The Baltimore Ravens could lead the league in speed. The question is, do they know how to use it?
The Baltimore Ravens have two of the fastest wide receivers in the NFL. Breshad Perriman and Mike Wallace can burn past cornerbacks. Ben Watson, Crockett Gillmore and Maxx Williams are all fast tight ends who can also create mismatches with their speed. Darren Waller used to be a receiver, he’s certainly not a slow poke.
At the running back position, Kenneth Dixon has a good bit of speed. Danny Woodhead has quickness and agility and Terrance West isn’t a slow poke. The Ravens have speed. There is a saying “Speed kills” but there has to be a rhyme and a reason.
Marty Mornhinweg doesn’t have a ton of proven talent to work with. Perriman has 33 receptions recorded as an NFL player. Gillmore and Williams have shown flashes of brilliance but injuries have prevented their breakout season. Go down the line on the Ravens roster, you won’t see proven talent. You will however see speed, quickness and size.
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If Perriman can become a 75 reception kind of a player (a big if) the Ravens could have something going here. At their best, Perriman and Wallace are two legitimate deep threats. Defensive coordinators are going to have their hands full if and when Perriman takes the next step. If both players can make plays down the field, defensive coordinators will have to make stopping the deep pass their main priority.
This means the Ravens need a third weapon. It can be a tight end or a receiver. They need a third player to do the intermediate routes. Baltimore needs to use the entire field. They can’t just throw it deep. They need a possession receiver that can take a short pass and do big things with it; and who can attack with 10-20 yards down the field. The Ravens are going to see a lot of cover 3 to prevent the deep pass. They need an element besides the deep ball. They need a guy who can stretch zones and find the windows.
Finally the Ravens need to create match-up problems with their running backs. Linebackers are not keeping up with Woodhead in the open field. We’ve seen that over the course of Woodhead’s career. Linebackers chasing Dixon in pass coverage is a favorable situation. If the Ravens can use the running backs to create favorable one on one match ups, instead of just dunking it off, the Ravens speed can attack every aspect of the field.
The bottom line:
It’s also important to remember that speedy receivers can do everything. Perriman and Wallace can run some shallow crossing routes, some slants and some quick outs. Getting cornerbacks to chase ridiculously fast players laterally could be a great way to make teams pay for playing man coverage against the purple and black. The Ravens don’t have proven, experienced or Pro Bowl type talent on their team. That being said they have speed and quickness.
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The purple and black have to use their speed to make plays. They deep ball has to be a part of the attack, but it can’t be the only plan for the offense. Marty Mornhinweg must call a balanced attack that uses the entire field. If he does, the offense could surprise some people.