The Ravens victory over Tennessee just wasn’t satisfying. It was another game where they should have blown out the opponent but allowed them to hang around. Let’s face it, the 4-2 Ravens should be 6-0, and they had a tighter margin in Cincinnati than they should have. So what’s preventing the Ravens from becoming a dominant team? Let’s identify the real problem on the Ravens.
The Problem Isn’t Lamar
The $250 million quarterback is the punching bag for most Ravens fans. Let’s look at the major defects in Lamar’s game. For one, he has had serious fumble problems, commented on in prior blogs. Lack of ball protection is unacceptable. But we have to examine why the fumbles have occurred, which I touch on below. Nevertheless, the fumble challenge has not been the principal problem on the offense.
Fans (including me in prior posts) can also point to Lamar’s comparative lack of accuracy on deep throws. Lamar remains inconsistent in that respect. As a critic, I’d argue that Lamar has improved (albeit on a small sample set), with outstanding downfield throws to Zay Flowers and just last week to Nelson Agholor (who famously dropped a perfect bomb).
By Pro Football Focus metrics, Lamar is having his best season as a passer. PFF has a metric they label “Big Time Throw Rate.” For what it’s worth Lamar’s rating this year in this category is a career high. Moreover, and we’ve seen this with our own eyes, his adjusted completion percentage of 78.9% is also a career high. He is releasing the ball at the fastest pace of his career (perhaps because he has to), and all of this is progress as a passer. If his vaunted receiving group had held on to a few more of his throws we wouldn’t be criticizing Lamar much at all (ex-fumbles).
Some observers more generally criticize Lamar’s lack of downfield passing attempts. I maintain that the paucity of downfield throws and the fumble problem are both directly sourced to the real problem on the offense.
The Real Problem – Ronnie Stanley and the Left Side of the Offensive Line
The real problem is the offensive line. More specifically, it’s the left side of the line. Nothing has been more disheartening this year than watching the dramatic decline in Ronnie Stanley’s performance. There’s no sugar-coating this. Stanley has played three games this year. He was woeful in game one against the Texans. I was hoping that could be chalked up to rust, as Stanley did not play in the exhibition games.
After injuring his knee in the Texans’ game and sitting out the next three, Stanley came back in the Steelers fiasco.
I’ve never seen Stanley so completely dominated as he was against Pittsburgh. Alex Highsmith, who exclusively lined up over Stanley, was living in the backfield against Ronnie. Highsmith had an outrageous 11 pressures that day, including a sack and forcing a fumble. Pressures surrendered are the key in pass protection, not simply sacks allowed. Because a pressure surrendered generally means that the called play has broken down.
How bad is giving up 11 pressures in one game? Not only was it Highsmith’s career high (and he’s an outstanding rusher), but 11 is tied for the highest in any game across the entire league this year.
This is not your mother’s Ronnie Stanley. It’s not hard to see the problem for Stanley. He simply can’t anchor with his ankle (and possibly knee) problems. We are witnessing a significant deterioration even from last year. Because he can’t anchor, Stanley is compensating in ways that we have never seen. I find him reaching with his arms more, with the result that he is easily pushed off balance. When that happens, the play is lost. Stanley’s punch isn’t great either. In pass protection he lacks power from a base that just isn’t strong.
Let’s put Stanley’s recent play in perspective. In all of 2019 – when he was Pro Football Focus’ Pass Blocker of the Year – Stanley surrendered a total of 10 pressures on 543 pass-blocking snaps. He gave up more than that just against Alex Highsmith. Against the Titans, although it did get better (a recorded three hurries), he was still struggling with balance and reaction. We will find out once and for all where Stanley is after this week. Rushers with good counter moves figure to give him a lot of trouble. Going against the Lions excellent group of Aiden Hutchinson, John Cominsky and Charles Harris – particularly Hutchinson – will not be an easy task.
Alternatives to Stanley
There’s really not much the Ravens can do here. They will sink or swim depending on Stanley’s play. Pat Mekari played great in his start at left tackle against the Bengals, but you can’t put him out there every week. Myles Garrett – yes, it’s unfair to grade anyone playing against Garrett – made Mekari look silly, and it’s simply not a winning formula to voluntarily put Mekari at left tackle.
The Problem at Left Guard
At left guard, John Simpson is simply sub-par in pass protection. On some occasions it’s been ugly. This is a position where the Ravens could (and probably should, if they can) make a move from outside of their roster. I can’t imagine they would replace Simpson with Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu. And they won’t play Ben Cleveland.
The Rest of the Offensive Line is OK
On the right side, when Morgan Moses can’t play (and he’s only been adequate in pass protect) Daniel Faalele is a disaster. I’m not sure he even saw T.J. Watt on numerous plays when Faalele was left to defend for himself. I graded Faalele poorly when I watched his Senior Bowl practices before the draft last year. And I see nothing so far to suggest that he can start at right tackle in the NFL. He’s just too ponderous and slow. Moses’ play as a pass blocker has been just adequate. But we’ll take that.
On the bright side, Tyler Linderbaum has been excellent and Kevin Zeitler’s play has improved.
Todd Monken is Compensating
But the problem with the offense is the left side of the offensive line and tackle play overall. Todd Monken realizes all of this, and has been wise to avoid too many downfield attempts. Unfortunately, this limits the pass attack to more of a dink-and-run approach, which obviously precludes the offense from fully exploiting the skillsets of its wide receiver group. If the line can pass protect better, we will see the true offensive potential of this group.
The Pass Rush
Mike Macdonald has done an outstanding job here. Who would have believed before the season that the Ravens would be at the top of the league in sacks (not me)? And this is without the two players (David Ojabo and Odafe Oweh) who were expected to be front line starters on the edge. Macdonald’s rush schemes have generally been masterful, with production all over the place.
Big props go to Jadaveon Clowney, who is having an outstanding season for the Ravens. Clowney’s pressure rate is in the top ten in the league. Macdonald has kept him fresh and Clowney has been a wrecking ball, blowing plays up all over the field.
Challenges Against the Lions
Yes, the Ravens defensive stats have been nothing but gaudy through week six. They face by far their toughest challenge against Detroit. The Lions arguably have a top three offensive line. This is really a dominant group in both pass protection and run blocking.
The Ravens have been able to get by on first down with Malik Harrison and Tavius Robinson (has he made a play this year?) on the edge, and rotating Kyle Van Noy and Clowney in rush situations. I’m not confident that they can get away with that this week. The Ravens need Odafe Oweh to play and hold the edge in the manner he did in week one.
Macdonald will have to scheme up some pressures this week (I don’t expect a ton of “wins” from the Ravens edge group), and with Marcus Williams out it will be difficult to get Kyle Hamilton up to the line of scrimmage (where he is most effective) very often. Look for some slot and possibly even corner blitzes. And certainly, some Patrick Queen up the middle. The defensive line will be severely challenged to win wars at the line. The Lions line is powerful and grinding. Big games will be needed from Michael Pierce and Travis Jones. The standard mantra in the NFL is that games are won or lost in the trenches. That surely will apply this week.
Jared Goff is getting plenty of props for the Lions’ 5-1 start. But make no mistake, the line play is what is winning for Detroit. We should know after this week how good the Ravens front seven really is.
Potpourri From the Couch
Now this week’s meandering comments from the couch.
Keaton Mitchell
This is the week to get Mitchell on the offensive side of the field. The Ravens need to threaten with more speed out of the backfield, particularly on third down. I believe Mitchell is a mismatch nightmare for any linebacker. The rookie is known to have good hands and a screen toss or two, or a wheel route or two, should be in the playbook for him.
Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar
Let’s face it, Todd Monken has little interest in running two tight ends in his passing attack with any type of frequency. Likely has generally disappeared as a target in the offense. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating Likely’s reappearance as I’d much rather get the ball into Beckham’s or Bateman’s hands. But Likely presents a mismatch whenever he’s on the field with Mark Andrews. Monken shouldn’t forget that.
Charlie Kolar? If Likely is not getting targets then Kolar won’t. Having three receiving tight ends on this roster just doesn’t make a lot of sense at this point. But as I noted last week, I’m not giving Kolar away. Perhaps they Ravens can find a trade fit with someone willing to move a left guard? To this point I’d rather see the Ravens with a true blocking tight end on the roster, which might allow them to better protect leads with a ball control running game. So far, it’s clear that is lacking.
Geno Stone
So how good is this guy? Stone was known as a ballhawk in college and his study and smarts are now allowing him to bait quarterbacks in the NFL. Stone isn’t gifted with elite speed but his savvy and instincts have a place. Once (if) Marcus Williams returns to full health I’d love to see the Ravens use both Stone and Smith on the back-end on some passing downs and float Hamilton down into the slot. That won’t happen this week. Stone brings more on the back-end than Chuck Clark did. He’s turned into a valuable piece.
The Wide Receivers
Yes there have been too many drops. I think that will correct itself by and large. But fans should focus on what’s really happening with this group. They are regularly open. Todd Monken’s schemes – and the receivers talents – provide ample receiving opportunities. These guys have been open enough to drop these passes! I remain excited about this group’s potential going forward; it is still just scratching the surface.
It remains important to get Rashod Bateman more involved, along with Odell Beckham. Once either or both of these players become more prominent, more opportunities will open for Zay Flowers. Then a true offensive breakout (with good pass protection) will happen. It will be interesting to see Monken’s game plan this week. The Ravens couldn’t run the ball last week. And a majority of their passing attempts go to Flowers and Mark Andrews. It’s time to get Bateman and Beckham more targets.
Jet Sweeps and Receiver Screens
It’s also time for Monken to run more variations off of these plays. Tapes of the Ravens are replete with these plays, which wind up one-directional. This is screaming for misdirection. There is so much more that can be schemed here. And I’d like to see Zay Flowers lined up in the back field on occasion to try to generate mismatches on a linebacker. How about a fake jet sweep with a pitch-out to the other side to Keaton Mitchell or Justice Hill? One could write all day about offensive ideas. The Ravens should start exploiting some of this.
Patrick Queen and Justin Madubuike
I’m officially jettisoning any prior criticism of Queen based on his play as a strong side linebacker. He’s been sensational this year as a weak-side backer. And his open field tackling has improved dramatically. Can the Ravens keep Queen? That’s too early to say, but after all of the time they have invested in him, losing him as Robin to Roquan Smith’s Batman would be a shame. I absolutely do not want to see him in a Steelers uniform next year! This duo is tremendous.
To a great degree, Madubuike deserves similar praise. When he is focused, he’s been excellent. It’s so difficult in the NFL to get your hands on a high-end interior pass rusher. Madubuike is almost there. It’s a contract year for him too. I expect the Ravens to try to retain him.
Special Teams
This is probably the worst special teams group we’ve seen in years. Punt coverage has just been awful. And although Jordan Stoudt has had several games where he’s been very effective, he just hasn’t mastered kicking the dead ball to inside of the ten yard line. He remains inconsistent.
The Cornerbacks
Will we continue to see a little more of Rock Ya-Sin and a little less of Ron Darby? Ya-Sin has played a bit better recently, albeit on a small snap count. Marlon Humphrey looks a bit slow to me, but with the Ravens sticking with their cover two shell so much that – other than the deep ball pass to George Pickens – it hasn’t mattered.
Trade Fun
The trade deadline is approaching and Eric DeCosta has been active with major trades over the last few years. Which positions do the Ravens need most to augment? To me, it’s left guard, cornerback and edge rusher.
Let me squash a thought up front. I’m not a proponent of trading for a running back. Some fans may argue for acquiring the injury-prone Saquon Barkley but I just don’t see the value there. Would Barkley be an improvement? Perhaps. But I think a step-up at left guard would help the offensive more broadly. And I don’t want to trade valuable draft picks for a running back.
Chase Young is an interesting concept, as is Danielle Hunter. Young has had an outstanding year for the Commanders and his contract expires after this season. Could he be had for, say, a third rounder? Possibly. Young would be tempting as a rental. He’s been very effective at rushing the quarterback this year. He could be tagged going into next year or the Ravens could let him go and recoup a compensatory pick in 2025. But this would be a tough trade to pull off.
Guard Ezra Cleveland from the Vikings could be interesting. He’d clearly be a step-up from John Simpson and might be the best option available.
It’s back to the couch now, waiting for Sunday’s kickoff
