Over the first nine weeks of the 2021 season, the Baltimore Ravens have struggled a bit on the defensive side of the ball. They have shown many flashes of greatness, some lasting for a quarter, a half, or even a full game. However, the unit has been a bit inconsistent, and in some situations that has cost them the opportunity to win football games.
One of the areas of the Baltimore defense that hasn’t been as consistent as expected is the interior pass rush. When defensive lineman Calais Campbell was asked about his expectations for the interior pass rush for the second half of the season, he said that he expects them to “get it rolling”.
“I think we’re going to get it rolling. I think a lot of it will be just playing better earlier in ball games and getting leads, too. Just the way the games have gone, we’ve definitely missed out on some opportunities just from not playing great ball early on, especially stopping the run and all that good stuff. But I do think that we’re in prime position to really take-off and start making some big-time plays. Sacks and turnovers are two things I really feel like we can improve on, on defense, with the guys we have, and I feel like it’s going to come soon. We’ve just got to stay the course, keep working, keep ‘chopping wood,’ and those big plays are there for us.”
Through eight games in 2021, the Ravens have only accumulated 15 sacks. That is tied for 26th in the NFL, and comes out to around 1.9 sacks per game. Baltimore has been a high pressure team over recent years, but hasn’t been able to finish plays and bring the quarterback down at a consistent level. Campbell sees that changing in the second half of the year, and if he’s right it would be a big boost to the Ravens’ defensive unit.