Baltimore Ravens 2013 Statistics:
2013 season record: 8-8
Offense: Ranked 29th in NFL averaging 307.4 yards per game
Scoring offense: Ranked 25th in NFL averaging 20 points per game
Defense: Ranked 12th in NFL averaging 335.5 yards allowed per game
Scoring defense: Ranked 12th in NFL averaging 22 points allowed per game
The Ravens coming off their Super Bowl run in 2012 followed up with a very disappointing season in 2013 missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2007 season. The Ravens during the 2013 offseason let veterans walk such as legendary safety Ed Reed and inside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe. The Ravens even cut strong safety Bernard Pollard and traded away wide receiver Anquan Boldin to the San Francisco 49ers as well.
The Ravens wanted to make a point to start off fresh in the youth movement. The Ravens wanted to get faster on defense and put the ball in quarterback Joe Flacco's hands a little bit more on offense. Everything over the course of the season looked like the team took a step back.
What happened on offense for the Ravens?
The Ravens couldn't get what they wanted out of the running game with Ray Rice having the worst season of his career and the offensive line producing at an all-time low for the Ravens producing runs on average of 3.1 yards per carry. The offense line also allowed quarterback Joe Flacco to be sacked 48 times.
In the process Flacco had the worst season of his career as well throwing 19 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. With the 120 million dollar contract Flacco signed last year, a lot of critics jumped at any situation to bash the veteran. Flacco is still hearing from those critics despite making them look like fools during the 2012 season.
How is the Ravens offense looking heading into the 2014 season?
The critics will be waiting for Flacco in the 2014 season as well. However, with the new changes on the offensive side of the ball, it looks like Flacco's critics will be quiet for most of the season.
The hiring of former Houston Texans' head coach Gary Kubiak may prove to be the best signing the Ravens have made on the coaching front since hiring head coach John Harbaugh in 2008. Kubiak's offense brings a well-balanced game which features the running game with zone-blocking schemes and the passing game utilizing more play-action passes to take advantage of Flacco's strong arm down the field.
During the 2014 preseason, the Ravens went 4-0 with the running game leading the NFL averaging 171 yards per game. Even though it is just preseason, the running game looks light years ahead of where the Ravens were last year in that department. A lot of that had to do with rookie running back Lorenzo Taliaferro leading the NFL in rushing with 243 yards in the preseason.
“It means a lot,” Taliaferro noted about being the NFL's leading rusher in the preseason via Baltimoreavens.com. “But I don’t try to focus on the yards. I try to be a complete back. Once I just focus on the rushing, that slows down the protections and catching the ball. I just focus on my job overall.”
With the addition of Taliaferro, the Ravens are going to need a lot of his production given the fact that starting running back Ray Rice will miss the first-two games of the season serving a suspension due to a domestic violence incident with his wife Janay Rice earlier in the year.
The Ravens are expected to be loaded at the running back position early in the season at least with running backs such as Justin Forsett and Bernard Pierce carrying the heavy loads as well with Rice being out for a short period of time.
What's new in the Ravens passing game in 2014?
The Ravens signing wide receiver Steve Smith from the Carolina Panthers in the offseason is just what the Ravens needed for their offense to get back in the right direction. The Ravens realized they missed a veteran presence at the receiver positon during the 2013 season with Boldin gone. Smith brings the same qualities to the passing game on and off the field for the Ravens just like Boldin did in the past.
However, Smith doesn't intend on duplicating Boldin.
“I can tell you this: I’m no Anquan Boldin,” Smith noted via Baltimoreravens.com earlier in March of this year.
“I respect the heck out of Q.. What Q brings to the table is what Q brings to the table. I’m Steve Smith, and what I bring to the table as a Baltimore Raven, I have to earn that. My time on the field will display what I bring to the table.”
With Smith in the fold along with wide receiver Torrey Smith, the Ravens have great compliments on the outside in the passing game with tight end Dennis Pitta picking up the slack in the middle of the field.
The Ravens have great problems any team wishes they could have with the depth the Ravens have at the wide receiver and tight end positions. The talent the Ravens have at the two positions consists of veteran tight end Owen Daniels and wide receivers such as Marlon Brown and Jacoby Jones.
With all of the names in the passing game who will see time over the course of the season, nobody is more intruiging than full back Kyle Juszczyk.
Juszczyk during the 2014 preseason led the Ravens in receptions with 10 and that isn't by accident. The Ravens in the past have featured full backs in the passing game to some degree with former Raven Vonta Leach.
Juszczyk is more athletic than Leach as he brings a legitimate concern for opposing defenses on every snap because of his flexibility to line up as a tight end and also block in the running game.
Juszczyk will allow the Ravens to be very unpredictable in their base packages on offense which is something the Ravens never really had before.
"It was great to get so involved in the passing game," Juszczyk noted during the preseason via the Baltimoresun. "I take it as a compliment that they're confident I can handle the ball out there."
With the struggles on the offensive line during the 2013 season, how will the starting unit look entering the 2014 season for the Ravens?
1.) The Ravens made a trade earlier in the offeason with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for center Jeremy Zuttah in exchange for a fourth round draft pick in the 2014 NFL draft which will in turn demote center Gino Gradkowski as the backup.
2.) Left tackle Eugene Monroe signed a five-year deal worth 37.5 million earlier this offseason to solidify a position which has been a revolving door since legendary hall of fame left tackle Johnathan Ogden retired from the Ravens afer the 2007 season.
The starting unit on the offensive line for the Ravens will be:
Left tackle-Monroe
Left guard- Kelechi Osemele
Center- Zuttah
Right guard- Marshal Yanda
Right tackle- Ricky Wagner
How will the Ravens look on defense?
The Ravens during the 2013 season had a solid defense in general which by their standards isn't nearly good enough. The Ravens over the last two seasons have new and productive players at the linebacker position with the additons of outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil and inside linebacker Daryl Smith.
The Ravens followed up the veteran signings of Dumervil and Smith by drafting inside linebackers such as Arthur Brown in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft and inside linebacker C.J. Mosely in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft.
It is still a work in progress on defense. However, it is a very fast work in progress. In recent weeks, the team has seen seen progressions in Mosely and Brown as both players led the team in tackles with 12 each.
Mosely has been off to a very impressive start for the Ravens to the extent that veteran outside linebacker Terrell Suggs compared him to one of the best linebackers in the game via Sportsillustrated.com.
“He actually reminds me of the guy we’ve been practicing against the past couple days, No. 52 with San Francisco, Mr. [Patrick] Willis. Definitely, because when Willis came into the league, it just clicked for him right away. I definitely see some resemblance with Mosley. Very athletic, intelligence for the game, and a quick study.”
Along the defensive line, the Ravens drafted a steal in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft as the team selected Timmy Jernigan out of Florida State University.
Jernigan was projected in some mock drafts to be a top 15 pick in the first round. Jernigan fell all the way to the 48th selected overall. The Ravens like his versatility along the defensive line in their 3-4 scheme. Despite Jernigan's potential, the rookie will be a backup to start the season behind defensive end Chris Canty.
At nose tackle, Brandon Williams is making his mark immediately. If there was one player who stood out frequently over the course of the 2014 season it is Williams. The 335 pound man-child has a lot to do with the fact that the Ravens were ranked third in the NFL in rushing yards allowed at 78 yards a game.
It may be just preseason, however Williams strength isn't.
“Brandon Williams is doing a great job, Brandon Williams is a good player," Harbaugh noted via the Baltimoresun. "Brandon Williams has played very well, and his best game was against Washington. He was dominant, absolutely controlled the middle of the line of scrimmage. That’s something to build off of.
The Ravens have a lot of promise in their front seven.
What about the Ravens secondary?
While the Ravena have arguably the most underrated cornerback duo's in the game with Jimmy Smith and Lardarius Webb, the Ravens lack some depth behind them. Cornerback Asa Jackson is listed as the starting nickel back for the Ravens. Cornerbacks in Chykie Brown and Derek Cox will be the backups.
Good cornerback play across the depth chart in the NFL doesn't happen. So as long as Jimmy Smith and Webb stay healthy, the Ravens should be good to go over the course of the 2014 season.
At strong safety, Matt Elam is becoming one of the vocal leaders on defenders commanding the secondary as he continues to build trust with the veterans around him.
At costless safety, Terrence Brooks a rookie out of Florida State, is starting to get a better feel for the defense as he may be the fastest player on the Ravens defense. Brooks has real closing speed and he showed it off during the third preseason game when he ran down Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III for a sack.
In the best interest for the Ravens, it would be a great sign to see Brooks start week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Ravens want youth on their defense. With Brooks progressing the way he has been, the Ravens organization will feel justified in the fact that they used a third round pick on him in the 2014 NFL draft.
With the Ravens special teams unit being as strong as it ever has been with pro bowl kicker Justin Tucker and threats in the return game with Jones and wide receiver Deonte Thompson, the Ravens look like a dark horse across the board in the AFC.