Ebony Bird
FanSided

Baltimore Ravens Must Improve In The Pass Rush Department

By Chris Schisler

Jan 1, 2017; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs (55) against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals won 27-10. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2017; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs (55) against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals won 27-10. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Baltimore Ravens need to improve in the pass rush department, here’s why:

The Baltimore Ravens had a rather lackluster 2016 season. They only scored 32 touchdowns. They were low on big plays on the defensive side of the football too. The purple and black only had 31 sacks. That is six fewer sacks than they recorded in their 5-11 2015 campaign. The last time the Ravens were in the playoffs was in 2014, and the team tallied 49 sacks. Taking down the quarterback is important and the Ravens are not doing it enough.

The Ravens have to improve their pass rushing not only because production had dipped, but because Terrell Suggs isn’t getting any younger. Suggs has had major injuries two years in a row. While it’s admirable that he played through his biceps injury in 2016, how much more can his body take? With his high cap figure, it would be shocking to see Elvis Dumervil return to the Ravens. The Ravens need to find the next star at the outside linebacker position, before they have to replace both of their top pass rushers.

Next: Ravens Should Target Melvin Ingram In Free Agency

It doesn’t matter what the Ravens do to fix it, they just need to get it done. Free Agency is an expensive place to get pass rushers but it is not out of the question. The NFL Draft is full with plenty of great edge rushers. Taco Charlton, Tim Williams and Charles Harris are a few of my favorite edge rushers in this draft class. One way or another the Ravens have to get their pass rush fix.

The Ravens have taken stabs at fixing the problem but players like Terrell Suggs are hard to find. Elvis Dumervil had one great season in 2014, but has proven to be a bandage on the positional need instead of a long-term fix. Za’Darius Smith was raw when he came into the league in 2015. Now Smith looks like he is going backwards, and his run defense is really lacking. Matt Judon is the best hope the Ravens have on the roster but it is still too early to tell.

The Bottom Line

23 teams in the NFL had more sacks than the Ravens in the 2016 season. Pass rush is one of the most important aspects of the game. If the Ravens want to get back to the playoffs, they have to get back to pressuring the quarterback. It’s not just sacks that matter. Baltimore needs to hurry the quarterback and create turnovers in the process. The offense has plenty of questions around it. If the Ravens want to be a playoff team once again, the defense has to rush the passer better.

Next: NFL Mock Draft: Complete Analysis Of First Two Rounds

The Ravens have problems all over the roster. They need help in the secondary, they need to find a replacement to Zach Orr and the offense needs play-makers. If the Ravens could consistently make opposing quarterback’s life miserable it would create big plays, and would help with the burden of some of the Ravens other needs.

Home/Ravens News