With less than three weeks left until the Ravens kick off their season against the Oakland Raiders, there is plenty of news surrounding the team. With Lamar Jackson entering the final year of his rookie contract, many believe this is Baltimore’s best chance to bring home the Lombardi trophy. Let’s take a look at the latest stories concerning the Ravens and how it may affect their chances of winning it all.
Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson says ‘I strongly doubt’ NFL has figured him out
According to Jeremy Fowler and Jamison Hensley of ESPN, word around the NFL is that this may be the year that Lamar Jackson finally gets figured out. Despite his continuous growth and success many still seem to believe that he will inevitably hit a wall and stop progressing. It’s certainly possible, as evidenced by the way certain teams have seemed to have his number. Both the Titans and Steelers have found ways to shut down the young quarterback each time they have faced him, though the final scores have had mixed results. By mixing QB spies with different styles of edge rushing used to keep Lamar in the pocket, they have managed to slow his ability to take over games. It certainly seems possible that if other teams can design a similar game plan they could have success as well. However, Jackson has rebounded and menouvered every challenge thrown at him so far since entering the league and I don’t think that is likely to change any time soon. In my mind the only thing that could derail Lamar’s career would be a lower-body injury. If he can stay healthy, I find it hard to imagine that opponents will have any more success shutting him down then they have in the past.
Ronnie Stanley says he’ll be “full-go” for Ravens’ Week One game
All of Baltimore got great news earlier this week when Ronnie Stanley told the Baltimore Sun that he expects to be fully ready for week one. Though he has yet to make an appearance in a preseason game this summer, Stanley seems confident that he will be 100% healthy by September 13th when the Ravens take on the Raiders. After Stanley’s injury last season the Ravens saw their offensive line play decline significantly. His absence was extremely evident come playoff time. The Bills had no trouble breaking through the Ravens blocking core to disrupt Lamar Jackson, JK Dobbins, and the rest of the Baltimore backfield. His return will provide some much needed stability on the Ravens offensive line, especially considering the recent departure of Orlando Brown Jr. Fortunately the Ravens face relatively weak pass rushing groups for the first three weeks of the season so even if Stanley isn’t fully healthy by the time the Ravens head to Vegas he will have some time to reacclimate. Week 4’s matchup against Von Miller and the Denver Broncos will be his first real test to see how well he’s recovered from his ankle injury.
According to Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports, another Ravens player shared some optimism with the media this week. Justin Tucker, also known as the best kicker in the NFL, claims that he still has a lot of football left in him despite being 31 years old. Entering his 10th season in the league, Tucker has shown no signs of regression. He’s already the most accurate kicker in history and if what he claims is true, he has a great shot to be the league’s all time leading scorer. I must admit it’s hard to imagine what Tucker’s prime will look like if he isn’t already in it. Is a perfect kicking season on the horizon? He’s already finished two seasons with just one missed field goal so it isn’t all that far fetched. Either way, Ravens fans should be relieved to know that their kicker is here to stay. The departure of veteran long snapper Morgan Cox this offseason left the special teams unit in a somewhat precarious position for the first time in a decade. However, Tucker’s recent comments should provide some much needed comfort to anyone worried about special teams in Baltimore.
Pass game blues— Ravens need top receivers healthy to move forward
Wide Receiver has always been a position of weakness for the Ravens and a recent article from Spencer Schultz of BaltimoreBeatdown.com implied that that could be the case again this year. Five Baltimore receivers missed practice this past Tuesday, including Sammy Watkins, Marquise Brown, and Rashod Bateman. It’s unclear how long each of these players will be out for but with question marks surrounding each player, missed reps in training camp could slow their production come the regular season. The article references Lamar Jackson’s struggle to get his wideouts involved in the offense; Bateman and Watkins were brought in to fix that very issue. However, with each of them missing significant playing time this preseason, it’s hard to imagine that they will be able to jump right into the offense come week one. The one thing holding back this offense is a lack of an outside passing game. There is no doubt that Mark Andrews, Nick Boyle, and all of the running backs will continue to find success in the short passing game but in my mind, Lamar will need to improve his connection with his long ball threats if the Ravens are going to make a run. For now, he will have to wait to work on that connection. The longer that wait goes on, the worse I expect this offense to fair early on in the season.
Gold-medal streak: Inside the Ravens’ 19-game record of summer dominance
Of course, I can’t talk about Ravens news this week without discussing their incredible preseason winning streak. ESPN’s Jamison Hensley’s deep-dive into the team’s 19 consecutive wins is fascinating to say the least. I’ll be honest, I expected the players to shrug off questions about the streak, citing that preseason is all about getting ready for the games that count. Instead, they talked about how meaningful it is, especially to the lesser-known players who haven’t been a part of the organization for long. Each person who has stepped foot on the field during a preseason game over the past 5 years is a part of history. Justin Tucker said it best by stating, “It’s not Joe Flacco, Steve Smith and Terrell Suggs and all the other big-name starters that are a part of that. It’s everybody who has been on that 90-man roster for the Baltimore Ravens since 2016. That’s a lot of people who go into those wins.” Tucker’s words show just how tight knit this organization has become and that should pay dividends once the regular season begins.
Luke Rollfinke is a student at Vanderbilt where he is pursuing a career in sports journalism. A recent graduate from the Friends School of Baltimore, Luke has spent his entire childhood in Charm City and is a devoted Orioles fan. In the past, he has written for SB Nation and has worked closely with Ravens columnist John Eisenberg. From nights at Camden Yards to Sunday afternoons watching NFL Redzone, Luke eats, sleeps, and breathes sports. He is excited to bring his perspective to BSL.