The Ravens 2023 season ended with an AFC Championship Game lost to the Chiefs.
The Ravens 2024 season will begin with a trip to Kansas City.
The hurt of losing a Conference Championship Game would not be erased by a Week 1 win.
And a Week 1 loss wouldn’t eliminate the Ravens biggest hopes for 2024.
The reality is that the Ravens don’t get a second chance at advancing to last season’s Super Bowl.
That opportunity is behind them, and that’s okay.
That’s life.
What is available to the Ravens is the blank slate of a new season.
The opportunity that exists is to build and progress week-to-week, month-to-month, and earn the chance to play more games of significance.
Here we look at things we like, dislike, and question as Training Camp nears.
Something We Like – Lamar Jackson is a 2x MVP, and 27 years old. That seems like an obvious point to start with when talking about things we like about the Ravens; but we know that Jackson remains a polarizing topic for football fans, and media alike. No matter what Jackson does in this forthcoming regular season, you’ll be able to find commentary saying, “What about the playoffs?” That’s fine. It’s similar to what I said about the Ravens as a whole above. Jackson doesn’t get to replay that AFC Title game. He does get the chance to lead his team back to the post-season. He gives the Ravens a chance in every game.
Something We Dislike – The Offensive Line looks average ish at-best to me. The early observations on Ronnie Stanley seem positive, but he was often a liability last year. You can say, “He wasn’t right physically, and that caused the dip in performance,” and that would be perfectly fair. But he was limited to 13 games in ’23, after 11 games in ’22, and 7 total games over ’21 and ’20. The point being he’s struggled to say on the field and healthy. And while it’s encouraging he looks good right now in June, it’s kind of hard to have faith in the 30 year old holding up physically over 17 games where he remains above-average throughout. Of course you feel great about Tyler Linderbaum inside, but both Guard spots are a question. I’ll feel better overall if Roger Rosengarten has a strong Training Camp, and we hearing growing belief he can be a league average RT as a Rookie.
Something We Question – Do the Ravens have enough edge rush? Does Odafe Oweh put it all together this year? Can David Ojabo stay on the field? Is it realistic to think Adisa Isaac can help on 3rd down as a Rookie?
Something We Dislike – The WR depth looks a little thin to me. Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, and Nelson Agholor are set as the top 3 WR’s, after them, we will see who emerges. I was happy Bateman got the extension, as I’ve believed in the talent – but the Ravens badly need him to deliver this year. He did play 16 games this past year (after 18 combined in Years 1 and 2); but the 32 receptions he had in ’23 won’t cut it this year. He needs to reliably move the chains. He didn’t have a 4 catch game until Week 17 last year. That needs to be a weekly standard in ’24.
Something We Like – The Ravens have a lot of skill position talent overall. If teams stack the box to slow Derrick Henry, the Ravens have enough weapons outside to make teams pay. The WR depth is less of an issue when you factor in the 2nd and 3rd TE’s Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar. Likely in-particular seems primed for a big year. All over the field, the Ravens should be able to get their weapons into 1×1 coverage situations that they can exploit.
Something We Question – Does Marlon Humphrey have another very good to great season in him? He was an All-Pro in 2019. He’s a 3x Pro Bowler (’19, ’20, ’22). The ’23 season was tough. He had the foot injury that needed surgery and limited him to 10 games. My sense was he was never quite right. If he’s back to a Pro Bowl level, the Secondary looks fantastic. When Marcus Williams is on the field, he makes a difference. But in his two years as a Raven, he’s missed 15 regular season games.
Something We Like – The Defensive Triplets of Justin Madubuike, Roquan Smith, and Kyle Hamilton is exceptional. That’s star-level talent at each line of the defense. Brandon Stephens was big-time in ’23. Does he have one additional level he can reach?
Something We Dislike – Ultimately you have to play who is on the schedule, but I don’t see a lot of automatic W’s on the schedule. The Division games are always a fight. The opposing QB schedule includes Mahomes, Prescott, Allen, Burrow (2x), Herbert, Hurts, Stroud. The Secondary is loaded, but if the Ravens can’t get to the QB without scheming pressure, there are going to be a lot of weeks where it’s about how many points the Ravens put up.
Something We Like – If the Ravens get up on the teams, they’ll be able to start feeding Henry, shorten games, and overpower opponents. Also while I question the OG’s, I do think they can succeed in a power running game. Can see them getting lathered up as Henry starts running downhill.
The Ravens are loaded. They’re one of the true Super Bowl favorites.
The 2023 season ended in disappointment, but the 2024 season can again be a lot fun.
Bring on Training Camp!
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.