ExtremeRavens Posted September 19 Posted September 19 Forget the learning curve. The Ravens spent the offseason hearing about their vulnerability against the pass and built a roster meant to answer the call. They doubled down on youth, trusting a first-round safety in Malaki Starks and a second-round outside linebacker in Mike Green. The Ravens’ young defenders are already impacting games, and the schedule is about to test how quickly they can build on it. Monday night’s game against Detroit brings last season’s highest-scoring offense to M&T Bank Stadium. Injuries have only sped up the timetable. With Kyle Van Noy (hamstring) sidelined and Marlon Humphrey nursing a groin injury, the young guys are no longer just depth pieces. They are the plan. Against Cleveland, that plan delivered. Nate Wiggins, 22, jumped a route for a momentum-changing interception (Wiggins suffered an apparent groin injury while celebrating the defense’s first takeaway of the season and missed practice Thursday). Third-year player Tavius Robinson, 26, strip-sacked Joe Flacco to set up Roquan Smith’s touchdown. Starks, 21, has flashed the kind of range and anticipation, alongside recently minted $100 million safety Kyle Hamilton, that allows coordinator Zach Orr to disguise his coverage looks and stay aggressive in the secondary. Meanwhile, Green, 22, is still chasing career sack No. 1, but he recorded his first quarterback hit and earned praise from his teammates for the way he has approached the job. “Mike has been, since Day 1, he’s been a dawg here,” Robinson said. “I’ve been so impressed with how he studies the game and he just knows what plays are coming. His physicality, all of that. The way he’s in there watching extra film with us. He’s been impressive since he got here.” It’s one thing to look good against Cleveland. But a real test is coming to town. The Lions, fresh off a 52-point eruption, are not the Browns. Detroit’s offense, led by four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Jared Goff, will test every seam and punish every missed tackle. Detroit will move top wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown across the formation and challenge the secondary’s communication and patience. Tight end Sam LaPorta, who earned All-Pro recognition as a rookie in 2023, will push rookie linebacker Teddye Buchanan’s range and instincts. Running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, an elite duo that combined for 3,045 total yards and 32 touchdowns in 2024, are home run threats out of the backfield on any given snap. “The Lions do a lot of communicating at the line,” coach John Harbaugh said Thursday. “They do a lot of communicating on offense. They try to get in the right play, try to move you around and things like that. Our defense is going to have to cope with that.” The Ravens’ pass defense, led by senior secondary coach Chuck Pagano, is determined to prove last year’s mid-season leaks are entirely in the past. A stage like Monday night, featuring a pair of Super Bowl favorites, is what the Ravens have been building toward. Ravens safety Malaki Starks, hauls in a pass during an August practice. Starks, a rookie, will face a major test Monday against the Lions' high-powered offense. (Kevin Richardson/Staff) After leading the league in scoring (33.2 points per game) last year, the Lions currently rank third (32.5) behind only the Ravens (40.5) and Bills (35.5) through the season’s first two weeks. Detroit’s high-powered offense also ranks fifth in the NFL in total yards (378.5 per game) and passing yards (267). Many pundits predict a high-scoring affair under the M&T Bank Stadium lights. It’s the perfect time for Baltimore to prove it can force a different result. Pagano himself said three weeks ago that he’s never coached a better secondary than this group. If the Ravens keep Detroit’s passing game at bay, it won’t just be a signature September win against an NFC heavyweight, but also proof that the secondary is capable of standing toe-to-toe with the league’s best. This youth movement, of course, isn’t an accident of roster construction. General manager Eric DeCosta and the front office have long invested in waves of defensive depth, trusting that development will meet opportunity. “Play Like A Raven,” is inscribed throughout the team’s headquarters in Owings Mills, serving as a daily reminder to the up-and-comers of the lineage of dominant defenders that defines the franchise’s first three decades. For years, Baltimore has trusted its draft room and development pipeline to keep the defense among the NFL’s elite. Still, no one inside The Castle will confuse a decisive win over Cleveland for a finished product. The Lions present a much different animal. The Ravens’ rookies and young core are about to find out what it means to be targeted by a team that smells weakness. The lights will be bright and the throws will come fast. By the end of Monday evening, we’ll know a little more about whether Baltimore’s promising youth movement is simply holding the line or starting to carve out its place in a season filled with mighty expectations. Have a news tip? Contact Josh Tolentino at jtolentino@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200, x.com/JCTSports and instagram.com/JCTSports. View the full article Quote
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