The Baltimore Ravens have been ravaged by injuries, and the offense is taking a beating.
According to reports, the Baltimore Ravens rookie offensive lineman, Nico Siragusa is out for the year. The Ravens lost Dennis Pitta in OTA’s. Kenneth Dixon is sidelined for the season. John Urschel retired and Crockett Gillmore is out for the year.
On top of everything, Joe Flacco hasn’t practiced because of a back problem. The Ravens are hoping to have Flacco return soon, but until he does, it will loom over the team. If you want tensions to ease in Baltimore, you need Flacco’s back to heal. If it doesn’t the Ravens promising season could turn into a mess. In the event that Flacco’s back is worse than expected, the Kaepernick drama isn’t shutting down.
Baltimore’s offense was a work in progress before they even got to camp. Ozzie Newsome brought in new pieces like Danny Woodhead and Jeremy Maclin. The offensive line has as many answers as a clueless kid taking a test. Flacco and company didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard in 2016. Marty Mornhinweg has a lot of work to do on his side of the football but how is he going to get it done in this situation.
To make matters worse for the Ravens offense, they have to go against a defense that is supposed to be historically good. Honestly, if Ryan Mallett was leading touchdown drives against this defense, it would be an indictment on the defense. We knew the offense wasn’t going to be fun to watch, early into camp. John Harbaugh has a real problem on his hands. The injuries are handcuffing the progress of the rest of the team.
Newsome is paying the price for ignoring the offense. If Maclin hadn’t become available when he did, the Ravens would be in trouble at wide receiver. When you look at the problems along the offensive line, and how the options are dwindling, you have to wonder what Newsome was thinking. Instead of drafting three players for a solid front seven, he could have taken an offensive lineman or a play-maker.
The Ravens roster is a case of the haves and the have nots. The injury to Maurice Canady isn’t going to worry a loaded defense. The offense was thin to begin with and the unit couldn’t afford this many bad things to happen.
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It’s worth noting that the Ravens haven’t received the kill shot yet. None of these injuries alone are the end of the world. If number five is out for a while, the Ravens can start panicking. Until then, Harbaugh has to find answers and hope that he is getting the bad luck out of the way. No matter what perspective you have, these injuries are starting to paint a troubling picture.