As of this writing, the Baltimore Ravens have the worst third-down defense in the NFL, surrendering 56 first downs on 117 tries, a 48 percent conversion rate. That’s horrible, and it needs to change.
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Before completely condemning the Ravens’ defense for this, I took a look at the correlation between third-down percentage and points allowed per game. Not surprisingly, there is a positive correlation: The higher the third-down percentage, the more points allowed on average. 
Oddly, there were some pretty serious outliers. The Houston Texans lead the NFL in third-down percentage, giving up a first down on just 27 percent of opponent third downs despite ranking 22nd allowing 25.6 points per game. Still, there is a clear correlation.
This is a crucial question facing the Ravens. The inability to get off the field has resulted in fatigue late in games, which in turn has resulted in numerous blown leads. Further, getting off the field on third down more would result in more opportunities for the offense, and accordingly, more points.
The big issue with the Ravens’ defense is play calling. Defensive coordinator Dean Pees seems to know only two styles: over-aggressive or over-conservative. His two favorite play calls on third down seem to be straight man coverage with no safety help, or even more common, soft zone coverage. Take a look at a few plays from the Ravens’ defensive meltdown against the Oakland Raiders.
The first third down of the game: a third and four, with the Ravens’ outside corners lined up eight yards off the line of scrimmage. Result? A four-yard completion and a first down.
Pees got another opportunity on the same drive, and opted to take the opposite tact, going as aggressive as could be, running either a Cover 1 look or a Cover 3 look with the entire secondary lined up within five yards of the line of scrimmage on third and 8. We all remember this play, as Jimmy Smith got torched for a 68 yards and a touchdown.
Kendrick Lewis retreated immediately on the play to play a centerfielder role, but he is far too slow to keep pace with Cooper. Still, I don’t hate this play call nearly as much as the previous third down’s. At least on this play, Pees put his players in a position to make a stop: Jimmy Smith just got beat. On the previous play, the Ravens had no chance of keeping the Raiders from getting a first down.
Conservatism won the day for the Ravens in the end, with multiple conservative third down play calls. Take a look.
Third and 6: three man rush, Tampa 2 call with five intermediate zones, two deep safeties and a linebacker between the safeties.
And here are two more third and short formations for your viewing pleasure.
All of these resulted in first downs. When the cornerbacks are lined up past the first down marker, the Ravens are guaranteeing the opponent a first down in the name of preventing a big play.
Now, let’s take a look at the Houston Texans’ third down defense. Keep in mind, this is not a great defense, but they are doing something right on third down.
After watching the film, I learned a few things about the Texans’ defense. First of all, it’s really bad. The Texans give up a lot of big plays and don’t tackle well. That said, their play calling on third down is exactly what teams should be doing on that crucial down.
The Texans consistently keep their cornerbacks close to the line of scrimmage on third down and short. Accordingly, opposing receivers actually need to beat the cornerbacks rather than taking what the defense is giving. Unlike so many of Pees’ calls, though, the Texans keep a safety deep. Very deep. Frequently up to 20 yards off the ball. It’s the perfect hedge: the man coverage is tight, but there is a fail safe on the back end of the defense. This look summarizes the look the Texans so often trot out on third down:
What I didn’t see much of? Three-man rushes and off coverage.
The Ravens won’t be able to turn their defense into a winner over night. It will require new philosophies, new communication strategies and new players. But there are adjustments they can make now to become a better team and win more football games in the second half of the season. If they get that 48 percent mark down, expect the 26.8 points per game tally to go down as well.
Shawn began his writing career with Bleacher Report as a Ravens featured columnist and Breaking News Team writer. He moved on to write for Yahoo! and work on the Ravens Central Radio podcast. Most recently, he was an Editor at the Baltimore Wire. Shawn is a 2013 graduate of the Catholic University of America.