2017 Baltimore Ravens: 3 reasons the defense will wreak havoc
The Baltimore Ravens defense is going to be one of the most dominant forces in the NFL, in the 2017 season. The first reason why, is that the Ravens have the tools for Dean Pees to be aggressive:
The Baltimore Ravens have so much talent on the defense for their defensive coordinator. Dean Pees is not a bad defensive coordinator, though there is a large faction of the Ravens fan base that would disagree with that assertion. With a secondary that was hampered by injury and a lack of pass rush, Pees managed to keep the defense in the top 10 all season long. That took some doing, and he should get some respect for that.
All most people remember is his fateful choice against the Steelers, to play the prevent defense. It was the wrong decision and there is no getting around that. However you have to remember how Pees operates. There are defensive coordinators who blitz when the going gets tough, and their secondary is in trouble. Pees is a defensive coordinator that doesn’t take chances with a problem in the secondary.
To be fair, the Ravens were trying to beat the Steelers without Jimmy Smith. Whatever you think about Smith, he is part of the only antidote the Ravens can use against Antonio Brown. No cornerback frustrates Brown more than Smith. The Steelers offense is phenomenally talented at the play-making positions. The Ravens didn’t have their play-making cornerback and Pees did what Pees does in a pressure situation, and a problem in the secondary. It’s drilled into his brain like 4 – 2 = 2.
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Trust Makes Things Happen:
Now the Ravens have a secondary that Pees should be able to trust. Marlon Humphrey adds to Jimmy Smith, Tavon Young and Brandon Carr at the cornerback position. Eric Weddle and Tony Jefferson are a dominating duo in the back-end. My fellow site expert, Joe Schiller wrote about vanishing the prevent defense:
"There might have been some excuses in the past, but there is no reason for the prevent defense this year. The Ravens have spent the offseason and draft improving the defense. They did not even take a single offensive skill player in the draft. The secondary has gone from Shareece Wright, Jerraud Powers and Kyle Arrington to Tony Jefferson, Brandon Carr and Marlon Humphrey. It has gone from being the weak link on the defense to arguably the strongest part. The Ravens struggled to get to the quarterback, but they also improved this in the draft. Adding Tyus Bowser, Chris Wormley and Tim Williams adds significant help to the pass rush situation."
Bring on The Blitzes:
Joe is absolutely right. The Ravens defense has gone through a dramatic transformation. When Smith was playing cornerback, the Ravens were a better defense. When Smith was on the field, Pees was much more aggressive. He had two cornerbacks playing well in Smith and Young. He had Weddle and Lardarius Webb, who he could trust to take away deep passes. Pees goes after it with a good secondary. We’re not just going to say goodbye to the prevent defense. We’re saying hello to a frenzy of blitzes, pass rush and looks from Pees.
What Joe Schiller brought up was the idea that the prevent defense would no longer be needed. What I am bringing up is the idea that the Ravens are going to get results from every level of the defense. My moral of the story is that the Ravens are going to be a big play machine defensively. We’re talking sacks, fumbles, interceptions, safeties and touchdowns.