With six games under their belt, we can lay out some fact, some fiction following the Ravens 4-2 start. Lets get into it. . .
Only a few rooms have stayed healthy:
The Ravens have seen significant missed snaps at the following positions:
Quarterback
Wide receiver
Tight end
Center
Left tackle
Right guard
Defensive tackle
Outside linebacker
Lamar Jackson, Zay Flowers, Trey Hendrickson and Nnamdi Madubuike haven’t played a full game together yet. Ronnie Stanley has missed time. The Ravens have lost three centers, seen their rookie right guard slide to center, then their backup right guard get hurt. The past two Sundays, they’ve trotted out their backup quarterback to take snaps from their fourth string center aligned next to their third string guard.
That’s a lot of reshuffling. Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and Ja’Kobi Lane were the Ravens top three receivers in Indianapolis in Week 1. Those three have combined to play three healthy quarters together.
Durham Smythe, who was signed to be a fixture in their new shiny under center offense as an aid in pass protection and the run game, is lost indefinitely.
The Ravens offense has been in constant flux, which has yielded mixed results. They certainly missed Flowers against the Saints. They certainly missed Lamar Jackson against the Browns. To be fair, they certainly could’ve lost to the Cowboys if not for a miraculous late fourth quarter heroic connection between Jackson and Flowers.
It’s hard to say we really know what this offense is truly capable of. We saw then light up the Colts in Week 1. Since, this group has been banged up, and we don’t know that there’s an end in site. With a late bye week, Declan Doyle has a new center in Cam Jurgens to integrate into his offense. Dexter Lawrence and Deone Walker, arguably the top two interior defensive lineman in football so far, await. Beyond that, a Jaguars front that has allowed only one back to eclipse 40 yards rushing.
There’s been adversity on that side of the football, which required the Ravens spending as much draft capital via trade as any team in modern football has on an interior offensive lineman in order to acquire help at center. That shows desperation in personnel.
On the other side of the ball, the first time Nnamdi Madubuike and Trey Hendrickson suited up together, Baltimore yielded a season high in sacks (five), allowed a season low in points (13) and yards (237), while stopping the Browns 11 times on third down.
In essence, we know the Ravens have a strong roster. We’ve seen explosive outputs from their pass game, run game, pass rush and secondary. The parts are there, but haven’t been available. There’s no guarantee they will be, that’s football, and what the challenge will be for a coaching staff that’s just halfway to their bye.
This leads to another point.
They’re behind track, especially offensively:
Because of the litany of injuries, they haven’t had time to gel. Their offensive line has had 14 different five man combinations. Lamar Jackson has had three and a half games in this offense, while missing key pieces. They have a new center who hasn’t played a snap yet. Their tight ends and receivers have sustained injuries consistently. The mad shuffle is in flux. We don’t know what quarterbacks, receivers, or line combinations we will see Sunday in Baltimore as of now. There’s much to figure out. It’s possible we see a third game of Tyler Huntley, no Ronnie Stanley, no Rashod Bateman, and who knows who else will show up on the injury report later today.
There’s a lack of stability, and it’s going to take time, if they can even get to a healthy point, to see what this offense is at its full potential. Again, that’s football, but there’s plenty of room for growth. The Ravens have until November to round into form before they finish with four consecutive AFC North games to decide their fate. If they take lumps in the coming three game stretch against quality AFC opponents, they must learn from them and eliminate the fat.
Jesse Minter won’t let his defense get beat overtop:
Through six games, the Ravens have allowed only two completions of 30+ air yards, with either barely being that. Both were contested. The Ravens often play with deep safeties at the snap, while rotating coverage often, it’s apparent that they will not allow any offense to attack them overtop of their shell. Their corners often take a more conservative approach in zone, often opting to sit at depth when aligned so at the snap. They prefer to make defenses go the long, hard way, throwing over underneath zones and underneath deep safeties. They funnel you to the middle of the field and make you sustain long drives that way. With Joe Burrow, Josh Allen and Trevor Lawrence awaiting, Baltimore will need to figure out how to bait poor decisions, or force them to hold the ball.
They’ve played an easy schedule, and we’re about to learn a lot about Jesse Minter and his staff.
Consistent playoff teams, high powered quarterbacks and potent offenses await Jesse Minter. He’s supposed to be able to get off the field, generate turnovers and make life easier for Lamar Jackson. With his defense at full strength, relatively speaking, this upcoming matchup will be the first true test for Minter as a defensive play caller and mind. This six game stretch will be the appetizer for a bone-in ribeye that’s going to take a lot to chew. Buckle up.
I find these to be the three concrete truths after six weeks. The Ravens have the pieces, we’ve barely seen them healthy, they don’t get beat overtop and we’ve seen almost no sample size of the team they’re designed to be on paper. They need to get a grasp on their health, which yielded a CVS receipt injury report heading into Week 6 already. The best ability is availability and hopefully their conservative approach leads to fresher legs come December.
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