Baltimore Ravens 2014 season review by the numbers

Our good friends at NumberFire have once again taken a look at the Baltimore Ravens, this time for a season review. Using their metrics, NumberFire takes a look at The Good, the Bad and Looking Forward.

The Good:

• The offense was great -
  • RB Justin Forsett was second among running backs in Rushing Net Expected Points of 22.67
  • QB Joe Flacco ranked 10th out of 37 qualified quarterbacks with a Passing NEP of 89.35 and his per-drop back Passing NEP of 0.16 was 11th
  • WRs Steve Smith and Torrey Smith both ranked inside the top 25 in Reception NEP among receivers (22nd and 25th, respectively)
• The defense was too -
  • On a per-play basis, Baltimore also had the fifth-best defense and the second-best rushing defense when adjusted for schedule

The Bad:

• Ravens posted an Adjusted Defensive Passing NEP per play of 0.08, which ranked 17th in the league

Looking Forward: 

• The on-field product in Baltimore was among the best in the NFL this year. Figuring out how to improve the secondary -- and trying to retain key offensive pieces -- will be key for the Ravens as they move forward to the 2015 season. Also, will Marc Trestman be smart enough to keep the offensive scheme in tact?

This really highlights what us Ravens fans saw during the regular season. The Raven offense hit new strides with quarterback Joe Flacco being the most efficient of his career while using journeyman rusher Justin Forsett's surprising production to grind games along. The Defense again was a top level, elite type defense bolstered by their great rush defense. However, what ultimately killed the Ravens' season was a poor passing defense that just couldn't overcome the loss of Jimmy Smith and just about every other player that had DB or CB as a position.

As we will talk about all offseason, the Ravens really need to work out how to get healthy in the secondary and retain their key players and they should see improvement next season. Working on subtle improvements to the offense while aiming to make more splash plays as a defense will be all the Ravens need to see them battle for another Super Bowl ring.