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3 ways the Baltimore Ravens 2020 season could go up in smoke

By Darin McCann

MIAMI, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 08: Marshal Yanda #73 of the Baltimore Ravens lines up against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on September 08, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 08: Marshal Yanda #73 of the Baltimore Ravens lines up against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on September 08, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /
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ORCHARD PARK, NY – DECEMBER 08: Marshal Yanda #73 of the Baltimore Ravens runs onto the field before a game against the Buffalo Bills at New Era Field on December 8, 2019, in Orchard Park, New York. Baltimore beats Buffalo 24 to 17. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NY – DECEMBER 08: Marshal Yanda #73 of the Baltimore Ravens runs onto the field before a game against the Buffalo Bills at New Era Field on December 8, 2019, in Orchard Park, New York. Baltimore beats Buffalo 24 to 17. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images) /

The offense gets destroyed from the center:

Marshal Yanda was one of the finest interior offensive linemen the National Football League has seen over the past 20 years. Make a list. I’ll wait. Yanda is in the top five or six of any rational ranking. He was also a trusted voice in the locker room and one of the team’s veteran leaders. His retirement will flat-out hurt. With all due respect to D.J. Fluker and Ben Powers and Tyre Phillips and Ben Bredeson and everyone else fighting for that spot, none of them project to be Yanda.

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And as well as the Baltimore Ravens line performed last season (and I selected offensive line coach Joe D’Allesandris as the team’s coach of the year for 2019), the left guard and center positions were simply not as strong as the tackles and right guard spots. Not that they were bad — not even a little bit. But teams know they have a better chance of success attacking the interior of the line than the edges, and interior pressure can mess up the timing on quick passes, and destroy the effectiveness of RPOs by not allowing Jackson the time to read his keys.

If the Ravens struggle up the middle, they will miss a step on offense this season.

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