Ravens newcomers that could have made a difference against Titans

3. Devin Duvernay:

Nobody knew how to catch on that horrible event of a playoff game. The Ravens had more drops than usual in that game and sure hands would have made a big difference. The Ravens also needed somebody who could have come in and been a difference maker for the offense. Think about how that game went. The Ravens got away from the run. Dropped passes played a huge part in the Ravens not finishing drives with points. Instead of a drop by Seth Roberts with green grass in front of him, it could have been a catch by Devin Duvernay. That’s what we’re talking about here. More dependable receiving (The one thing we absolutely know about Duvernay is that he has good hands) could have changed the amount of points the Ravens scored.

There were 53 targets for Ravens pass catchers and Jackson only had 31 of his passes caught. That was a big deal in this game. What if you had Duvernay instead of Roberts who only caught two passes for 30 yards in the game? If Roberts’s two catches for 30 yards was replaced by Duvernay having six receptions for 72 yards that could equal a couple more drives kept alive. That could equal points. Duvernay may be a rookie, but remember he is an explosive athlete with good hands. He absolutely upgrades the receiving corps a bit.

That stadium was starving, desperate and hopeful for a spark play that would change the game before it went really bad. At Texas, Duvernay was the king of spark plays. One big play from Duvernay, maybe a missed tackle he takes advantage of for a huge gain or something like that, that would have changed momentum.

We’re talking about a game that just seemed to go one way, the whole way. The Ravens needed big plays and they were looking for them almost exclusively from the passing game. Replace Roberts with Duvernay, and this game could have been a bit different.