I will get this one out of the way right now- this game was against the winless Cleveland Browns. Yes, I 100% understand and get that. I am in no way saying that this win somehow guarantees the Baltimore Ravens the title of 2017 Super Bowl winners. In fact, without Jimmy Smith, I am skeptical that the Ravens can go into a hostile environment and beat out a Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers, Jared Goff. However, with all of that said, this Ravens team the past three weeks looks good. It may have taken nearly the entire season, but the Ravens finally look like a playoff caliber team who could conceivably get hot at the right time and make a run.
First and foremost, can we give a huge shout out to Joe Flacco? If it were not for the play of Flacco, the Ravens do not turn it around to salvage their season and likely do not make the playoffs. Flacco has been nothing short of incredible in the past three weeks and Sunday might have been the best performance yet. Were there some high throws? Yes. Were some throws pretty off target? Yes. Did he get a little flustered in the pocket? Yes. However, overwhelmingly, the play from Flacco was positive and productive. On a day where the running game did very little overall, Flacco shouldered the load and carried the Ravens. When he is on, he can very well be the best quarterback in the NFL and it showed against the Browns. With completions to nine different receivers and multi catch performances by four receivers, Flacco is doing something we did not see prior to the Lions game- he is spreading the ball around and attacking multiple levels of the field. For many weeks, it was a check down offense that heavily relied on the backs and tight ends to make a gourmet meal out of garbage. But now, we see a Flacco who is willing to go deep, willing to drive passes out to the hashes, throw over linebackers across the middle. In every sense of the word, Flacco looks like an NFL caliber passer in the NFL. And while his wheels may not be the best that the NFL has to offer, designed runs for the Baltimore quarterback should be incredibly encouraging, especially since one netted a touchdown. Flacco finally looks confident in himself. He was willing to take a huge shot on a quarterback keeper at the goal line and was willing to come back later and risk another huge hit on the goal line on a quarterback draw. He is driving through his throws and delivering darts and beautiful touch passes well down the field. Similar to 2012, Flacco is heating up at the right time and that is not a good thing for the rest of the NFL.
Assuming that Flacco cannot pull off another repeat performance of the 2012 playoffs, which would be highly unreasonable to expect, the Ravens can take solace in knowing that this defense very well could help to carry the load. I was initially incredibly pessimistic about the loss of Jimmy Smith, especially after Marlon Humphrey was taken for a ride against the Lions, but so far, Humphrey has been everything that you could expect of a first round rookie and more. He has continuously shown an extremely high level of play on the backend and has shown he will not back down from whoever lines up from him, whether it be an Antonio Brown or Josh Gordon or just a Rishard Higgins type. Humphrey is helping to ease the loss of star cornerback Jimmy Smith and keep this defense relevant as they prepare for a playoff run against incredibly good quarterbacks.
The pass rush and the secondary absolutely play off of one another and make opportunities for one another. A good pass rush can help a secondary from covering too long and a good secondary can hold the fort down to let a pass rush hit home. On Sunday, the two worked in tandem as the pass rush was a menace for Browns quarterback Deshon Kizer. As it stands, the Browns really miss Joe Thomas because the offensive line has been an absolute mess, even after shelling out lots of money for Kevin Zeitler and JC Tretter. The Browns backfield might as well have had a shared tent for Matt Judon, Terrell Suggs, and Za’Darius Smith. The trio of pass rushers looked damn near unstoppable on the day and the two sacks that were recorded hardly tell the entire story as all three routinely harassed and pressured Kizer into terrible mistakes and rushed throws that led to a passing performance reminiscent of early season Joe Flacco. Say what you will about Smith, but he has been an increasingly invaluable piece to the Ravens pass rush success and continues to make his presence felt with an incredibly simple approach- bull rush his man with brute force and shed them when the opportunity seems right. And if we mention Smith, it is only right to mention Judon who has been probably one of the best finds that Ozzie Newsome has had in many, many years. When the fifth rounder was taken out of Grand Valley State, few had high expectations for Judon to do what he has. Known for being a pass rusher who dominated the small school talent, few thought that he would become so well rounded so fast. But here we are- Judon has been dominating against the run, the pass, and in coverage. He can run with tight ends down the field or he can do the dirty work to drop a running back for a loss in the backfield. It really does not matter. Judon will do every single thing asked of him at an extremely high level. Put me on the record for saying that Judon, since week 6, has been the best Ravens linebacker this season and looks every bit ready to take over for Terrell Suggs as the leader of the pass rush when the latter retires. Judon gives me a lot of hope for future seasons and the way he is heating up makes me think that this defense might be able to survive the loss of Smith to make some noise in the playoffs.
Yes, I understand that this was the Cleveland Browns. Yes, I understand they are one of the sorriest franchises in NFL history and that this loss was nothing to write home about as far as a quality opponent goes. But you can only play who is on your schedule and you have to show up every single Sunday and play. On Sunday, the Ravens showed up and turned in incredible performances from Joe Flacco, Matt Judon, and Marlon Humphrey. Players like Terrell Suggs, Mike Wallace, and Eric Weddle continue to play quietly superb football. All in all, this team is playing extremely well in recent weeks and looks every bit the part of a team ready to play spoiler in the postseason.
First and foremost, can we give a huge shout out to Joe Flacco? If it were not for the play of Flacco, the Ravens do not turn it around to salvage their season and likely do not make the playoffs. Flacco has been nothing short of incredible in the past three weeks and Sunday might have been the best performance yet. Were there some high throws? Yes. Were some throws pretty off target? Yes. Did he get a little flustered in the pocket? Yes. However, overwhelmingly, the play from Flacco was positive and productive. On a day where the running game did very little overall, Flacco shouldered the load and carried the Ravens. When he is on, he can very well be the best quarterback in the NFL and it showed against the Browns. With completions to nine different receivers and multi catch performances by four receivers, Flacco is doing something we did not see prior to the Lions game- he is spreading the ball around and attacking multiple levels of the field. For many weeks, it was a check down offense that heavily relied on the backs and tight ends to make a gourmet meal out of garbage. But now, we see a Flacco who is willing to go deep, willing to drive passes out to the hashes, throw over linebackers across the middle. In every sense of the word, Flacco looks like an NFL caliber passer in the NFL. And while his wheels may not be the best that the NFL has to offer, designed runs for the Baltimore quarterback should be incredibly encouraging, especially since one netted a touchdown. Flacco finally looks confident in himself. He was willing to take a huge shot on a quarterback keeper at the goal line and was willing to come back later and risk another huge hit on the goal line on a quarterback draw. He is driving through his throws and delivering darts and beautiful touch passes well down the field. Similar to 2012, Flacco is heating up at the right time and that is not a good thing for the rest of the NFL.
Assuming that Flacco cannot pull off another repeat performance of the 2012 playoffs, which would be highly unreasonable to expect, the Ravens can take solace in knowing that this defense very well could help to carry the load. I was initially incredibly pessimistic about the loss of Jimmy Smith, especially after Marlon Humphrey was taken for a ride against the Lions, but so far, Humphrey has been everything that you could expect of a first round rookie and more. He has continuously shown an extremely high level of play on the backend and has shown he will not back down from whoever lines up from him, whether it be an Antonio Brown or Josh Gordon or just a Rishard Higgins type. Humphrey is helping to ease the loss of star cornerback Jimmy Smith and keep this defense relevant as they prepare for a playoff run against incredibly good quarterbacks.
The pass rush and the secondary absolutely play off of one another and make opportunities for one another. A good pass rush can help a secondary from covering too long and a good secondary can hold the fort down to let a pass rush hit home. On Sunday, the two worked in tandem as the pass rush was a menace for Browns quarterback Deshon Kizer. As it stands, the Browns really miss Joe Thomas because the offensive line has been an absolute mess, even after shelling out lots of money for Kevin Zeitler and JC Tretter. The Browns backfield might as well have had a shared tent for Matt Judon, Terrell Suggs, and Za’Darius Smith. The trio of pass rushers looked damn near unstoppable on the day and the two sacks that were recorded hardly tell the entire story as all three routinely harassed and pressured Kizer into terrible mistakes and rushed throws that led to a passing performance reminiscent of early season Joe Flacco. Say what you will about Smith, but he has been an increasingly invaluable piece to the Ravens pass rush success and continues to make his presence felt with an incredibly simple approach- bull rush his man with brute force and shed them when the opportunity seems right. And if we mention Smith, it is only right to mention Judon who has been probably one of the best finds that Ozzie Newsome has had in many, many years. When the fifth rounder was taken out of Grand Valley State, few had high expectations for Judon to do what he has. Known for being a pass rusher who dominated the small school talent, few thought that he would become so well rounded so fast. But here we are- Judon has been dominating against the run, the pass, and in coverage. He can run with tight ends down the field or he can do the dirty work to drop a running back for a loss in the backfield. It really does not matter. Judon will do every single thing asked of him at an extremely high level. Put me on the record for saying that Judon, since week 6, has been the best Ravens linebacker this season and looks every bit ready to take over for Terrell Suggs as the leader of the pass rush when the latter retires. Judon gives me a lot of hope for future seasons and the way he is heating up makes me think that this defense might be able to survive the loss of Smith to make some noise in the playoffs.
Yes, I understand that this was the Cleveland Browns. Yes, I understand they are one of the sorriest franchises in NFL history and that this loss was nothing to write home about as far as a quality opponent goes. But you can only play who is on your schedule and you have to show up every single Sunday and play. On Sunday, the Ravens showed up and turned in incredible performances from Joe Flacco, Matt Judon, and Marlon Humphrey. Players like Terrell Suggs, Mike Wallace, and Eric Weddle continue to play quietly superb football. All in all, this team is playing extremely well in recent weeks and looks every bit the part of a team ready to play spoiler in the postseason.
