I Didn’t Hear No Bell! Ravens Can Still Turn This Around, but Need Changes

Ok. Obviously things are not going well for the Ravens.  They have been ravaged by injuries, the defense has been historically bad, and the offensive line looks like Swiss cheese.  A very good Los Angeles Rams team is coming to town, and I think it’s unlikely that Lamar Jackson plays. Hitting the bye at an unimaginable 1-5 now seems like almost a foregone conclusion.

But, I am not ready to give up on the season, and I think it’s possible the Ravens can turn things around. To do so, they need to make some changes ASAP.

If you know me, you know I usually defend Ravens coaches, but I’ve seen enough.  I like Zach Orr as a person, but he clearly was promoted too high too soon and is not ready to be an NFL defensive coordinator.  My first instinct was that he should be fired, but I don’t think the Ravens are ready to go there yet, and there are no logical candidates to take over mid-season.  Chuck Pagano has been clear that he has no desire to be a defensive coordinator (or head coach) again because of the toll it took on him.  So, I think the Ravens should start with stripping Orr of not his title, but his play-calling duties, and give that responsibility to Pagano.  There have been a ton of communication issues, so maybe a different voice and possibly some simpler play-calling can lead to fewer mistakes on defense. This is a change that should be made immediately; before the Los Angeles Rams game.

Second, Andrew Voorhees and Daniel Faalele need to be benched in favor of Corey Bullock and Ben Cleveland.   The line isn’t getting it done, so it’s time to make some personnel changes. Cleveland seems like a player that does an adequate job when given the chance in games, but just doesn’t seem to do enough in practice to earn more gameday snaps. I think he can be an upgrade at RG over the much-maligned Faalele. Bullock is admittedly a wild card as he doesn’t have NFL regular-season experience.

But Voorhees has been just as bad as Faalele, and Bullock has looked decent in limited showings in preseason.  Time to give these guys a shot.

With these changes, I think the Ravens are capable of making a run and possibly sneaking into the playoffs, either as the AFC North winner or a wild card.

The Ravens’ schedule is a lot less intimidating the last 12 games of the season than it was for the first six.  After the Week 7 bye, which hopefully allows Jackson, Ronnie Stanley, and several key defensive players to get healthy, the Ravens have a chance to get back into contention.  The first two games after the bye are home against the Chicago Bears and on the road on a Thursday night at the Miami Dolphins.  Both those games are clearly winnable if the Ravens are moderately healthy. If they can get to 3-5 at that point, you can’t count them out.

As far as the AFC North, it appears that the Pittsburgh Steelers are the only legitimate threat.  The Browns have a stellar defense, but a bad offense, just switched to a rookie QB, and don’t appear to be in contention.  The Cincinnati Bengals look completely lost without Joe Burrow (though they just traded for Joe Flacco).

The Steelers have been known to start well and fade back to mediocrity as the season goes on.  It is definitely not out of the question that they slip to 9-8 or 10-7 and open the door for the Ravens, especially with an aging Aaron Rodgers at quarterback.  You have to think the hits will take a toll on him as the season goes on.  The Steelers have division games Week 6 and 7 against the Browns and at the Bengals.  On paper, the Steelers should handle these two teams, but division games are always tough.  In particular, I think the Browns defense will keep it close and give them a small chance to steal a game.  In Weeks 8 and 9, the Steelers face two legitimate playoff contenders in the Packers in Colts.

As far as wild card hopes, it’s still up in the air.  The biggest threat is the AFC West which has three contenders for playoff spots (one division winner and two wild card hopefuls) in the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, and Denver Broncos.  But, all three of those teams have been inconsistent.  The Chiefs, who almost everyone expects to win, are 2-3.  Their only wins are against 1-4 teams:  the New York Giants and sadly the Baltimore Ravens.  They have lost to all the teams they have played that are .500 or better: the Los Angeles Chargers, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Jacksonville Jaguars.  They are also now 0-3 in one-score games this season, so maybe they have lost some of their late-game magic they had last year.  Things don’t get easier for the Chiefs anytime soon, as they face the Lions, Commanders, and Bills within the next four weeks (along with the Raiders Week 7).

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Chargers rolled to a 3-0 start, but have lost two straight to the New York Giants and Washington Commanders.  In addition, they have now lost two running backs, Najee Harris to season-ending IR, and now reports are that Omarion Hampton is headed to IR, so he will miss at least four games.  The Broncos have been inconsistent but picked up a big win at the Philadelphia Eagles to move to 3-2.  The good news about all of these teams is they have to face each other several times, so it’s easy to see one or two of them slipping to 10-7 or 9-8, leaving the door open.

The other teams that are wild card contenders are honestly a bit of a surprise.  The Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars are both 4-1, but I am not sure either team can be trusted just yet.  Daniel Jones and Trevor Lawrence need to prove they can put a whole season together before they can be taken seriously.  It is very possible one of both of these teams slip back to mediocrity.  The last wild card contender is the New England Patriots.  Before upsetting the Buffalo Bills, their only wins were against bad Dolphins and Panthers teams.  I am still not confident they are a good team, but they have a very soft schedule.

For further breakdown of AFC playoff contenders’ schedules for Weeks 5-9, see my previous article:

OTL: Slicing Into Schedules for AFC North & AFC Playoff Contenders

In conclusion, while things look very bleak right now, there is hope that this is rock bottom and the Ravens can rebound and go on an upward trajectory.

We are all frustrated, but let’s not give up on these Ravens quite yet!

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