Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back and Ravens radio analyst Rod Woodson believes there’s still hope for the Ravens this season.
Despite a 1-5 start, Woodson is staying optimistic with a lighter schedule ahead and quarterback Lamar Jackson, who has been sidelined the past two weeks with a hamstring injury, expected to return at some point.
“I mean, your remaining schedule is not real, real tough,” Woodson said on Glenn Clark Radio Oct. 15. “The key is, can they play the way they played defensively last week the rest of the year?”
The Ravens allowed just 17 points in last week’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams, an improvement compared to earlier games. Woodson said there’s still plenty of work to do, especially when it comes to creating pressure on the quarterback.
Woodson thinks the absence of defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike, who had 56 pressures last year, is a key factor in the Ravens’ struggles. Without Madubuike, who is out for the season due to a neck injury, opponents have more success blocking Baltimore’s edge rushers.
The Ravens had 54 sacks last year, the second-highest mark in the NFL, but only have eight so far this year, tied for last in the league.
“Madubuike helps so much, because [opponents] couldn’t always chip, because they had to try to make sure they can slow him down in the middle,” Woodson said. “I believe there is a way that the coaching staff can still get pressure, and they’re going to have to get out of their norm. Their norm is not to bring a lot of [five-man] pressure consistently. You can bring five-man pressure without playing single-high safety.”
Woodson called for coordinator Zach Orr and the defensive staff to collaborate more creatively.
“I don’t blame Zach Orr, per se. I blame the whole defensive staff unit, because collectively, they should be in the room for these heated discussions,” Woodson said.
Woodson also mentioned player accountability, suggesting the Ravens’ defenders meet independently to review game plans, as his units did during his playing days.
“What I’ve seen over the last several weeks — players out of position, not lined up right prior to the ball being snapped, which puts you in a bad position once the ball is snapped,” Woodson said. “I think the onus also goes on the players taking the responsibility of doing their job the way they need to do it at the highest level.”
Woodson said Jackson, who is expected to return against the Chicago Bears on Oct. 26, should help stabilize the team. He noted left guard Andrew Vorhees’ improvement but said Baltimore still has work to do up front.
“We’re not running the ball the way we did last year,” Woodson said. “I mean, the historic year that we had last year, can you repeat that? I don’t think you can repeat that.”
Woodson said he’d like to see rookie running back Keaton Mitchell get more opportunities alongside Derrick Henry and Justice Hill.
Mitchell has 434 rushing yards on 65 carries and 126 receiving yards on 11 receptions so far in his career. In 2023, his rookie year, he logged 47 rushing attempts for 396 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
“Personally, I would love to see Keaton Mitchell on the field just a little bit more,” Woodson said.
One of Woodson’s questions was the decision to take Henry off the field in short-yardage situations.
“You’ve got to give him the touches. You’ve got to give him the opportunity,” Woodson said.
Woodson hopes the coaching staff took time to reassess both sides of the ball during the bye week.
“They’re going to be looking at everything they’ve done well, everything they haven’t done well and hopefully with that being said they’re going to bring out everything they’ve done well and put that to the forefront for the rest of this season,” Woodson said.
For more from Woodson, listen to the full interview here:
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