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While the Ravens certainly didn't pass the amateur eye test this Sunday, an analysis from our friends over at Pro Football Focus confirms what we all knew. The Ravens sucked.
But not everyone did. There were actually some bright spots on the squad. Here's who did pretty darn good despite the loss.
The Good
- Steve Smith (WR): The veteran wide receiver looked nothing like his age, putting on a show for the second week in a row. The agency says that he led all WRs in receiving grade this week (+4.8). Per PFF he ranks 4th best on the season.
- Marshal Yanda (OL): The Ravens' stud on the front lines can't do anything wrong, even if his peers do. Despite a dismal showing from the OL (-18.7 rating), Yanda was actually the best in the league. He led all RGs with a 3.1 rating and 1.7 pass block grade. Yanda also didn't allow a single pressure.
- Brandon Williams (DT): He was the beast we all knew he could be. Williams was the best DT in the league because of his 7.6 overall rating and his 6.7 run defense rating.
- C.J. Mosley (ILB): Put in a nice performance, ranking 6th amongst ILBs. However, his real strength has proved to be the pass rush. Mosley tied Bobby Wagner for best pass rushing LB this week, and leads all linebackers in total pressures and has the highest pass rush grade at the position.
- Timmy Jernigan (DE): The second-year player is doing well at filling Haloti Ngata's gigantic shoes. He was well-rounded, earning a rating of 1.5 in both pass and run rushing. His 3.1 overall grade put him in this week's Top 5 for all 3-4 DEs.
The Bad
I'm going straight to the ugly for these two players.
The Ugly
- James Hurst (OT): Eugene Monroe's fill-in isn't doing the offense any favors. PFF says he was dead last overall of any NFL player, with a dismal -11.2 grade. A run block rating of -5.0 and a pass protection rating of -4.7 really accentuate just how bad he has been.
- Joe Flacco (QB): While at times he looked pretty good, PFF says otherwise. They've got Flacco as their 24th best quarterback for the week, and that's out of 30 qualifying quarterbacks. They made a special note of his short range struggles, where he posted a -4.1 grade when throwing passes between 0-10 yards.
- Jimmy Smith (CB): You don't need fancy metrics or stats to know that Smith was just plain bad. The team's top cornerback got absolutely burnt by A.J. Green. The 126 yards and one touchdown that Green posted when facing off against Smith were good for a grade of -3.5 in pass coverage, or 85th among all cornerbacks.
So while the Ravens are 0-3, that doesn't mean that there haven't been some playmakers on the team. In fact, as you saw in the 'good' column, the team had the league's best WR, RG, and DT this week, as well as a Top 10 ILB and DE. The team certainly has the talent, but hasn't been able to put it all together... yet.