What is next for the Ravens after the Bills loss? A few thoughts and ideas after this disappointing performance.
What is Next for the Ravens: The Offense
As I observed last week, it was essential that the Ravens make greater use of their running game. The deplorable condition of the Ravens defense, combined with playing Daniel Faalele at left tackle, mandated this approach. And Greg Roman certainly implemented it. There were moments of success against the Bills, highlighted by a 90+ yard, run-heavy drive in the first half. And Justice Hill, who still for some reason received only eight carries, provided more explosiveness in the second half. 
But given the reality of Faalele being forced to play on the blind side, Roman had to provide Faalele with a lot of help. This was evidenced by both the heavy usage of Pat Ricard (70% of the snaps played) and by his pre-snap positioning (frequently lining up outside of Faalele to help contain the Bills’ edge rushers). It’s hard to imagine this changing much until either Ronnie Stanley or Pat Mekari get back on the field. The give-back, however, in these types of schemes is that three wide-out sets largely disappear.
Lamar
We know Lamar Jackson has tremendous physical gifts. He is the street ball champion supreme. But when facing the best defenses, Jackson has consistently exhibited an inability to defeat them. Jackson regularly threw the ball poorly against the Bills. His accuracy was unacceptable. Fans were told pre-season that Lamar had worked hard on his throwing mechanics. If he has, it hasn’t worked. His arm and hand release angles are wildly inconsistent throw-to-throw, and we have seen this bite him hardest against defenses that alter their attack in-game.
In the Bills’ game Jackson missed receivers and regularly hung onto the ball too long. In fairness, I haven’t had the chance to re-watch game tape to determine what Lamar was not seeing/missing. And we really couldn’t see on CBS’ awful camera coverage the receiver routes to any material degree. But what we could see was a combination of Lamar consistently holding the ball an extra count combined with a general unwillingness to grab yards on his own.
Future of the Running Game
There is more heightened concern in the run game going forward. Although J.K. Dobbins has shown a flash or two of his former self, it’s clear that he’s not all the way back. And it will be a bonus if he gets there in-season. The loss of Justice Hill for however long leaves the Ravens without the home-run explosiveness that they need. There’s not much that can be done about it. All the more reason that the Ravens have to get back one of their top two left tackles – so that they can utilized more three-wide formations.
So much still depends on Ronnie Stanley.
What is Next for the Ravens: The Defense
I can rail only so long about Patrick Queen and the inside linebackers. The beat writers are finally all over it. But I can’t stop. Queen can blitz, but that’s really all there is to his game. He consistently makes brutal mistakes and it’s killing the defense. And as I previously commented, its long past the time when Josh Bynes should be playing meaningful downs.
This inside linebacker disaster – and it is a disaster that could doom this team – lies at the feet of Eric DeCosta. This is the group that couldn’t play last year. This is the group that DeCosta kept intact. It falls on him. Now I’m not in a position to know whether Blake Martinez, from a physical perspective, could have helped this team. But if it turns out that Martinez is effective in 2022 for the Raiders, then DeCosta’s inability to bring in Martinez will also be at his feet.
An Inside Linebacker Gambit
There are no other “outside” solutions to this terrible problem. Perhaps DeCosta will work the trade route, but that’s unknowable and unpredictable. Recognizing all of that, I believe the Ravens should make a significant (if very unlikely) internal adjustment. With Oweh, Pierre-Paul, and Houston as their three top outside linebackers, the Ravens should move Tyus Bowser into one of the inside slots. Either Bynes or Queen (preferably Queen) should ride the pines. At 6’3 and 242 pounds, Bowser has good size to slide inside (he’s significantly larger than Queen). He’s not as fast as Queen, but Queen’s speed is functionally irrelevant (other than when he blitzes) due to his inability to read and diagnose.
Bowser has a demonstrated ability to cover, and would immediately become the Ravens most effective inside cover linebacker. He has solid football instincts. He is a good tackler. Yes, the Ravens would be surrendering what Bowser brings on the outside, which is not to be overlooked. But I argue they have more to work with on the outside (if healthy) if Bowser moves inside, than the other way around. And opponents will continue to shred the middle of the Ravens defense in the absence of a personnel change.
What’s Next for the Ravens: The Secondary
The secondary played reasonably well against the Bills. Sure, the Bills were a bit depleted and yes the weather conditions were harder on the quarterbacks. Marcus Peters stills looks too slow at this point, which was evident in some of his play against Stephon Diggs. But the adjustment of keeping Armour-Davis off the field (and inactive) and keeping Brandon Stephens on the slot receiver helped. And Marlon Humphrey is finally competing. Mike Macdonald played less zone in this game. Which leads us to . . .
The Bengals
The Ravens secondary is the key focus for the Bengals game. It is a fool’s errand to attempt to defend the Bengals terrific receiving foursome (yes, including Hayden Hurst) with zone coverages. It will not work, and Joe Burrow will shred the Ravens if they rely on it. Take a look at the Dolphins-Bengals tape. Almost universally, the Dolphins not only deployed press coverage but bump-press as well. Disrupting the get-off ability of both Chase and Higgins is critical if the Ravens hope to have any success slowing the Bengals passing attack. Let those two tigers run free and you’ll see how many lights the M&T Stadium scoreboard holds.
To me, this reality forces itself upon Mike Macdonald. The Ravens will have to use combo man with zone coverages over the top to stay in this game. We don’t know how Peters will hold up in tough press matchups, but the Ravens will certainly have to try it. They cannot allow Chase to beat them and must do their best-Belichick and take Chase out of the game.
I expect we will see a lot more of Kyle Hamilton this week (only 17 reps in the Bills game). To the extent that the Ravens don’t blitz – and that is the ultimate game-plan conundrum for Macdonald – they must man the middle of the field. In theory, this is what Hamilton could bring this week. And if he can’t, one wonders exactly what skill-set Hamilton can bring to the balance of the 2022 season.
Other Brief Comments
I was impressed by the play of Travis Jones. He did a solid job occupying the interior and getting off blocks. Against the Bills, it was no surprise that Isaiah Mack was not elevated off of the practice squad. This week might be a different story as the Bengals have focused (without much success) on generating a run game.
Odafe Oweh finally showed up and offered a strong performance. That must continue. The Ravens need Justin Houston back this week. And what does it tell us that the Ravens brought up Kevon Seymour and de-activated Jalyn Armour-Davis? Even though Armour-Davis is the fastest corner in a group that lacks overall speed, the Ravens don’t trust him yet. Perhaps this is the product of a lack of practice and playing time in the pre-season. Absent injury, one wonders how Armour-Davis gets back on the field this year.
Then there’s Nick Boyle, who just isn’t part of the Ravens offensive plans. It’s fair asking why he’s on the team at this point. Boyle is another example of arguably the poorest team roster construction we have seen in the John Harbaugh years.
