ExtremeRavens Posted Wednesday at 09:00 AM Posted Wednesday at 09:00 AM The Ravens are 1-5 coming out of the bye week with a disastrous blur in the rearview mirror. It’s put up or shut up time. Here are five things we learned from six games and a bye week: Harbaugh believes he has all the right pieces to spin a turnaround John Harbaugh’s stance hasn’t shifted in the slightest. After the Texans scored more points than any opposing team at M&T Bank Stadium since 2008, Harbaugh stuck by his defensive coordinator. When the Rams held Baltimore to its lowest scoring output in a home game since 2002, the longtime coach reiterated that there was no need for change. When the bye week arrived with a schedule break that might have been the time to pull a lever, Harbaugh adamantly stuck by Zach Orr and Todd Monken. “We have the people for the job. We have everything we need,” Harbaugh reiterated this week. “And we have to go get started this week.” When a team with such high, high hopes starts 1-5, it’s natural that fans and some national media to call for heads to roll — warranted or not, nuance be damned. The loudest voices have been aimed toward Orr, whose defense has endured a parade of injuries, but didn’t show the type of intensity that he has preached until Week 6. They rank last in the NFL in points allowed (32.3). Monken has taken some flack too, for an offense that hasn’t capitalized in short-yardage situations and struggled to maximize running back Derrick Henry after historic production a year ago. “I don’t think there’s any obvious move there that would make us better,” Harbaugh said. “I don’t know why that always comes up, really. I guess maybe it’s part of it, but I love our guys. They work hard, and I think they’re doing a good job of coaching. I’m sure they want some things back, too. Certainly, we can do things better.” If Harbaugh isn’t right, and this season continues its downward spiral, some kind of staffing change is a near-guarantee. Lack of depth in the trenches is getting exposed Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum acknowledged what everyone inside M&T Bank Stadium saw. “They wanted it more than us,” he said, after two failed tush pushes from the 1-yard line vs. the Rams and a carry by Henry that went nowhere. It was a telling indictment on a group that hasn’t gotten much push up front for an offense that desperately needs it. Last year, the Ravens’ offensive line overcame legitimate concerns to be stout enough in protecting Lamar Jackson and clearing runways for an historic Henry campaign. The only change this offseason among the starters was replacing the plug-and-play Patrick Mekari with former seventh-round pick Andrew Vorhees. Now, Pro Football Focus ranks Baltimore’s offensive line as the 23rd best group in the NFL. Against Los Angeles, they allowed 20 pressures, including three sacks, on 39 pass plays, with the worst pass-blocking efficiency grade (70.5) of any NFL team that week. The injured Stanley got beat on three of eight pass plays and his replacement, veteran Joe Noteboom, conceded six pressures with a sack. Even Linderbaum, who has been Baltimore’s top lineman, hasn’t played up to snuff. According to PFF, he’s allowed pressure on pass plays at the worst rate of his career (5.8%). When questions arise for potential changes along the struggling group, Harbaugh’s go-to answer has been that everything is on the table. Same goes for the defensive line. But it’s less about under performers — of which there are a few — and more about the stacking of injuries. Nnamdi Madubuike is out for the year. Broderick Washington is still on the injured reserve. Travis Jones missed time. As did Kyle Van Noy. At that point, the Ravens’ pressure rate (28.6%) ranked 28th in the NFL, per Next Gen Stats. Then they traded Odafe Oweh to the Chargers and Tavius Robinson broke his foot. Now, the interior defensive line and pass rushers primarily replacement-level players. Expect the Ravens to be squarely in the hunt for a big-bodied midseason addition to the defensive line. In constructing this roster, there’s no way that general manager Eric DeCosta could have foreseen such unfortunate injury luck. But football is an unforgiving sport. And the trenches — no matter how unsexy — matter. Baltimore wasn’t prepared and has yet to take a big swing in addressing those concerns. Lamar Jackson should have won MVP last year What better way to solidify Lamar Jackson as the should-have-been 2024 NFL Most Valuable Player than by him suffering an injury that left the Ravens’ offense completely inept? Before Jackson’s hamstring injury in Week 4 at Kansas City, the Ravens led the league in scoring behind a quarterback with more passing touchdowns (9) and yards per pass attempt (9.6) than anyone in the NFL. Jackson also had the best passer rating in league history. There was an offensive lull early on in the Chiefs loss, but since Jackson’s exit, Baltimore has scored only two touchdowns (both rushing) in nine quarters. Talk about value. Quarterback Lamar Jackson sits on the bench during the Ravens' 44-10 loss to the Texans. There's optimism within the team's locker room that Jackson can soon return from his hamstring injury. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Sure, there was a statistical argument in favor of Baltimore’s two-time winner. Jackson passed for more yards in 2024, ran for more yards and threw 13 more touchdown passes with two fewer interceptions than his Buffalo counterpart. Even though Josh Allen rushed for 12 touchdowns, compared with Jackson’s four, Jackson won the total touchdown tally, 45-40. This year, the Ravens dropped from 30-plus points per game with Jackson to averaging single digits per outing since his injury. Baltimore’s offense scored 40 points in Week 1 versus Buffalo. They scored only three in Week 6 versus Los Angeles when Cooper Rush and third-stringer Tyler Huntley took over. “We’ve just got to get our ‘mojo’ back a little bit,” Monken said. “Mojo” may just be a mispronunciation of “Jackson.” Emotional turmoil of Week 1 deserves a slice of the blame for this torrid start In late September, Hamilton acknowledged privately amongst his teammates what was perhaps the elephant in the room. A Week 1, 15-point collapse in Buffalo caused emotional turmoil that lingered past the cliche 24-hour rule professional athletes award themselves to get over a loss. The Ravens were playing scared, haunted by blue-and-white Buffalo ghosts that left them gashed by Detroit’s run game and bullied by Kansas City in all phases. All those meetings — a defensive team dinner after Week 1, Henry encouraging his teammates to get back to having fun, Van Noy affirming they must “get our [crap] together” — fell flat. What was an historic offense a year ago, the first NFL team to pass for at least 4,000 yards and rush for at least 3,000 in the same season, is now rhythm-less. A team that cashed in on 85% of red zone trips now only reaches the end zone at a 40.6% clip. And the defense, which talked a big game with lofty goals of returning to a “standard,” reached the bye week last in the NFL in points allowed (32.3) and 29th in yards allowed (380.8) per game. Baltimore’s issues aren’t singular. The offense lacks creativity and the defense is playing too tentative. “It’s one thing here, one thing there, these little things that are really adding up,” defensive lineman Brent Urban told The Baltimore Sun. It’s manifested in “bad football,” wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins said. Oh, to think about the parallel universe of a Ravens team who held onto a two-score, fourth-quarter lead. Gene J. Puskar/ The Associated PressBills coach Sean McDermott, left, and Ravens coach John Harbaugh, right, greet at midfield following their Week 1 thriller. The Bills beat the Ravens behind a surprising comeback, and some Ravens players say the defeat messed with their mindset. (AP file) The AFC North has been weird enough that the Ravens still have a chance One month into the season, three of four AFC North teams were without their Week 1 starting quarterback. Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow suffered a Grade 3 turf toe injury in Week 2 that required surgery and is expected to sideline him at least through November. Baltimore lost Jackson to a hamstring injury in Week 4. And Cleveland sent Joe Flacco to the Bengals in a rare interdivisional deal. Pittsburgh’s Aaron Rodgers has been the only constant in what is still considered an open race for AFC North supremacy. That’s all to say, even though the Ravens are 1-5, there’s been enough craziness that, mathematically, Baltimore (somehow) still has a chance. “It’s pretty simple math,” Harbaugh said, begrudgingly. “I don’t have to think that long about it, to be honest with you. I know that winning the next game would go a long way in helping us.” READER POLL: Will the Ravens make the playoffs? Only four other teams in the modern NFL era have turned around their season like the Ravens will try to. Making the postseason after a 1-5 start is a brutal task that requires a magical run. Baltimore’s divisional schedule is backloaded. Part of the calculus of a playoff berth would require dominating division games. But before seeing an AFC North foe, the Ravens have to get through the Bears, Dolphins and Vikings. Divisional games in November won’t matter if these next few weeks don’t fall Baltimore’s way. “I want to win one game, cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. “There’s no rest of the season. There’s just one game, and that’s all.” Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn.x.com. View the full article Quote
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