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PFF reviews the Ravens' season so far

The agency is quite optimistic about a few players, finding some positives amongst the terrible play.

By Nathan Beaucage

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Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

If there's a good source for evaluating players, it's Pro Football Focus. With the team performing so badly, it's hard to look at any player in a good light. The bad overall play of the team can easily overshadow the good play of one individual, and that's why football is a team sport. While PFF isn't the end all and be all of ranking players, it's an absolutely crucial key in evaluating players.

While the Ravens have looked pretty bad thus far into the season, the agency still managed to find a few bright spots amid the dysfunction.

  • At QB, Joe Flacco has really turned it around. He's PFF's 16th-best thrower over the past six weeks, which is a huge improvement from his standing as the 37th-best quarterback to start the season.
  • Justin Forsett isn't so hot in the backfield. His rushing grade is 25th in the league, and 54th in the pass catching game.
  • The receiving options don't look so good on paper, but PFF is a fan. Kamar Aiken is just outside the top 20 receivers over the past seven weeks, and newest addition Chris Givens is a top 25 option. On the other hand, Marlon Brown continues to regress, placing as the league's 113th best receiver.
  • The Ravens are stacked at TE. All three players at the position are in the top 11, receiving high grades in both the receiving and blocking facets of the game.
  • On the offensive line, all is well after some early season woes. At tackle, Eugene Monroe is a top 10 option, while Ricky Wagner has really picked up his game, having his best game of the season last week. The Ravens have two of the best guards in the league in Kelechi Osemele and Marshal Yanda, who are posting some of the best numbers among their peers. The only troublesome spot on the line is at center, where the eigth-ranked Jeremy Zuttah is being replaced by John Urschel, who has a pretty average ranking by the agency's standards.
  • The pass rush has left something to be desired this year, but the front line is still putting up good numbers. On the outside, Chris Canty and Timmy Jernigan are both top 25 options. The inside is in good hands, with Brandon Williams leading all DTs on the season in the ratings.
  • C.J. Mosley and Daryl Smith are continuing the Ravens' excellence at linebacker, with both being top 10 options.
  • The woes rear their ugly head once you stumble upon the cornerback position. Shockingly, Shareece Wright is the team's best-rated defensive back as the league's 29th-best. Jimmy Smith and Lardarius Webb come nowhere close to that, placing 78th and 87th respectively.
  • At safety, the numbers are a little more respectable. Kendrick Lewis has improved greatly, moving up to 24th-best after a truly bad start. Will Hill has continued to be a cornerstone in the secondary, staying just outside of the top 20 after a second-place start to begin the year.

Curious what PFF grades are?

PFF's grades represent the most recent momentum of a player, or as they put it, "our rating is how good a player is right now." The grades are "represented through a 1 to 100 scale and [we] use a weighted depreciation over the past two years with more weight given to recent games." The green represent an uptick in performance, while red means the opposite.

PFF relies on a handful of analysts grading each and every play on a scale of -2 to 2, with -2 being a very bad play, and 2 being a very good one. For more info on PFF's grades, they can explain here.

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