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

By Richard Bradshaw

BALTIMORE, MD - OCTOBER 13: Marlon Humphrey #44 of the Baltimore Ravens celebrates with teammates after making an interception against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first half at M&T Bank Stadium on October 13, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - OCTOBER 13: Marlon Humphrey #44 of the Baltimore Ravens celebrates with teammates after making an interception against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first half at M&T Bank Stadium on October 13, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /
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Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /

Noah Zomback:

The Baltimore Ravens are now sitting at 5-2 following a huge win in Seattle, many doubters have been proven wrong thus far, but there is always room for improvement.

Going into the bye week after a statement victory like that can do quite a lot for team confidence and morale. However, there are obvious weak points in the Ravens pass-rush that were not addressed prior to the trade deadline on October 29th. The bright side is that General Manager, Eric DeCosta, has truly not let fans down when it comes to making improvements. This organization is one that takes pride in getting better every day.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson has been a prime example of this mindset coming into fruition. Jackson, an early MVP candidate and possibly the biggest surprise star around the league this year, is just one Ravens player who is showing off how hard they’ve been working. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley has proven himself to be one of the most dominant players at his position along with solidifying his importance to the team. When you have a top tier offense, especially while running the ball the way the Ravens have, you need more than solid offensive line play.

So far, the trio of Orlando Brown Jr., Marshal Yanda, and Ronnie Stanley have dominated defensive lines and created seriously great running opportunities for both Lamar Jackson and our running backs. Mark Ingram has been a huge beneficiary of this hard-nosed “bully ball” style of play. He’s been off to a career-best start to a season, and that is saying a lot for a professional running back such as Ingram is.

Now, talking about the offense in such high regard is something Ravens fans are very unaccustomed to. The Baltimore defense has always been what the Ravens banked on to get out of tough situations and to win big games. There are always going to be outside forces that create situations of adversity where you are forced to adapt.

No trade deadline move for Ravens: 3 big things. dark. Next

The team’s “next man up” mentality along with the ability to make necessary changes and learn on the fly is why I’m giving them a B+ so far on the season. However, with a tough matchup coming up against the undefeated Patriots, that grade has plenty of room to grow. Look for the Ravens to come out hungry to hand Bill Belichick and Tom Brady their first loss on the year with the world watching on prime-time television.

Midseason Grade: B+

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