Given the importance of the position in the NFL’s modern era, it should be no surprise that quarterback is not only the most critical position in football, but also arguably the most vital in all of team sports.
Last season when Joe Flacco went down with a torn ACL, the Ravens season became hopeless. It’s not as if Flacco was all that good during the 2015 campaign when healthy and sporting a very pedestrian 83.1 passer rating and a (3-7) record, but we’ve seen time and time again, the only way to win with poor quarterback play is to field a dominant defense.
The 2000 Ravens with Trent Dilfer and the 2015 Broncos with Peyton Manning are proof of that.
By all accounts Flacco will be ready to go by the start of training camp and with the added speed and versatility to offensive coordinator Marc Trestman’s unit, there’s no reason to think that the Ravens can’t have a Top 10 offense.
The team’s biggest concerns have to be on defense and on THAT side of the ball their most important player is Jimmy Smith.
The Achilles heel of Dean Pees’ defense in 2015 was the unit’s propensity to give up big plays (22nd in TD passes allowed), struggle to get off the field on 3rd down (20th) plus the inability to force turnovers. They were dead last in the league in interceptions (6) and they ranked 28th in forced fumbles.
The blame for such inefficiencies can be spread throughout the defense but the majority rests on the shoulders of a weak Ravens secondary.
This season the Ravens believe that the play of the secondary will improve after the additions of Eric Weddle, Jerraud Powers and Tavon Young plus the return of Will Davis and the transitioning of Lardarius Webb to safety.
The Ravens also added former Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier to their staff to guide the team’s defensive backfield.
“I feel like there’s been a lot said about the secondary,” said defensive coordinator Dean Pees. “I think you’re going to be very surprised.”
But the turnaround starts with Smith.
He’s shown flashes in the past of being a dominant corner but consistency and health have slipped his grasp more regularly than would be interceptions bouncing off the skillets of Kendrick Lewis.
Perhaps to some degree consistency and health go hand-in-hand, but if Smith falters it prevents safeties Weddle and Webb from disguising coverages and taking risks to help bolster the Ravens anemic turnover differential of (-14) in 2015, tied for 30th in the NFL. It makes opponents less predictable. Think of a basketball defender who can force his man to one side, thus limiting his options to score.
And of course as we’ve seen too often, without Smith the secondary is depleted and effective nickel corners are then asked to be more than that, eventually forced to cover receivers with superior size and athleticism like AJ Green. This creates mismatches that force a defensive coordinator’s hand and result in big plays and a 23rd ranked pass defense.
It’s time for Jimmy Smith to step up and become the corner that the Ravens expected him to be when they selected him in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft.
It’s time for him to step up and earn that paycheck.
It’s time for him to leave his mark as owner Steve Bisciotti suggested years ago.
And in 2016 there’s NO time for a catch 22.
