Ravens Front 7 Could Be The Key To Success In 2016
What If The Ravens Focus On The Front 7?
There are two ways to go about fixing your pass defense. You can either fix the secondary or make the front seven so good, that you don’t need a great secondary. The biggest impact positions, other than the quarterback position, are the guys who hunt the quarterback down. When football boils down to its core, it’s all about the line of scrimmage.
My defensive line coach in High School, used to say “It was our job to ring Hells Bells in the backfield.” Everything on offense is planned. They have a snap count. They know where they are going. The quarterback has a progression. Now with the zone blocking schemes, running backs have a plan B too, called a cutback. You know what ruins plans? “Hells Bells” in the backfield.
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If the quarterback can’t go through his progression, he will make bad decisions. If he is rushed, the quarterback’s accuracy is off. If the quarterback can’t get rid of the football, he will either get sacked or give the football away. Big plays come, when explosive athletes penetrate into backfield and do their thing.
ESPN’s Todd McShay released a two round mock draft, in which the Ravens drafted DeForest Buckner and Noah Spence. You have to subscribe to ESPN insiders to see the mock draft. Here is the link to Jamison Hensley’s post about it. Hensley goes on to say that this is a great scenario for the Ravens because they get two highly rated defensive players.
The idea here is that Noah Spence falls to the second round because of character concerns, much like Randy Gregory did last season. The difference here is that Spence is worth the risk (I said over and over last year that Gregory was an overrated football player). I have a hard time believing that after Von Miller put on a show in the Super Bowl, a Von Miller like player could fall to the second round.
If the draft goes how McShay has envisioned for the Ravens, it would be a great thing. The Ravens would add two explosive players to their defense. Buckner will be a run stuffing defensive end who has the ability to get after the passer. Spence will be a dominant pass rusher and looks the part of a great 3-4 outside linebacker.
Many of you are probably thinking that the Ravens needs lie elsewhere. What about the secondary? What about the offensive line? This draft is deep with cornerbacks. There will be a quality cornerback in the third round. The offensive line is also well taken care of. John Urschel replaces Kelechi Osemele and Eugene Monroe is the left tackle until we find a better option (by the way, there isn’t a better option in this NFL Draft class).
The Ravens defensive front would be dominant. With Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil already having the potential to have a strong 2016 season, adding pass rushers is like kerosene over a fire. On defense its all about the fire. Imagine a defensive line of Brandon Williams at the nose, and Buckner and Jernigan at the ends. Players like Brent Urban and Carl Davis would be rotational players. Suggs, Dumervil and Spence would take turns putting on a show. It almost wouldn’t be fair to offensive lines around the league.
Personally I’d want the Ravens to draft a cornerback and a pass rusher, in which ever order works best for the team. I miss dominant defense. I think that should be the focus of the Ravens this offseason. One way to get a dominant defense is to ring “Hells Bells” in the backfield. An aggressive Ravens defense with feared pass rushers has always been a good formula for this team.