Ravens News 9/15: Stock report and more

Ravens Week 1 stock report; Who’s up, who’s down? - Andrew Gillis

Stock up: Patrick Queen

The Ravens’ first-round draft choice proved why he was worthy of the 28th selection, and why a few teams should’ve considered him sooner, with a team leading eight tackles. Queen also registered his first career sack and forced fumble, as it was a banner day for another heralded Ravens inside linebacker.

Paired with fellow rookie Malik Harrison to start the game, the Ravens have a nice linebacking corps they can build off of for years. And it starts with Queen.

Stock down: Run defense

The Ravens allowed 132 yards on the ground to Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb, including a scoring drive in the first quarter where the Browns drove right down the field and to cut the lead to 10-6.

Queen said the reasons for the long runs were mistakes that are correctable, and it’s important to note the Ravens won’t face a better backfield all season long.

Still, there could’ve been a better start to the season for a revamped front seven.

Baltimore Ravens’ risers and fallers after Week 1; players speak on empty stadium: Monday rewind - Aaron Kasinitz

WR Marquise Brown: Stock up

The Ravens expect Brown to make strides in his second NFL season, and he showed signs of meeting lofty expectations Sunday. He tracked a beautiful Lamar Jackson deep ball to make a contested catch for a 47-yard gain in the first quarter and remained a focal point of the offense all afternoon, finishing with five receptions for a game-high 101 yards.

While Brown generated big plays as a rookie, he didn’t provide consistent production at the rate of a star pass catcher. Last season, he had five or more receptions twice and topped 100 yards in just one regular-season game. His performance Sunday offered optimism that he can marry home run-hitting ability with more steadiness in Year 2.

1 - That’s the number of carries the Ravens gave Gus Edwards while Jackson remained in the game. After backup Robert Griffin III entered in the fourth quarter, with the victory well in hand, Edwards took the ball three more times for a total of four rushing attempts. For now, it seems Mark Ingram (10 carries) and J.K. Dobbins (7) are the top two running backs on the depth chart.

What the Browns Said After a Week 1 Rout - Ryan Mink

DE Myles Garrett

(On the Ravens scoring 38 points and Ravens QB Lamar Jackson’s performance)”They do what they do best. They ran the ball. They got him outside the pocket and got us moving. He made some good throws and he put it on the money. We were not where we were supposed to be.”

(On if the Browns having a new coaching staff and the Ravens having continuity was evident) ”They came out a lot more crisp. They were just the more prepared team. Whether that was because we have more new guys, new coaches, schemes and all that, that is irrelevant. At the end of the day, nobody is going to feel sorry for you. You just have to go out there and play ball. We did not do it at a high level. We gave the ball up way too many times.”

G Joel Bitonio

(On Ravens DE Calais Campbell’s impact on the game) ”He is a great player. He is an All-Pro. He got his hands on a few balls. It is tough to deal with when he is 6-8 or 6-9 because even if you block him at the line of scrimmage, he has a chance to get his hands up on the play, and those are drive killers. We have to get his hands down next time, but he is a good player. They traded for him, and he has done it well for a long time. He is definitely someone you have to ID up there, and we have to find a way to chop him down a little bit.”

Here are three ways Lamar Jackson is even better than his MVP season - Jamison Hensley

Deeper throws. One of Jackson’s biggest goals was to drive the ball more downfield. Jackson did just that against the Browns, going 9-of-10 for 180 yards on passes of 10 yards or more, including a 19-yard touchdown pass to Willie Snead(which traveled 18 yards in the air). That’s the most such completions in a game in Jackson’s career. Last season, Jackson completed just 49.2% of passes over 10 yards, which ranked 19th in the NFL.

“Lamar Jackson just played a phenomenal game,” coach John Harbaugh said. “He just played a top-level game in every single way, and I think he was, probably, the biggest difference in the game.”

NFL Week 2 early odds: Seahawks favored over Patriots, Chiefs looking to continue wild run vs. AFC West teams - John Breech

Ravens (1-0) at Texans (0-1)

Opening line: Ravens, -6.5 points

Lamar Jackson is slowly turning into the one of best road quarterbacks in football. Since taking over the starting job in 2018, Jackson and the Ravens have gone 9-2 both straight-up and ATS in road games. It’s probably also worth mentioning that Baltimore has won and covered in five straight road games. The Ravens are also 18-2 straight-up in the past 20 games where they’ve been favored by six or more (11-9 ATS). As for the Texans, they’re 2-6 ATS in their past eight home games and they’re 1-14 straight-up in their past 15 games where they were an underdog of six or more points (5-10 ATS).