Did Ravens Do Enough To Address Pre-Camp Needs
I think there is little doubt that the pass rush as well as the inside linebacker, outside linebacker and left guard positions were areas of concern for many fans coming into training camp. Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta has been putting in the extra hours and working the numbers to address these issues. In some instances, I believe he is anticipating some of his young players to step up. In other instances he went out and acquired some help, and in others, it may come down to some on the job training.
When this year’s training camp started, fans were still reeling from the losses to the defensive side of the ball. Mosley, Urban, Suggs and Weddle were all gone and all but Suggs were too expensive to keep and Suggs just decided to leave for his hometown team of the Arizona Cardinals. Oddly enough, the same team that Todd Heap signed with to end his career. It must be the warm, dry weather that attracts the older Ravens after playing in the sometimes frigid seasonal confines of M&T Bank Stadium. Or it could be they just wanted to be closer to their families and give them the opportunity to share what they do for a living as they end their NFL careers.
In addition to the defensive losses we also lost left guard Alex Lewis, who was routinely injured with other concerns that left the guard position up in the air. Then the in-camp trade of Jermaine Eluemunor, who had yet to prove he was a starting NFL guard, thinned it out even more. The position was given to a handful of young players that will have to step up and perform a little on the job training to get up to speed. DeCosta may choose to see who is available after final cuts and if there is anyone who makes sense for the team. But with the lack of good offensive linemen already in the league, I doubt if there will be anything available that is better than what we already have. The last recourse would be a trade but with how much the Ravens enjoy their draft picks, although they already have plenty going into 2020, I doubt they will part with any picks for anything less than an absolute proven starter. They will rely on Hurst initially and, like Orlando Brown last year, will wait for the young guards to develop and earn the starting job. If they turn out anything like Brown last year, the position won’t be of concern for long.
With the signing of Pernell McPhee, DeCosta was able to secure an old guard Raven that will bring the energy and swagger back that may have diminished some since the 2012 Super Bowl. When McPhee played with the Ravens in his first stint he was the Swiss Army knife of the defense. He will play a very similar role in his reprise role which allowed DeCosta the confidence to just go with five defensive linemen knowing that in many of the sub packages, we may only see one down lineman with a number of the linebackers in stand up positions rushing, or dropping, to confuse the opposing quarterback. Just like motion and formation is used on the offensive side of the ball to confuse, Defensive Coordinator “Wink” Martindale has shown he will very much do the same on defense. McPhee along with Tyus Bowser have shown a penchant to get to the quarterback this preseason and they will be valuable in those sub packages. This will help address the issues with the pass rush and with the advancement of Bowser and Timmy Williams, along with McPhee and Matt Judon, the concern over the outside linebacker position has been greatly diminished.
One of the great stories of the preseason was the development of Otari Alaka as an inside linebacker. The Ravens have a knack for finding those undrafted diamonds in the rough. Bart Scott, Zachary Orr and “Peanut” Onwuasor are just a few of those the Ravens have “discovered”. As inside linebacker trades have occurred over the past weeks and most recently the Dolphins trade of solid veteran Kiko Alonso to the Saints, it doesn’t appear that the Ravens are going to get involved in that market. DeCosta is confident in his inside linebackers and for good reason. The Ravens have gone with some very fast linebackers in an attempt to address a weakness in last years defense which was the ability of our middle linebacker in coverage. With the development and usage of the tight ends in our division, along with the pass catching abilities of our opponents running backs, a weak linebacker in coverage was a source of major frustration for fans, myself included.
Without exception, Eric DeCosta addressed every position of need for the team in addition to making them younger and faster. He also addressed additional points of weakness and drastically improved an already impressive secondary with the addition of pro-bowler Earl Thomas. And with an already strong running game with Lamar Jackson and Gus Edwards, who would have easily hit 1000 yards had he played the whole season, was boosted with the addition of the versatile back, Mark Ingram.
Pundits are down-playing the Ravens citing the defensive losses, offensive line weakness and linebackers as the reason why the Ravens wont defend the AFC North Division Championship, they won’t make the playoffs and in some instances were picked to finish last in the division. Labeled as unproven, young and having lost their leadership, the Ravens have a lot to prove. Fortunately, the pundits who are downplaying the Ravens are writing based on ancient history and are not the beneficiary of having followed the team closely enough to know the development of our young players and the decisions of our new General Manager that will take this team back to the top of the AFC North for a repeat title.
