The Baltimore Ravens are sitting at 9-3 at the bye week. A late-season bye week with all those wins racked up could lead to great success. Some players needed the bye week more than others because their play has declined.
Who has been trending down the most in recent weeks?
5. The Baltimore Ravens are not getting the same Geno Stone in recent weeks
This was not surprising, but it is still a disappointment nonetheless. Geno Stone was playing so well earlier in the season that there was nothing he could do but decline. However, the addition of Marcus Williams has expedited how quick his fall-off will be.
Stone was playing the free safety role in replacing Williams, so when Williams plays, it takes Stone out of position as the strong safety. His play obviously declined.
According to PFF, Geno Stone had a 53.7 grade in games when Marcus Williams started, and it was 86.7 when Williams was out and Stone played free safety. His run defense goes from 41.6 to 56.8, and his coverage grade goes from 58.6 to 89.4.
Stone has six missed tackles in 249 snaps with Williams on the field. He has four missed tackles in 411 snaps without him. Also, five of his six interceptions have come in games where Williams is out.
It is no coincidence at this point. There is a six-game sample of Stone with Williams and without him, and the splits are real. Stone has not recorded an interception, and he has had three missed tackles in the last three games since Williams returned. What can the Ravens do during the bye week to get Stone back on track now that Williams is healthy?
4. Will Gus Edwards keep losing his job after the Baltimore Ravens bye week?
Sunday night felt like a changing of the guard. Keaton Mitchell had been getting more playing time every week since week nine. However, he was eating into the snaps of Justice Hill and not Gus Edwards. That changed on Sunday.
The Ravens had Gus Edwards on the field for 26% of the snaps, and he handled just 24% of the rushing attempts. That is down from 54% and 42% the weeks prior when it comes to snaps and 55% to 44% in rushing attempts. So, his decline has been coming for three weeks, and this week was just the major shift.
On the flip side, Mitchell has gone from 22% of the snaps to 37% and now 46% last week. He went from 15% of the carries to 30% and then 27% last week. His role has grown in the previous three games while Edwards is losing his.
Earlier, the split was a passing down speed back and a power back between the tackles. So, when the Ravens led and wanted to put teams away, they ran it with Edwards. When they trailed, it was Justice Hill. The Ravens led by 10 for most of the second half and still had Mitchell getting work in scenarios you would typically see Edwards.
In the first half, it felt like Edwards was benched. So, if Mitchell is trusted earlier and later into games, he may come out of the bye with even more work. Gus Edwards may be fading fast.
3. The Baltimore Ravens are getting a much-needed bye week for Zay Flowers
This one will come off a bit surprising for some, considering Zay Flowers is coming off of a two-touchdown game. That doubled his touchdown total. However, we noted that Flowers walked away from each touchdown with a teachable moment, and the rookie has not been as effective in recent weeks.
He got the touchdowns, but one was a target near the goalline, although he did beat man coverage, an area he has struggled in recently. Also, his second touchdown was a designed handoff.
Flowers had one of his most complete games as a wide receiver in week seven against the Detroit Lions. Since then, it looks like he has hit a rookie wall.
Flowers is averaging 3.8 catches for 34.2 yards in the last five weeks after averaging 5.6 catches for 63.1 yards per game. His four lowest yardage totals of his career have all come after week eight.
He is down from 8.2 yards per target and 1.91 yards per route run to 6.6 yards per target and 1.1 yards per route run in recent weeks. He is not being as impactful. This is not a shock for a rookie this late in the year. Most college players finished their season by now, and they had a bye week at one point. Flowers has not had a bye and has five more weeks. This week will be key for him getting back on track for the final games of the season.
2. The Baltimore Ravens need more from Ronnie Stanley
The Baltimore Ravens have hardly been able to see the Ronnie Stanley of old this year. As he heads into the bye week, the lasting memory from his game against the Los Angeles Chargers will be a couple of penalties and a couple of big losses to Khalil Mack that hurt the offense. You cannot say he is the reason the offense was such a letdown, but he certainly was not picking the group up when they needed it.
Stanley got injured in week one and came back in week five. He was up and down after returning before an injury in week nine cost him week 10. Stanley returned, but he still looked like a shell of his old self. Still, considering we have not seen Stanley put together consistent play since before the pandemic, maybe it is time we stop comparing him to his old days.
Ronnie Stanley may be the most important piece on the Ravens moving forward. If he can stay healthy and get better, the Ravens could win the Super Bowl. If he plays like he did against Los Angeles the rest of the way, we may see Patrick Mekari starting over him.
1. Rock Ya-Sin was not a great signing by the Baltimore Ravens
When the Baltimore Ravens signed Rock Ya-Sin, most fans thought that he would be starting opposite of Marlon Humphrey for most of the year. Little did they know that Brandon Stephens and Ronald Darby would be the two primary cornerbacks this year.
Rock Ya-Sin has yet to earn much work this year. It started with an injury in training camp that caused him to miss week one. The team only signed Darby because Ya-Sin was hurt, but Darby has been better so far. Ya-Sin and Darby started to split work from weeks two through four, but he returned to the bench. He played small roles in weeks seven and eight and came in for the injured Humphrey in week 10.
However, Ronald Darby started over him in week 11. Ya-Sin played but committed pass interference when Jake Browning came into the game. He was benched for Jalyn Armour-Davis and then did not play at all in week 12. So, the last time we saw Ya-Sin, he was benched and has not had a chance to redeem himself. After the bye week, it will be either Darby or Humphrey starting across from Stephens. If the health continues for Baltimore, Ya-Sin will finish his season with that being his last memory for fans.