Happy Wednesday, Ravens Flock! More importantly, happy Turkey Day eve!
We have a lot to be thankful for from this 2022 Baltimore Ravens team, and that’s what we’re going to be focusing on today for this edition of Out to Lunch. Between the defense, team wins, and just being a fan of the greatest sports team known to man, what shouldn’t we be thankful for? Let’s go ahead and take a look at the Twitter-verse and see what is poppin’ with the Ravens Flock!
All love and respect between Lamar Jackson and Justin Tucker pic.twitter.com/QZJT7GpHlP
— The Ravens Realm (@RealmRavens) November 22, 2022
Sometimes, the internet gets bored. Apparently, the guys running the Sunday Night Football on NBC Twitter account had nothing better to do than tweet this…
Game on the line. Pick your kicker. #NFL pic.twitter.com/Jod4OKp7p9
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) November 22, 2022
Daniel Carlson has been a stud in 2022 and Cameron Dicker “the kicker” has been a great story. That being said, neither are in the same breath as Justin Tucker and they never will be. And that’s OK! But stop trying to make everybody Justin Tucker. There is only one and there will only ever be one.
When the Baltimore Ravens announced they were making a trade for Roquan Smith at the NFL trade deadline, it sent some waves throughout the league. An already strong Ravens defense was adding one of the league’s best young linebackers and thus far he’s been a perfect fit. While his box score shows an impressive 12 tackles and a sack in two games, what is more impressive has been the improvement of the players around him such as Patrick Queen.
.@ravens @Patrickqueen_ & @RoquanSmith58 are a true tandem and feed each other. They also are the fastest tandem of ILB’s and last Sunday they played every snap together. Sure looks like a lot of fun for both #RavensFlock #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/P9tX5sXoKe
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) November 22, 2022
Queen has become one of the Ravens best defenders with the addition of Smith next to him. Where once Queen was a flawed but talented player, he now has a teammate who masks those same flaws and turns Queen into a complete, dynamic linebacker.
P…Q…R…S‼️
I don’t know who first recognized this, but it’s in the alphabet. It was meant to be.
📸: @Ravens pic.twitter.com/yng8gMwSzH
— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) November 22, 2022
But even more importantly, Smith has proven to be a good fit for the team from a chemistry standpoint, as well.
Roquan Smith hasn’t even been on the Ravens for a month. Seamless fit. pic.twitter.com/ob3SRm2YWt
— Ramey (@HoodieRamey) November 23, 2022
We love seeing players come into Baltimore and establishing themselves as stars, but we are even happier when they embrace the mentality of what it means to be a Raven both on and off the field. Smith has shown that he belongs with the team, and we certainly hope that he’ll be around for the long haul.
Speaking of defenders in it for the long haul, the Ravens have themselves a budding star at the safety position in rookie Kyle Hamilton. Hamilton took some lumps through his first few games, most notably against the Miami Dolphins, but he has since settled in and become one of the more reliable defenders for the team.
Kyle Hamilton through 10 games:
• 209 coverage snaps
• 177 yards allowed
• 29 TOT
• PFF’s highest graded rookie defenderThe Ravens found themselves their safety of the future 🔥 pic.twitter.com/yST94cxaUl
— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) November 23, 2022
Baltimore did the right thing with Hamilton by letting him develop and not throw him straight into the fire. The team added him to a safety group that already featured Chuck Clark, Marcus Williams, and Geno Stone, so it allowed them to bring Hamilton in slowly and get his footing underneath him
Hamilton stepped up in the absence of Williams when he went down to injury and has now played so well that it’ll be difficult to keep him off the field once Williams returns. It’s a great problem to have for the Ravens.
The pass rush for the Ravens has come alive in 2022, as well. Their 2021 counterparts struggled to get after opposing quarterbacks in the sack department, but that issue has disappeared this year:
Through 10 games the 2022 Baltimore Ravens have 31 sacks. The 2021 Ravens had 34 ALL season. Here’s a look at the numbers. 2022(left) vs 2021(right) pic.twitter.com/1H9JBmuVDT
— Brian (@Bmore_Sports8) November 22, 2022
Led by the renaissance of Justin Houston, Baltimore is enjoying stellar play across the board from all sorts of different contributors. The defensive line having Calais Campbell return to the sack department and the breakout of Justin Madubuike has been huge. Queen’s emergence as a rusher has been dynamic from the middle of the defense. And then some fun blitzes from guys like Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters, and others have also proven to be catastrophic for opponents.
All in all, this Ravens defense is an elite unit.
#Ravens are the only defense in the NFL with 30+ sacks, 10+ interceptions, & 10+ forced fumbles.
— Mayonnaise Menace (@StayRuthless37) November 22, 2022
Before we go, enjoy this clip of Marcus Peters teasing Lamar Jackson over being mic’d up for the Panthers game:
Marcus Peters to Lamar Jackson being Mic’d Up
“You the police, you the police.” 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/Txykfirudb
— The Ravens Realm (@RealmRavens) November 21, 2022
Happy Thanksgiving, Ravens Flock! Have an amazing and safe holiday!
