Despite losing to the New York Giants, 27-23, the new rendition of the Baltimore Ravens offense gave fans some reasons to be optimistic.
First, let’s get some context. The Ravens’ offense struggled and struggled hard in the first quarter of the 2016 season.
Last year’s injury-marred 2015 campaign saw starters Joe Flacco, Justin Forsett, Steve Smith, Sr., Dennis Pitta, Jeremy Zuttah and rookie first-round pick Breshad Perriman all land on injured reserved (and that’s just naming a few). The injuries provided an explanation for the Ravens’ offensive struggles in their first year under offensive coordinator Marc Trestman. The way head coach John Harbaugh saw it, there was no excuse for this year’s struggles.
This year, quarterback Joe Flacco was healthy, having recovered from last year’s knee injury. Steve Smith, Sr. was back and looked just as quick and explosive as he was a year ago before tearing his Achilles. Breshad Perriman was working back from injury to show fans he was “worth the wait.” Dennis Pitta looked good in his comeback after missing 2 seasons. The Ravens were healthy and had brought in speedsters Mike Wallace and rookie Chris Moore, veteran tight end Ben Watson and ultra-productive rookie running back Kenneth Dixon.
The Ravens came into this season loaded with more talent and depth at the offensive skill positions than any year in recent memory. So what was the problem? How did they find themselves as the 22nd ranked offense (PPG) in the league coming into Week 6? Although the players and Coach Harbaugh were respectful about it as they avoided pointing the finger directly, they’re hoping firing offensive coordinator Marc Trestman seems to have been at least part of the solution.
There was internal frustration with play-calling & run-game handling by OC Marc Trestman. Ravens believe they have more than enough talent.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 10, 2016
Now the question is what kind of impact that bold move will have on this struggling Ravens offense:
#RavensFlock fire OC Marc Trestman after another disappointing showing by 23rd ranked offense in loss to #HTTR. What’ll happen w/ Ravens O?
— Best NFL Polls (@Best_NFL_Polls) October 10, 2016
While 37% of voters predicted the Ravens offense would continue to underperform, 41% of voters saw firing Trestman as providing some sort of spark for the Ravens. If you would have asked the Ravens players, the results may have come back differently. Many of the players were excited about the energy and the changes new offensive coordinator Marty Moorhinweg brought to the offense.
Many speculated that following this change, the Ravens would return to its roots as a smashmouth running team that can sling the deep ball. That is exactly the kind of offense fans (and coaches and players, I’m sure) expected to see with the Ravens adding speedsters on the perimeter and emphasizing a more balanced pass-run ratio during the offseason. There were two big problems that kept the Ravens from establishing that ideal offense and led to Trestman being let go.
The first problem was with the run game. This was arguably the most glaring problem in the Week 5 loss to the Redskins. After carving up the porous Redskins run defense for 60 yards on 5 carries in the first quarter, Terrance West only got an unbelievably low 6 more carries for the rest of the day. An offensive coordinator’s job is to know the strengths of their offense, find the weakness of the defense and exploit it. Against the Redskins, Terrance West and the rushing attack was most definitely a strength, and the Redskins’ run defense was definitely a weakness. The only box left for Trestman to check off was to continue to exploit it. He didn’t.
The second problem was with the passing game. Now that I’ve listed both the run game and passing game as problems, you know there were some serious issues with this offense. Coming into Week 6, the Ravens led the league with a whopping 217 passing attempts. That’s an average of 43.4 passes per game! That’s 5 more attempts per game than the high-powered offense of the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. Marc Trestman brought that pass-first reputation with him from Chicago. What is surprising is that despite all of those pass attempts, Joe Flacco and the Ravens were averaging a measly 239.2 yards per game. That comes out to an average of 5.9 yards per attempt–good for last in the league.
After the Week 5 loss to the Redskins, Flacco expressed frustration, saying the offense was “not fun”, “embarrassing” and “frustrating.” The Week 5 showdown against the Redskins’ 29th-ranked defense was supposed to be a chance to right the ship on offense, but instead it led to the captain being thrown overboard as the ship kept sailing in the wrong direction. The Redskins’ game showed us–and more importantly, John Harbaugh–that things would not change under Trestman.
Under new coordinator Marty Mornhinweg (somebody, please put that name in a spelling bee), there’s hope, optimism and a whole lot of energy. Players were optimistic after the game and there’s plenty of reasons why. The Ravens were finally utilizing Breshad Perriman and Mike Wallace for what they do best–running fast and catching deep balls. After weeks of dinking-and-dunking, it must have felt nice for Joe Flacco to let those long balls rip. Mornhinweg stuck with the run game through the game, and it paid off as Terrance West ran for 87 yards and 2 touchdowns on 23 carries. A strong running game, a dangerous deep passing attack and a strong defense has always been the winning formula for the Ravens.
Although the winning pieces of that formula were largely in place on Sunday, the Ravens shot themselves in the foot all day and didn’t get any favors from the dreaded injury bug. Penalties and injuries were the Ravens’ undoing. Fifteen penalties for 111 yards proved too much to overcome for the Ravens. With three of the five starting offensive lineman and Steve Smith, Sr. already ruled out coming into the game, the Ravens also had to try to cover Odell Beckham, Jr., Sterling Shepard and Victor Cruz without their top cornerback, Jimmy Smith, who left the game with a concussion.
Despite winning their third straight game after getting out to a fast 3-0 start, the Ravens were only one play away from coming back to win in the final seconds of the game against the Giants. A healthy offensive line and more disciplined play from the Ravens could be the final step in turning things around, but there was definitely reason for hope with the changes that we saw under Marty Monhinweg. Amazingly, the 3-3 Ravens are only one game out of first place in the AFC North. If their offense can break out of this funk and play to their potential, they could challenge the first-place Pittsburgh Steelers for the division crown. Maybe a Week 7 game against the 31st-ranked Jets passing defense could provide the right opportunity to put all of the pieces together.
What do you think? Do the Ravens have the right pieces in place on offense for the team to rebound after three straight losses? Vote below!
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)