Tag: Josh Bynes

The Ravens are the best team in the NFL without question

I’m going out on a bit of a limb here but it’s a pretty thick one after watching the Baltimore Ravens for 10 games.

[jwplayer cfZzcYxP-ThvAeFxT]

After beating up on the Houston Texans 41-7 in Week 11, the Ravens have firmly announced they are the best team in the NFL right now and it’s not even close.

In a game against an opponent leading their division and sitting in the third seed in the AFC playoff picture coming off a bye week, Baltimore didn’t flinch. They pressured Deshaun Watson — an MVP-contending quarterback — all game long, forcing him into big mistakes. They locked down the then-No. 8-ranked scoring offense to just seven points, which came in garbage time. They ran over and around the Texans’ third-ranked rush defense to the tune of 263 yards and a touchdown — more than the entire Texans offense put up. Quarterback Lamar Jackson continued to make his case for the NFL’s MVP award with a 70.8% completion rate, 222 yards, four touchdown passes and no interceptions, proving he’s just as deadly through the air as with his legs.

For Houston, this was a complete embarrassment and proved they’re nowhere near Baltimore’s level. But the Texans aren’t alone there this season.

The Ravens have dismantled three of the best teams in the NFL over their last four games. They’ve made the Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots and now Houston look unprepared, incapable and downright silly, beating them by a combined 108-43. Now keep in mind that those three teams were considered real Super Bowl contenders before getting on a field with Baltimore. And yet the Ravens beat all three teams in the exact same fashion, looking better each week along the way.

The offense is physical yet capable of explosive plays. They’ve punched defenses in the mouth on the ground, even when everyone knows the run is coming. They’ve created mismatches through the air and raced by defenders for huge plays. They’ve used misdirection as an art form.

Jackson has been a huge part of that, earning serious talk as the NFL’s MVP this season. He’s gone 185-of-279 (66.3%) for 2,258 passing yards and nearly a 4-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He’s added another 788 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. He’s likely on his way to his third consecutive AFC Offensive Player of the Week award.

But the defense has been the icing on the cake. The midseason additions of impact players like cornerback Marcus Peters and linebacker Josh Bynes have turned this defense around completely. After it started the season looking unorganized, confused and just plain bad, there’s a case to be made that it’s now the best defense in the league.

The Ravens are generating a potent pass rush in spite of not having a star pass rusher or enough depth at outside linebacker. They’ve been locking down some of the better receivers in the NFL, with Watson, Russell Wilson and Tom Brady throwing for an average of just 206 yards. At the very least, the Baltimore defense should be considered the most dangerous in the league; it’s notched nine takeaways over the last four games, including five returned for touchdowns. Regardless of what their opponents do well offensively, Baltimore has shut that exact thing down.

What’s the final and perhaps the best argument is that with how young and new the roster still is, this is a team that should actually continue to improve in the final six weeks. As guys like Peters and Bynes get more acclimated to the playbook and their defensive teammates, they should steadily improve their play. Jackson continues to improve each week, both in his awareness and as a passer. The coaching somehow gets better each week as well, with silly mistakes quickly getting eliminated.

With yet another playoff contender checked off their schedule, the Ravens have looked unstoppable over the last four games and seem to be picking up speed with each win.

[vertical-gallery id=37274]

Ravens’ midseason defensive additions are key to their ascension

The additions of L.J. Fort, Josh Bynes and Marcus Peters in the middle of the season have been the key to Baltimore’s rise.

[jwplayer rzKgNnfu-ThvAeFxT]

Sitting at 7-2 and practically a shoo-in for a playoff berth for the second consecutive season, the Baltimore Ravens look like one of the most complete teams in the entire NFL.

Things weren’t always this sunny this year.

The Ravens got off to a fast 2-0 start but quickly faltered against good teams, which dropped them back down to earth. Following Week 5, the Ravens sat at 3-2, and doubts were starting to creep in. It took overtime in Week 5 to beat a hapless Pittsburgh Steelers squad that needed to turn to their third-string quarterback after Baltimore knocked out backup Mason Rudolph.

In spite of a winning record, the thought of the schedule getting significantly tougher was a real worry for anyone looking closely at what Baltimore was doing. The Ravens were being questioned as pretenders, and many expected that tougher opposition would put them in their place. But quick thinking by general manager Eric DeCosta and great performances from new players have helped turn the team around and now have pundits questioning whether there’s any team in the league capable of slowing them down.

For as much praise as the Ravens offense as gotten — and rightfully so — it’s the defensive turnaround that has sparked this team. The additions of linebackers L.J. Fort and Josh Bynes in Week 5, as well as the trade for cornerback Marcus Peters, have had immediate effects on the stat sheet.

Through the first five games of the season, Baltimore’s defense had given up an average of 370.2 yards and 24.6 points per game. In the subsequent four games — all wins — the Ravens have given up just 311.5 yards and 16.5 points per game, with a margin of victory of 18.25 points.

And it’s not like the competition has gotten any easier. Baltimore’s opponents through Week 5 now have a combined 19-27-1 record, while their last four opponents have included the best team in the AFC (New England Patriots) and one of the best in the NFC (Seattle Seahawks).

While improvements were expected as the new-look defense — featuring five new starters and 10 new players — jelled over the course of the year, the biggest difference has been the midseason additions. Combined, Bynes, Fort and Peters have 56 tackles and one sack. Peters has three interceptions, returning two for touchdowns. They’ve helped solidify troubled positions and allowed defensive coordinator Don Martindale to be more creative with his schemes and how he manufactures pressure.

The end result is a five-game winning streak and the improvement of a defense that was among the worst in the league but now sits at 14th in yards and points allowed. Not too shabby for two guys that were midseason free agents and a trade that cost a backup linebacker and fifth-round pick.

If the Ravens continue on their current pace and get a first-round bye in the playoffs, it’d be easy to point to the offense as the difference. But in typical Baltimore fashion, the catalyst will have been a hot defense led by midseason roster changes.

[vertical-gallery id=36838]