Baltimore Ravens vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: 3 questions, 3 answers

The Baltimore Ravens are set to play the Jacksonville Jaguars in week 15. Ravens fans had questions. Here are the answers:

@CJ_Arrington1 asks: What is it going to take for the Baltimore Ravens defense to wake up and shut people down like they were built to do? Get healthy? Change personnel?

Answer: Well this is certainly an interesting question because the defensive efforts aren’t going as intended. Let’s think about what the defense has gone through in the past few weeks. Covid-19 and injuries have both been major factors. The whole unit hasn’t really been back together at full strength for a while. It’s not an excuse but it’s worth noting.

The Ravens had issues before the Browns game but giving up 42 points seems like an outlier. I wouldn’t be shocked if the Ravens pitch a shutout in one of their last three games, though I would be shocked if they give up over 40 points again.

From a personnel perspective, the Ravens are working with what they’re working with. There are some decisions they can make in terms of playing time. For example, Jihad Ward should get more action. I think more than anything though the purple and black need to remain healthy and get lingering injuries out of the way.

This defense isn’t going to operate at full strength until Calais Campbell is one hundred percent.  It’s starting to look like he’s the player that stirs the pot on the defensive front. Campbell makes such an impact in run defense and the pass rush. The bottom line is he either makes the play or he takes attention away from his teammates so they can make a play.

You need a better pass rush to make quarterbacks pay. It’s just not good enough right now. The Ravens don’t have one guy that makes you all that worried, other than Yannick Ngakoue. Ngakoue hasn’t gotten going to the extent that the Ravens would have hoped for though. If he gets going it could be a different story for the Ravens.

The Ravens also need Jimmy Smith in the game to do everything they want in the secondary. You saw the Ravens be less aggressive against the Browns than they normally are. That may not have been because of Baker Mayfield. That may have been because the secondary wasn’t at full strength for most of the game. Not having Smith against the Jaguars doesn’t exactly help.

Martindale probably has to be aggressive for this defense to function. That is a limitation against a team like the Chiefs, but it should be able to rock the Jaguars. I think they can start figuring some things out. Trust man to man coverage, get right from a health standpoint, and generate as much pass rush as you can. That has to be the formula.