Baltimore Ravens are only underrated because of the unknown
The Baltimore Ravens are only underrated because they are a new look team all of the sudden:
The Baltimore Ravens are underrated going into the 2019 season. The most likely hypothesis for this is that nobody really knows what to expect. The Ravens are a team that has a lot of new pieces in place.
Negative thinking is easier than optimism. It’s easy to see that the Ravens lost C.J. Mosley, Terrell Suggs, Za’Darius Smith and Eric Weddle and think the Ravens are going to take a step back. Those were all important players on the 2018 team.
Take a step back and answer the following question. Do you think the Ravens defense is in trouble? If you answer yes, you are not taking some things into account.
You’re forgetting that the Ravens have an incredible secondary. Marlon Humphrey is a shutdown corner. Jimmy Smith, Brandon Carr and Tavon Young make a strong cornerback room. Tony Jefferson and Earl Thomas are the safeties.
Related Story. Who the Ravens lost and who replaces them. light
Losing Suggs and Smith was a hit. There is no way around that. The Ravens have more pass rush than you think. Matt Judon is good for about eight sacks per season. Jaylon Ferguson has a ton of potential to produce right away. The pass rush is going to come from all over the place and people are overthinking this. The Ravens defense didn’t all the sudden become bad. It became different.
The Ravens missed the playoffs in 2016 and 2017 with Joe Flacco playing fairly average at the quarterback position. It looked like the Ravens were going to miss the playoffs again if Flacco hadn’t gotten hurt. You can say what you want about Lamar Jackson, however he is 6-1 in the regular season as a starting quarterback. Jackson came in and everything changed.
If the Ravens can run a limited offense for seven weeks to end the regular season on a 6-1 record, imagine what they can do with a full offseason to install Greg Roman’s offense. People get so worked up in the statistics and the throwing motion of Jackson and forget that he’s a play-maker who genuinely stepped up in a tough situation.
The Ravens changed their entire approach when Jackson became the quarterback. Jackson wasn’t working on being the starting quarterback throughout the season. He was working on a package of plays with Joe Flacco on the field at the same time. Jackson wasn’t ready. The fact that he didn’t panic and he showed that the stage wasn’t too big for him is huge. He was better than he got credit for last season and he will be better than people expect in 2019.
Next. 3 goals for Marlon Humphrey in 2019. dark
The Ravens are a different team than they were in 2018. There are a couple of players the Ravens would have rather not lost but for the most part the Ravens are equipped to defend their division crown. At this time next year people will be raving about Mark Ingram and Marquise Brown. Patrick Onwuasor and Jaylon Ferguson will be hailed as the surprise stars of the season and the Ravens will be drafting in the 20’s again after another trip to the playoffs. Book it.