The lack of a move rush and poor protection within the secondary isn’t a brand new drawback for the Ravens, however an previous one.
In truth, about 22 years previous.
After Sunday’s 42-38 loss to the Miami Dolphins during which the Ravens allowed 4 fourth-quarter touchdowns whereas blowing a 21-point lead, the Ravens appeared so much just like the Baltimore workforce in 1996 that had the sixth-best offense, averaging 23.2 factors per recreation, and the No. 28 ranked protection permitting 27.6.
Back then, the Ravens didn’t have cash to exit and signal high free brokers, in order that they used the draft to pick out and construct round gamers like linebackers Ray Lewis, Jamie Sharper, Peter Boulware and cornerbacks Chris McAlister and Duane Starks, who grew to become the nucleus of a championship-caliber protection in 2000.
What’s their excuse now?
Injuries will be blamed to a point. The Ravens have been with out cornerbacks Kyle Fuller, Brandon Stephens and even Marlon Humphrey for many of the second half, however in addition they acquired whupped bodily.
The secondary was confused and suffered from some miscommunication, which led to breakdowns and finally touchdowns. The Ravens had just one sack as Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa accomplished 36 of 49 passes for 469 yards and 6 touchdowns.
Let’s repeat that: Tagovailoa, who has averaged solely 6.7 yards per completion all through his three-year profession, engineered landing drives of 75, 59, 64 and 68 yards within the fourth quarter.
Those are the sorts of numbers Jacksonville quarterback Mark Brunell used to place up on the Ravens of their first two years in Baltimore with receivers Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell.
The Ravens are 1-1 this season however allowed 547 yards of whole offense Sunday and 378 final week in a 24-9 win in opposition to the New York Jets.
“Yes, that’s the issue,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh stated of the miscommunication. “Never did you think we were going to have that many balls thrown over our head. That just can’t happen; that’s not OK. I don’t care who’s back there, what they’re doing. Those plays will cost you a game when you have a lead like that. You can’t have miscommunication; you can’t have a guy running a post behind Cover 3. Those kinds of things can’t happen.”
Some of it was bodily, like receiver Tyreek Hill simply working previous cornerback Marcus Peters for a 48-yard landing reception with 7:47 left within the recreation to convey the Dolphins inside one rating at 35-28. Hill beat Peters so badly that Tagovailoa principally hung a move as excessive as a punt and Peters nonetheless couldn’t catch up.
Another Tagovailoa landing move to Hill, this one 60 yards, left rookie cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis rookie security Kyle Hamilton questioning the place his assist was on the again finish. This group appeared so much like final yr’s, when the Ravens had the worst move protection within the NFL. Or, worse but, just like the one in 1996.
“There’s a ton of stuff I wish I would have done differently,” stated Hamilton, the workforce’s high pick of Notre Dame in April’s NFL draft. “First quarter, second quarter, third quarter, fourth quarter. Obviously as you get all the way down to crunch time, you’ve acquired to residence in on what we’ve been working towards.
“I did make mistakes, and that’s on me, and I’ll get it fixed. I’ll work with the guys to work on communication and be better next week.”
The Ravens are going to wish a move rush, too. They performed effectively sufficient to manage and dominate a lot of the sport as a result of Miami’s offense is principally performed in a field. For your complete first half, the Dolphins have been content material to throw passes of 14 yards or much less, and most of these have been in the midst of the sector.
But as soon as Miami fell behind, the Dolphins challenged the Ravens downfield and people black holes within the secondary have been evident, particularly with out a lot of a move rush.
“Yes, it sucks when there were opportunities there, but they had a great game plan, and he played a great football game,” Ravens defensive finish Calais Campbell stated of Tagovailoa. “This was, I think, Tua’s best game of his career, from what I’ve seen. He was getting his feet set, getting rid of the ball, making quick decisions and got the ball to his playmakers and let them make plays. That’s what the quarterback does, so you have to give him his props.”
That’s the benefit of getting speedy receivers, which have given the Ravens protection issues over the past couple of years. Hill had 11 catches for 190 yards and Jaylen Waddle, one other speedster, had 11 receptions for 171 yards. Both had two landing catches.
Humphrey doesn’t have nice velocity, which is a part of the explanation the Ravens moved him to the slot. Peters hasn’t been capable of sustain with elite velocity receivers for the final three years. And with all of the accidents, that leaves the Ravens with solely rookie cornerback Damarion Williams, who left Sunday’s recreation late within the fourth quarter, and Armour-Davis.
They can run, however they will’t cover, not in terms of protection. Good offensive coordinators will discover them.
“It’s definitely challenging — it’s the National Football League,” Armour-Davis stated. “Every day, every weekend is challenging, but it’s definitely not an excuse. That’s why we’re here, why every man is on this roster. We’re here to do a job, and everybody is expected to compete at a high level. So, it’s not an excuse, but live and learn [and] get better as the days go on.”
The Dolphins additionally uncovered one other Ravens weak point, however this was on offense. Baltimore nonetheless hasn’t established a working recreation, and which may have helped maintain Miami off the sector within the fourth quarter.
“We haven’t been able to do that yet. We’re not there yet; we’re not blocking like we need to,” Harbaugh stated.
But different issues have turn into priorities as effectively, like fixing the move protection and move rush. In 1996, the Ravens completed 4-12 of their first yr in Baltimore. Are we truly seeing a repeat?
“It’s going to be one of the biggest comebacks probably in the history of the National Football League, and we’ll give them credit for it,” Harbaugh stated. “We have to own it, every single person. I told the guys in the locker room, ‘How we respond to this, that will be the story.’ We have a 17-game season, this is the second week of the season. What we do from here on out, everyone is taking a hard look at what we did; coaches, players, everyone.”
Week 3
RAVENS@PATRIOTS
Sunday, 1 p.m.
TV: Ch. 45
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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Source: www.bostonherald.com