Baltimore Ravens: What to expect in 2014

2013 wasn’t a complete disaster for the Baltimore Ravens. Yes, Joe Flacco struggled after signing a mammoth contract. The running game, and offense as a whole, was totally incompetent. That much is true, but they also had a resurgence defensively.

Baltimore jumped up to 7th in defensive DVOA after finishing 19th the year before. GM Ozzie Newsome has done a lot to strengthen the Ravens defense the past couple seasons. Their first four draft picks in 2013 were all on defensive players, as were their first three picks in this past draft. Matt Elam was up and down at safety last season, but progressed late in the year and should only get better.

This year’s first round pick C.J. Mosley should be a star, and second rounder Timmy Jernigan has been impressive in camp. Free agents Daryl Smith, who is criminally underrated, and pass rusher Elvis Dumervil were big reasons why the Ravens made their leap defensively as well.

The Ravens biggest question mark defensively is in the secondary, where they have depth issues at cornerback thanks to the departure of Corey Graham. They also have to replace James Ihedigbo at free safety with a motley crew of rookie Terrence Brooks, average free agent Darian Stewart and Will Hill, who won’t be available for the first six games of the season. Baltimore’s front seven is versatile and deep and should help mitigate some of the issues in the secondary. The Ravens won’t be dominant on the back end, but if Jimmy Smith and LaDarius Webb stay healthy at cornerback, and Elam progresses, they should be good enough.

While Baltimore bolstered its defense this offseason, it also upgraded it’s offense. They didn’t make major moves but they’re better than a year ago, though that isn’t saying a whole lot.

The biggest move they made was to bring in Gary Kubiak to coordinate the offense. His Texans fell apart last season, but he has a long history of running good offenses. In re-signing Dennis Pitta, who missed all but four games last season, and bringing in Owen Daniels, Kubiak has the ability to run his mutli-TE sets. Steve Smith isn’t as good as he once was, but he’s a welcome addition to what was a paltry receiving corps a year ago.

Where Kubiak will make his biggest impact though is in the running game, where the Ravens averaged just 3.1 yards per carry a year ago. His offenses have consistently churned out strong running games year after year and there is no reason why the Ravens should be any different. They finished dead last in rushing DVOA, but with Ray Rice – declining, but still solid – and Bernard Pierce, they still have good talent in the backfield. The offensive line lost Michael Oher to free agency, but left guard Kelechi Osemele and center Jeremy Zuttah will be welcome additions. They’ll help significantly.

The most disappointing member of the 2013 Ravens was Flacco, who sputtered after signing a six-year, $120 million contract. That deal has been crippling, as Baltimore has lost a lot of free agents without much room to add major ones. However, with Kubiak and some added weapons on offense, Flacco should have enough pieces around him to have a bounce-back year.

He was bad last year, but not all of the Ravens offensive woes were his fault. Injuries essentially wiped out Pitta’s season and the aforementioned running game was atrocious. Flacco wasn’t good, but he didn’t have a ton to work with either. Kubiak is probably the best offensive mind he’s had to work with, though that isn’t saying a whole lot given that his offensive coordinators have been Cam Cameron and Jim Caldwell.

With a good defense on the other side of the ball, the Ravens offense doesn’t have to be elite for them to win games. A retooled and productive running game combined with Flacco working the middle of the field with Pitta and Daniels should be solid, and Torey Smith will stretch the field. Flacco is a home run hitter, but he should get more singles and doubles this season, too.

Baltimore should benefit from playing in a mediocre division. The Browns aren’t very good, the Steelers are an eight win team, and the Bengals have serious implosion potential this year. They just gave Andy Dalton a new contract, but there is an added pressure that comes along with that. Cincinnati’s early season schedule is difficult and if they get off to a bad start, fans will be calling for Dalton’s head. The Bengals have been good the past few seasons, but you never have gotten the sense that they’re truly elite. That hasn’t changed.

The Ravens schedule isn’t easy, but starting the season with two games at home versus Cincinnati and Pittsburgh isn’t awful. They then go to Cleveland, a game they should win, before meeting Carolina at home in week four. Having three home games against good teams in the first four weeks of the season gives them a chance to really get off to a good and meaningful start. For all their problems last year, the Ravens were still an 8-8 team with an elite defense. There isn’t much reason why the defense should be worse, rather it should be the same or better. They’ll be better on offense, and their win-total should follow suit.