The Ravens were outplayed on the national stage of Sunday Night Football in Pittsburgh. Clearly that’s a statement of the obvious.
And here’s another…
John Harbaugh’s team lacks playmakers!
Defensively the most impactful player on either team was 36-year old James Harrison, and it wasn’t even close. The Ravens had a couple of solid performances among Dean Pees’ group but the guys who the Ravens think are their playmakers did very little, particularly after the Steelers adjusted to max protect packages.
Suggs hasn’t played poorly, in fact overall he’s had a very good season but he’s no longer that guy who can burst off the edge and force a quarterback to fumble. Dumervil is that guy but when doubled he struggles given his size limitations.
CJ Mosley has the potential to be a playmaker but inside linebackers are oftentimes a defense’s anchor, captain and the glue. He’s the guy who is the centrifugal force. Sure he can make game changing plays but big turnovers aren’t consistently produced by rookie inside linebackers.
In the defensive backfield, the Ravens have little outside of the injured Jimmy Smith. They have no ball hawking safety and Lardarius Webb has been very inconsistent, so much so that the team’s front office has to be questioning their decision to restructure Webb’s deal and push potential dead cap dollars further into the future.
On offense the Ravens lack homerun hitters. Sure there’s the occasional long ball from the Smiths but defenses don’t have to roll coverage towards either player. Torrey is a below average route runner who has good straight-line speed but is limited by his ability to change directions. That’s why his routes are rounded making it difficult to create separation.
Senior is close to the full package, even at 35, but he can’t consistently stretch the field and he’s a small target. He will fight to the end but contested catches are a challenge given his height limitations.
Comparatively speaking the Steelers have Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant. One is a burner with excellent ball skills and incredible change of direction ability. The other is a big target (6’5”) with speed who commands attention from safeties.
In the Ravens offensive backfield there is a trio of decent runners but there is no Le’Veon Bell, arguably the most complete running back in the NFL.
This doesn’t make the Ravens a bad team but it does force them to play mistake free football with a lead, otherwise their lack of giddy-up makes it difficult for them to catch up. They need to matriculate the ball down the field and take advantage of red zone opportunities. They need to run to set up the pass and play action.
That’s just who they are…for now.
Maybe in the future Ozzie Newsome needs to redefine his “Right Player, Right Price” formula and stop overpaying for aging veterans whose playmaking abilities are in decline. Instead, he might want to consider players like Emmanuel Sanders and Brandon Marshall who have made differences with their new employers.
Maybe they need to be more aggressive on draft day and move up to get a guy.
Dez Bryant comes to mind.
Consider your organizational strengths AND weaknesses. Take a look at what you do well on draft day and augment what you don’t do well (drafting playmakers) in free agency.
And let’s not be afraid to apply the “Right Player, Right Price” credo to guys like Haloti Ngata, Terrell Suggs, Ray Rice, Lardarius Webb, Dennis Pitta and dare I say Joe Flacco.
If they had, maybe there would be a few cap dollars left to sign a proven playmaker instead of attempting to draft one (see: Mark Clayton, Torrey Smith, Matt Elam) or always seeking the NFL’s blue light specials like Brandon Stokley and Owen Daniels.
Not that either is bad – they just aren’t difference makers.
Doesn’t it stand to reason that if the Ravens pay Joe Flacco all that money that they give him a game-changing weapon? If you buy a Mercedes (assuming you think Flacco is the relevant equivalent of one) do you fuel it with 87 octane? If you buy Samsung’s latest curved Ultra HDTV do you feed it a standard signal?
Hopefully Ozzie has those pending free agent pass catchers in Denver on speed dial.
But I’m not holding my breath.
