Take-home points on the Ravens 2020 season at the bye

Here’s another thing;

• The running backs are not as consistently producing this year as they did last year, and I chalk that up to center Matt Skura not being all the way back from a horrific knee injury and the loss of all-time Raven Marshal Yanda. We know the backs are good. They’ve each made explosive plays this season when afforded space. Again, let’s see where this unit, and the line, look in Week 14 and beyond. That’s when it will really matter.

• Are the passing weapons adequate for Jackson? Probably not. Marquise Brown looks like a very productive and exciting NFL receiver, and Mark Andrews (outside the Chiefs game) looks like a top-five tight end in the league.

That’s a good start. Devin Duvernay looks like he can provide another weapon as his role increases, but Miles Boykin, Willie Snead and James Proche have yet to even meet the modest expectations many of us put on them going into the year. Is Dez Bryant the answer? I mean, that would be great. Dez was a true star in his prime days in Dallas. But I do have doubts.

• It’s also important to remember that this is not the prototypical offense that many of us want to believe it is. It is an entirely different offense, built around the talents of Jackson, specifically, and elevated last season through the flexibility afforded by their three tight ends and gigantic H-back in Patrick Ricard.

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When the Ravens were humming last year, it was the unpredictability the offense brought to each and every play with their unique personnel. It was fine to not have a stable of receivers because Jackson could hit any of the three tight ends, Ricard leaking out, a running back on the other end or Brown streaking downfield. Or they could just bludgeon opponents into submission.

They don’t have that this year, and in my humble (not humble at all — I’m borderline arrogant) opinion, that is what they are missing most of all. They need another tight end to go back to flummoxing opponents, or they need to change the script and start using Duvernay in more creative ways.

• On the defensive side, the numbers look pretty darn good. The Ravens are giving up a league-low 17.3 points per game, and they rank 10th in the league in fewest total yards an outing. This means their average game results in a 30-17 win. That is good. Like, gooder than good. That is great. We also mentioned earlier that they have turned over their opponents 11 times.

But we’ve seen with our eyes that there have been some issues, right? Kansas City exploited their blitzes by throwing where the blitzers had left, and Washington did a lot of the same thing. They have not done a good job getting pressure on quarterbacks with four-man fronts, leaving them vulnerable at times to smart concepts and quarterbacks.

It seems to the old eye test that most of the sacks and hits the defense has mustered have been through tight coverage causing quarterbacks to hang on to the ball a little more, or inexperienced linemen not picking up blitzers.