ExtremeRavens Posted October 9 Posted October 9 The Ravens are in dire straits. When a team starts unloading former first-round draft picks, like the Ravens did Tuesday in trading outside linebacker Odafe Oweh to the Los Angeles Chargers, or bringing in a polarizing player like veteran safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, they are in deep need. The Ravens find themselves in that situation with a 1-4 record having lost to Buffalo, Detroit, Kansas City and even Houston. Yes, the lowly Texans. So, it’s time for panic, and that’s what the Ravens have done. They haven’t been this desperate for talent since they traded for disgruntled Los Angeles Rams cornerback Marcus Peters in 2019. In that situation, the Ravens at least got a couple of good years out of Peters before he started acting weird again. But Ravens coach John Harbaugh is now in the position in which he had to do something. Combined with the Ravens committing 31 penalties for 194 yards, Harbaugh has to get rid of players who aren’t productive, and Oweh was the perfect choice. But before we go into the next third of the season, The Baltimore Sun looks back on the first five games and gives out position-by-position grades. Parents wouldn’t be happy if their children came home with this this report card. Quarterback Lamar Jackson has played well enough to win in most of the four games he started before suffering a hamstring injury. He has completed 71.6% of his passes for 869 yards with 10 touchdowns and one interception. He started off slow in the Cleveland game but played well enough in the second half to win. The problem is that Jackson has been under duress for most of his first four games, having been sacked 15 times. When he hasn’t been hurried, he holds onto the ball too long instead of throwing it away when outside the pocket. Jackson hasn’t been caught from behind throughout his NFL career, but he has been run down several times this season, which means he might be a step slower. Backup Cooper Rush started last week against Houston. He has completed 23 of 33 passes for 231 yards, but he threw three interceptions Sunday that led to 10 points by the Texans. It’s a much different offense without Jackson stretching defenses on the perimeter. Grade: B Running backs It hasn’t been a good year so far for starter Derrick Henry. He has been held to 50 or fewer rushing yards in four straight games and has only 317 yards on 64 carries this season with a long of 49 yards. He has three fumbles, which have severely limited the offense in the first five games. The Ravens haven’t used Justice Hill much either, with the No. 2 back recording only nine carries for 72 yards, including a 71-yard touchdown in garbage time against Kansas City. He does have 13 catches for 113 yards, an indication that the Ravens have trailed in most of their games. The Ravens decided to use Keaton Mitchell against Houston after he had been a healthy scratch in the first four games. Mitchell, though, might have been used more as a decoy than a weapon because of his outside speed. So far, Baltimore’s running game has been almost nonexistent after having been the NFL’s top rushing team for several seasons. To be successful, the Ravens need more run production. Grade: D Offensive line In years past, the forte of this group has always been run blocking, but the Ravens haven’t had much success with that or pass blocking. The running game has produced only an average of 115.6 yards per game, middle of the pack in the NFL. If the Ravens can’t run, they struggle in pass protection. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley has been sidelined most of the past two games with an ankle injury, and the Ravens can’t afford to have him out much longer. Everyone else in the starting group has struggled, including guards Andrew Vorhees and Daniel Faalele and tackle Roger Rosengarten, who had a superb rookie season a year ago. Even center Tyler Linderbaum performed poorly against the Texans, whiffing on six or seven blocks while leaving his feet. The Ravens aren’t making blocks into the second level because they aren’t getting any movement on initial contact. Grade: D- Ravens wide receivers Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman practice in Owings Mills. Consistency is key for Baltimore's pass catchers. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Receivers Besides Jackson, this has been the best unit on offense, but consistency has been a problem. Slot receiver Zay Flowers has been a weapon, catching 28 passes for 377 yards and a touchdown. The Ravens have used DeAndre Hopkins (7 catches for 158 yards) sparingly, as he seems to be on a pitch count. Maybe the Ravens are saving him for later in the season since he is a veteran. Tight end Mark Andrews has come up with some clutch catches, having hauled in 17 receptions for 150 yards and two touchdowns, but like most of this group he disappears from the game plan. Part of the problem has been the lack of a running game, which could help the play-action passing attack, but the Ravens have struggled in that area as well. Outside receiver Rashod Bateman could help, but he needs to be more involved in the offense. Bateman only has 10 catches for 112 yards and one touchdown this season. Grade: C Defensive line The Ravens won’t have starting defensive end Nnamdi Madubuike for the rest of the season because of a neck injury, but they were giving up a lot of yards on the ground before he went out. The Ravens have the 29th-ranked run defense in the NFL, allowing 146.4 yards per game. Right now, it doesn’t matter who the Ravens put up front. Nose guard Travis Jones, who is playing for a contract extension, is getting beat, and so are reserve linemen Broderick Washington Jr. (now on injured reserve), John Jenkins, Brent Urban and rookie Aeneas Peebles. The worst part is that none of them are keeping opposing offensive linemen off the middle and weakside linebackers. The Ravens have very little pass rush, and that’s one thing they could count on from Madubuike. Grade: D Linebackers Middle linebacker Roquan Smith (34 tackles) is expected to miss his second straight game Sunday against the Rams, but he was struggling before his hamstring injury. The league is in search of fast and mobile linebackers, but the middle man has to be able to shock and shed, and Smith hasn’t been able to get off blocks. Well, that is the case for just about all of the Ravens’ linebackers, including rookie Teddye Buchanan, who appears to have replaced Trenton Simpson at weakside linebacker before Smith’s injury forced him to the middle. Buchanan leads the team in tackles with 40, and Simpson has 21. The Ravens need to use Simpson as a pass rusher, which he did at Clemson. Kyle Van Noy has played reasonably well on the outside, but the Ravens don’t have a full-time bonafide threat at the position and only have six sacks this season. This team can change things up and run different kinds of stunts, but the Ravens need a player who can win one-on-one matchups and even go through double or triple teams if necessary. Grade: F Secondary This group has no clue. Fans can keep calling for secondary coach Chuck Pagano to become the defensive coordinator, but there is something missing from this unit. Either the coaching staff isn’t relaying the message, or this group isn’t accepting it. It’s bizarre watching cornerbacks hunch their shoulders in doubt because they don’t know where to line up or who they are supposed to cover. That’s something you see in the preseason or very early in the regular season, but not after two or three games. Missed tackles? This group misses a lot of them every game. It’s embarrassing. Safety Kyle Hamilton might be the best tackler on the team with 31, and it will be interesting to see how the Ravens use him as more of an outside linebacker for the rest of the season. Rookie safety Malaki Starks (34 tackles) has played reasonably well but still isn’t ready for prime time. Nate Wiggins has been solid, but not spectacular and nickel cornerback Marlon Humphrey has been victimized several times this season. Grade: F Special teams Rookie Tyler Loop has been nearly perfect on field goal attempts, converting 8 of 9 with his one miss from 55 yards against the Texans. He needs to improve on getting more distance on his kickoffs. Punter Jordan Stout has averaged 50 yards on 16 punts and hit a long of 63 yards, but he needs to work on his consistency as well. The Ravens, though, are giving up too much on kickoff returns, allowing an average of 26.7 yards. But they are allowing only 5.4 yards on punt returns. Grade: C+ Coaching Fans in Baltimore have very little patience for defensive coordinator Zach Orr, and it’s understandable. The Ravens have the worst defense in the NFL and can’t stop anything. They are ranked No. 31 in overall defense, allowing 408.8 yards per game. But this is about much more than defense. The offense has been good, but not consistent, with or without Jackson. Without Jackson, there hasn’t been much imagination, such as trick plays or double reverses. Give me something. Even with Jackson, there have not been a lot of slants, quick passes or screens to counter the pass rush. All of it comes down to the coach, and John Harbaugh is fully aware. The Ravens are either going to find energy with Harbaugh or not have enough as this season unfolds. There is no middle ground because Harbaugh has been the coach since 2008. It will be interesting to see how this will unfold. Grade: D 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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