Article Dr Ravenlove or: How I’ve Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the (Two Year) Plan

[Oldfaithful]

Dr Ravenlove or: How I’ve Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the (Two Year) Plan

By Lost in Translation

Ravens fans, let’s be honest for a moment. The majority of you are in panic mode. After an embarrassing loss against the Jaguars, and a bad loss against the Steelers, you’re in no mood for optimism. The sky is falling. The world is ending. Fire everyone. Other things that the angry irrational casual fan yells to the sky.

Sure, I’ll be the first to admit that the present is bleak. Our offensive line looks bad without Yanda, Flacco’s back looks like it’s not going to stop bothering him anytime soon, the defense looks lost without Brandon Williams and injuries are piling up.

Most notably, people have started to criticize Ozzie Newsome, the (usually) beloved General Manager of the Baltimore Ravens since the franchise’s inception. Myself included, I think that Ozzie should have focused more on the offensive line than he did. I don’t think Alex Lewis is a good option as a starting guard, and while I thought the Austin Howard move is the right one, I thought we should have addressed Wagner’s replacement earlier in the offseason by taking a tackle in the draft as well.

While I’ve been critical, I decided to take a step back and evaluate what is going on. Other fans that I keep in touch with in my personal life noticed that there is an obvious (yet good) strategy in place. And let me be honest: Ozzie’s plan is genius. And let me explain why.

I know it looks bad that I’m already looking ahead to 2018. But those of you who know me personally know that I’m more of a big picture thinker than anything. I’m always looking ahead. The NFL is an ever changing and evolving league. I like keeping up with it.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with what I’m talking about, let me explain. People have criticized the decision to load up the defense. I thought that overall, our free agent haul was positive. Tony Jefferson, even though he’s struggling, is still a very good safety who hits hard and is excellent in all facets of the game. Jeremy Maclin is a #1 WR in the NFL, and is possibly our best player on offense right now. Then there was the draft, which several Ravens fans criticized. Ultimately, given the draftable players in the class, loading up on the defense was the right move. We took Marlon Humphrey, a player who has the potential to be a #1 corner at the NFL level. Tyus Bowser looks like he’s going to be a very good player for years to come, and Tim Williams has flashed the ability to be, at worst, a very good situational pass rusher who can bring the heat. All three of these players have pretty decently sized floors, and high ceilings. They will get better as their careers go on. Given these three alone, it looks like Ozzie was successful this draft, and had a good offseason when looking at all of the additions.

This brings me to where we stand currently. There are several reasons why we look inept. Part of it is we have a lot of youth and we need to grow. There have been some mishaps on the field by certain players, and the coaching hasn’t been great. It looks like a regime change is coming, which may worry people.

Well fear not Ravens fans. Let me explain to you why things are going to change in 2018, and get better from here. Even if we get a regime change coaching wise, and need to find a new QB.

1) The Offensive Talent Pool in the upcoming offseason.

I think most people agree. Most, if not all of our needs come on the offensive side of the ball. We could use four things in particular.

i) Upgrades along the offensive line: particularly at LG and RT

ii) A new bell cow running back

iii) Another receiving option in the passing game

iv) A potential immediate/future replacement for Joe Flacco.

Well good news Ravens fans. Next year’s free agency and draft classes are ripe with talent on the offensive side of the ball. But I won’t harp on this for too long. This will get it’s own article series when the time comes. I will also talk more about it as my mock drafts go on. One will be coming this week, be sure to check it out.

2) Players returning from injury.

Let’s be honest here. Injuries have killed this season more than anything. Especially on the defensive side of the ball. Tavon Young was by far our biggest loss of the year. As a rookie, he looked like he had the makings to be a very good #2 corner at the NFL level, and a top notch slot cornerback. Jaylen Hill, the very talented undrafted free agent that looked to be his replacement also got hurt. Marshal Yanda and Danny Woodhead, both key components of the offense were lost for a long period of time. I don’t need to go on. You know the story by now.

To put it bluntly, the defense looks to be utterly terrifying next season if it is going to be healthy. The corner trio of Jimmy Smith, Marlon Humphrey, and Tavon Young looks like it has the potential to be among the best in the entire NFL. There is also good depth behind these three with Jaylen Hill and Maruice Canaday on the roster. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was another acquisition at cornerback, but we look rock solid there for the future. Likewise, at safety(I think they will both come around), Tony Jefferson and Eric Weddle look to be a good duo to round everything out. We are also beyond lucky to Ladarius Webb, who would be a starter at safety on most teams(which he clearly is now. He’s not much of a slot CB anymore sadly) as our third stringer, and Anthony Levine is a good reserve himself.


Offensively, I think Yanda comes back and hopefully returns to form. Yanda’s game has always been more predicated on technique than anything, so I have a feeling that he comes back(and doesn’t retire) and continues to go strong. Interior olinemen have long careers, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he continues to play at a high level for another 2 years or so. Woodhead returning would also be a massive boost.


Being healthy has been a lot to ask for, but with potential additions, we might have a good amount of depth next offseason to overcome a lot of injuries.


3) Youth

The 2016 and 2017 Drafts have looked phenomenal when it comes to rebuilding our defense. Tavon Young, Marlon Humphrey, Tim Williams, Tyus Bowser among others look like they all have the potential to be high level players on the defense. Matt Judon, Bronson Kaufausi, Willie Henry, and Chris Wormley look like they all have the potential to be solid role players at worse, but most(except Wormley) have high ceilings that they might reach. Henry and Kaufausi as interior pass rushers, and Judon as a power edge rusher. Let’s be honest. If all of these guys can contribute in a good capacity, the defense is going to be set for the next half decade. Which suits us, we’re a defensive team anyway. We’ve never been one to field a dominant offense.


Make no mistakes though. The nailing 2018 draft is imperative to the team’s future success. And given the previous two drafts, I think Ozzie has finally learned how to adapt to the modern NFL draft. If we can inject our offense with some younger talent who can contribute, then we are going to be set for awhile.

4) Potential Quarterback of the Future

I am well aware of Flacco’s struggles. And while I do think he eventually turns it around. With how talented the 2018 draft is at the quarterback position is, if we need an immediate quarterback of the future. We can get one. There are three immediate franchise quarterback talents in the draft and I think we will be in good position to land one of them if we continue to struggle this way. Again, this is an article for another day. Will be coming if the season continues to unfold this way. But there are also a few options in the middle rounds that could use grooming. But even if we have to rebuild, we can do what we did when Flacco first started here and fix a lot of our problems off the bat.


Conclusion: If we can nail the 2018 offseason, then I think the worst case scenario is that we did a fast rebuild and found our QB of the future and instill a solid offensive supporting cast, and an elite defense. An ideal situation overall for a rookie. Best case scenario is that Flacco gets out of whatever funk he’s in, and we bolster the supporting cast on offense and have a 2-3-year window to win the Super Bowl. Overall, I’m not worried. The team is younger than we are used to and will grow. The plan looks to be sound either way we go about it. We might need to fine-tune certain parts of it along the way, but fear not Ravens fans: better days are ahead.

 

[allblackraven]

I'm done with not being worried because clearly we hope for the same, year in and year out and when things don't work, we find excuses in injuries and inexperience. Years go by and young dudes aren't young any longer and they didn't improve much because they never got the real opportunity for fear of loss but we still end up with the short straw, except for a fluke 2014. Few that pan out get sacrificed for comp picks and you fill the team with mediocrity.

Even if we fix that part, nothing will work with current coaching staff (and by that I mean HC and OCs) in place. We need a fresh start, with a coach who chooses his staff on merit, not on previous relationships. Coach who knows exactly how he wants his defense or offense to look like and demands players with the skills to do it. Coach who grew some balls to change stuff when something clearly isn't working.

There. I feel better now.

 

[Oldfaithful]

Even if we fix that part, nothing will work with current coaching staff (and by that I mean HC and OCs) in place. We need a fresh start, with a coach who chooses his staff on merit, not on previous relationships. Coach who knows exactly how he wants his defense or offense to look like and demands players with the skills to do it. Coach who grew some balls to change stuff when something clearly isn't working.

There. I feel better now.

Harbaugh is gone after this year... No doubt in my mind. Steve doesn't like seeing the team fail like this. Sure, we just extended him, but he's gone. We fired Billick when we did the same thing. This team is too talented to be underperforming like this. Meaning everyone(except maybe Roman) is likely also gone.

That's the only thing I am somewhat worried about. Ozzie's previous two drafts have been great thus far. We need one good offseason to rebuild the majority of the offense and boom: contending team again. As bad as Ozzie's plan looks in the short term, long term wise it's pretty good.

That said, I do think Harbaugh is a problem at this point. He's a good coach but I believe we've reached our expiration date with him. Hhis never ending carousel of OCs did that for him. Like Billick, he was pretty damn successful for the most part, but has lost his touch with the team.

I do think that a new coaching regime is incoming. Harbaugh's seat is on fire right now. He knows it.

No playoffs, he's gone

 

[allblackraven]

Harbaugh is gone after this year... No doubt in my mind. Steve doesn't like seeing the team fail like this. Sure, we just extended him, but he's gone. We fired Billick when we did the same thing. This team is too talented to be underperforming like this. Meaning everyone(except maybe Roman) is likely also gone.

That's the only thing I am somewhat worried about. Ozzie's previous two drafts have been great thus far. We need one good offseason to rebuild the majority of the offense and boom: contending team again. As bad as Ozzie's plan looks in the short term, long term wise it's pretty good.

That said, I do think Harbaugh is a problem at this point. He's a good coach but I believe we've reached our expiration date with him. Hhis never ending carousel of OCs did that for him. Like Billick, he was pretty damn successful for the most part, but has lost his touch with the team.

I do think that a new coaching regime is incoming. Harbaugh's seat is on fire right now. He knows it.

No playoffs, he's gone

The big difference this time around will be that whomever replaces Harbaugh, won't take over the playoff calibre team, with two HoF defenders in place and in their best years, so he'll have to hit on a QB to carry his team. I wish him luck.

 

[Oldfaithful]

The big difference this time around will be that whomever replaces Harbaugh, won't take over the playoff calibre team, with two HoF defenders in place and in their best years, so he'll have to hit on a QB to carry his team. I wish him luck.

Yup. But it's a young team that's in good position for the future. There's a ton of talent that could be had next offseason. It's gonna get better

 

[K-Dog]

Bell cow?

 

[balfan23]

It is going to take more than one offseason to transform this offense into a functional unit.

Flacco's contract is still an albatross. Cutting him costs us money. He will likely start next year while we develop this mythical new QB we draft. If Flacco runs aground, then we'll have no choice but to throw the rook to the wolves. That's a massive unknown. Throw in total regime change and that's an even bigger unknown.

Could it work out? Sure, some teams have gotten lucky with a new QB being effective right out of the gate. But there are also teams that languish for decades trying to catch that combo. It just leaves me feeling with a great deal of uncertainty on the future of this team.

 

[Ravensnation5220]

As long as we get Saquon Barkley....everything will be ok

If not we can settle for Nick Chubb who seems to be getting all the love here

Quenten Nelson, Christian Kirk, and Nick Chubb would do this team wonders. Although, idk how we get all 3

 

[Oldfaithful]

It is going to take more than one offseason to transform this offense into a functional unit.

Flacco's contract is still an albatross. Cutting him costs us money. He will likely start next year while we develop this mythical new QB we draft. If Flacco runs aground, then we'll have no choice but to throw the rook to the wolves. That's a massive unknown. Throw in total regime change and that's an even bigger unknown.

Could it work out? Sure, some teams have gotten lucky with a new QB being effective right out of the gate. But there are also teams that languish for decades trying to catch that combo. It just leaves me feeling with a great deal of uncertainty on the future of this team.

I think Joe is gonna take a paycut personally. He did the last time his salary got as high as it is gonna get next season and I think he's aware that his performance hasn't been good enough. So I don't think we're gonna cut him. I do think if we can manage to get another QB at some point, it'll light a fire under his ass. But I also think that he's gonna turn it around. I do think that his back injury has been a massive problem.

Flacco has never been the kind of QB to win you games on his own during the regular season. He needs a strong supporting cast. Sure, he has good WRs right now, but the oline sucks, and we don't have a big threat in the running game. Sure, the running game has been successful, but we don't have a threat the defenses have to plan for. I think if we can surround him with a lot of talent(a massive possibility given the talent pool next offseason) would go a long way in helping him revert to form.

So yes, while I do think getting a quarterback of the future is inevitable. I also think Joe is gonna turn it around at some point.

 

[Jacquouille]

It's not like we're that far from having an elite OL. Yanda is Yanda, Stanley is doing just fine and he'll be one of the best by season's end, Jensen is an excellent starter. That's 3 positions.
Then we have Goose who's going to be a very good player if he recovers well (I was devastated by his injury). He's silly powerful and puts people in prayer position in the run game.
We also have 3 very good swing tackles (Howard, Hurst and Lewis) and some decent depth with Eluemunor and Skura.
With a great OT draft class, a good OG draft class and possibly some FA pick ups, our OL can turn around in a single offseason.

 

[RavensMania]

The one place I disagree with you @Lost_In_Translation is that I don't believe Harbaugh will be gone at the end of the year. We do need changes within some of the assistant coaching staff, particularly offense, but Harbaugh, imo won't be fired.