ExtremeRavens Posted yesterday at 10:30 AM Posted yesterday at 10:30 AM Feeling glum about this Ravens season? Baltimore was a widely popular pick to play in the Super Bowl and has fallen so far that the playoffs seem like a long shot. Now at 1-5 with a steep climb ahead, coach John Harbaugh is having to defend the job of his defensive coordinator, while running back Derrick Henry pleaded to the fan base, “I feel like we still have time. Just believe in us.” Here are five reasons to maintain faith that the Ravens can turn this season around: Two words: Lamar Jackson For those with any vested interest in Baltimore’s playoff aspirations, these past few weeks felt more like a few years. A hamstring injury sidelined Lamar Jackson, and his backup, Cooper Rush, failed to manufacture much offense in his absence. Rush threw four interceptions (not all of them his fault) without a passing touchdown. Harbaugh all but guaranteed Jackson’s return after the bye week for a home game versus Chicago: “I mean, for sure [he’ll be back]? I’m saying so, but I don’t know. That’s how life is sometimes. You can’t predict everything. It’s still the future, but that’s the hope.” The Ravens are a dismal 4-12 without Jackson under center. He’s an obvious force multiplier. In each of Baltimore’s past six games without their two-time NFL Most Valuable Player, the Ravens haven’t scored more than 17 points. With Jackson, they scored at least 30 points in each of their first three games to start the year — and there are still question marks about “rhythm” and play calling. Any hope of a turnaround starts and ends with Jackson. “It’s Lamar Jackson,” center Tyler Linderbaum said. “He’s the best quarterback in the game, so he’s certainly going to help our team out.” Stock up on defense After five weeks of dismal defensive performances that had Baltimore on pace to allow more points than any NFL team in league history, defensive coordinator Zach Orr said that their 17-3 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 6 was “the most intensity that we played with. That’s what we were looking for. “We have to get back to playing pissed off and with an edge.” The Ravens forced a turnover for the first time since Week 2, logged a pair of sacks and stopped a fourth-down attempt, which they hadn’t done in any of the three previous games. They weren’t quite at full strength. With Nnamdi Madubuike out for the year with a neck injury and Tavius Robinson exiting early for a broken foot, there are serious concerns about the veracity of the defensive line moving forward. But linebacker Roquan Smith and cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, both nursing hamstring injuries since Week 4, should return after the bye week. A break in the schedule will give everyone a much-needed chance to get healthy, and perhaps general manager Eric DeCosta will bring in reinforcements. Even so, it was the best showing from the reserves and rookies the Ravens have been forced to rely on lately. Veteran defensive tackle John Jenkins logged his first sack of the year and forced a fumble on the same play. Linebackers Teddye Buchanan and Trenton Simpson teamed up for a sack. Collectively, the Ravens’ defense went consecutive drives without allowing points to an opposing team’s starting quarterback for the first time since Week 3 versus Detroit. Against the Rams, they walled up in two such instances. “What we’ve got to be able to do is understand, really, how close you are sometimes,” Harbaugh said. “And you can’t allow the weight of the disappointment or the weight of the scrutiny — you can’t allow that to derail you or to sidetrack you or to push you away from your goal, because we can accomplish what we want to accomplish.” Alohi Gilman opens up the defense Gilman was traded across the country on a whirlwind. He was awake for 21 of the next 24 hours. Baltimore’s newest safety, acquired from the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for pass rusher Odafe Oweh on Oct. 7, took every rep and even directed traffic his first day on the field. Gilman brought no ego, only vowing to help in whatever way would help pick up the pieces of a broken defense. Days after Gilman’s seven-tackle debut, senior secondary coach Chuck Pagano said that “it looked like he had been here for a couple years.” Pagano called it “a seamless transition.” Safety Alohi Gilman, shown at a practice earlier this month, was superb in his Ravens debut against the Rams. Coaches are optimistic that his addition allows them to use safety Kyle Hamilton more creatively the rest of the season. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Trust in Gilman to cover the back end allows the Ravens to lean into what was a considerable strength in 2023 and a Band-Aid for the troubles in 2024: move All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton closer to the line of scrimmage. Hamilton broke out in 2023 as the only safety with at least 10 tackles for loss and 10 pass deflections, thanks to playing a majority of his snaps at slot corner. Hamilton pushed back to free safety last season when the Ravens led the league in explosive plays. Baltimore’s most pressing issue this year is its run defense. They’re calling on their highly paid Swiss Army knife to fix it. Gilman can play safety alongside rookie Malaki Starks. And Hamilton can move up to the box or near the line of scrimmage like a linebacker who can play in coverage. “He’s a beast, and offenses really have to account for him,” Pagano said. “Now, we use that to our advantage. We can make offenses predictable of where they’re going to slide and where they’re going to run the football, so that helps us out a lot.” Short-yardage situations have been a major crutch. There’s one man who might be able to fix it. Harbaugh called it the No. 1 thing on his mind heading into the bye week. The Ravens’ struggles in short-yardage situations came under intense scrutiny after a loss to the Rams in which Henry bulldozed down to the 1-yard line on four attempts. They went away from Henry for two failed tush-push attempts then back to the future Hall of Famer, only to see him stuffed on fourth down. Baltimore went into halftime tied at 3 instead of leading 10-3. Patrick Ricard catches the ball during a 2024 practice. The star fullback could return from injury against the Bears, which would give the Ravens' running game a boost. (Kim Hairston/Staff) Last year, the Ravens were the league’s third most efficient team in goal-to-go situations, scoring a touchdown 88.6% of the time. So far this year, they’re punching the ball in a 57.1% clip, which ranks 28th. Jackson’s return should help those figures (but don’t expect him under center for a tush push). But fullback Patrick Ricard could provide a quick fix. He suffered a calf injury in mid-August and has yet to make his season debut. Ricard is aiming to return in Week 8 versus Chicago, although Harbaugh made no promises. Ricard returned to practice Oct. 9. “It’s pretty much recovered from that kind of a standpoint,” Harbaugh said. “It’s just a matter of him being comfortable with his level of strength and his ability to perform.” The 6-foot-3, 300-pound Ricard is essentially another All-Pro lineman to clear a path for Henry. The 30-year-old back earned a contract extension in March for elevating the league’s best rushing attack in 2024. Baltimore ranks ninth in rushing yards per game sans Ricard. In 2024, the Ravens found the end zone 85% of the time that they reached the red zone, a league-best rate. They currently rank 15th, scoring touchdowns 40.6% of the time they get within 20 yards of pay dirt. The schedule Through seven weeks, the Ravens had the third toughest strength of schedule in the NFL, according to Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis. Five playoff teams in six weeks, including a pair of AFC juggernauts, felt like too much to overcome for a battered Baltimore team. It lightens up moving forward. The next 11 games rank 23rd among the league’s toughest schedules. Despite issues in just about every positional group, four wins over the next five games (vs. Chicago, at Miami, at Minnesota, vs. Cleveland and vs. New York Jets) would get the Ravens one game within .500 by Thanksgiving. The Ravens also have five more division games. Sweeping the division isn’t impossible, considering the lowly Browns and Joe Burrow-less Bengals. The Steelers (4-2) pose the toughest test, but they have seemingly overperformed and have only a plus-10 point differential after an upset loss to the Bengals (3-4) on Thursday night. It’s a long shot, but maybe the Ravens hit a win streak that gets them to nine wins, good for a wild-card entry into the playoffs. The clock is ticking. Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. View the full article Quote
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