The Ravens signed veteran DL/LB Jason Babin to a one-year deal. Our staff reacts:
Tony Lombardi
The Jason Babin signing is yet another reminder of the Ravens’ lack of explosiveness and suddenness in the composition of their roster. Maybe Babin gives them a good 20 snaps per game and maybe he registers 6 or 8 sacks this season. But to lean on a 35-year old player to be a “speed” rusher is further evidence of the team’s lack of quicks.
Ken McKusick
Babin is 35 and last played with the Jets in 2014. I was encouraged to see how highly he rated as both a pass and run defender by PFF. Why is that important? Because the Ravens need a 2-way player to replace Suggs. Dumervil is a pure pass rusher at this point, Za’Darius Smith looked bad against the run in the preseason, and Upshaw is just an edge setter. A 3-down player (in Babin’s case I mean a player capable of being effective on all 3 downs, not someone who’s going to play every snap for the season) would help tremendously against the no huddle where it is not always possible to make defensive substitutions by down. Babin played 470 snaps last season, primarily in passing situations, but the 2 times he played a lot of snaps (54 vs Mia and 60 vs. Min), he graded well.
I think it’s also critical the Ravens do not try to return Dumervil to a 3-down role. He’s looked bad against the run for several years and reducing his snaps has rejuvenated him as a pass rusher to the highest level of his career. On a team with a suspect pass rush without McPhee and Suggs, the team must do everything possible to maintain Doom’s high level of performance.
I hope the Ravens have done their due diligence to determine he’s in shape and if so, I do not believe it won’t be too much of a challenge for a vet of his tenure to learn the defense. This looks like a great gamble, and I’ll be interested to see the contract and associated guarantees.
Joe Polek
Babin was not on a team for a reason, but the Ravens will do the best they can to motivate him. He is 35, so you can’t expect too much from him, but it is the best move they could make from what choices they had.
Drew Forrester
Not a bad signing, but certainly not a “replacement” for Suggs. Babin gives them back-up in the event Za’Darius Smith isn’t up to the task, but at this point he’s purely an edge rusher. He won’t see much time against run-heavy teams. I expect him to play a somewhat prominent role in Pittsburgh on 10/1 so they can free up Dumervil to go after Big Ben.
Kyle Rate
I don’t expect a whole lot from Babin, but I like the signing. The Ravens will expect Dumervil to become a three-down player, and then will rotate in Upshaw, Za’Darius Smith, and Babin to form a “pass rush by committee.” Ozzie’s hand was forced here, as the outside linebacker group lacked depth even before Suggs went down. Babin only registered 2 sacks last year with the Jets, but his PFF rating against both the pass and run were stout.
Ryan Jones
The best of what was left. In Babin the Ravens get a situational pass rusher who really does play like a Raven. He’s relentless, a hard worker and might not have a ton left but the Ravens will get everything he’s got.
The real question is can Dumervil transition to playing almost every down and be effective against the run? A combination of Babin, Upshaw and Za’Darius Smith will now slide into his previous role. If the Ravens can get 5 sacks from Babin they’ll be happy.
Adam Bonaccorsi
The good: PFF ranked Babin as the 9th best OLB in a 3-4D last season with the Jets, and has played back to back full seasons at ages 33 & 34.
The bad: Everything else. This is a definite step down from what the Ravens lose in Suggs (as if an equal replacement was even remotely possible). The 35-year-old Babin is not going to be showing up huge on stat sheets, as his recent seasons have shown a steady drop in sacks & turnovers, but given Shaun Phillips as the other potential option? The Ravens took the lesser of two evils in a pinch.
I expect the Ravens to simply work him into the rotation and see how things shake out. Worst case scenario? Call Jarret Johnson up and lure him out of retirement…
Tyler Lombardi
I couldn’t be more neutral toward this signing. While a 35-year-old pass rusher isn’t exactly the scariest thing in the world, Babin had his best year since 2011 last year when, according to Pro Football Focus, he recorded 27 QB hurries playing the role of 3-4 OLBÂ with the Jets (he had previously played 4-3 DE in Philadelphia and Jacksonville). Still, his legs have another year on them, and it will be interesting to see whether he can still be effective. He will have a tough task this week going against Donald Penn.
Kyle Casey
To keep things simple: anything is better than nothing right now at outside linebacker. After the Suggs injury (and heck, even before his injury) the Ravens defense was severely defunct of quality edge-rushing depth. Adding Babin gives the Ravens a player well past his prime, but notably capable of providing a handful of quality snaps behind starters Courtney Upshaw and Elvis Dumervil.
Adding Babin simply gives the defense another option on the edge, but ideally rookie Za’Darius Smith needs to grab a firm hold of the primary backup at outside linebacker, not Babin.
Brian Bower
Nice sign by Ravens but fans should temper their expectations. Babin figures to be used in rotation and not take over for the loss of Terrell Suggs. High-motor guy who fared well in 2014 with the Jets including his run blocking play. Perhaps the best of what was left on the open market.
