Ravens News 10/20: OL Rankings and more

Lamar Jackson, Ravens Trying Not to ‘Overthink’ Fourth-Quarter Troubles - Ryan Mink

Baltimore has lost double-digit fourth quarter leads in all three of its losses. The Ravens have been outscored, 45-10, in the fourth quarter in their three losses.

The Ravens’ answer to their fourth-quarter woes is to not get too complicated, and especially not get in their own heads about it.

“It’s one of those things that you don’t want to overthink. It’s not one of those things that you want to make more of than it is,” Head Coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday.

“We’re going to try to finish everything; you try to finish the first play just like you try to finish the last play. So, keep playing football, keep doing what we do, and we’ll be fine.”

“I feel like we need to stop putting that on our mind, because we know we should be doing that anyways. We’re the offense; [when] we get in the red zone, we should score points; not over-emphasize that like, ‘We’re in the red zone; we need to score!’” Jackson said.

“Me and some of the guys were talking … We’ve just got to go out there and do us, because we’ve been doing it without thinking about scoring in the red zone or scoring from here – we just went out there and did it – and we need to get back to it.”

NFL Rewind: Handing out MVP, other awards at the season’s one-third mark - Nate Tice

MVP

3. Lamar Jackson, QB, Ravens

Jackson always has to be analyzed in his own way. His play style is unique, and his running ability remains one of the most dangerous weapons in the NFL. He has 17 rushes of 10 yards or more this year; no other QB has more than 10.

As with Allen in Buffalo, Jackson is the Ravens’ offense. Like, the entire thing. When successful run plays happen, you can see the sheer gravity that Jackson’s own skill set has on those handoffs. He’ll attract one or two defenders, making them hesitate just enough to open up lanes for Jackson’s teammates.

Greg Roman’s Ravens offense seems to have a bit of “throw things against the wall and see what sticks” syndrome in the passing game. But that shouldn’t take away from Jackson’s growth as a pocket passer. He is scrambling at the lowest rate of his career (7.7 percent, compared to 10.5 percent from 2019-2021) and has improved against the blitz.

And he is still devastating when he does run, this season ranking first in first downs per rush among all players with 50 or more attempts. His 0.68 EPA per rush is more than double his MVP mark of 0.30 in 2019. While other metrics are all over the place for Jackson, his QBR of 64.1 ranks fifth, despite his EPA per dropback of 0.04 sitting just above the league-average mark of 0.02.

This is a vote to acknowledge the sheer load that Jackson handles every week. His passing numbers might never be eye-popping because of the volume, but Jackson has never been more polished there, including the season he actually did win MVP.

Offensive Notes vs Giants Week 6 2022 - Ken McKusick

Stanley: Ronnie increased his snap count to 50 while continuing to play well. He surrendered a pressure when bulled by DE L. Williams (Q2, 1:57). He also shared 1/3 sack on the Ravens last offensive play when bulled by OLB Fox to phonebooth the pocket (Q4, 1:40). Of his 3 missed blocks, 2 were losses at the LoS. He scored 3 of a possible 4 points on pulls and made 3 blocks in level 2. He delivered 1 pancake and had 2 highlights. One highlight was a combination block on DE L. Williams and then S Love in level 2 (Q4, 5:22).

Scoring: 50 plays, 45 blocks, 3 missed, 1 pressure, 1/3 sack, 41 points (.82 per play). That’s a B+ after adjustment.

It appeared to me the Ravens would have liked for Stanley to play approximately 70% of snaps in this game based on the fact Mekari relieved him for the 3rd series, but that plan fell apart with Moses’ injury.

NFL Offensive Line Rankings ahead of Week 7 - Sam Monson

4. BALTIMORE RAVENS (UP 3)

Projected Week 7 Starters:

LT Ronnie Stanley

LG Ben Powers

C Tyler Linderbaum

RG Kevin Zeitler

RT Morgan Moses

• Stanley played 51 of a possible 59 snaps for the Ravens this past week and did not surrender any pressure. He has yet to surrender pressure since returning from injury.

• Rookie Tyler Linderbaum struggled against the sheer size of Dexter Lawrence, allowing three pressures and several more pass-blocking losses in the game.

Upcoming Opponent: Cleveland Browns

• Myles Garrett will severely test Ronnie Stanley. Garrett is playing as well as any edge rusher in the game, tallying 28 pressures from five games.

NFL picks, predictions against the spread Week 7: Chiefs top 49ers; Jaguars jam Giants; Packers, Ravens rebound - Vinnie Iyer

Browns at Ravens (-7, 46 o/u)

The Browns’ run defense is in shambles and Myles Garrett is hurting again. Their linebacker and secondary play have been a major disappointment. That should work out well for Lamar Jackson and the Ravens’ traditional running game. The Browns also have no real answers for Mark Andrews or downfield shot plays off play-action. Jacoby Brissett will be rattled with Nick Chubb contained again.

Pick: Ravens win 30-20 and cover the spread.

NFL Week 7 picks: Cowboys roll as Dak Prescott returns, Tom Brady, Bucs rebound, Broncos cool Jets - Pete Prisco

Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens (-6.5)

These two are off to slow starts, but the Ravens have lost three games they led by double-digits in the second half. That won’t happen in this one. Lamar Jackson will have a big game against a Cleveland defense that is bad right now. This won’t be close.

Pick: Ravens 33, Browns 19