Baltimore Ravens: Top 3 pressing concerns on a victory Monday

The Baltimore Ravens beat the Houston Texans. Here are the three concerns that arose from the game though:

1. Tavon Young‘s injury

The Baltimore Ravens spent last season without Tavon Young and won 14 games, so this isn’t exactly a death blow to the Ravens season. It’s bad news. For Young it is almost unbearably unfair that this is happening again. While you feel bad for Young, heartbroken even, the Ravens have to keep things rolling. There’s a reason the Ravens brought back Jimmy Smith. Smith, who isn’t really a slot cornerback by trade, does have the versatility to help Baltimore with Young’s absence. Smith may go from a defensive back being used as extra help, almost a floating safety to the nickel cornerback spot.

There is also the possibility of playing Smith and Marlon Humphrey on the outside while Marcus Peters does his work over the slot. That’s the advantage of having three starting cornerbacks. While the passing defense looked a little suspect after Young left the game, the Ravens have the players to make this work. Don’t forget about Anthony Levine Sr. either, who could get more playing time to make up for the Ravens sudden loss of a good nickel cornerback.

In the NFL the next man up mentality is all that a team can afford. It’s unfortunate that the Ravens lost such a promising player. The secondary became a slight question mark after Earl Thomas was released before the season. Those worries were put to rest after a 38-6 win over the Cleveland Browns,.where two elite receivers came away with little to show for their efforts. The Ravens secondary still has more going for it than most defensive back corps in the league. This is a gut punch, more than that it’s an emotional loss because the Ravens invested in Young and he just can’t stay on the field. Put the emotions on the side as much as you can and move on. That’s the cold reality in the NFL.