ExtremeRavens Posted Tuesday at 10:30 AM Posted Tuesday at 10:30 AM The Ravens (1-5) enter their bye week with an alarming set of numbers that define their season-long struggles. “Our focus is going forward,” coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “We still believe we can do it.” Zero: Quarterback hits from Ravens edge rushers Just days after trading Odafe Oweh to the Chargers, Baltimore’s depleted edge group produced … nothing. Over 54 combined pass-rush snaps in Sunday’s 17-3 loss to the Rams, Kyle Van Noy, Mike Green, David Ojabo and Tavius Robinson failed to register a single quarterback hit against veteran Matthew Stafford. To make matters worse, Robinson, who is tied with defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike for the team lead with two sacks, fractured his foot in the second quarter and will miss between 6-8 weeks, according to Harbaugh. That leaves a pass rush already thin on production scrambling for answers. Among the trio of healthy pass rushers, only Van Noy has registered a single sack this season. Van Noy’s 14.3% pass-rush win rate ranks 42nd in the NFL, according to TruMedia. Green, a second-round draft pick, has just a 5.7% win rate, ranked 107th among 131 qualified pass rushers in the NFL. Across 122 pass-rush snaps, Green has six pressures, two quarterback hits and zero sacks after he led college football last season with 17 sacks at Marshall. Ojabo’s 6.7% win rate would rank 96th if he qualified. If general manager Eric DeCosta truly believes the Ravens are bound for a post-bye turnaround, it’d be within his best interest to acquire external help to beef up the edges. Baltimore’s eight sacks – four of which are from injured players Robinson and Madubuike – are tied for third fewest in the NFL. “It’s been a challenge all year to generate pressure,” Harbaugh said. “We’re going to have to manufacture pressure … but our guys are going to have to step up and create pressure on the four-man rush.” 44.4%: Red-zone touchdown percentage The red alarm should be blaring when it comes to the team’s issues in the most critical part of the field. Baltimore went 0-for-3 inside the red zone against Los Angeles, including an ugly three-play sequence at the goal line before halftime. The Ravens have now converted just 44.4% of their red-zone trips into touchdowns this season, ranking among the bottom dwellers in the league and a steep fall from their efficiency in recent seasons. Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley lies on the turf after being sacked in a 17-3 loss to the Rams. The Ravens' offense has struggled in recent weeks, especially in short-yardage situations. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Short-yardage failures have become defining moments in several of the team’s losses. On Sunday, the Mark Andrews tush push failed on consecutive attempts with the offensive line lacking the push needed, while backups Cooper Rush and Tyler Huntley were unable to compensate for the lack of physicality up front. “We should be way better than we are,” Harbaugh said. “We’ve been talking about fixing it for weeks, and we haven’t done a good job. That’s like the No. 1 thing in my mind on offense – short yardage and goal line.” 80: Season-high penalty yards For the second straight week, the Ravens were buried by penalties. After they were penalized a season-high nine times in Week 5 against Houston, the Ravens were penalized seven times for a season-high 80 yards against the Rams. Baltimore’s 36 total penalties through six games rank 13th in the league. But the timing of its flags has been brutal. A pair of penalties on offensive linemen Daniel Faalele and Ronnie Staley proved to be detrimental on the team’s opening drive. The Ravens had reached the Rams’ 11-yard line, but committed two penalties within three plays to set up third-and-18. Rush, who never completed a pass longer than 10 yards, then connected with Zay Flowers for a four-yard reception, leading to the Ravens’ only points of the day off Tyler Loop’s 37-yard field goal. READER POLL: Who had the more disappointing start to their season: The Ravens or Orioles? The Ravens won the coin toss, but insisted they start with possession given the defense’s recent struggles. Had Baltimore come away with seven points rather than three on the opening drive, maybe the result would have been different. But for the second consecutive game, penalties torched the home team. “It feels that way,” Harbaugh said of the momentum effect from self-inflicted mistakes. “You just have to fight to play clean football and do the best you can to play clean football, so they just can’t call you for something … You have to find a way to just keep coaching those things, talking to the guys about those things and drilling those things, because the momentum does start to swing if you keep coaching, and you keep teaching, and the guys want to get better, which our guys do. “That’s all you can do. You just have to keep after it and try to do things the right way.” 439: Derrick Henry rushing yards There was at least one bright spot Sunday. Derrick Henry looked like Derrick Henry again. After four straight sub-50-yard outings, one of the worst stretches of his brilliant career, the All-Pro running back ripped off 122 yards on 24 carries. His 439 rushing yards now rank seventh in the NFL behind Jonathan Taylor, Javonte Williams, Rico Dowdle, Travis Etienne, James Cook and JK Dobbins. “I wish we could play tomorrow,” Henry said. “Anytime you have a couple weeks [like the ones] that we’ve had, I always wish we could play the next day, but that’s not how it goes. It isn’t basketball, so you have to wait. The bye lets guys rest up who need it and come back next week ready to go to work. [We will] get better through this week, through the bye week, and then hit the ground running when it’s time to go.” 10: Total turnovers, tied for second most in the NFL The Ravens have committed 10 turnovers through six games, including three more against the Rams. Baltimore’s 10 giveaways are tied for the second most in the NFL. During a game in which the Ravens finally ended their four-week takeaway drought, the team’s offense wasted that effort. Sloppy execution and timely mistakes continue to play a major role in Baltimore’s disappointing season. Wide receiver Zay Flowers, who was involved in two fumbles lost on consecutive possessions in the second half, was a quick departure from the postgame locker room, declining to discuss his critical mistakes. “You can’t win by turning the ball over,” Harbaugh said. “You want to look at why the record is the way it is – start with that. That’s the main thing.” 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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