Banks' Blueprint: 5 Key Questions For The Baltimore Ravens To Return To Super Bowl Contention
(was looking back at some old blogs recently and came across this graphic Milmore made for me back in 2015. It's heckin sweet. Ipso facto, I'm bringing it back.)
Bout that time!!!
Ravens football is finally back in Baltimore and I could not be more thrilled about it. The disgusting memories of an injury-riddled 2021 campaign are in the rearview, as well as a long offseason of relentless Lamar extension talk. It's now time to talk about football.
This is a team that I wholeheartedly believe could win the Super Bowl. We've seen what Lamar Jackson is capable of when he's at his best and there's plenty of pieces around him. Eric DeCosta and company made a concerted effort to re-create the 2019 roster as best they can. That team was the best in football and unfortunately fell short in the postseason. I've always contended that I would take my chances with that team again in a heartbeat and it looks like they're trying to do exactly that. Easier said than done though.
Here are my 5 questions that will dictate whether the 2022 Ravens will return to their rightful place as kings of the AFC North and contend for a Lombardi:
1. Can Lamar Jackson Return To The Form That Made Him The 2nd Unanimous MVP In NFL History?
No two ways about it, Lamar is the straw that stirs the drink. That goes for any QB, but I'm not sure there's any QB in this league that dictates his team's success to the degree that Lamar does. We all saw what it looks like when he's firing on all cylinders when he won unanimous MVP in 2019. He led the league in passing TD's, he piled up well over 1,000 yards on the ground, and commanded the only offense in league history to average over 200 yards a game on both the ground and through the air.
Of course, we've seen regression the last two years. He's seen his time and space in the pocket diminish (more on that in a minute), he's been more careless with the football, and his decision-making has suffered too. There's been a handful of instances where he's thrown bone-headed pick 6's on short throws early in games that have put his team behind then 8 ball early.
So what might be different about 2022? Why would anything change when his top wide receiver hit the road and little was added to the wide receiver room?
Well… I'm glad you asked. The 2022 Ravens are going back to their roots with tons of 2 tight end sets. If you look back at 2019, the WR corps was hardly one to be feared. It was rookie Marquise Brown playing on a hobbled foot, Willie Snead, and who? It's the tight ends that made that offense go. They suffered losing Hayden Hurst and Nick Boyle has been injured the past two years. Now they've added Isaiah Likely who by all accounts looks like a sleeping giant to pair with Mark Andrews. This team is going to dominate in the middle of the field just like they did then. Andrews and Likely are going to eat up the seams and if defenses sell out on crowding the middle of the field, they're going to have to answer to Lamar's speed to the boundaries.
I'm excited to see what kind of matchup nightmares the Ravens are going to present. They're just a completely offense than any other that defensive coordinators have to prepare for. Long methodical drives on the ground are the name of the game for the Ravens. Lamar's just gotta be Lamar.
2. Can The Offensive Line Protect Lamar And Find Their Groove In The Run Game?
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As I mentioned before, the inability for the OL to keep Lamar on his feet has been the offense's biggest issue the past two years. The biggest reason for that has been the health of Ronnie Stanley. When he went down against Pittsburgh in the middle of 2020, the trajectory of this franchise shifted immensely. That, along with a revolving door at center, was the death of the 2020 Ravens.
Last year, Stanley rushed back and played Week 1, but it was clear his surgically repaired ankle wasn't right. That was the last we saw of him and Alejandro Villaneuva proved to be a turnstile in his place. Lamar was constantly running for his life as opposed to running to steal souls. That left tackle position is so key for Lamar because it's obviously the only spot where he can't see what's coming. He can't make guys miss if he can't see them. Once he lost faith in what may or may not have been coming his way behind him, he lost his way as a pocket passer. He didn't even get injured trying to be a runner last year, he got injured trying to be a passer.
Regardless, if Ronnie Stanley can come back and be even 80% of the guy who was a brick wall early in his career, Lamar is going to be able to do all the things he's capable of doing and this offense is going to thrive.
Lastly, a major element of a successful Ravens offense is obviously a dominant ground attack. I try not to put much stock into preseason, but the ground game was simply not there in August. 3.1 yards per carry is simply not gonna cut it. Obviously Lamar is a key part of what that's supposed to look like and he didn't play a single preseason snap, but it's worth keeping an eye on. Tyler Linderbaum looks the part but there will be growing pains in the middle, and the left guard position is still in flux. I'm optimistic that once #8 is out there the results will change, but my ears are perked up.
3. Can Odafe Oweh Make The 2nd-Year Jump Into An Elite Pass-Rusher?
The Ravens have lacked a premier pass-rusher since the days of Sizzle. We've been on a never-ending search for a guy who can play 3 downs and consistently get after the QB. Oweh showed plenty of flashes in his rookie year, particularly in September. But injuries slowed him as the season progressed and kept him from being the wrecking ball we believe he can be.
This year is a great opportunity for him to take that next step. Wink Martindale used to have to manufacture pressure by sending exotic 5 and 6 man blitzes and rely on the secondary to do its job in man coverage due to the inability to get consistent pressure from his edge rushers. It's Mike McDonald's defense now, and I'm fascinated to see how he is going to try to make quarterbacks uncomfortable. That job is going to be a helluva lot easier of Oweh can consistently beat his man and wreak havoc. There's a lot of pressure on Oweh to be the guy only because Justin Houston is really the only other player who plays that role on the current roster. David Ojabo may show up midseason and play a part, but it's ambitious to think he's going to make a significant impact in year 1. I'm hopeful Oweh makes the jump because we've seen enough to know he's got it in him. With what this secondary is capable of, he might even be able to pile up some coverage sacks. Might be a deep sleeper for DPOY….
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4. Can The Secondary Bounce Back To Its Top 5 Potential?
The Ravens secondary has been one of the league's best in recent years. The cornerback tandem of Humph and Marcus Peters is virtually unmatched in this league. Well… sure enough both of those guys were lost for the season last year and the effect was devastating. Like I mentioned a bit ago, the formula for this defense was to trust this talented secondary and send guys after the QB. That might not be the gameplan as much under MacDonald but just having that in the holster for when you want to dial it up is a helluva weapon.
What I'm most excited about is the addition of Marcus Williams. He was one of the league's best safeties in New Orleans and adding him to the mix is borderline unfair. He's a centerfielder type that we haven't really had in a good while. We've brought safeties into the fold but they've been more of the Weddle/physical presence type. Williams is a true safety that can go sideline to sideline and let those guys (especially Peters) play a bit more aggressively.
Then you add Kyle Hamilton in the mix? A guy that many had graded as a top 5 talent in this year's draft? Ridiculous. I'm so fucking fired up to see this defense get its teeth back. We only forced 15 takeaways last year in a 17 game season. That's a joke and that's gonna change this year.
5. For The Love Of God Can This Team Just Stay Fucking Healthy?
You could write this about any team in any season, but health is so so key for the 2022 Ravens. 2021 was a nightmare. An unprecedented amount of injuries to high-impact players made it a lost season. This graphic from Football Outsiders really tells the story.
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That graphic would be half that size if they didn't need to squeeze the Ravens in way up in that top right corner. By the way, it's no coincidence that you can find the Chiefs, Bills, and Bengals all tucked into the opposite corner. That was us in 2019 and you saw the result. Injury luck matters. A lot. And I'm praying the pendulum swings back our way this year.
We've got a good handful of guys who are still working their way back in from 2021 injuries. I already mentioned Ronnie, Peters is questionable for Sunday, and Tyus Bowser is on the shelf for a bit. And there's plenty of other guys who we need to monitor moving forward. We need those guys to get themselves to full health and keep them there. The Ravens made a focused effort on limiting injury risk in training camp and so far that seems to being paying dividends. Only rookie Travis Jones really incurred a new injury that will keep him sidelined for a few weeks. Kudos to John Harbaugh and the organization for evaluating what went wrong and making changes. Fingers crossed that continues.
That's what I got. I can't wait to get started. Love the way we wean ourselves in against the Jets and Dolphins and Pats as key guys work their way back in. From there we step on the gas for Buffalo and Cincy and the rest of the way.
I'm dead set on us bouncing back and Vegas sees it that way too. Ravens are favored to win the AFC North in spite of the Bengals going on their cute little Super Bowl run. They'll be a great opponent this year and our guys will be out for blood against them.
Can't. Wait.