Baltimore Ravens superlatives at the quarter-season mark

At the quarter mark of the 2020 season here is the Baltimore Ravens superlative watch:

Well, the Ravens are sitting at 3-1 after the first quarter of the season, and if you are still stewing over that Monday night loss to Kansas City or not, they’re in a good spot right now. There is some social-media grumbling that the team isn’t firing on all cylinders right now, but guess what? They don’t have to be. The regular season is about positioning yourselves for the playoffs.

And that is what the team has done to this point.

Let’s jump in and look at who has been standing out for the team at this point by awarding some first-quarter superlatives.

MVP — Lamar Jackson

He set a high bar last season, and maybe he isn’t yet posting some of the dominant numbers many of us expected, but here’s a secret: The numbers are still plenty good, and he has led the team to a 3-1 start.

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Jackson has thrown for 769 yards, seven touchdowns and one pick. Spread out over a 16-game season, that would give Jackson 3,076 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and four interceptions — good for a passer rating of 111.3 Psst… that is good. He’s also on pace to run for another 940 yards and four more touchdowns, and he’s sat out some time with comfortable leads.

Offensive Player of the Year — Again. Jackson.

There was some thought for Marquise Brown, but he has been a bit up and down, and Ronnie Stanley missed a game due to injury. Mark Andrews has gotten into the end zone four times already, but that game against Kansas City was tough. Jackson is the clear choice. I want to throw a little light on left guard Bradley Bozeman, though. He has been great this season.

Defensive Player of the Year — Marlon Humphrey

Calais Campbell is making his presence known, with batted passes if nothing else. But Humphrey is defending receivers inside and out, making sure tackles and causing game-changing fumbles.

His flexibility to do pretty much anything makes him, to me, the obvious choice here as the Ravens top defender, and he is doing nothing to diminish that standing this season. On Sunday, in addition to his forced fumble, he had nine tackles and a pass defensed. He is a superstar.

Rookie of the Year — Patrick Queen

He got schooled a bit by Patrick Mahomes and company, but so do a lot of guys — rookie and veteran. He is on pace for 132 tackles and four sacks, and made a highlight-reel goal-line stop against Washington.

Queen is fast and aggressive, and will only get better with more experience and a clearer understanding of NFL offenses. Devin Duvernay is also flashing this season, and Tyre Phillips has been manning the right guard spot, but Queen has been the brightest light to this point from a talented rookie class.

Coach of the Year — Joe D’Alessandris, offensive line

Missing Marshal Yanda, and juggling in bodies to play different roles, the line is playing fine to this stage, and that is a testament to D’Alessandris. Last year’s team was led by a steady diet of the same guys manning the line, and they impressed beyond expectations.

The coach might even be doing a better job this season considering his hurdles.