Short weeks are tough on the players. But they are even tougher on your humble blogger. A complete film study of the Broncos victory was not possible, so I focused only on the Ravens “defense” for the week. Some quick thoughts on that, and trade deadline activity, follow.
Quick Thoughts: Defensive Improvement?
Who wouldn’t be eager to read a post about improvement all across the Ravens defense? We are all looking (hoping) for it. Against the Broncos mediocre offense, the defense continued to allow too many chunk plays, particularly in the first half. But there were a couple of “glimmers” inside of this mess.
Trenton Simpson
Simpson simply played lights out. He executed his coverage responsibilities at a high level, brought more strong tackling, and was an effective blitzer. He handled both tight ends and running backs in pass coverage. Perhaps most importantly, he understood – and executed – his zone transitions almost flawlessly. Simpson adjusted on the fly on several plays, locating and blanketing late-releasing running backs. As a generalization, I would not take Simpson off the field at this point. He’s bringing everything you want and with an upward arc to his play.
Broderick Washington
The almost always-overlooked Washington had a brilliant game, and the thin defensive front really needed it. Washington handled double teams, ran down running plays, stuffed runners, blocked a pass and even (crazily) dropped into coverage once. It was by far his most effective game of the year.
On the other hand, the practice squad elevations (Chris Wormley and Josh Toupu) offered very little other than their bodies. Toupu was effective getting low on several run plays. Travis Jones can’t get back quick enough.
Kyle Hamilton
Although there were a few subtle mistakes in his play, Hamilton was largely dominant against the Broncos. He made several “saving” plays, but the Ravens defense simply can’t be so reliant on Hamilton’s production. And it’s so obvious that they need to play Hamilton in the box as often as they possibly can.
Quick Thoughts: Defensive Players Still Struggling
Unfortunately, there’s still too much to write about here. Probably the worst of what I saw came from Arthur Maulet, Brandon Stephens, and – regrettably – Roquan Smith.
Arthur Maulet
Yikes! In Maulet’s second full game things only looked worse. Maulet is a liability at this point. It started on Denver’s fifth play of the game, when Maulet, looking in at the quarterback, failed on a simple out pattern. On Denver’s third series, Maulet was way too slow turning his hips and running on a go route and was easily beaten for what should have been a touchdown. Luckily, Bo Nix overthrew the receiver.
On the same series, Maulet failed to pick up a crossing receiver in the end zone but was again bailed out by a bad pass from Nix. Later in the game I noted him failing to get into his zone in the flat where he left a tight end wide open (Nix didn’t see him). And in the fourth quarter he again allowed a wide open receiver in the end zone but was saved by Trenton Simpson’s blitz forcing an early toss. It was an ugly day for Maulet. Frankly, at this point I don’t trust him.
Brandon Stephens
Stephens struggled mightily in this effort. On one play in the second quarter, he came off of his man to help in the slot, for reasons unknown. His original man was wide open for a nice gain. In the second quarter Stephens was isolated on a wide receiver on a fade to the pylon. But he failed to get there or even turn his head (no surprise) and was easily beaten.
Stephens was saved again the third quarter when he immediately yielded inside leverage on an intermediate pass but Nix made an errant throw. This repeated itself one play later. And more.
Want to know why the Ravens traded for a corner? Well, it’s not because of Marlon Humphrey’s play.
Roquan
Smith was sluggish on several occasions turning his hips and running. He looks a bit stiffer and is not clean with his lateral agility. Smith was not much of a factor in this game, and I just didn’t see anything in his play that was noticeably better than what we’ve seen all year. This is all the more reason to keep Simpson on the field.
Odafe Oweh and Friends
I’ve been very disappointed by Oweh’s recent play. Over the last three weeks, Oweh is way under-performing where he should be. It’s as if his energy light has gone “off.” Oweh looks sluggish on too many occasions. I’ve noted too much “stand up” in his play where he simply lacks any bend, get-off, and power. Oweh is stalling out way too early and way too often.
Now there are still flashes as, for example, when he brought a high level dip move in the fourth quarter to create a pressure. But the quickness and speed I saw earlier in the year (and last year) via spins and excellent bend have largely disappeared. And it’s puzzling. Is he injured? Is he poorly conditioned? Does he lack focus from play to play? Oweh should be at a sustainably higher level of play to this point. But he isn’t.
Yannick Ngakoue was completely invisible last week. David Ojabo is wearing street clothes. Kyle Van Noy is still bringing it. Tavius Robinson brings effort. Something needs to give here. If the players aren’t effective – and they often aren’t – then perhaps adjust the rush scheme to improve their probabilities of success. The Ravens have not turned to Adissa Isaac, and I’m not suggesting they should as he’s a complete unknown. But in the aggregate, there’s an awful lot of mediocrity among this group to this point. Mr. Ojabo better find his way back into the lineup very soon or he won’t be around in 2025.
Zach Orr Just Loves Dropping Incapable Players into Coverage
Is it really worth trying to fool quarterbacks by letting “A” gap linebackers blitz while dropping back defensive linemen into coverage? And this happens four to five times per game (I counted five last week). The funniest of all was watching Tavius Robinson back pedal into his zone on the second play of Denver’s first possession in the second half. Hilarious! But it’s actually not funny.
The Trade Deadline
As much as the Ravens need help in the secondary – and they do – passing on Marshon Lattimore was the right thing to do. The Commanders paid a steep price and I wouldn’t have gone beyond them. But it’s a shame, because Lattimore would have become the Ravens top outside corner.
Tre’Davious White? He was once an excellent cover corner. He was terrible in four starts for the Rams before they benched him. Major injuries have taken their toll on White. We are years-removed from the Pro Bowler that White once was. This was a depth trade only. Can miracles happen? Well, at least the price for White was virtually nothing.
Otherwise, the Ravens are locked into their current defensive personnel. Say it ain’t so, Eric! Can we hope that Nate Wiggins improves? Yes. Can the oft-targeted Brandon Stephens? Probably less likely so. Will Ar’Darius Washington, a player who can make an impact, reduce his mistakes with increased playing time? Will the unspoken embarrassment of a benching prompt better play out of Marcus Williams? Is he physically capable of it?
This isn’t the same group as last year, that’s obvious. There are way too many question marks half-way through the season. It’s important that Zach Orr alter his schemes to improve the pressure rate on quarterbacks. And find a way to maximize whatever Roquan Smith can bring. Because otherwise, it’s all on the offense.
