It’s almost comical to listen to sports talk radio and hear hosts who should know better talk about how the Ravens will clear the decks of dead cap dollars in 2016 and that should allow Ozzie Newsome to more enthusiastically delve into the free agent market.
SPOILER ALERT!
Unless they restructure some deals that is NOT going to happen. The Ravens cap picture heading into 2016 will be not much better than in 2015.
If you want a complete analysis on the reality of the Ravens cap situation, please take the time to read THIS. Oh and share it with the your favorite sports talker.
PASS RUSH
I keep hearing how inept the Ravens pass rush is and that the secondary’s shortcomings are in part tied to the team’s inability to get to the quarterback. Missing Terrell Suggs clearly doesn’t help the cause but let’s give credit where it’s due. Despite the limited coverage sacks available to the Ravens front seven they have taken down opposing quarterbacks 18 times, which is tied for 7th in the league.
Now you might think the Ravens have had more opportunities for sacks since QB’s throw on Dean Pees’ defense more, right?
Wrong!
The Ravens have defended 222 passing attempts, good for the 20th highest total in the NFL. For the record the Ravens currently rank 25th overall in defense and 29th against the pass.
GIVE FLACCO HIS DUE
Think about this for a moment…
Joe Flacco is working with his fourth offensive coordinator in as many seasons. He gets to throw to this collection of pass catchers:
• Steve Smith, Sr. (36 years old)
• Kamar Aiken (UDFA)
• Marlon Brown (UDFA)
• Chris Givens (4th Round Pick in 2012, 2 games with Ravens)
• Jeremy Ross (UDFA, 2 games with Ravens)
• Darren Waller (6th Round Pick 2015)
• Crockett Gillmore (2nd Season, 23 career regular season catches)
• Maxx Williams (2nd Round Pick 2015)
• Nick Boyle (5th Round Pick 2015)
Despite it all the Ravens miraculously rank 9th in total offense, a true testament to the mental toughness and perseverance of No. 5.
Comparatively speaking the Packers, (6-0) have the 12th ranked offense.
The difference?
The Ravens are (-5) in turnover ratio v. the Packers at (+6).
TALKING ‘BOUT MY GENERATION
NFL Insiders will tell you that Dean Pees is an excellent student of the game and a really good man. He is however 66 years old and maybe he just can’t communicate well with 20-somethings. In the past he’s had Ray Lewis as a Wei-Yin Chen-like translator. To a lesser degree he’s had Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata since.
Maybe there’s a disconnect in the form of a generation gap. I get that legendary defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau was even older than Pees before exiting Pittsburgh but LeBeau’s resume commands more respect plus he was a former player.
Given the fact that the Ravens roster is getting younger in recent years, maybe the coaches need to be a little spryer as well?
