This week I run through a series of Ravens thoughts heading into the Giants matchup. The Ravens are 16-point favorites as I pen this, the largest favorite spread for a road team in the NFL since 1966. Now the Baltimore Colts were the biggest favorites in NFL championship history to lose, and they did that on two occasions. The 1964 championship game against the Browns, and the awful loss to the Jets in Super Bowl III. But it’s hard to imagine the Ravens losing against the Giants, who are pitiful given their injuries, quarterback play, personnel, etc. A loss against New York would stamp the 2024 Ravens as a Super Bowl imposter.
Ravens Thoughts – Diontae Johnson
The Ravens must be intent on rehabilitating Johnson after his suspension lifts next week. If they weren’t he’d already be gone. There is a line of thought that the Ravens didn’t release Johnson because they didn’t want Pittsburgh to pick him up. But I doubt that. The Steelers know Johnson better than anyone and got rid of him in the first place. They have something that’s working well right now. It’s hard to see them choosing to inject Johnson into the middle of that.
Let’s be blunt about Johnson. He’s extraordinarily selfish. One can only see his refusal to enter the Eagles game – when the Ravens needed him – as total “me-ism” over team. Johnson laid bare his selfishness for all to see and is in the process of destroying whatever value his skills offer in this league. See Antonio Brown. Johnson lacks the wisdom to realize that in a team sport, one does his best whenever he’s called upon, no matter the circumstances. The future rewards that. Now, Johnson has one last chance to grow up, to man-up, and to put his career back on an upward trajectory.
This is the time for the team leader to bring Johnson into the fold. I’m sure John Harbaugh and Eric DeCosta spoke with Johnson. But it’s more on Lamar Jackson to challenge Johnson to join the team and let tomorrow take care of itself. Johnson has one last chance in Baltimore. He can help the Ravens – if he wants to.
What Did We Learn from the Eagles Loss?
I’ll get into a few details below, but my largest takeaway on offense, and then on defense, are these. On offense, the Eagles front generally overpowered the Ravens line. Jalen Carter dominated Daniel Faalele, and Patrick Mekari simply couldn’t hold up either. Tyler Linderbaum also found himself overpowered, while Roger Rosengarten struggled with speed to power on the edge. Ronnie Stanley handled the power but struggled a bit pushing speed up the arc past Lamar.
On defense, the second-tier interior lineman were also overpowered by the Eagles offensive group. Broderick Washington and Brent Urban are on the field too often, and it was evident against a superior line such as the Eagles. The Ravens need Michael Pierce back on the field whenever they rest Travis Jones and Nnamdi Madubuike. I’ll give Zach Orr a pass on the heavy play count for Washington and Urban given the injury to Jones’ ankle and Madubuike being inconsistent against the run. But presumably Jones is now as good as he’s going to be, and his play count needs to increase. Jones overall looked good against the Eagles, and we witnessed a renaissance in his pushing the pocket. But when the Eagles put the game away giving Saquon Barkley the ball, it was the backups on the field trying to stop Barkley.
Ravens Thoughts – More on the Defense
Roquan Smith couldn’t get off any blocks against Philadelphia. Lineman got to him consistently and easily and it was a bit ugly for Roquan. Orr also took Trenton Simpson off the field much more than I’m comfortable with, falling in love a bit with Chris Board. Now Board is smart and largely positioned properly, but he lacks Simpson’s physical ability. And as I’ve said before, Simpson has played well from what I see. Against the Giants, barring injury, I don’t want to see Board taking any defensive snaps.
As I’ve said all year, Marlon Humphrey looks great. With the Ravens playing an increasing amount of man coverage – fairly successfully, too – I wouldn’t hesitate to match Marlon up on the outside against larger receivers. Marlon’s as fast as he’s been in several years, is very decisive, understands what he’s doing, and is a better option on the outside (in my view) than Brandon Stephens. This is what I would do. In the Steelers rematch, I’d have Marlon on Pickens. But I don’t expect Orr to put Marlon out there; I think he has Humphrey pigeon-holed for the slot.
Orr likes to put a run defensive front of Malik Harrison, Broderick Washington, Urban, and Tavius Robinson on the field together. Honestly, this is a group devoid of any superior trait among them. These guys are career back-up types – each of them. They play too much.
Tavius Robinson and Odafe Oweh
I seem to rail on Robinson every week, and this one is no exception. He plays hard, and you must admire that. But this guy cannot move laterally. Watch him when a run option is moving away from him; he moves sideways down the line taking baby pitter-patter steps, with his arms in a bird-wing formation. I’ve just never seen that with an NFL edge player. I’m sure this is how he maintains his balance and discipline to protect against a misdirection back towards him. But there’s no ballerina in his footwork; it’s more like lead shoes.
Robinson plays so much, and Oweh plays so little. What’s happened with Odafe? He lacks upper body strength, pure and simple. He’s long and plays high. He lacks strong counters with his hands; when linemen latch on to him, he’s generally unable to free himself without a reverse spin.
Oweh looked much better early in the year, using spin and swipe moves. He has more pass rushing ability than we are seeing. But Orr does not want him on the field on first down. Readers will recall that I really liked what I thought was a strong upward-moving arc to Oweh’s career. That arc has disappeared into the firmament.
As fans we just don’t know what’s going on with a player’s work ethic, attitude, learning ability, etc. Whenever Oweh gets on the field – and he should be fresh – he needs to play with a much hotter motor and explosion. But Oweh’s diminished play and role are demoralizing, especially given that Robinson offers so little other than effort and a stauncher base against the run.
Perhaps the Ravens believe that Robinson can become a new version of Za’Darius Smith, whose career took three years to materialize. But I don’t see Robinson as having any of the athletic traits that allowed Smith to become a star. To this point, Robinson is just another guy, and one who wouldn’t play this much for any other Super Bowl contender.
Ar’Darius Washington and Nate Wiggins
Yes, these guys have brought improvement to the secondary. We all know that getting Eddie Jackson and Marcus Williams off the field was addition by subtraction. But let’s also give Washington some real credit. He obviously studies and is decisive at full speed. Washington attacks the line and ball carriers. He plays fast. Ar’Darius is undersized, but he doesn’t play like it. He’s still making mistakes, though the Eagles didn’t really test the Ravens way down the field. That test still remains. But kudos to Washington for taking advantage of his opportunity.
It seems as if Washington won’t be available against New York. It will likely be Marcus Williams redux. If so, we will find out whether all of the coaches talk that Marcus has a good attitude and is working hard, is true.
Wiggins has had his moments but is still on a learning curve. He’s not consistently decisive, as his route recognition needs more work. Big bodies give him problems, as we should have expected going into his rookie season. He was physically overmatched by A.J. Brown. Wiggins has not played to his first round draft selection. But it’s way early yet for him.
Lamar Jackson and the “Big Games”
The pattern continues. Against the best teams, Lamar’s play deteriorates. I see a tick more hesitation in these games. He doesn’t trust what he immediately sees. A wide receiver or tight end gets open in Lamar’s line of sight, but Lamar is a quarter to a half tick slow in recognizing it, leaving a bunch of big plays in the dust. In the same vein, he doesn’t stick with a receiver right as the receiver is becoming available, i.e., he comes off of that target at just the wrong instant.
Almost every week I lament a play or two on the tape where Lamar missed an open receiver for a touchdown. On the Ravens second drive against the Eagles, he dropped a pass down to Mark Andrews for a two-yard gain when he had Bateman wide open for a touchdown. But Lamar never looked. These play misses are no big deal against weaker opponents. But they are killers against the elite.
Lamar’s inaccuracy becomes harder to accept in these big games. Against Philadelphia, even with Rashod Bateman being injured, Mark Andrews and Zay Flowers were consistently open. And they weren’t the only ones. On the third drive of the game Jackson had Isaiah Likely (remember him?) wide open 15 yards down the seam, uncovered. But Jackson’s overthrow sailed 10 yards over Likely’s head.
Balls are too often high and to the outside, again leaving big plays – or at least first downs – falling to the turf. Is Lamar’s thought process running too hot? I think so. In years gone by Lamar likely felt that he had to carry the team in these big games. If he didn’t make the play, no one would. And this must be in his psyche.
But this year he doesn’t have to be the hero on every play, given the skill position talent around him. Yet, he doesn’t seem to have incorporated this into his instincts; hence, he holds the ball too long, thinking about what he can do.
The Pitch Left to Derrick Henry, and Other Todd Monken Issues
Earlier in the year this play was impossible for defenses to stop. But the Eagles attacked pitches (on both sides) with corners and linebackers. It’s time for Todd Monken to turn the pitch into a hard fake. At least now and then. And this notion of utilizing fakery (trickery) should be more prominent in Monken’s approach. Everyone reacts to any ball motion towards Derrick Henry. The Ravens are not utilizing much deception off of that.
Similarly, Monken is still in love with the quick wide screen. This play almost never works. Yet it’s almost a certainty that faking that throw and coming back in the other direction will create favorable mismatches. Cross me a receiver going away from the fake and you’ll see some big yardage.
Furthermore, where’s the pass off of the run-option plays? There weren’t any against the Eagles, and it’s a struggle to recall any throughout the season. In my view, these plays make the maximum use of Jackson’s fantastic athletic ability. What are we waiting for?
A football blogger can take easy shots at coaches. So why not me? Monken gets way too much credit for the Ravens offense. This group, when healthy, oozes with talent. But against the best defenses (think Philly and the Steelers) the lack of creativity, and the repeating of what’s on tape, compromises the offense. I don’t know what’s in Monken’s playbook. But there must be more than what we see against these top teams.
Ravens Thoughts – The Offensive Line
It was ugly watching the interior three get manhandled in the run game. This was Pat Mekari’s worst game of the year, and Daniel Faalele really struggled against power under his pads. Both Mekari and Faalele whiffed on numerous occasions (run and pass). Expect teams to continue to attack the Ravens interior line. I don’t expect any personnel changes. It’s up to these guys to get the job done.
Last Ravens Thought – The Kicker
Fans, it’s in Tucker’s head. It’s hard to watch a great player suddenly lose his confidence, but that’s where we are with Justin Tucker. The leg strength is good enough. It’s up to him to regain faith in himself. Is that confidence shattered for good? Time will tell. At the least there’s no available kicker better than Tucker, not at this point. We’re rooting for him. He has to shake those gremlins.
My Bakers Top Ten
Here’s my (worthless) listing of how I stack the league right now.
- Detroit
- Philadelphia
- Buffalo
- Kansas City
- Baltimore
- Pittsburgh
- Minnesota
- Green Bay
- Houston
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Los Angeles Rams
