Baltimore plays Dallas in an oddly desperate Week 3. Breathe, Baltimore. Here is the four things we need to be thinking about.
First Down: Change the OL; Or At Least Help It!
The Baltimore Ravens have come up short two weeks in a row, and in both games they just needed one or two more solid scoring drives. The obvious problem for the Ravens is their inability to protect Lamar Jackson and make daylight for Derrick Henry. It’s a long way of saying that the offensive line is playing poorly as a unit. The right side is the issue. Daniel Faalele is at right guard and Patrick Mekari and Roger Rosengarten are rotating at right tackle. A frustrated fanbase is dealing with coach-speak that refuses to paint the offensive line woes in an accurate light. The Ravens are showing no signs of switching things up for the right side so helping the offensive line is the only available method of patching things up at the line of scrimmage. What does this look like?
If the Ravens are going to be in two tight end sets, one of those tight ends is going to have to spend a significant amount of their playing time as a blocker. Otherwise Patrick Ricard will have to be used as a supplemental blocker. Todd Monken also has to steer the action towards Ronnie Stanley and Andrew Vorhees, who have at least been capable on the left side of the line. Jackson may be a right-handed quarterback, but having him run bootlegs to the left isn’t the worst idea in the world. What the Ravens can’t do is operate as if there is no problem or just wait for the unit’s weak links to strengthen with experience. The line as it is currently configured doesn’t work. There is no choice but to do things from a play-calling and personnel perspective that is offensive linemen friendly. If you thought Maxx Crosby was a problem, just wait until you see Micah Parsons.
Second Down: Dallas Will Look to Attack Secondary as Vegas Did
What happened to the Ravens pass defense last week? Brock Bowers and Davante Adams combined for 18 receptions and 208 yards. The Cowboys can present a similar problem. Despite showing up on the injury report, CeeDee Lamb should be ready to play on Sunday. The Ravens had no answer for Adams and his explosive play-making ability. If Lamb is healthy, Zach Orr’s defense may be dealing with another receiver who can simply get what he wants down the field. This is going to be a game where Orr has to mix up his coverages. He must become less predictable, and underlined in his mind should be the idea that you can’t leave a corner on an island against the Fantasy Football darling that is Lamb. My thought is that you have to bracket Lamb when you can and force Dak Prescott to use his other weapons to beat you.
The tight end position has been problematic for the Ravens though and this is the biggest thing that could interrupt that commonsense approach. In addition to Bowers’ big Week 2, the Ravens gave up three receptions each to Travis Kelce and Noah Grey. Add it all up and that is 15 catches for opposing tight ends in two games. If Orr doesn’t have an answer to this mostly middle of the field open market for tight ends, everything the Ravens want to do defensively is a moot point. It’s an odd place for the defense to be in considering last year they were first in points allowed, sacks and forced turnovers. In a scenario where Orr has a handle on schematic fixes, the defensive game plan is straight forward and simple to the point of being sponsored by Captain Obvious himself. You know what it is: Stop the run, make the Cowboys one-dimensional and limit Lamb’s output. We’ll see if the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) approach can thrive in Dallas but the key to the game is halftime adjustments.
Two weeks in a row the opponent switched things up and Orr failed to find the right formula after things got shaken up.
Third Down: Lama Jackson May Have to Do It All
Jackson got some extra rest after the season opener, with many pundits worried about the number of hits he took as a runner in the contest, after going 26-41 passing for 273 yards with 16 carries for 122 yards. The sad truth about that game is that if John Harbaugh managed his timeouts better, the final drive could have been different. The Ravens lost to the defending champions by a portion of Isaiah Likely’s toe in a game where Jackson put the offense on his back. He’s a two-time NFL MVP for a reason. Jackson can take over games and he may have to be an unstoppable force in Dallas.
The solution for an offensive line that has the constitutional strength of a store brand paper towel is Jackson scrambling and making things happen. A solution for the running game being less powerful than Baltimore hoped for is Jackson creating rushing yards as an improve artist. Consider the Week 3 battle to be Jackson’s Open Mic night. The Ravens will have to put up at least 24 points to topple the Cowboys. There’s going to be plenty of nothing that Jackson can turn into something. Jackson can get it done with a dual-threat attack but he needs to total 300 yards or more in the box score.
Fourth Down: The No Excuse Tour Starts Now
The officiating is horrible way too often. Get over it. In fact, make a small enough amount of mistakes that the officiating doesn’t tilt the outcome of the game in your opponent’s favor. Baltimore has a new defensive coordinator who is learning on the job. I thought he got the job because he learned so much from Mike Macdonald and John Harbaugh… so that one isn’t going to play. The offensive line needs time to become a cohesive unit… time’s up. The Ravens may not be expected to get a win in Dallas but they need a win desperately. The Ravens have a road trip in Week 3 and it needs to be the start of the no excuses tour. That includes Harbaugh, so the head coach needs to rethink his game management and approach towards challenges. The bottom line is the Ravens had their chances two weeks in a row but came up short because of their failures. The Ravens focus should be putting together a good 60 minutes of football because they haven’t done that yet.
The Ravens lead the league in total offense with 417.5 yards per game coming into Week 3. Isaiah Likely and Zay Flowers have been fantastic weapons. Derrick Henry got going a little bit in Week 2. In the first half last Sunday, the Raiders couldn’t move the football at all. My point is not to be cruel or harsh. There’s a great nuance and balance to be had in a conversation about the 2024 Ravens. The Ravens just need to own their mess ups and tighten things up so that all the positives actually feel real.
Baltimore needs to stop spiraling. The Ravens need to make a stand on the road.
