The Baltimore Ravens are sitting at 3-2 and tied for first place in the division. Still, with ugly losses to the Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers, the team has to feel like they should be so much better. What have been the biggest disappointments holding this team back?
5. The Baltimore Ravens are getting little from their complementary wide receivers
One of the big reasons to be excited about the Baltimore Ravens this season was their wide receiver corps. After years of not investing in the group or missing on signings and draft picks, it looked like the Ravens finally had put together a good room.
Still, there were questions all around. Both Rashod Bateman and Odell Beckham were coming back from injuries while Zay Flowers is just a rookie. Flowers has been a solid surprise and looks like he is going to exceed expectations.
However, Beckham and Bateman have not done enough and have been disappointed. A lot of it comes down to them not being on the field enough. Beckham has made a few impact plays when he has been healthy, but he was targeted on a game-changing interception by Lamar Jackson.
Rashod Bateman dropped a touchdown pass in that game and has been worse than Nelson Agholor this season. Agholor was expected to be a fourth wideout that was only going to play if needed, but he has taken far more snaps than expected. He has been a typical Agholor, boom, and bust, and the bust came at a bad time against the Steelers.
Overall, they need to get more out of this group, and they expected a lot more.
4. Ronnie Stanley has not looked good for the Baltimore Ravens
This was supposed to be a great season for Ronnie Stanley. It was the first year that he was not coming back from an injury in the offseason since the pandemic. He was healthy and was growing his game in the offseason.
Still, he has hardly practiced and did not play in the preseason. So, it was no shock that he came out rusty and allowed a sack to Jonathan Greenard early into the season. He settled in a bit but ended week one with a multiple-week injury.
Stanley came back in week five against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and they needed him. Still, this was one of the worst games of his career as Alex Highsmith beat him consistently all game. There are plenty of chances to make excuses for Stanley at this point. Both games can be chalked up to rust.
Still, we are five weeks into the season, and he has not played a good game yet. He has only been healthy for two games in the season when he was supposed to show off his health. Nothing is going as planned for the Baltimore Ravens tackle right now. The question is whether or not he can turn things around with a little more consistent playing time.
3. When will Todd Monken unleash his offense?
All summer, we heard about the big upgrades coming to the offense. We heard about how Greg Roman was stale, and this offense would take things to the next level. The offense has had moments, but through five weeks, they have leaned on the defense to win their games.
So, when is the Todd Monken offense coming? There have been shifts and small changes to note if you look closely enough. However, a lot of that comes down to having Lamar Jackson throwing more screens. This offense was supposed to be about big plays and deep shots, and it has not been that yet.
Is that because the personnel has been shuffling so much through the first five weeks? They have not had consistent line play, and their playmakers have not all been clicking yet. Is it because they are easing in with Lamar Jackson due to all of the changes? Or is Monken just not the right fit?
There have been enough signs of life and enough changes that there is plenty of time to be given, but at the same time, the Ravens have to look for more from the playcalling.
2. Is Kevin Zeitler looking washed up for the Baltimore Ravens?
Kevin Zeitler entered the season hoping to get a contract extension. However, when you saw the age of Zeitler, along with the salary cap issues that the Ravens will face down the road, it was hard to see anything getting done.
Through five weeks, the Ravens look pretty sharp by letting this play out and not signing Zeitler before the season. He has not looked like his old self. Zeitler has struggled from week one on when he was one of the worst linemen in week one.
An ugly loss against Taven Bryan led to a turnover in the loss to the Indianapolis Colts. He probably played his best game against Pittsburgh on Sunday, but that is not saying much based on the way he has played this season.
It looks like age is catching up to him, and this will be the last year that the Baltimore Ravens can trust him. Can he turn it around and at least give them reasons to trust him going forward this year?
1. The Baltimore Ravens cannot stay healthy
This is the most obvious disappointment of the year. The Ravens have not been able to stay healthy across the board, and it is killing them. At running back, J.K. Dobbins has thrown a wrench into all of their plans. They do not have a speed back and keep shuffling between Justice Hill and Kenyan Drake, but neither can get the job done.
At tackle, Patrck Mekakri had to go from filling in for the injured Ronnie Stanley against Myles Garrett to filling in for the injured Morgan Moses against TJ Watt in back-to-back weeks. It would have been nice to have some healthy starters back there.
Marlon Humphrey is finally back after missing four games. The Ravens had a rotation of Ronald Darby and Rock Ya-Sin at CB2 all season to keep them healthy, and last week, it was Darby and Humphrey in the platoon.
Marcus Williams missed time, Odafe Oweh is still out, and David Ojabo is out for the year. Maybe they will get Tyus Bowser back soon. Odell Beckham and Rashod Bateman missed recent weeks while Mark Andrews was out for week one.
It is hard to find a position where injuries have not hurt them. It is essentially just linebacker and quarterback at this point. Hopefully, that did not jynx anything.
This season would be a lot more fun if the Ravens could find a way to stay healthy.