Noy. He had 10 sacks and finished with 39 tackles, but he hasn’t lived up to his first-round status. The Ravens need more dynamic and productive outside linebackers, even though Tavius Robinson shows some promise. Grade: B- Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton was the leader of a secondary that struggled at times throughout the season. (Staff) Secondary The Ravens made improvements throughout the season, especially after shifting strong safety Kyle Hamilton more toward the back end and replacing Marcus Williams at free safety with Ar’Darius Washington. Hamilton was second on the team in tackles with 107 and was still a force off the edge at times. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey, playing mostly in the slot, had one of his best seasons in years as he finished with 67 tackles and led the team with six interceptions. Regardless, the Ravens still struggled on the outside. Rookie cornerback Nate Wiggins played aggressively, but he was too hands on at times, which showed he hadn’t yet made the transition from college to the pros. On the other side, the Ravens had Brandon Stephens, who always seemed to be in great position but never turned to find the ball. Opposing teams picked on Stephens every week as well as his replacement, midseason pickup Tre’Davious White. The Ravens’ defensive stats near the end of the season were inflated because most of their opponents, such as Pittsburgh (twice), Philadelphia, the New York Giants, Houston and Cleveland, were incapable of throwing the ball downfield consistently. I still can’t forget watching the looks on Smith’s or Hamilton’s faces when the Ravens gave up big plays. It was astounding. Grade: C Special teams It was a weird season, especially when kicker Justin Tucker started missing field goal attempts. He finished 22-for-30 but also missed two extra point tries. Tucker, though, redeemed himself in the postseason, converting both of his attempts, including a 47-yarder in Buffalo. The Ravens tried several punt returners, but none of them showed good hands. In fact, there were times when you held your breath. By the end of the season, the Ravens had found a strong kickoff return specialist in Keaton Mitchell, but there weren’t a lot of good things to say about the special teams this year. Jordan Stout averaged 46.4 yards on 55 punts and placed 22 inside the 20-yard line. Grade: D Coaching Overall, coach John Harbaugh did a good job while having to deal with the death of D’Alessandris during training camp, retooling his offense with coordinator Todd Monken and then hiring a new defensive coordinator in Zach Orr. Harbaugh can build a team because the Ravens always have chemistry and a strong work ethic. He made a good move bringing in Dean Pees as a consultant for Orr, a first-time play caller. Pees was able to patch up some communication issues for a defense that was missing three top assistants from the 2023 season. Communication needs to be emphasized again in 2025 because the Ravens gave up too many big plays. The special teams, which had been outstanding in previous years, were inconsistent at best. Harbaugh needs to improve his game day decision-making. Instead of trying to be too aggressive based on analytics, he needs to rely more on gut instincts and what is going on in the game at that time. Grade: B Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston@baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun. View the full article Quote
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