Those who remember the Rex Ryan and Chuck Pagano-era Ravens defenses fondly will be in for a treat during Super Bowl 50, when the Denver Broncos’ No. 1 rated defense squares off against the Carolina Panthers’ No. 6 rated defense. It’s true. Defense wins championships.
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These two teams’ results aren’t what interests me, though. What I want to know, and what the Ravens should want to know, is how these two teams got there? Why are the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers in the Super Bowl, and not the Ravens? Let’s take a look to see what the Ravens can learn from these two juggernauts.
You don’t need a top-tier receiver, but you do need a good weapon and depth
The Ravens’ receiving corps has long inspired angst, but it might be a more valuable exercise to focus on the Ravens’ group of weapons as a whole rather than that specific unit. For an example of a team that has done this, look no farther than the Carolina Panthers.
Kelvin Benjamin’s preseason injury ensured the Panthers would go into this season with, to use a Ravens’ phrase, a JV receiving corps. And even now that those receivers are headed to the Super Bowl, the receiving corps is far from a strength. Yet, the Panthers have weapons.
Start with Greg Olsen, one of the most dynamic tight ends in the game. Olsen is the consummate mismatch, too fast for linebackers and safeties, too big for cornerbacks. And his ability to make contested catches is top-tier as well. With the ability to get open almost at will and a scheme designed around his ability to stretch the seam, Olsen was huge weapon for a passing game largely devoid of them.
Steve Smith was this when healthy for the Ravens, but unfortunately the Ravens’ offense didn’t have the complementary pieces to make the passing offense hum.
A key stat: Kamar Aiken, the Ravens’ eventual leader in receiving yardage, only went for 36.4 yards per game with Smith on the field. Without Smith? Aiken averaged 76.6 yards per game. Aiken has proven he is an NFL receiver, but with Smith back on the field, will Flacco still look Aiken’s way? Are Aiken and Smith just ill-suited to play together, or has Aiken developed enough to complement Smith?
Regardless, Cam Newton has no such problem. While Steve Smith accounted for 34 percent of the Ravens’ receiving yardage when he suited up, Greg Olsen accounted for just 28 percent of Carolina’s. Having a big-time deep threat like Ted Ginn, who is a threat to go the distance every time he goes deep, made a big difference. Safeties had to watch Ginn and fellow deep threat Corey Brown, opening up the seam for Olsen. When I talk about complements, I’m not just talking about overall talent. I’m talking about complementing skill sets. The Panthers had them, the Ravens didn’t.
Not every team can have a top-tier group of weapons like the Denver Broncos, who tout Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders and Owen Daniels. But EVERY team can have equivalent weapons to the Panthers if they are serious about finding a star (which the Ravens had in Steve Smith) and surrounding him with complementary pieces.
Even in the best case scenario this season (Steve Smith and Breshad Perriman both stay healthy), the Ravens only had one deep threat, and they had no proven jump ball target. Aside from the speedy Perriman and the multi-dimensional Smith, the Ravens had a team full of underneath, possession receivers. That was never going to work. Learn from the Panthers: A good group of weapons does not need to be an elite group of individual talent.
Speed matters when rushing the passer
The Denver Broncos’ 52 sacks led all NFL teams, and the pass rush clinic they put on against the New England Patriots should serve as a reminder to all NFL teams: speed matters when rushing the passer. I wrote last week about how Von Miller is the speed rusher the Ravens’ should aspire to obtain, but the Broncos’ speed goes much deeper than Von Millers’ 4.49 40 and 1.57 10-yard split. Let’s take a look at how the Broncos’ edge rushers compare with the Ravens.
Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil are proof that 40 times are not predictors of NFL success, but the Denver Broncos are proof that it can make a difference. More important is the 10-yard split, a number in which the Broncos’ edge rushers blow the Ravens’ out of the water.
This should be pretty simple: We watched (and enjoyed) Tom Brady getting hit repeatedly before he even got to the end of his drop. The Ravens’ pass rushers, even when healthy and in their prime, could never do that. The Broncos’ can. And changing that is Ozzie Newsome’s biggest offseason objective.
There is hope for any well run team to make a Super Bowl, regardless of last season’s results
Carolina Panthers’ 2014 record: 7-8-1. Carolina Panthers’ 2015 record: 15-1. The Ravens are a well-run team, and like the Panthers, the Ravens’ return their head coach and their quarterback, the two most important pieces to any team. There is no reason the Ravens can’t experience a similar season-to-season improvement that the Panthers just experienced.
Despite the many struggles the Ravens had in 2015, the Ravens aren’t far from these teams. Maintain stability and add some speed, and the Ravens can look at lot like the Panthers or the Broncos next season.
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.