Getting play-makers will help the Baltimore Ravens go from a team that just missed the playoffs, to a Super Bowl contender:
The Baltimore Ravens aren’t that bad of a football team. They won nine games and had a chance to win every week (if you take out the game in London). The Ravens led the NFL in takeaways and the defense had three shutouts. Joe Flacco came alive in the second half of the season and that made the offense much better. It went from something that forced you to advert your eyes to something that was at least watchable. The Ravens aren’t a bad football team.
The Ravens have talent at just about every position group except for the play-making ones. When it comes to bruising run stoppers, Ozzie Newsome has the team well stocked. When it comes to pass rushers, the Ravens have little to complain about. A healthy Jimmy Smith paired with the youthful Marlon Humphrey will be a sight to see. The Ravens offensive line is so good that it can function after a hellish experience with the injury bug. However when it comes to wide receivers and tight ends, the Ravens are woefully lacking.
The best receiver the Ravens had in 2017 was Mike Wallace. Wallace is a decent player, but he shouldn’t be the top guy in an offense. Breshad Perriman is allergic to catching passes, Michael Campanaro is as fragile as they come and Chris Moore is still developing as a wide receiver. There’s no need to look at Jeremy Maclin’s stats because they just weren’t good enough. The Ravens could have gotten that kind of production for a much cheaper price.
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Who wins 9 games with no pass catching talent? The Ravens.
The Ravens top need is wide receiver. Their second biggest need is tight end. The Ravens could even get Alex Collins some help in the running game. When you look at what the Ravens have had to work with, it’s hard to blame Joe Flacco and Marty Mornhinweg for under delivering. That’s the most promising fact of all of this. With nothing flashy on the offense except a running back that was picked off a practice squad, the Ravens won nine games.
If you can win nine games with nobody for your overpriced quarterback to throw to, just imagine what the Ravens can do with weapons. The Baltimore Ravens could have blown everything up. They could have sent Newsome packing a year early. They could have found a whole new coaching staff. However the Ravens kept the band together. Why did they do that?
The answer is that weapons will make the Ravens contenders. Give Joe Flacco a receiver that can catch 100 passes and score 10 touchdowns, and you might actually like the results. Give him a big bodied tight end to bail him out over the middle of the field and you might get January Joe in September.
The Bottom Line:
Is Flacco worth the money the Ravens are paying him? No. He’s a good quarterback at best getting elite quarterback money. Here’s the thing though, giving him some help is the only way to make it work.
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The Ravens can win with Flacco. They just cannot win with Wallace, Perriman, Moore, Campanaro and Maclin as his wide receivers. Flacco needs help. If he gets it, the Ravens can win a Super Bowl. I’m not kidding. John Harbaugh won nine games with almost no weapons. The strengths of the roster made up for a lot of the weaknesses. The Ravens are an elite wide receiver and a couple of good role players away from hoisting the Lombardi trophy.