After a promising 3-0 start, the Ravens have floundered to a 3-4 record heading into their bye week, with all 4 losses coming in close games to teams that they very easily could have beaten. There were a number of factors that led to these losses including coaching mistakes, undisciplined play (penalties/bad turnovers), and perhaps most importantly, injuries. With such a promising start, it was somewhat surprising to see the Ravens unravel in such an ugly fashion. Should it have been surprising though? The organization made a lot of changes in the offseason in an attempt to get better after a 5-11 season, but did they make the right moves? Let’s take a look at the Ravens offseason on a position by position basis, starting with the offense in Part 1 of this breakdown. Look for Part 2 covering the defense in the coming days.
(You can discuss how the Ravens offseason moves affected the 2016 team performance on our message boards.)
Offensive Line:
The Ravens tend to be quiet players every year in the free agency period. They rarely ever sign big name free agents, especially UFAs that could potentially impinge on the ability to secure a coveted compensatory draft pick. The Ravens first priority is usually to keep their own FAs, and they reportedly offered UFA OG Kelechi Osemele a very competitive offer before seeing him leave for a bigger payday in Oakland.
The Ravens chose not to sign any FA offensive lineman to replace Osemele, instead they took two players in the draft: OT Ronnie Stanley in the 1st round (6th overall) and OT/OG Alex Lewis in the 4th round. After the selection of Stanley, the Ravens released Eugene Monroe who had been the team’s starting LT for the past 2 ½ seasons. Stanley and Lewis both started in week 1, but injuries have kept Stanley from playing the past 4 weeks and Lewis was forced to play out of position at LT. There was an obvious lack of depth along the OL that the Ravens created by cutting Monroe and not bringing in any adequate back-ups during free agency. This is one position group where the Ravens poor decisions in the offseason came back to haunt them in a big way as poor play along the OL has been one of the major reasons for the team’s offensive struggles and 3-4 record.
Receiving Corps:
After missing out on Osemele, the front office quickly moved to sign UFA TE Ben Watson, who was coming off of a career season playing in New Orleans. Watson is a good two-way, veteran player who was expected to play a large role in the Ravens offense with 2nd year player Maxx Williams developing slowly and uncertainty surrounding the health of Dennis Pitta. Unfortunately, Watson’s season ended before it began as he suffered a torn Achilles in the third preseason game.
The Ravens tendered RFA Kamar Aiken who had a breakout season in 2015 and also acquired WR Mike Wallace, who had been released by Minnesota Vikings. Wallace was another veteran player brought in to give Joe Flacco a steady receiving option with uncertainty surrounding the health of Steve Smith Sr. and 2nd year player Breshad Perriman. This move has payed significant dividends as Wallace has been the only consistent receiver on the team, leading all Ravens WRs in receptions, yardage and TDs. Smith Sr. has missed time due to injury and Perriman has not yet proven he is ready to take on a significant role in the offense although he has shown flashes of playmaking ability. Aiken has been the defacto #2 WR with Smith Sr. out, but he has done very little on the field of play. The team also drafted WR Chris Moore in the 4th round, but he has barely managed to see the field.
Perhaps the biggest surprise for the Ravens has been the contributions of Pitta who many wrote off as being finished in the league after two major hip injuries. Pitta has more snaps at TE than any other Raven and is currently leading the team in receptions with 38. While he has never been a great blocker, having him on the field as a chain-mover on 3rd down has been a boon for the Ravens. Overall, I believe the Ravens did a good job of bringing in talent for Joe Flacco to throw to although the lack of a bonafide #1 WR is still apparent.
Running Back:
The Ravens did not have a pressing need at RB going into the 2016 season with Justin Forsett coming back from injury, and several young players in the fold including Terrance West, Javorius Allen and Lorenzo Taliaferro. Between these 4 players there is clearly some talent, but none of them possessed special playmaking ability. With that in mind the Ravens drafted another RB in the 4th round, highly regarded Kenneth Dixon. Forsett did not last long in a Ravens uniform, as his playing time was cut into by the bigger and more physical Terrance West. Dixon started the season hurt and has only seen very limited playing time, but West has acquitted himself well as the Ravens starting RB. Allen and Taliaferro have not garnered much playing time, with FB Kyle Juzczyk taking the most snaps on obvious passing downs. Going forward, West still appears to be the lead back with Dixon looking to take on a larger role as well. Overall, the RB position is not a major problem for the Ravens, but it’s not a strength yet either.
Coaching:
John Harbaugh brought back OC Marc Trestman after a lackluster 2015 season. The offense under-produced in a big way in 2015, and although a lot of the blame for that can be attributed to injuries, the offense was never good from the get go. Trestman was likely given a second chance in the name of continuity, which does make sense, but it quickly became apparent that Trestman was not a good fit for the Ravens and QB Joe Flacco. Harbaugh fired Trestman after an embarrassing home loss to the Redskins in which the OC inexplicably forgot he could run the football. Trestman was replaced with QB coach Marty Mornhinweg who has not done much to impress thus far in his short stint as offensive playcaller. The Ravens were in a tough spot with Trestman and are most likely going to be looking for a new OC in the next offseason. It’s hard to blame the Ravens and Harbaugh for sticking with Trestman, but in hindsight there were clear red flags that it wasn’t a good match.
The Ravens made a number of smart moves to bring Flacco some much needed weapons on offense, but unfortunately the same cannot be said for how the OL was constructed. The Ravens went into the season starting two rookies and had no viable depth behind them. After inevitable injuries, the lack of depth along the OL became an obvious problem, and it dragged down the offense and the entire team. More than anything else, this one glaring oversight has been a major hindrance to a Ravens team that was trying to rebound after a difficult 2015 season.
Ravens Analyst
Gabe is an avid fan of the NFL and Ravens football. He grew up in Westminster, MD, and attended college at Johns Hopkins University majoring in Biology. He earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and now works as a R&D Scientist developing Transplant Diagnostics assays. Gabe has appeared as a guest on 105.7 The Fan.