Ravens entering uncharted territory in this new era

Stop me if you heard this before, the Baltimore Ravens played in a thriller primetime matchup. Well, that was yet again the case Monday night against the Indianapolis Colts.

This was more than just any primetime shootout though; I think this was the start of a whole new Ravens team the world will be watching.

This entire season I’ve just been waiting to see that gritty, cutthroat defense all Baltimore fans are used to. Five weeks later, and we are still yet to see that come true (aside from a weak Denver offense).

They still manage to make the clutch plays when needed, but are going to be giving up quite a few yards before these plays. They are currently ranked 25th in total defense, just typing that sentence I can see Ray Lewis and Ed Reed shaking their head in disgust.

Their biggest weakness is the passing defense (ranked 28th), which was somewhat expected with the loss of Marcus Peters and many other key defenders.

The only strength of this Ravens defense so far is defending the run, currently ranked seventh in the league giving up 93 yards a game. This type of defensive struggle any other year would most likely lead to a 2-3 or 1-4 record as of now.

I believe there is still hope for this defense to come alive. Odafe Oweh is already lightyears ahead of what scouts thought he would be in this league.

He is leading all rookies with 18 pressures and is tied for second in sacks with 3.0. And he became a Baltimore favorite when he forced and recovered the fumble against the Kansas City Chiefs to secure a win.

When it comes to Patrick Queen, all we can do is hope he gets back on pace to become the player we thought he’d be after that great rookie campaign. He currently is the 84th ranked linebacker according to Pro Football Focus.