The Baltimore Ravens fell short against their two top rivals in 2016. Their short comings explain the direction Ozzie Newsome and Eric DeCosta chose to go this offseason:
I know revisiting the Ravens Christmas Day loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers isn’t exactly a fun thing to do, but we’re not done learning from it. The Ravens had a lead late in the fourth quarter. Ben Roethlisberger had time for a game winning drive and with the help of Antonio Brown, he delivered. We’ve griped about the Ravens prevent defense in that situation, but what was Dean Pees going to accomplish with a different strategy?
The Ravens were without Jimmy Smith and the secondary wasn’t exactly a strong suit for the team. The Ravens could have brought the pressure on Ben Roethlisberger but it’s not like they were a great pass rushing team. The purple and black had just over 30 sacks in 2016. Pees didn’t want to waste defenders who weren’t going to put Roethlisberger on the ground any way.
The Ravens missed the playoffs because of this unforgivable sequence. The prevent defense was a bad choice but Pees had nothing working in his advantage. The Ravens built a defense that will give Pees more options in the back-end. They drafted Marlon Humphrey. They added Brandon Carr and Brandon Boykin. The cornerback spot is a lot better. The addition of Tony Jefferson makes the back-end of the Ravens defense very formidable. The Ravens added pass rushers by the handful this offseason. Newsome drafted Tyus Bowser, Tim Williams and Chris Wormley. If the Ravens find themselves in a similar situation as their nightmare finish in Pittsburgh, they’ll be better equipped.
Coverage Confusion:
The New England Patriots made uncharacteristic mistakes that gave Baltimore a chance for a comeback win in Foxborough. If the Ravens don’t give up a deep bomb to Chris Hogan, that game could have ended differently. The Ravens had coverage confusion in their sub packages, which is a recipe for disaster against Tom Brady. The 2016 Ravens desperately wanted to be able to stay in their base defense. Now they may be more comfortable in sub packages with an improved secondary.
In both costly losses the Ravens settled for field goals and it hurt them. What did the Ravens do? They added Danny Woodhead, a player who they can use to create mismatches in the passing game. When the Ravens need to move the chains, getting a productive running back who linebackers and the strong safety can’t keep up with was a good idea. Woodhead is going to increase the likelihood of third down conversions.
Next: Baltimore Ravens Offseason Report Card
The Ravens had a chance to win two big games against contenders in the AFC last year. The reasons they lost were the reasons behind many of their moves this offseason. The Ravens will be able to get the job done in 2017 because they learned from their shortcomings.