Ebony Bird Round-Table: Midseason report cards for Baltimore Ravens

Darin McCann:

Quarterback: A-
Lamar Jackson has struck fear in the hearts of opposing defensive coordinators and burned up national talk shows with his eye-popping running skills, and with good reason — he’s remarkable at it. There is no other offensive player in the league (yeah, I said it) who offers what he does in the running game, and he brings sizzle to the entire offense with that talent. What stands out this year, however, is the significant improvement in his passing game. Consider that Jackson has thrown for 1,650-yards with 11 touchdowns and five picks (which all came over a two-game stretch), with a quarterback rating of 94.1. Coming into this season, I wanted Jackson to be at the point where he didn’t miss his easy passes. He has exceeded that, and offers a ton of optimism for his continued growth.

Running backs: B+
Mark Ingram has been a terrific signing, and he has delivered 470 yards and seven touchdowns to this point, averaging 4.7 yards a clip. Maybe just as importantly, he has brought that toughness to the offense that was formerly carried by players like Anquan Boldin and Steve Smith Sr. Gus Edwards continues to be Gus Edwards, which is a good thing, and he is averaging 4.5 bruising yards a carry. The only ding here is rookie Justice Hill, who has been fine but has yet to carve out a real role for himself.

Wide receivers: C+
I’m going to include tight ends in this grade, and that contributes positively to the C+. Mark Andrews, last week’s drop-fest notwithstanding, has been terrific and is on pace for 1,026 yards on the season. Nick Boyle and Hayden Hurst have played their roles well, but have been limited in the passing attack. Marquise Brown has been the only real standout amongst the receivers, but he has been nursing assorted injuries. The rest of the position group has been quite “meh” to this point.

Offensive line: B
The Ravens lead the NFL in rushing, and Jackson has consistently had a decent amount of time in the pocket. starting with that information, the group has performed well. Ronnie Stanley is playing at an All-Pro level to this point, and Marshal Yanda continues to do his job at a high level. Orlando Brown Jr. has been solid, which is perfectly fine for a second-year tackle, and Matt Skura continues to improve. He is not without blemishes, but he is a solid player who does his job well most weeks. Bradley Bozeman has largely been good, but his penalty-fest against the Bengals was concerning, to say the least.

Defensive line: C
This is tricky to grade. The run defense has been exemplary, minus that horror show against the Browns when Brandon Williams was out with an injury. Williams has actually been fantastic this season, and even made an impact with his pass rush against the Seahawks. Michael Pierce has been good, but less dominant than in past seasons. The rest of the line has not been great, particularly against the pass. This unit needs some fresh blood next season.

Linebackers: C-
Matthew Judon has had a decent start to the season, registering 21 tackles and four sacks. He tends to perform well int he second half of seasons, so let’s see what happens there. The injury to Pernell McPhee hurts because he was the only other player getting any kind of consistent pressure on quarterbacks. Patrick Onwuasor is coming back from an injury, but his experiment as the Mike backer was not a huge success. Josh Bynes and L.J. Fort have brought much-needed veteran stability.

Defensive backs: B
Marlon Humphrey has been spectacular this season. I was telling someone the other day that Jackson might not be the best quarterback in the NFL, but he could be MVP. I could say the same thing about Humphrey — he might not be the league’s top cover corner this season, but his impact should have him in conversations regarding defensive Player of the Year. Earl Thomas has also been very good, seemingly improving every week in his new environment. Injuries to Tony Jefferson, Jimmy Smith and Tavon Young knocked some of the lusters off this group, but the addition of Marcus Peters certainly helps. Chuck Clark is a player. I’ve been on his bandwagon for two years now, and I think he’s now going to shine.

Special teams: B
Let’s get this out of the way: Justin Tucker, Morgan Cox, and Sam Koch are all Pro Bowl-worthy players, and Tucker is quite possibly the greatest specialist in the history of the NFL. The return game has been solid this year, but there have been some lapses in coverage, most notably an opening kickoff return against the Bengals. Special teams are consistently a strength for this squad, and I expect it to be the second half of this season.

Coaching: A-
The transformation of the offense continues, and it is impressive, to say the least. The defense is rounding into shape now as new players get used to their roles. Weaknesses on the roster include receivers, middle linebackers and pass rush. That is a personnel issue. The coaches have done a fantastic job working around those, and taking advantage of their strengths. That win in Seattle could largely be attributed to Jackson’s running, defensive touchdowns and coaching. Nice job to this point by the staff.