Just like that, we are a third of the way through the NFL season. The Ravens have been an up and down team, quite literally alternating wins, and losses, and arguably alternating good first halves with bad second halves of games.
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On an individual level…
IPOs: Guys who are getting their first chance on this team, guys who haven’t debuted this season yet, or are rookies we don’t expect to see much from. Their newest initial public offering is DeSean Jackson. Soon to come, Gus Edwards, Tyus Bowser, and David Ojabo.
Holding steady: All these guys are pretty much performing as expected, good or bad, even if it isn’t as much as expected.
Tylan Wallace and James Proche. It’s just hard getting these guys looks when you run as much as the Ravens tend to do at times, and with the number of targets the tight ends earn.
Daniel Faalele played some in Patrick Mekari’s absence before Ronnie Stanley could return. He’s back to redshirting until needed again. Pepe Williams is another rookie who looks, a lot like a rookie.
Tyler Huntley, Trystan Colon, Del’Shawn Phillps, Kristian Welch, and Keyvon Seymour just rarely if ever see the field. Geno Stone was on this list until Marcus Williams went down with a wrist injury.
Marcus Peters is what he is, you take the good with the bad, but he’s good often.
Patrick Ricard, Nick Moore, and Justin Tucker have one job, and are doing great at it, as per usual. Their stock is high and remains so. Another one who has been great, continues to be great, Mark Andrews. He’s a blue chipper, and leading tight ends in efficiency with 2.32 yards per route run. Among tight ends he is second behind Travis Kelce in catches, tied for first with him in yards, and second behind him in touchdowns. Those two are in a class by themselves.
Trending down: First and foremost, Lamar Jackson. 12 total touchdowns in the first three weeks. Three in the last three weeks. Averaging four a game isn’t sustainable, but you must do better than one per. He’s also been missing his deep targets, and not just by a little bit. It’s a team game, but he may have single handedly cost the Ravens the win in the Giants game with an interception on a pass he had no business throwing, and then a botched snap fumble. Both setting up the Giants on short fields for them to score easy touchdowns, erasing yet another double-digit lead.
J.K. Dobbins missed most of the Giants game after his knee “tightened up”. That’s not what you want to hear, especially after the guy was on a pitch count to begin with. Now his knee is going to be scoped costing him another 4-6 weeks. I’ll err on the side of six, meaning maybe Week 12 he is back to practice, but good enough to suit up for a game? If he’s being eased into things for a few games again, well, we will almost be waiting until next season to see what he can do.
Demarcus Robinson has seen his small contribution drop. Could be a reason DeSean Jackson was brought in.
Kyle Hamilton. I expected more from a guy who was supposed to be a top-10 pick, but it is a crowded secondary so I’m not going to sell just yet. Despite the fact he’s allowed eight catches on the nine times he’s been targeted.
Jayln Armour-Davis is another rookie but was absolutely toasted in the Patriots game, has seen his opportunity drop as a result, been a healthy scratch at times.
About the entire front seven. None of them rank inside the top-30 in pressures generated. Odafe Oweh leads the team with 18, good enough for 38th in the league, and one sack to show for it. Kind of like his college output. If I remember that one sack correctly, Josh Allen tripped over him rather than Oweh bringing him down. Patrick Queen leads the team in run stops but is 25th best in the league. Three different Saints players have more run stops than Queen. Too many manageable down and distances allowed by this group. Teams also pick on Queen in the passing game. His 36 targets are second most among linebackers, and he’s allowed 29 catches.
Jordan Stout. He’s 18th in hang time and 30th in Net punting yards. Not enough downed inside the 20, and too many touchbacks. Much more should be expected when you draft a punter in round four. I feel like any undrafted guy have performed as well, or better to this point.
Injuries have gotten to Ben Cleveland, Justin Houston, Justice Hill, Rashod Bateman. Cleveland was hardly playing anyway, but the other three will have a chance to see their stock bounce back.
You can put the entire coaching staff in this category as well. John Harbaugh’s sideline demeanor is one of someone that is tired. Indecisive. Certainly not inspiring. That was his best trait, that and as a special teams coach he could get the most out of the 53rd man on the roster. Mike MacDonald’s defense is allowing late game collapses at a historic rate. Those defensive failures can be mitigated if Greg Roman’s offense could hum for four quarters, but it too seems to stall at the worst times.
Going broke: Nick Boyle, where have you gone? Fourth tight end, meaning on any other team he isn’t even rostered. Mike Davis is deep in the doghouse after a Week 1 fumble and Kenyan Drake’s hot hand. A.J. Klein got to see his first action on special teams after being signed two weeks ago, and immediately committed a stupid late hit personal foul. Nice knowing you.
Trending up: The O-line. Ben Powers, Tyler Linderbaum, Kevin Zeitler and Morgan Moses all rank in the top-50 in pressures allowed. With Ronnie Stanley getting back in the mix, and Patrick Mekari proving to be that swiss army knife when needed, its got a chance to be a deep, elite unit. Last week against the Giants they opened some major holes for the running game. Kenyan Drake went 30-yards untouched for a score.
The other tight ends. Josh Oliver is seeing slightly more snaps than rookie Isaiah Likely, and last week showed off some amazing hands. A couple tough grabs. He’s Pro Football Focus’ number eight graded run blocker among tight ends, and only one tight end with more run blocking snaps than Oliver has a higher grade (Mercedes Lewis). Isaiah Likely came out cold in week 1 with a couple drops, but as second or third option, he’s coming along.
Devin Duvernay. Good things happen with the ball in his hands. He’s getting more touches since Rashod Bateman went down, and they are using him out of the backfield as well. Jackson has a 128.5 passer rating when he targets Duvernay. Duvernay’s All-Pro status as a kick returner hasn’t diminished either.
Kenyan Drake rushed for 119 yards against the Giants, and averaged 6.5 Y/A, and 11.9 Y/A in the last two games respectively.
Marlon Humphrey is back to his old self. Receivers are not gaining many yards after catch when he’s targeted. The last three weeks he’s allowed seven catches his way, and a grand total of eight YAC. Only for a passer rating of 55.3 against him.
Chuck Clark has been good in coverage as well only allowing four catches in the last three games. He’s playing a lot more in the box as the average depth of target on five targets was just 2.8 yards.
Ravens Analyst
Mike was born on the Eastern Shore, raised in Finksburg, and currently resides in Parkville. In 2009, Mike graduated from the Broadcasting Institute of Maryland. Mike became a Baltimore City Fire Fighter in late 2010. Mike has appeared as a guest on Q1370, and FOX45. Now a Sr. Ravens Analyst for BSL, he can be reached at mike.randall@baltimoresportsandlife.com.