The streak is over.
No, not the Ravens’ absurd preseason “win” streak. That now sits at 23 and we’ll have the joy of another summer of conversation about the most irrelevant number in football history. Instead, my personal streak of consecutive preseason games ignored came to an end after six years. My 5-year-old and 7-year-old wanted to go to the game Saturday night and no matter how much I detest the exercise, I love them more. Please no one tell them that wasn’t Justin Tucker doing the kicking.
With the season now upon us, I offer my official “season preview” column. For the sake of fairness, I’ll offer three reasons for optimism and three reasons for pessimism.
REASON FOR PESSIMISM No. 1: Yeah, the pass rush is an issue.
I don’t know that we were ever going to feel “good” about this group, but we still somehow feel worse than when training camp started. Tyus Bowser won’t be back until Week 5 at the earliest. Daelin Hayes hasn’t asserted himself and is dealing with an injury again. David Ojabo isn’t on the radar yet either.
The Ravens could look to outside the organization for help. But at the moment it is difficult to see, save for some sort of spectacular step forward Odafe Oweh might take, how the Ravens improve from finishing in the bottom third of the league with 34 team sacks last year.
REASON FOR OPTIMISM No. 1: The secondary should be much better.
A depleted secondary combined with that lack of pass rush to produce the worst pass defense in the NFL last season. But we’re just two years removed from the Ravens having the sixth-best pass defense in the league. Marlon Humphrey needs a bounce-back season for sure, but with improved health and the arrivals of Marcus Williams, Kyle Hamilton and Kyle Fuller (Mount Saint Joseph), there’s reason to expect this unit to again be a strength for this team.
REASON FOR PESSIMISM No. 2: Demarcus Robinson probably doesn’t singularly solve the wide receiver situation.
Yes, Demarcus Robinson dominated the XFL players he went up against in the Ravens’ preseason finale. And honestly, Demarcus Robinson is probably about as good as the Ravens could have hoped to come available given their overwhelming lack of experience and depth at the position. But this is still a player who has averaged 17.3 yards per game for his career despite playing in a very pass-happy Kansas City system.
Look, I’m also excited about rookie tight end Isaiah Likely. But I’m not sure a hybrid tight end is enough to dynamically alter the picture at the position. The Ravens’ young receivers (Rashod Bateman, Devin Duvernay, James Proche, Tylan Wallace) have to prove they can be relied upon both consistently and more importantly in the biggest moments this season.
REASON FOR OPTIMISM No. 2: We don’t have to say the name Alejandro Villanueva ever again.
Hopefully Ronnie Stanley passing his physical is a sign that he will be ready to go early in the season. If he can be anything close to the player he was prior to getting hurt in 2020, it will go a long way towards stabilizing Baltimore’s offense.
That combined with Tyler Linderbaum looking comfortable in his preseason debut went a long way towards inspiring far more confidence in this unit going into the season. They won’t be able to fully overcome any prolonged problems for Stanley, but they’ll be better off than they were a year ago for sure.
REASON FOR PESSIMISM No. 3: The best teams in a loaded AFC just might be better.
Presuming they stay even somewhat healthy this season, the Ravens will again face the burden of Super Bowl expectations. But the Bengals established themselves as the team to beat in the AFC North last year and will remain difficult to overcome as long as Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase stay healthy. The Bills and Chiefs will remain right in the mix as well.
The Ravens will get the benefit of not having to face Deshaun Watson in their first matchup with the Browns, whose roster isn’t quite as good on the whole (in this columnist’s humble opinion) as many would lead you to believe. Cleveland struggling to stay afloat for the first 11 games would obviously stand to benefit Baltimore. But even for the good teams it won’t be easy to break through in a loaded conference.
REASON FOR OPTIMISM No. 3: Have you heard of Lamar Jackson?
Perhaps his ongoing contract situation will inspire the former MVP to put together a ridiculous “prove it” type of season. Or perhaps he’s just Lamar Jackson, one of the most talented humans on the face of the planet, and no matter what his contract situation looked like he’d be inspired to put together a spectacular campaign.
He has to get better in Cover Zero situations. He needs more help from his run game. But this team revolves around the play of this man. And given what we know about him, that means the Ravens have a chance to win a Super Bowl.
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