Happy, happy Wednesday, Ravens Flock! It’s another beautiful day and another week closer to Baltimore Ravens football! Until then, we have plenty of speculation and “potential” talk for our beloved NFL team to take a look at. Between rebound seasons and who can become a star in 2022, Ravens chatter has been quite enjoyable so far this week. Plus, a three-time Super Bowl champion and Super Bowl MVP had some high-praise for a former Baltimore Raven.
Are you ready to find out who all I am referring to?
Well then let’s hop into the Twitter-verse and see what’s happening with the Baltimore Ravens in today’s edition of Out to Lunch!
What are the expectations for our beloved Baltimore Ravens headed into 2022? The Draft Network’s Jack McKessy has some thoughts to share:
After a stellar draft, and offseason in general, what are the expectations for the Ravens? @jfmckessy discusses.#FrontOffice33 | #RavensFlock https://t.co/JSasJTN9Y6
— The Draft Network (@TheDraftNetwork) June 29, 2022
McKessy definitely believes Baltimore will have a comeback year in 2022 and his reasons are all valid yet nothing we haven’t heard before. The Ravens have so much talent returning from injury this year and have just as much coming to the team via Free Agency and the 2022 NFL Draft. The AFC North is absolutely within the grasp of the Ravens this year, and it’s always nice to see others within the media agree.
Love him or hate him, Marquise Brown was a very important part of the Ravens passing attack over the last three seasons and his departure could likely have a massive effect on the team’s passing attack; likely in a negative way. However, Baltimore at least has a success plan in place in the form of second-year man Rashod Bateman. Many are hoping for Bateman to perhaps be an upgrade over Brown’s inconsistencies, and The Sun’s Jonas Shaffer broke down his thoughts and crunched some numbers here:
Could Rashod Bateman be an upgrade over Hollywood Brown as the Ravens' top deep threat? I took a look at the data and how Lamar Jackson can help or hurt.
🟣Bateman: 0.97 EPA/deep target (8 targets)
⚫️Brown: -0.30 EPA/deep target (28 targets)https://t.co/aoazMtdjsj— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) June 28, 2022
Bateman showed some serious promise throughout his rookie season, and it stands to reason that he could continue to build off that promise and flourish as the team’s number one receiver.
Julian Edelman stopped by the I Am Athlete podcast with Brandon Marshall the other day to kick around several topics from his days in the NFL. Whether or not you believe he is a Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver (he’s not), he was undoubtedly a savvy and productive pass catcher during his prime and therefore attracted the attention of the better opposing cornerbacks. When asked who the best was he had to square off against, Edelman spoke very highly of a familiar face:
Julian Edelman on the @IAMATHLETEpod showing love to Ravens CB Jimmy Smith. pic.twitter.com/f2cY5E7LCS
— MC (@abukari) June 27, 2022
Injuries robbed Jimmy Smith of an outstanding NFL career that still went for 11 seasons, and he left a major impact on the game and the receivers who had the misfortune of lining up against him. Edelman’s glowing praise of the career-long Raven is something that we wish more people realized, because when he was healthy and in his prime, he was one of the best lockdown cornerbacks in the league.
I’ve never been Edelman’s biggest fan, but I absolutely tip my cap to him for the respect he extended to Smith.
How does a team that ranked dead-last in passing yards allowed per game in 2021 come into the 2022 season as one of the highest-regarded secondary units in the league? Look at the Baltimore Ravens and you’ll understand why, and Pro Football Focus’ Mike Renner agrees:
Which secondary is the most 🔒⬇️@PFF_Mike ✍️https://t.co/O6RFXsYpQn
— PFF (@PFF) June 28, 2022
The top unit is returning two First-Team All-Pro cornerbacks in Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters and added a third in the form of Kyle Fuller. Incoming Free Agent gem Marcus Williams gives the team a true deep safety to pair with established veteran Chuck Clark. Mix in the addition of highly-regarded rookie Kyle Hamilton and it seems rather logical that secondary coach Chris Hewitt‘s group is attracting the attention of pundits.
That’s all I got for you this week,
Have a great rest of the week Ravens Flock!
