Happy hump day, Ravens Flock!
We’re halfway to the Baltimore Ravens’ week three matchup with the Detroit Lions; a team who the Ravens should easily dispose of. While the Lions have shown that they can make games interesting, they’ve also proven that they’re not good enough to close out and win those same games. Baltimore just showed the world that they’re capable of taking down a Super Bowl contender in the Kansas City Chiefs… in other words, we are not the same.
But before we get to Sunday’s action in Motor City, let’s take a look at some of the news surrounding the Baltimore Ravens on this marvelous Wednesday edition of Out to Lunch.
Here’s a quick check in on USA Today’s NFL Power Rankings (spoiler alert: The Ravens checked in at no. seven).
Nate Davis had this to say on the Ravens placement:
QB Lamar Jackson has claimed another of Michael Vick’s spots in the record book after hitting triple digits in both passing and rushing yards in a game for the ninth time. And Jackson edited in style while beating Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City for the first time.
Lamar Jackson balled out for the Ravens after overcoming some early game struggles. After he settled in, Baltimore didn’t look back. The Ravens’ win over the Chiefs was astronomical for their 2021 season outlook, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Baltimore has shot up multiple sports pages’ power rankings.
Take it with a grain of salt… but the Ravens’ odds to make it to the playoffs are looking pretty good right about now:
Projections for AFC North teams to reach playoffs
(After two games)Ravens 67.6%
Browns 62%
Steelers 33.1%
Bengals 16.3%Source: ESPN's Football Power Index
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) September 21, 2021
Of course, no one should be surprised, as these are always the expectations in Baltimore. That being said, seeing these odds definitely puts a smile on our faces. But again, it’s only Week 2 and we still have 15 games to go…
Shout out to Peter Schrager of Good Morning Football for his own shout out to the big boys that make everything possible for this Ravens’ offense!
"Yes, Lamar is spectacular. But can we shout out the @Ravens big boys?”
@PSchrags on the efforts of @BSBoze, Alejandro Villanueva, @PRic508, and @Mandrews_81 in the trenches. pic.twitter.com/0MEHc9Mcls— GMFB (@gmfb) September 21, 2021
We give a lot of credit to skill guys like Lamar Jackson and co., but not enough love is given to the big dudes up front like Bradley Bozeman and Patrick Ricard. Bozeman has stepped up this season and has been reliable at center; something Baltimore has been missing for quite some time. Project Pat remains the league’s best fullback, but we nonetheless want to make sure he gets the love he deserves. It’s good to see guys in the media recognize dudes like Bozeman, Ricard, and co. for their efforts.
You know who’s been on fire this year? Marquise Brown, a.k.a. Hollywood. Brown has been absolutely tearing it up for the Ravens through the first two weeks of the season, reeling in 12 catches for 182 yards and two touchdowns. Brown has now scored eight touchdowns in his last eight regular season games dating back to the end of the 2020 season. It looks like the best may be yet to come for Hollywood and more than just the Flock has noticed:
Highest-graded WRs through two weeks:
?Marquise Brown- 87.4 pic.twitter.com/1EP8Rf67gl
— PFF BAL Ravens (@PFF_Ravens) September 21, 2021
Anyone who has seen Brown out on the field this year knows how great he’s been. Brown is living up to his round one status and looks like the receiver the Ravens dreamed he could become. Is it happening because he changed his number for #15 to #5? Who knows, but whatever it is, it’s working!
Speaking of Marquise Brown, he actually ranks as the Ravens’ top player from PFF! Here is the top-five players as of now:
Highest-graded #Ravens through two weeks (min. 50 snaps)
1. Marquise Brown, WR- 87.4
2. Calais Campbell, DI- 82.4
3. Odafe Oweh, EDGE- 80.4
4. Justin Houston, EDGE- 79.0
5. Bradley Bozeman, C- 74.9 pic.twitter.com/Vzjwun0ilq— PFF BAL Ravens (@PFF_Ravens) September 21, 2021
The biggest takeaway here, besides Hollywood, is seeing Odafe Oweh ranked so high. We have seen all the flashes of brilliance that had the Ravens’ brass so excited to add him to their defense a lot sooner than anyone anticipated. The best is yet to come for this monstrous man and what we’ve seen has already exceeded our expectations. Who knows, maybe Oweh will be this year’s Defensive Rookie of the Year. He now has an AFC Defensive Player of the Week under his belt!
AFC Defensive Player of the Week in his SECOND WEEK IN THE NFL ?
Congrats @JaysonOweh ‼️ pic.twitter.com/4wUMmq8ant
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 22, 2021
Kevin Oestreicher of Ravens Wire gave us a winners and losers piece that had a lot more positives than negatives this time around.
Among the winners selected, Alejandro Villanueva stood out to me the most. Oestreicher had this to say of the former Pro Bowl tackle:
Villanueva bounced back in a big way after a poor Week 1 performance. He moved back over to his natural position at left tackle with the absence of Ronnie Stanley, and played really well, as he opened up holes in the run game and held up in pass protection. It looks like Baltimore has a viable replacement for Stanley while the All-Pro works his way back to 100% health.
Villanueva stepped up big time when called upon and we couldn’t ask anything more of him. Replacing Ronnie Stanley is a near impossible task, but Villanueva was more than serviceable and was a big reason why Lamar Jackson had time in the pocket this week. It was a breath of fresh air to see him on the winning side of one-on-ones.
We’ll go ahead and close today’s Out to Lunch with a nice throwback to the 2013 season and one of Justin Tucker’s finest kicks of his Hall of Fame career:
In honor of it being Lions week for the Ravens, here’s a video of Justin Tucker nailing a 61-yard field goal to give Baltimore an 18-16 win over Detroit almost 8 years ago pic.twitter.com/XF8BvwgdJO
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) September 21, 2021
And in case you wanted to watch that Lions sideline GIF over and over and over again…we’ve got ya covered.
What a game and what a kick…
