Let’s be blunt here. The Baltimore Ravens haven’t looked great. They haven’t completely rekindled the play that made them the best team in the NFL in the second half of last season. The areas of weakness they had back then continue to be problems after four weeks of the 2020 NFL season, only highlighted by teams more aggressively attacking those points of contention.
For all the troubles Baltimore has right now, there’s no need to panic quite yet. The Ravens are 3-1 and still firmly in the driver’s seat with regards to the division and their playoff hopes. They have the reigning MVP at quarterback, a strong rushing attack, and a defense that is allowing the fourth-fewest points in the league. That alone is a winning strategy that has seen plenty of teams hoist a Lombardi Trophy. But there’s even more hope for this Baltimore team moving forward.
Let’s use our time machine to go way back to this point last year. If you remember correctly, the boo birds were out in force about quarterback Lamar Jackson and this entire team. Baltimore sat at 2-2 on the season, looking as defeated as the scoreboard said they were in back-to-back major losses.
But everything changed quickly. The coaching staff adjusted the roster and depth chart, completely altering the look of the defense in the process. Over a few weeks span, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta cut Tim Williams and traded Kenny Young, while adding L.J. Fort, Jihad Ward, Josh Bynes, Justin Ellis, De’Anthony Thomas, and Marcus Peters.
In turn, the defense went from one of the worst units in the NFL to the best seemingly overnight. With the defense playing at a higher level, the offense followed suit. Suddenly, the Ravens went from a major question mark to completely dominating playoff teams every single week.
Now, this isn’t to say the same thing will happen this year. There might not be enough cap space to make those types of sweeping changes, or the right players available via trade, or the willingness to make such a dramatic change. But Baltimore has certainly proven time and again it is capable of transforming itself into a completely different team in the middle of a season. And right now, the Ravens are in a far better situation than at this time last year.
Sure, there are plenty of areas worthy of concern and critique. I feel you there and I’m sure the players, coaches, and front office staff would all agree. However, at 3-1 with all three wins being blowouts of at least 14 points, there’s no need for talk of doom and gloom. Instead, now is the time to trust in DeCosta and Baltimore to do what’s needed to fine-tune and become a powerhouse.
[vertical-gallery id=47631]