The Ravens sit in uncharted territory. This is the first time during the Flacco-Harbaugh era that the team has begun the season 0-2. I wish I could pinpoint exactly one major flaw the Ravens must correct to get over the hump and turn two narrow losses into wins, but each loss was for profoundly different reasons. In Week 1, the defense appeared to be easily one of the top units in the league as it held Peyton Manning out of the end zone IN DENVER! In Week 2, by contrast, that very same defense couldn't stop a second year quarterback on a presumably abysmal team from completing drive after drive and ultimately scoring 37 points. If there is one thing both of these games have in common, however, it's that the Ravens possessed 4th quarter leads against both the Broncos and Raiders only to falter on final drives that resulted in what could've and should've been touchdown passes to Steve Smith. There is no shame in losing to the Broncos in a hard-fought road game, but there IS shame in losing against the Raiders when the Raiders didn't even have a healthy secondary.
I've listened to callers blast Lardarius Webb on the radio and seen plenty of people suggest he needs to be cut on Facebook in large part because those same people didn't know what it was they were looking at on Sunday. Lardarius Webb actually played out of his mind. He had spectacular diving passes defensed, but critics seemed to believe Webby got burned on a double move by a receiver--he did not. The Ravens were in Tampa 2 coverage, and Webby covered the receiver through his zone before releasing him to the safety who was SUPPOSED to be there to pick him up. The safety, Kendrick Lewis, was instead in the middle of the field, and Lardarius Webb had to sprint back after the receiver and leap onto his back to make the tackle to save a touchdown. Webb, in fact, had the highest grade of any defensive player on the team according to Pro Football Focus, and Kendrick Lewis had the lowest grade of any defender. The bad news is that the loss to the Raiders counts just as much as a loss to the Broncos, but the good news is that there are still 14 more games to get it right, and the miscommunications in the secondary are easily correctable.
Another frustrating defensive issue was the lack of a pass rush nearly the entire game. The Ravens sacked Peyton Manning 5 times the week prior, but left Derek Carr untouched until after he released the ball if they were able to hit him at all. Ravens Defensive Coordinator, Dean Pees, was not creative in his blitzing, and almost didn't blitz at all. He, instead, appeared to stay in kind of a soft prevent defense for nearly all of the game. One of the most puzzling things that a great number of fans appeared to pick up on was the type of coverage Pees put his corners in on 3rd and short situations. One doesn't typically have corners play 7-10 yards off the line when the opposing team needs only to gain 2 yards for a first down. The play of the Ravens defensive backs as a whole was often atrocious on Sunday, but it was not helped by lackluster schemes.
The Ravens just announced that they traded a 7th round pick in the 2016 draft for former Dolphins corner, Will Davis. That move may simply serve to add depth while Rashaan Melvin works back from a thigh injury, but it may also serve as notice to the veteran corners that their jobs are not set in stone and anyone can be benched. Davis is not the only addition to the Ravens that may soon see the field. Terrell Suggs' replacement, former Pro Bowl outside linebacker Jason Babin, was not active for the Raiders game, but he'll presumably be active against the Bengals this weekend. Babin, despite his advanced age of 35, ranked as the 9th best outside linebacker in the league last season with the Jets, and Suggs ranked 4th overall. That shouldn't nearly the drop-off that many are expecting, but we shouldn't expect Babin to play every down. At the very least, Babin's presence should help the Ravens generate a pass rush without having to blitz heavily, and he should take pressure off of Dumervil.
Another player the Ravens have yet to add to the lineup is injured receiver, Breshad Perriman. Perriman's knee issue has many people proclaiming him to be a bust because of nothing more than sheer ignorance. They heard that Perriman has had Osgood Schlatter disease in the past, and they assumed it was some sort of serious, degenerative disease. Perriman does not currently have Osgood Schlatter. I had Osgood Schlatter during middle school, and it went away by 9th grade. Perriman, instead, is currently working through a sprained PCL. That is an injury that was caused by an impact to his knee, and is unrelated to anything he had as an adolescent or anything his family members had at any time. Perriman also appears as though he's finally able to cut and jog. It wouldn't surprise me if the speedy wideout isn't activated for this week's game, but it would surprise me tremendously if he doesn't get back to practice before the Ravens travel to Pittsburgh the following Thursday. The Ravens do have targets, and their pass protection looked better last week even against Khalil Mack and Justin Tuck, but nothing helps the Ravens weapons get open all over the field like a deep threat who can stretch out opposing defenses. The Ravens know this well, and they know that Perriman's presence is absolutely vital to the team's offensive success this season. A deep threat helps open up the middle of the field, and it helps open up the run. It also takes advantage of arguably the strongest arm in the NFL.
Everything wrong with the Ravens right now can be corrected with schematic adjustments and the addition of injured or recently acquired personnel. The issue is that their schedule in the next three weeks is absolutely daunting. The Ravens face all three of their AFC North foes in a row, and each one has a better record than Baltimore. Let's hope that the Ravens can simply put it all together. Instead of the defense looking great while the offense looks horrible and vice versa the next week, let's hope the Ravens coaching staff and players can put up a complete effort and beat a formidable Bengals foe in Baltimore for the home opener. Remember, the Patriots went 1-2 through their first three weeks last season, and they won homefield advantage through the playoffs and the Super Bowl. It's not too late to right the ship and dominate, but we'll know a lot more about exactly what the coaching staff is capable of doing after Sunday.
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
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