It is still early, but what is your thoughts on the Baltimore Ravens through the first two games of the season?
Week 1 the Ravens looked dominant against a bad team to the tune of 47-3. Week 2 Baltimore lost to the Cincinnati in a game where they didn’t put their best foot forward. This is a critical game for the Ravens. 2-1 offers some hope, while 1-2 paints a pretty dark picture. The Ravens have a chance to be a great team.
They have a lot of talent all across the board. On offense, John Brown has been a revelation through two games. Ozzie Newsome added a lot to this offense and every addition has made a big difference. The running game hasn’t been going strong and that’s concerning. The offensive line has been frustrating to watch and is in desperate need of a mix-up.
If the Ravens wise up and put in Orlando Brown Jr. at right tackle, the line has a chance; John Harbaugh has stubbornly inserted James Hurst at that position. Hurst is a solid guard but a horrible tackle. The moral of the story is this offense has serious talent and it’s a nice change of pace. The offensive line needs to be steady enough to let Joe Flacco do his thing and that’s a question mark going into every game.
Defensively, the Ravens have an abundance of talent. C.J. Mosley is battling a bone bruise, which is troubling. When he went down in the first half of the Bengals game, everything fell apart. The Ravens got it together in the second half but they were already doomed.
The Bengals game wasn’t indicative of the Ravens defensive merit. It was a short week and the Ravens obviously didn’t game plan very well. Baltimore typically has a game like this every season. For what it’s worth, the Ravens tend to lose in week 2 after a dominant week 1 performance, and the Bengals inexplicably have John Harbaugh’s number.
The Ravens have an elite pass rushing unit. Their secondary may struggle against elite receivers without Jimmy Smith (who comes back from suspension in week 5) but there is talent there. Eric Weddle and Tony Jefferson are an elite combination. Marlon Humphrey showed his kryptonite last week, but he’s emerging as a top-tier cornerback.
The question is really the run defense. Without Mosley that could be a problem. When the defensive front shows up and stops the run, the Ravens defense is deadly. Baltimore just has to own the line of scrimmage.