ExtremeRavens Posted September 26 Posted September 26 When Marlon Humphrey spoke with teammates about bringing the Ravens’ defense back to its historic prominence, this certainly wasn’t what he envisioned. Through three weeks, Baltimore’s defense has regressed more than any other unit in the NFL compared with last season, according to most major metrics. The Ravens’ success rate, third-down defense and expected points added (EPA) per play have significantly dropped. They’re last in the league in yards allowed, have surrendered the second-most points in the league and have given up the third-most rushing yards per game. And while last year’s unit also stumbled out of the gate, this season’s defensive start is far more concerning. The Ravens’ defense held offenses to a 42% success rate and 0.065 EPA per play through three weeks last season. This year, that number has jumped to 48.6% and 0.129 EPA per play, respectively. “I don’t think last week is who we are,” safety Kyle Hamilton said. It starts with the defensive line. Baltimore’s defense is getting bullied at the line of scrimmage, something fans are not accustomed to seeing. Opponents’ EPA per rush is at a whopping 0.14 per rushing play, according to RBSDM.com. That means, on average, every time the team runs the ball against the Ravens, it adds 0.14 expected points. Since 2016, the Ravens have never finished a season allowing a positive EPA per rush. Over that span, Baltimore leads the NFL by holding opponents to an average of minus-0.133 EPA per carry. Baltimore has faced two dominant rushing offenses, though. The Lions and Bills both are top-five rushing attacks so far this season. But Cleveland — averaging just 86.7 rushing yards per game, the fourth-lowest mark in the NFL — still found some success against the Ravens with 115 yards on 22 attempts. Not having Nnamdi Madubuike certainly hurts Baltimore’s rushing defense. But with his return looking more and more questionable, it doesn’t appear as though reinforcements are on the way in the immediate future. Hamilton said missed tackles are the biggest issue in the run defense. The Ravens have already surrendered 200 yards after contact this season — the most through three games in John Harbaugh’s 18 years as coach. “Just own the mistakes and look at it and try to find every detail of how we can be better,” defensive coordinator Zach Orr said. “Do we like it? No. Are we frustrated about it? Yes. But it’s about what we do going forward.” Screenshots from RBSDM.com But even when the Ravens force teams into third-down situations, they have struggled. Opponents are converting third downs nearly 45% of the time against Baltimore, its lowest mark over the past decade. A lack of pass rush certainly contributes to that. In the Week 3 loss to the Lions, quarterback Jared Goff was never sacked and rarely pressured. Bills quarterback Josh Allen had plenty of time in the pocket to dissect the Ravens’ secondary. Orr also said that stopping teams on third down starts with winning early downs. Baltimore ranks fifth-worst in the league in first and second-down success rate, allowing Detroit to consistently set up manageable third downs. “You look at the second half [the Lions] weren’t in third-and-long. It’s tough to defend any offense when you’re living in third-and-short, third-and-medium,” Orr said. “You live in that type of world, especially against a good offense, they’re gonna make you pay.” Luckily for the Ravens, their schedule eases up after this week’s trip to Kansas City. They will face only two teams currently in the top 10 for scoring offense — the Vikings and Bears — over the next seven weeks. Hamilton said the “sky isn’t falling.” He defended Orr, saying “we’ve been through the fire before. We’re going through it again.” While he’s right that Baltimore’s season is far from over, the defense must quickly address the problems that have plagued it early on. If not, the Ravens won’t reach the heights they’ve set for themselves this year. Have a news tip? Contact Sam Jane at sjane@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/Sam_Jane230. View the full article Quote
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