Joe Flacco’s absence could lead to sluggish offense in week 1
By Tyler Beard
The Ravens seem to be in a bad movie, losing nine players to season-ending injuries before the year has even started. Joe Flacco’s injury affects the entire offense:
Every injury has been a big loss and the only saving grace is there has been enough depth the get to get the Ravens by. However, the biggest injury right now is to a position that is irreplaceable.
It was announced that Joe Flacco would miss the entire preseason with a back injury that is still lingering. The injury was supposed to be minor, but it’s concerning enough for the former Super Bowl MVP to rest until the regular season starts.
The key issue with Flacco’s injury is the Ravens’ offense will have to prepare for the year without their leader.
Mallet is stunting growth of the offense:
Things didn’t look good in the first game, as Ryan Mallett struggled to hit his receivers in stride. To be fair, he didn’t have Jeremy Maclin or Mike Wallace to spread the ball to. However, the Ravens need to find who can step up as the No. 3-4 receivers, especially if Breshad Perriman is going to miss time.
Mallett doesn’t give the receivers the best chance to shine on the field and it could hurt their early production when the season actually starts.
Flacco’s absence also affects his chance to get into a rhythm with Maclin. It’s important for the two to establish a connection right away since Flacco has lot his favorite target, Dennis Pitta. Flacco and Maclin may need time to get on the same page and we could see some miscues in the first couple weeks.
What it all boils down to is the Ravens have some new faces on offense this season. They are going to need some time to string things together. A lot of the kinks are worked out in the preseason. However, it’s a lot different when the most important player won’t be under center. That means the issues could loom when Week 1 rolls around.
The good news:
The good news right now is the defense looks very strong and could be able to get the team by while Flacco works his way back in the first few weeks of the regular season.
It also helps that the Ravens play the Bengals, Browns and Jaguars to start the season. There are never any warm-up games in the NFL, but it could have been a lot worse for the Ravens to open up their season.
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The offense will have early struggles, especially with its shaky offensive line. It will be up to the defense to get the Ravens by most of the season and hopefully Flacco’s injury won’t linger all season.
No. 5’s injury could bring out a sluggish offense at first, but here’s to hoping the Ravens can work hard without him this preseason and can be sharp for his regular-season return.