Tag: Ravens Defense

Ravens DC Mike Macdonald created a dominant pass rush without an alpha dog

The Baltimore Ravens lead the league in sacks without an alpha dog pass-rusher. Here’s how DC Mike Macdonald has put that together.

The Baltimore Ravens currently have the NFL’s best defense by DVOA, passing a Cleveland Browns defense that looked downright historic in the first half of the 2023 season. Second-year head coach Mike Macdonald has dialed up fronts and pressures that lead the NFL in sacks with 31, while their blitz rate of 24.9% is middle of the pack.

While multiple good players are responsible for this on the field, the Ravens don’t necessarily have an alpha-dog pass rusher like a Myles Garrett, Maxx Crosby, T.J. Watt, or Aidan Hutchinson. What they do as well as any team in the league is to scheme pressure intelligently, deploying the disruptors they have in the ways that work best for their attributes.

“Well, it’s great to hear that,” Macdonald said last week, when asked about Kyle Van Noy’s positive thoughts regarding how this defense is jelling. “I didn’t catch that, but [it’s] awesome to hear. Again, that’s something that goes unnoticed. We talked about in our meeting earlier in the week – it’s about the little details that you don’t necessarily see is what makes the difference and camaraderie and selflessness and effort and execution are things that aren’t necessarily shown to the naked eye when you’re watching the tape. To answer your question, those are the things that you see in a play-in and play-out basis is execution, guys doing the things they’re coached to do, playing really hard, having great energy in the meeting rooms and focus and taking a day-to-day mentality. Those are the things that as a coach, you’re striving for all the time, and we’re chasing it still. We’re not there by any means, but we’re chasing it. You can feel it on a day-to-day basis for sure.” 

One thing this defense is successfully chasing? Opposing quarterbacks.

In the case of Van Noy, who has 16 pressures, they move him to either edge, and also as a standup 3-tech in their third-down five-man fronts and blitzes. He’s still a quick rusher who knows how to shoot gaps. 

Odafe Oweh, who also has 16 pressures, is primarily an edge-rusher, but he’ll also get pressure from 3-tech looks and nose alignments.

They’ll use Jadeveon Clowney (34 pressures) as a stunt player, exploiting his ability to move quickly over multiple gaps. 

Justin Madubuike is regarded mostly as an interior pass-rusher, and he’s great there, but eight of his 26 pressures have come from the edge or over the tackles. Most of the time he’ll work inside from those outside looks, but he’s also quick enough to bend a tackle around the edge once in a while.

Michael Pierce is their primary interior rusher, and he’s a hoss at 6-0 and 340 pounds. He’s a physically dominant player who will flash short-area quickness, but his primary job is really to take a blocker and just push him back into the pocket.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has talked about how opponent-specific Mike Macdonald’s defense is, but what I really see is a lot of smart player deployment. That should continue to an impressive degree as the 2023 season rolls along. 

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get deep into how the Ravens’ pass rush is cooking with so many ideal complementary pieces.

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You can watch this week’s full “Xs and Os,” featuring all of Week 9’s biggest NFL matchups (including Ravens-Seahawks) right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

The Baltimore Ravens have a dominant defense, and it’s time to pay attention

The Baltimore Ravens have one of the NFL’s defenses. You may be surprised, because it’s built with a bunch of Secret Superstars.

We’ve talked a lot about the Detroit Lions’ offense this season, and for good reason — Ben Johnson’s offense currently ranks fourth in DVOA behind only the Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills. Not only is quarterback Jared Goff playing at the highest level we’ve seen in his NFL career, but the run game the Lions put out there is as effective and multiple as any you’ll see.

As many observers are correctly stating that Dan Campbell’s squad is among the league’s best overall, we’re pretty sure we’re up to date on the effectiveness of that offense.

If you are unaware, ESPN analyst and former Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky has you covered.

However, if you’re outside of the greater Baltimore area, it’s entirely possible that you’re sleeping on a Baltimore Ravens defense that currently ranks second in DVOA, behind only the Cleveland Browns. Defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald is dialing it up something fierce in his second season, and that’s one reason the Ravens have risen from 28th to eighth to their current elevated status since 2021.

(Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)

That makes Sunday’s game between the Lions and the Ravens Must-See TV from a schematic perspective.

Perhaps we don’t talk more about Baltimore’s defense because there isn’t a defined edge-rusher who’s among the league leaders in sacks. Maybe it’s because Macdonald doesn’t have a known “shutdown corner” in his quiver. Or maybe people get him confused with Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel.

But whether you recognize it or not, this Ravens defense is getting after it at all levels.

Let’s start with defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, who currently leads the team with five sacks. The fourth-year man from Texas A&M, a third-round pick in 2020, has been playing the season of his life, and what’s especially interesting about Madubuike is how often he’s getting pressure outside the guards. Not what you’d expect from a 6-foot-3, 300-pound guy, but Madubuike isn’t your average pass-rusher at this point.

On this sack of Kenny Pickett against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 5, Madubuike started to the outside shoulder of right tackle Chukwuma Okorafor, then moved to the inside shoulder of right guard Nate Herbig, and then blew up running back Jaylen Warren for the takedown. That’s pure demolition, folks.

The Ravens are also using 2022 first-round pick Kyle Hamilton in some interesting ways. I thought that Hamilton was the best player in his draft class, and he’s been awesome in coverage both at safety and from the slot — he’s allowed 11 catches on 17 targets for 78 yards, 55 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, one interception, one pass breakup, and an opponent passer rating of 50.6.

But where Hamilton is REALLY effective this season is as a blitzer — against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3, he had three sacks — more than the two he had in his entire rookie campaign. On this sack of Gardner Minshew, watch how Hamilton slow-played the blitz, looking like a slot defender. Then, when it was too late for the Colts to change their protection, he careened in.

Another underrated defender this season has been safety Geno Stone. A seventh-round pick out of Iowa in 2020, Stone has also been playing at a new level this season. In fact, there are few deep safeties in the league playing at Stone’s level right now. He’s allowed six catches on 11 targets for 40 yards, 28 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, three interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 23.1. Basically, opposing quarterbacks would be better off spiking the ball than throwing it anywhere near him.

On this interception of a Ryan Tannehill pass to tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo last Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, cornerback Marlon Humphrey had eyes on receiver DeAndre Hopkins underneath, which caused him to break a hair late on Okonkwo’s vertical route from the slot. But Stone did a great job of breaking on the ball in Cover-3, and came up with his justified reward.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into how the Lions will be challenged by this defense filled with Secret Superstars.

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You can watch this week’s full “Xs and Os” video, featuring all of Week 7’s biggest matchups, right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Stopping the run is a priority for the Ravens to advance in the postseason

The Baltimore Ravens allowed 195 rushing yards to Derrick Henry in their playoff loss. That seemed to be on their mind this offseason.

(In this series, Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield takes a look at one important metric per NFL team to uncover a crucial problem to solve for the 2020 season. In this installment, it’s time to look at one area where the Baltimore Ravens defense struggled in 2019, and why one loss heavily influenced their offseason decisions).

Ask any Baltimore Ravens fan what number matters most for their team’s 2020 chances, and it is likely the response is a single word.

Zero.

Or more specifically, zero wins in two chances. In two seasons in the NFL quarterback Lamar Jackson has led the Ravens to two-straight playoff appearances, and has zero wins to show for it.

In the 2018-2019 playoffs the Ravens hosted the Los Angeles Chargers on Wild Card Weekend, and struggled offensively in the first half, trailing Philip Rivers and the visitors 12-0 at halftime. Jackson would throw two touchdowns in the second half, but it was not enough as the Ravens fell 23-17.

Last season, however, Jackson took a big leap forward as a quarterback, and Baltimore followed suit. The Ravens finished the regular season with a 14-2 record and secured homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, and Jackson’s stellar sophomore campaign saw him secure an MVP for his efforts. Jackson completed 66.1% of his passes for 3,127 yards and 36 touchdowns, against just six interceptions. His Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt of 8.19 placed him fourth in the league, behind Ryan Tannehill, Patrick Mahomes and Drew Brees. Everything was set for the Ravens to make a deep playoff run.

Then the Tennessee Titans came to town.

A week after upsetting the defending Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots, the Titans knocked off the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium 28-12. The visitors got out to an early 14-0 lead and for the second-straight season, Baltimore trailed at home at halftime of their first playoff game. Just like the year before, Jackson struggled in the loss. He completed 31 of 59 passes for 365 yards and a touchdown, but threw a pair of interceptions, including one on Baltimore’s opening drive of the game.

But while Jackson’s 0-2 playoff record is probably at the forefront of every Ravens fans’ thoughts this offseason, there was another number from their loss to the Titans that seemed to drive a large majority of their decisions this offseason from a personnel standpoint.

195.

Titans’ running back Derrick Henry ran for 195 yards on that night, spread over 30 carries for a stunning 6.5 Yards per Attempt. Henry also tallied six runs that resulted in a first down, and 127 of those rushing yards came after contact. He also threw a touchdown pass in the game, but it was what he did carrying the football that seems to have left a lasting impact on the front office, and played a role in many of their decisions since.

The first addition came in the form of Calais Campbell. The Ravens traded for the Jacksonville defensive end in exchange for a fifth-round pick. Next the team looked to acquire Michael Brockers in free agency, but when that deal fell through they turned on a Plan B. That second option was Derek Wolfe, another stout defensive end with a penchant for both rushing the passer and stopping the run.

Then it was time for the draft.

In the first round Baltimore again addressed the front of their defense, selecting linebacker Patrick Queen out of LSU. Queen became a starter early in the season for the Tigers at linebacker, and showed the ability to both contribute in pass defense, as well as against the run as he displayed on this play against Clemson in the National Championship Game:

Then in the third round, the Ravens added two more players to their defense front. Up first was linebacker Malik Harrison, a downhill, thumper of an LB who showed the ability to stop the run, as well as the ability to blow up lead blockers:

Also in the third round, Baltimore selected defensive tackle Justin Madubuike out of Texas A&M. He flashed as a pass rusher, as he did on this quick interior rush against Mississippi:

But it was what he also contributed against the run that saw him check in at Touchdown Wire’s third-ranked defensive tackle, behind Javon Kinlaw and Derrick Brown:

Against the run he shows violent power at the point of attack, with the ability to long-arm trap blockers and fight the half man, enabling him to make some plays behind the line of scrimmage. He has powerful hands at the strike point against singles or doubles, and is able to maintain his balance when knocked from the side, allowing him to stay effective in a variety of scenarios.

What makes these moves all the more interesting is that there were warning signs regarding Baltimore’s run defense prior to Henry’s outburst in the Divisional Round. While the Ravens were ranked fourth in the league in Defensive DVOA, that was largely on the basis of their pass defense. Baltimore’s run defense checked in with a Defensive DVOA of just -7.0%, good for 20th overall in the league. The Ravens also surrendered 4.4 yards per carry in 2019, 12th most in the league. In terms of yards per game, Baltimore averaged just 93 rushing allowed per game, but this was largely due to the benefit of a positive game script. When you win 14 games, you’re going to have lots of leads, and teams are going to be forced to throw more against you as a result.

That changed in the playoffs for the second-straight season.

Of course, there is an argument that in today’s NFL the passing game remains king, and therefore stopping the pass is more of a priority for defenses. Adding Madubuike and signing Matthew Judon to the franchise tag are moves that will certainly help, in terms of bolstering the pass rush, and what Queen can do as pass defender will help as well.

But remember, the Ravens’ pass defense was solid last year, it was their run defense that was lagging behind.

Thus, the offseason additions made to stop the run, and perhaps stop Henry himself. That, the Ravens and their fans hope, leads to a bigger number in 2020.

Super Bowl 55.