The Baltimore Ravens tried to fix up their secondary this season. They really did try, it just didn’t work. One of their failed experiments was the signing of free safety, Kendrick Lewis.
It is easy to see the Ravens thought process in regards to Lewis. Here was a speedy safety who has had some success in the NFL that didn’t cost the Ravens much. It was an affordable solution to the Ravens safety position. This is a classic case of wishful thinking.
Lewis may fly around on the football field but speed doesn’t matter when you’re out of position. The Ravens play a lot of Cover 3 which means Lewis is often responsible for the deep center third of the field. His job is literally to stop passes deep down the middle. How many times have the Ravens defense failed to get off the field because of a deep pass down the middle?
Lewis does not have great instincts. He takes bad angles and gets beat deep. He had an egregious pass interference penalty against the Steelers last week. Jimmy Smith had perfect coverage so Lewis took matters into his own hands plowing into the receiver. It was a microcosm of Lewis’s season. It just has not been good enough.
There is a reason that Lewis is with his third team in three seasons. Lewis had a moderate level of success with the Kansas City Chiefs. Then he went to Houston and it did not go greatly. Now he is in Baltimore and he is struggling.
I think Will Hill and Jimmy Smith are the only two players the Ravens have to keep in their secondary. Everything else is negotiable.
Much attention is going to the Ravens cornerbacks as an area that needs improvement. The Ravens really need to evaluate the whole secondary moving forward. I have to believe they can do better at the free safety position.