The sport was solely 5 minutes previous, however new Ravens center linebacker Roquan Smith’s affect was evident.
On second-and-3 at their very own 29-yard line, the New Orleans Saints ran Pro Bowl operating again Alvin Kamara behind the left guard and Smith slipped contained in the hole to cease Kamara one yard wanting a primary down.
On the following play, the Saints ran Kamara off left sort out, solely to have Smith beat a block after which double up with cornerback Marlon Humphrey to cease Kamara for no acquire.
Ouch.
The Ravens haven’t had such a bodily presence within the center for the reason that days of Ray Lewis, who retired on the finish of the 2012 season.
Let’s get this out of the way in which instantly: No one is evaluating Smith with a Hall of Famer like Lewis. But the Ravens lastly have a thumper within the center.
Every week after being acquired in a commerce from the Chicago Bears, Smith completed with 5 tackles in his group debut because the Ravens beat the Saints, 27-13, on Monday evening.
It’s exhausting to match any protection with the Ravens’ record-setting group in 2000 and simply as exhausting to get excited a few sturdy effort towards a group that has Andy Dalton because the beginning quarterback, however the addition of Smith creates quite a lot of alternatives to enhance.
The Ravens (6-3) ought to get higher as a result of they’ve a bye week earlier than dealing with the Carolina Panthers (2-6) on Nov. 20 at M&T Bank Stadium.
“I think y’all saw it,” mentioned outdoors linebacker Justin Houston, who grew to become the primary Ravens participant to report 2 1/2 sacks and an interception in a single sport. “The plays that he made — I know there was a third-and-1 and he just came out of nowhere. He’s going to help this defense a lot to be where we want to be. We needed a guy like that, and I am so happy we were able to get him. I think that was crazy for them [Chicago] to let him go. I think he is one of the best linebackers in the game and to add him to this defense, that’s scary.”
Scary appeared to be an acceptable phrase within the Ravens’ locker room.
“Definitely,” Smith mentioned. “I’m going to get accustomed, and it’s going to be scary after I get it all down pat, so I’m excited. I love the way [defensive coordinator] Mike [Macdonald] calls the game, so I think there’s going to be so many great things in store for us.”
Smith is likely one of the explanation why Houston performed so properly. The Ravens held New Orleans to 48 dashing yards on 15 makes an attempt, whereas Kamara had simply 30 yards on 9 carries. When a group turns into one-dimensional, “go-fetch” gamers like Houston can simply rush with reckless abandon.
It turns into worse for a quarterback like Dalton, who stares down his receivers and often throws to his first choice.
The Ravens completed with 4 sacks and 7 hits on Dalton, the previous Cincinnati Bengals starter. They batted down six passes. Smith can’t get whole credit score for the improved play, however he has helped change the dynamic.
“He played very well,” coach John Harbaugh mentioned of Smith. “He made a couple of tackles within the run sport; they have been operating a number of the [run-pass options] in there, and he slipped in there and made a pair tackles on performs that would have gone a little bit additional. He’s a heck of a participant, heck of a man. To are available in and be taught the protection that rapidly says quite a bit about him.
“So, the defense deserves a lot of credit. [The Saints] basically had two two-minute drives, [that] was really all they really did throughout the course of the game. I think the stats would have been phenomenal, but those are two legitimate drives. We’ll look at those two drives, but I was proud of the way the guys played.”
Another beneficiary of Smith’s addition is weakside linebacker Patrick Queen. The 2020 first-round draft decide has by no means been a shock-and-shed kind, relying extra on velocity and instincts. The very best scenario is to permit him to go straight forward on blitzes.
On one play, the Ravens lined Smith up within the A niche in a passing scenario. On the snap of the ball, he dropped into protection, which allowed Queen to get a free run at Dalton. The play didn’t lead to a sack, but it surely forces groups to organize for that very same look. Eventually, the sacks will come.
The addition of Smith additionally permits Macdonald to be extra artistic. In the fourth quarter, he blitzed each rookie security Kyle Hamilton and Humphrey off the sting on the identical play.
Macdonald can gamble a bit extra as a result of Smith lastly provides the Ravens a center linebacker who can cowl a decent finish or a operating again like Kamara out of the backfield.
There are simply extra choices, as evidenced by the Ravens permitting simply 243 whole yards towards New Orleans. Each defensive cease permits the Ravens’ offense to regulate the ball and provides quarterback Lamar Jackson extra probabilities to make an explosive play. The Ravens had a 15-minute benefit in time of possession Monday.
“I think this gives us a big boost,” Houston mentioned of the win. “I believe we all know who we’re. I believe we had quite a lot of rising pains in the beginning of the season, and we’re nonetheless rising. We nonetheless left quite a lot of performs on the market tonight. The factor is what we bear in mind as a protection is that it’s each man in that room.
“It’s not just one or two guys. It’s the whole defense. We got a bunch of hungry dogs and they really want it. The sky is the limit and I think that is what we have.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com