Baltimore Sun photo by Karl Merton FerronArt Jones is giving the Ravens what they lost when Cory Redding left in free agency. When they signed veteran defensive end Cory Redding before the 2010 season, the Ravens, as they often do when introducing free-agent signings, trumpeted that he "played like a Raven." But in Redding, they really did bring in the kind of underrated building block that helps cement the foundation of a contending team. For two years, Redding was a stout run defender who sometimes contributed as an interior pass rusher and always represented the team well whenever a microphone was shoved in his face. But this offseason, the Ravens let Redding sign with Indianapolis, where he joined Chuck Pagano's Colts. The Ravens were strapped for salary cap space, but they also let him walk because they felt it was time that young defenders Pernell McPhee and Arthur Jones were ready to step into the starting lineup. McPhee, who was second on the team with six sacks last season, has been one of the season's biggest disappointments. He has struggled to shed weight and blockers, totaling just half a sack and missing four games with injuries to his right knee and right thigh. But Jones has shined over the past six weeks, and he made another handful of impact plays in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 31-28 overtime loss to the Washington Redskins. Early in the quarter, he single-handedly short-circuited a Redskins drive when he knifed into the backfield to tackle running back Alfred Morris for a 3-yard loss on first down, then hit quarterback Robert Griffin III hard on second-down sack. Backed up near the goal line, the Redskins were forced to run a draw play to give their punter a little breathing room. Then, on Washington's crazy game-tying drive in the final minutes, he and outside linebacker Paul Kruger -- another recent Ravens bright spot -- teamed up to sack Griffin, who would be knocked out of the game moments later by an awkward hit by defensive tackle Haloti Ngata. Jones has had a sack in three straight games and 4.5 over that span. Jones is still splitting snaps with McPhee and others along the defensive line, but he is giving the Ravens meaningful minutes, finally flashing the pass-rushing potential that he displayed at Syracuse. He was on Mel Kiper's Big Board at the start of his senior season, but he dropped to the fifth round of the 2010 NFL draft because of injuries. He has literally worked his butt off the past two summers with his brother, UFC superstar Jon "Bones" Jones, but his coaches say that improved technique is the reason for his recent breakout. And you can't help but pull for one of the good guys in the locker room. Jones is always quick to flash a smile, shake your hand or provide a sound bite whenever you pop by his locker, which is right next to the loquacious Terrell Suggs. I guess you could say Jones is also similar to Redding in that regard. But most importantly, Jones has been playing like Redding, too, and the Ravens really need him to keep it up.
Baltimore Sun photo by Karl Merton FerronThe Ravens have reached their breaking point when it comes to critical injuries. After using words such as "disappointed" and "disheartened" to describe his team's 31-28 overtime loss to the Washington Redskins, Ravens coach John Harbaugh glanced down at a piece of paper and started running through a laundry list of injuries -- some minor, others unknown. Linebacker Jameel McClain. Running back Ray Rice. Fullback Vonta Leach. And finally, and most significantly, right guard Marshal Yanda. Now, Harbaugh might not be fooling this week if he lists 15 of his players on the injury report. To recap, the Ravens have lost their best defender and the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Terrell Suggs, to torn muscles not once, but twice this season. Their top cornerback, Lardarius Webb, who was becoming one of the NFL's best at his position, is out for the season with a torn ACL. They have also replaced his replacement, Jimmy Smith, a 2011 first-round pick who needed sports hernia surgery. They lost Ray Lewis, a 13-time Pro Bowl linebacker, to a torn triceps in Week 6, and then his fill-in, Dannell Ellerbe, who had actually been playing better than Lewis. Oh, and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Haloti Ngata has been a shell of himself for most of the season because of nagging knee and shoulder injuries. The Ravens have not used injuries as excuses, and a number of replacements have stepped up to fill some of the voids, which is why the Ravens are still 9-4 and in first place in the AFC North. But the mounting injuries have put their depth to the test, and they might not be able to withstand another big one down the stretch. McClain, who left the game with a neck injury, is a solid starter, but Lewis is on track and eligible to return as soon as this weekend. No disrespect to McClain, but losing Yanda, whom Harbaugh said has a sprained right ankle, would be potentially devastating. The Pro Bowl right guard was helped off the field in overtime and into the locker room for X-rays. After most of his teammates had vacated the cramped and cranky visitors' locker room at FedEx Field, he hobbled in on crutches. All I know is that if Yanda, one of the meanest men on the roster, is on crutches, he probably suffered an injury that would have left me in a full-body cast. He was able to put weight on his wonky right ankle in the locker room, which is a positive sign, but we will find out more at Harbaugh's Monday news conference. If Yanda is out Sunday against the red-hot Denver Broncos or for a more extended period, the Ravens will keep limping toward the playoffs. But they may soon collapse under the weight of all the casts, crutches and medical tape.
Baltimore Sun photo by Karl Merton FerronJoe Flacco doesn't do his offensive line any favors with his presence in the pocket. You have probably drawn blood if you have been scratching your head trying to figure out why Joe Flacco has not taken that proverbial leap forward into the upper echelon of quarterbacks these past two seasons. Flacco has prototypical size, one of the NFL's strongest arms and the calm demeanor needed to play the position over the long haul. The Ravens quarterback is tough as nails, too, having taken a ton of hard hits over the years without missing a snap due to injury. But he wouldn't have to pick himself up off the turf as often -- and maybe he would become the consistent Pro Bowl performer the Ravens hope he will ultimately be -- if he improved his awareness in the pocket. I know what you are saying, that this is not a new development. It is something that Flacco has had to work on since he joined the Ravens five years ago after playing in a shotgun spread attack at Delaware, and it continues to be a work in progress. But this is an area that has not been explored in this space, and can't be ignored after these past two games. In consecutive weeks, Flacco has had the ball batted out of his hands by a drive-by pass rusher. Both fumbles came with the Ravens leading in the second half. And both fumbles came on Baltimore's side of the field. Left tackle Michael Oher, who has been having a tough time out there as of late, deserves some of the blame for allowing speed rushers to get a step on him. But Flacco deserves some as well. He has seemed to be unaware of the pressure. Or maybe he just chooses to ignore it as he scans the field for an open receiver. But instead of shuffling around in the pocket or stepping up to avoid the rush, he stayed stationary as Washington Redskins outside linebacker Rob Jackson recorded a strip sack of Flacco. Oher grumbled a clichéd answer when asked about that play after the game, but it was telling that he said he thought he steered Jackson wide enough to keep Flacco and the ball out of harm's way. On the next possession and on Flacco's next pass attempt, outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan came unblocked off the right end. Flacco stood in to make a throw, but was hit as he released it. The disrupted pass was deflected by a Redskins defensive lineman into the hands of London Fletcher, who picked it off. Fair or not, the Ravens offensive line has been criticized a lot recently, a trend that is sure to continue after Flacco turned the ball over twice under duress in Sunday's 31-28 loss. Flacco has been sacked 31 times this season, the fifth-highest total in the NFL and as many times as he was sacked a season ago. But once again, we also saw how dangerous Flacco can be when he gets some time, as he did on his three touchdown passes in the first half, particularly the one he threw to tight end Dennis Pitta. With all the time in the world, Flacco shuffled and shuffled and shuffled to his left as he waited for Pitta run open. We see Flacco make strong, smart throws like that, and we can't help but wonder why he doesn't do it consistently. He would do it more often if he had space and time to throw. But some of that is on him.
Getty ImagesAfter many of the bounces went their way in the first three months of the season, the Ravens, while still a dangerous team going forward, might be running out of luck. A football, with its oblong shape and pointy edges, can bounce in an infinite number of directions when it is put into play, when a kicker booms it down the field and makes it tumble end over end until it comes back down to earth. Which way it bounces on any given play comes down to luck. Well, unless you are one of those smarty-pants science people who understand physics, but I digress. As the Ravens got off to their second 9-2 start in franchise history, seemingly every bounce of the ball, every break went their way. Sure, there were unfortunate injuries that are starting to catch up to them now (for more on that, keep clicking), but other than that, luck was often on their side. Justin Tucker's field goal floated just inside the upright to beat the New England Patriots. A botched snap aided the Ravens in a win over the Kansas City Chiefs. The Dallas Cowboys shot themselves in the foot late in the Ravens' two-point escape in Week 6. There was the injury to Ben Roethlisberger right before the Ravens played the Pittsburgh Steelers twice in three weeks. And surely you haven't forgotten about 4th-and-29 already. There is a saying for luck, that you make it for yourself. The Ravens are 9-4 right now and still in great shape to claim the AFC North title because they have put themselves in a position to win -- whether it was aesthetically pleasing or not -- in the final minute in all but one of their games this season. It helped that Lady Luck -- oh, that fickle temptress -- had obliged. But recently, it has looked as if they have done something to draw her ire. One week after penalties, turnovers and blown assignments cost them in a last-second loss to the Steelers (who were playing with third-string quarterback Charlie Batch), penalties, turnovers and blown assignments cost them in an overtime loss to the Washington Redskins. The Ravens were mostly efficient offensively and the defense adjusted quickly to Robert Griffin III and the Redskins' read-option scheme. But for a second straight week, the Ravens couldn't hold a late lead, as Griffin and then fellow rookie Kirk Cousins led a game-tying drive that took forever to get going. But then, just like that, their eight-point lead was gone and their luck ran out in overtime, when some guy you and I have never heard of, Richard Crawford, returned a punt deep into Ravens territory, setting up the game-winning field goal. "We damn sure ain't looking for a way to lose," free safety Ed Reed said after the game. But for whatever reason, the losses have been looking for them. With the 31-28 loss, the flawed but still formidable Ravens have now dropped back-to-back games for the first time since 2009. With their weaknesses again brought to light these past two weeks, they can't afford to have that oblong ball bouncing to the NFL's hottest team, Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, this upcoming weekend. Or to the defending Super Bowl champs, Eli Manning and the New York Giants, the week after that. And then there is that trio of heavy hitters, including those Broncos, that will be looming after the season finale in Cincinnati. Make no mistake, the Ravens are still capable of going on a run to New Orleans. Anything is possible, whether it is probable or not, once you make the postseason. But the Ravens should consider sending flowers to Lady Luck. They need to get back in her good graces immediately.
Baltimore Sun photo by Kenneth K. LamThe Ravens will have a tough decision to make with Anquan Boldin this offseason. When the Ravens traded a pair of draft picks to the Arizona Cardinals for Anquan Boldin before the 2010 season and gave him a four-year, $28 million contract, the Ravens thought they had landed a true No. 1 wide receiver. Two-plus seasons later, have the Ravens gotten what they paid for? Well, it depends on who you ask and how they choose to measure such a thing. After recording more than 1,000 receiving yards in five of his seven seasons in the desert, Boldin did not get there in either of his first two years playing by the bay (though he might have in 2011 had he not missed the final two games of the regular season). This season, with 58 catches for 828 yards, he is on pace to finish with 1,019. But if intangibles are your thing, Boldin has lived up to his billing. His blocking is still as good as it gets at the wide receiver position, as we saw two weeks ago on Ray Rice's 4th-and-29 catch-and-run. While he rarely speaks with reporters, the team's young wide receivers, Torrey Smith in particular, are said to hang on his every word behind closed doors. And Boldin -- who, with that metal plate in his jaw, has more metal in his grill than most rappers -- can rally the Ravens with his will at times, like we saw against his former team in 2011. I know I probably shouldn't be looking ahead to the offseason now -- based on some of the sad Tweets sent to me Sunday, I guess I'm not alone in this regard -- but Boldin is entering the final year of his contract. He is scheduled to make $6 million in 2013, a year in which he will celebrate his 33rd birthday. Derrick Mason showed that some savvy wide receivers can produce into their mid-thirties, but the Ravens have also shown that they aren't afraid to cut ties with veterans sooner rather than later (see fan favorites Mason, tight end Todd Heap, nose tackle Kelly Gregg, and linebacker Jarret Johnson). I'm not saying they should do it with Boldin, but they will have a tough decision to make this offseason. Boldin has made a compelling argument for the Ravens to keep him around the past couple of weeks. Smith did not make many plays in the consecutive losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Washington Redskins, and the Ravens are still trying to figure out how to keep him involved when opponents don't let him go deep. But Boldin has been a rock -- but one with an ornery disposition. Against the Steelers, he had five catches for 81 yards and a touchdown. A week later, with Smith held to just one catch for 21 yards, Boldin produced again. His first two catches were made in the end zone -- for 19 and 31 yards, respectively -- and his third preceded Rice's go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. In all, he caught all three passes thrown his way for a team-high 78 yards and two touchdowns, though you could make a solid argument that the play of a true No. 1 wide-out would have commanded more than three targets. But really, all that matters is what the Ravens think of him. And we are going to find out in a few months.
Baltimore Sun photo by Karl Merton Ferron
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Art Jones is giving the Ravens what they lost when Cory Redding left in free agency.
When they signed veteran defensive end Cory Redding before the 2010 season, the Ravens, as they often do when introducing free-agent signings, trumpeted that he "played like a Raven." But in Redding, they really did bring in the kind of underrated building block that helps cement the foundation of a contending team. For two years, Redding was a stout run defender who sometimes contributed as an interior pass rusher and always represented the team well whenever a microphone was shoved in his face. But this offseason, the Ravens let Redding sign with Indianapolis, where he joined Chuck Pagano's Colts. The Ravens were strapped for salary cap space, but they also let him walk because they felt it was time that young defenders Pernell McPhee and Arthur Jones were ready to step into the starting lineup.
McPhee, who was second on the team with six sacks last season, has been one of the season's biggest disappointments. He has struggled to shed weight and blockers, totaling just half a sack and missing four games with injuries to his right knee and right thigh. But Jones has shined over the past six weeks, and he made another handful of impact plays in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 31-28 overtime loss to the Washington Redskins. Early in the quarter, he single-handedly short-circuited a Redskins drive when he knifed into the backfield to tackle running back Alfred Morris for a 3-yard loss on first down, then hit quarterback Robert Griffin III hard on second-down sack. Backed up near the goal line, the Redskins were forced to run a draw play to give their punter a little breathing room. Then, on Washington's crazy game-tying drive in the final minutes, he and outside linebacker Paul Kruger -- another recent Ravens bright spot -- teamed up to sack Griffin, who would be knocked out of the game moments later by an awkward hit by defensive tackle Haloti Ngata. Jones has had a sack in three straight games and 4.5 over that span.
Jones is still splitting snaps with McPhee and others along the defensive line, but he is giving the Ravens meaningful minutes, finally flashing the pass-rushing potential that he displayed at Syracuse. He was on Mel Kiper's Big Board at the start of his senior season, but he dropped to the fifth round of the 2010 NFL draft because of injuries. He has literally worked his butt off the past two summers with his brother, UFC superstar Jon "Bones" Jones, but his coaches say that improved technique is the reason for his recent breakout. And you can't help but pull for one of the good guys in the locker room. Jones is always quick to flash a smile, shake your hand or provide a sound bite whenever you pop by his locker, which is right next to the loquacious Terrell Suggs. I guess you could say Jones is also similar to Redding in that regard. But most importantly, Jones has been playing like Redding, too, and the Ravens really need him to keep it up.
ExpandBy Matt Vensel
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Every week, I hope to bring you a quick Q&A with someone who covers the Ravens’ opponent that week. This week, I chatted with Mike Klis, who covers the Denver Broncos for The Denver Post.
MV: I’m sure it has been a crazy whirlwind covering the Broncos over the past 12 months, going from Tebowmania to the passing brilliance of Peyton Manning. Have you ever seen an offense radically change its philosophy from one season to the next while still having so much success?
MK: It has been unique. From college-type option run game to a sophisticated, combination route passing game. The passing game is way more ball control than I thought. It’s hardly a “wide-open” offense. It’s a lot of short stuff that sets up the occasional pop downfield.
MV: As for Peyton, in what ways has he improved — and maybe even surprised you — since he arrived in Denver? Some questioned how effective he would be, and it sounds like even he wasn’t sure if he could be himself again after all those neck surgeries.
MK: Manning surprised me. I didn’t think he’d have much left at 36 and coming off a missed season. His arm is plenty strong enough but if he’s lost five miles per hour in recent years, he has compensated.
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MV: Second-year outside linebacker Von Miller has put himself in the conversation to be the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year. What makes him such a special player? And should Joe Flacco — and his offensive tackles — be having nightmares about him and defensive end Elvis Dumervil this week?
MK: Michael Oher is in trouble. You can’t block Von Miller one-on-one because he has three assets: speed, athleticism and flexibility. People here talk about how he’s able to bend or contort his body to slip from blocks. And he doesn’t stop. His sacks — plus tackles for losses, which I think lead the league — put him over the top as defender.
MV: How might the Broncos try to stop Ravens wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith?
MK: I think Champ Bailey probably covers Smith and I’m guessing he’ll hold him to something like four catches and 40 yards. Boldin, though, is a mismatch. Chris Harris might take him. He’s the Broncos’ most physical corner. But he starts outside and plays inside on nickel. Tony Carter is a very fast, very good cover corner but Boldin can post him up all day.
MV: The Broncos, who look unstoppable right now, are jostling for playoff positioning with the Ravens, New England Patriots and Houston Texans. If need be, is this a team that is capable of winning on the road to get to New Orleans?
MK: The Broncos can win on road because of Manning and their defense. It’s a Super Bowl-caliber defense. The question would be whether they can run the ball in January.