I know what you're thinking, the Ravens are 4-2. They are 2nd in their division, they have one of the most dominant defenses in the NFL, they have a great ground game, a good and young quarterback, a legitimate number 1 receiver, and great coach. So what is wrong with the Baltimore Ravens?
All of these things are not what they seem on the surface. They are 4-2. They have won big games against division rival Pittsburgh, a well-hyped Jets team, and the explosive Houston Texans. On top of that they looked very solid in these performances. Not to mention their shellacking of the under achieving St. Louis Rams. Their losses, a bad one to Tennessee and an ugly offensively challenged game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Last week against the Jaguars their weaknesses were exposed. Foremost, lack of running plays. To date they have run the ball 156 times. That's good for 27th in the league in terms of rushing attempts. That has netted them an average of 107 rushing yards per game, 19th in the league. A defensive minded team that values field position and a solid ground game rushing for only 107 yards per game is not good. The pass happy Saints have ran the ball 36 more times and have been more effective averaging 126 yards per game on the ground. The lack of Ravens success has a lot to do with an under performing offensive line, and poor play calling. Monday, Baltimore attempted 11 rushing attempts, while Flacco compiled 38 passing attempts. 8 carries is not enough for Ray Rice. And 38 pass attempts is far too many in a one possession game that is being dictated by defense and field position. Why not utilize a running back with the skill set of Ray Rice to control the clock more effectively?
This is because their not getting far when handing the ball off to Ray Rice or Ricky Williams. As a team the Baltimore Ravens are rushing for an average of 4.1 yards per carry. Again, good for 19th in the league. Not a good average. It's a passable average, if the team has more explosive plays in the passing game.
The passing game has been far from explosive this year. The Ravens have attempted 211 passes, completing 110 passes. This is a completion percentage of 52.1 percent. This ranks as 31st in the NFL. Very poor completion rate. The only team with a lower completion rate is the Jacksonville Jaguars. Interesting coincidence. The completion percentage is only made worse by the fact that on average Baltimore is only gaining 6.7 yards per passing attempt, this is good for 21st in the NFL. The reason for the lack of passing success? Far too many throws deep down field. The intermediate passing game has completely vanished from the Ravens playbook. The high percentage passes are not being taken. The short passing game is working, but not giving the offense explosive plays. It is not pushing the ball down field. And their counter to this is attempting 40 yard passes down the field to a usually well covered Anquan Boldin, or rookie Torrey Smith.
Why are the deep throws not effective? Neither of these players has established themselves as a deep threat. Torrey Smith has a chance to, but he needs to improve his routes and gain more reliable hands. Anquan Boldin, is not a deep threat. He never has been. He is a very talented receiver, but he is a big possession receiver. He is built for the intermediate routes. They are not taking advantage of his skill set. They have another option that is being affected by this lack of intermediate throws. Ed Dickson is a rookie, but has shown that he can be an effective target in the short and intermediate passing game. They have the personnel. They simply need to take advantage of these players skill sets. Open up the deep throws with a more effective shorter and intermediate passes. This will draw the safeties and defensive backs closer to the line of scrimmage, where receivers will have the opportunity to 1) bump and run and get into space, and 2) get behind the defense, where deep plays happen.
Another stymie to the offense if poor offensive line play. There's no push in the running game, and the protection is breaking down when down field plays are trying to develop. Micheal Oher has struggled since being moved to Right Tackle. Brian McKinnie has not produced as well as the team was hoping for. The Ravens offensive line has not been effective. This is not personnel issue, this is an example of good players under performing. They should clean up their play in the coming weeks. Some sources have indicated that the coaching has identified this as a weakness and will begin to take steps to overcome this. The offensive line is good, it just hasn't hit a stride yet. This may be due to the lack of off-season practice. The lock-out, as well as the addition of new lineman and loss of certain key players, could have affected continuity. This is a problem that just takes time to work out.
The Ravens should overcome these problems. It may take some time, and it will probably cost them a few games the remainder of the season. There are flaws, but they are flaws that can be fixed in the course of a couple of weeks. Fortunately, they have a stellar defense, and the right pieces on offense to get the job done. They simply need to correct what they have done wrong. Hopefully Harbaugh is a coach of enough quality to identify and correct their issues. Since coming to the team he has seemed to want to be an explosive offense in the passing game. I'm not convinced that this team is suited for that kind of play. But perhaps some middle ground can be established. If so, then this team can be very good. Perhaps championship good.
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