{"id":37993,"date":"2023-05-01T10:17:05","date_gmt":"2023-05-01T14:17:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=37993"},"modified":"2023-05-01T10:17:05","modified_gmt":"2023-05-01T14:17:05","slug":"the-b-gap-the-ravens-turned-a-looming-catastrophe-into-a-super-bowl-contender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2023\/05\/01\/the-b-gap-the-ravens-turned-a-looming-catastrophe-into-a-super-bowl-contender\/","title":{"rendered":"The B-Gap: The Ravens turned a looming catastrophe into a Super Bowl contender"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sam Robb O\u2019Hagan<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The last three wide receivers to catch a pass for the Baltimore Ravens were Sammy Watkins, DeMarcus Robinson and Tylan Wallace.<\/span><\/p>\n

The next three? Injury luck permitting, it could be Rashod Bateman, Odell Beckham Jr. and Zay Flowers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, remember the last player to <\/span>throw <\/span><\/i>a pass for the Baltimore Ravens. Then, consider the $260 million man <\/span>who\u2019s going to be the next one<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Baltimore was staring down the most catastrophic of barrels not even 16 days ago; Beckham, Flowers and (technically) Jackson weren\u2019t even Ravens, and Tyler Huntley was another team\u2019s two first-round picks away from being a starting NFL quarterback.<\/span><\/p>\n

Offensively, for all intents and purposes, the Ravens had nothing. Barely two weeks later, they have their generational quarterback, and critically, they have two electric receivers for him to throw to.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course they do. Their transactions the last two weeks once again prove the Ravens can do what so many other teams can\u2019t \u2014 learn.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Baltimore watched the last three seasons of Jackson brilliance go to waste because of flawed coaching and counterproductive roster building. After four straight postseason exits, the Ravens stood up and proactively addressed their problems.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Greg Roman, whose over reliance on the run and uninventive aerial concepts handcuffed one of the league\u2019s most improved passers, is out as offensive coordinator. In is Todd Monken, who squeezed a historically productive passing attack out of Jameis Winston and the 2018 Buccaneers in his last coordinator gig in the NFL. That\u2019s one failing offensive philosophy out, one polar opposite offensive philosophy in.<\/span><\/p>\n

After refusing to field multiple capable wide receivers simultaneously for four straight seasons, the Ravens invested significantly at the position twice in as many weeks \u2014 signing Beckham to a deal that can cost the team as much as $18 million this season and using the 22nd overall pick on Flowers. Once ignored, Baltimore\u2019s wide receiver room has been funded with two first-round picks (including Bateman) and another $18 million.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a defiant shift in approach. The Ravens didn\u2019t care to assemble an explosive passing attack in Jackson\u2019s first four years as the full-time starter, and poor results followed. Baltimore finished with negative expected points added per dropback (EPA\/dropback) in 2022, and even in the 13 weeks before Jackson\u2019s season-ending injury, they ranked only 17th in the league. The Ravens were first in EPA\/dropback in 2019, when Jackson was league MVP and the team won 14 games, but in the three seasons since, the highest they\u2019ve finished in the metric is 15th.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Ravens offense was critically flawed, even if it was still good (it was ninth in EPA\/play with Jackson on the field last season). Baltimore\u2019s willingness to acknowledge their offense\u2019s flaws this offseason is impressive. And though they could\u2019ve done it much, much earlier, NFL front offices and coaching staffs historically struggle to admit they\u2019re wrong (they\u2019ll just keep being wrong until they get fired). John Harbaugh, Eric DeCosta and co.\u2019s humility is refreshing and encouraging.<\/span><\/p>\n

They\u2019ve turned a budding catastrophe into a legitimate Super Bowl contender because of it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jackson, who spent his last three seasons throwing remarkable balls to unremarkable players, is now staring at an embarrassment of riches (literally, too).<\/span><\/p>\n

Beckham is still Odell Beckham, the world-famous one who made three Pro Bowls, even if his tank is emptying. Bateman is a former first-rounder and a promising, ever-improving one at that. Mark Andrews is one of the league\u2019s most capable pass-catching tight ends. Isaiah Likely is an extremely promising complement.<\/span><\/p>\n

And Flowers \u2014 he is the draft\u2019s worst kept secret.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some considered Flowers the top wide receiver in the class. It\u2019s hard to argue with his explosiveness. His route-running is sound, his hands reliable, but his short area quickness is game-changing. Flowers brings unique playmaking capacity to the Ravens offense, a constant and necessary offensive spark that — until his arrival — has only been provided by Jackson.<\/span><\/p>\n

Baltimore can now rely on more than just their quarterback to go out and make a play. That\u2019s an invaluable addition to an offense that has spent the last few years forcing themselves to schematically make up for lackluster skill players. With Beckham, and especially with Flowers, the Ravens offense, finally, has good football players. It really is that simple.<\/span><\/p>\n

A screen pass to Flowers actually has potential, now. A slant to Beckham the same. The Ravens are now capable of converting third-and-seven without Jackson\u2019s backfield heroics, or housing a 75-yard touchdown without a jaw-dropping Jackson rush or a perfectly placed Jackson deep-ball. The extent to which that raises the ceiling, and the floor, of Baltimore\u2019s passing offense is incalculable. And it\u2019s endlessly exciting.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Ravens have completely transformed their offense in the space of two weeks \u2014 from a flawed, limited, overly run-reliant mess glued together by one of the league\u2019s best players to an exciting, complete unit that can rely on multiple different players.<\/span><\/p>\n

Add that kind of juice to a team with <\/span>this <\/span><\/i>defense, which returns all of the critical pieces that made it one of the most dominant units in the second half of last season, and the Ravens are finally a complete team. The receivers are capable. The offensive line is stable. The defense is elite. And, of course, the quarterback is still the same generational talent that has been making up for the other three all along.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Ravens are the winners of the 2023 NFL Draft because of their humility. On the same day they finally recognized just how good Jackson is, and how essential he\u2019s always been, they acknowledged the over-reliance on his talents that has stopped them from going where they want to go.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Surrendering the $260 million to their calm, confident superstar they can\u2019t live without is one thing. Surrendering a first-round pick, and $18 million more, to take some of the inevitable weight off of his shoulders is entirely another \u2014 and it could be a franchise-altering change of direction.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sam Robb O\u2019Hagan The last three wide receivers to catch a pass for the Baltimore Ravens were Sammy Watkins, DeMarcus Robinson and Tylan Wallace. The next three? Injury luck permitting, it could be Rashod Bateman, Odell Beckham Jr. and Zay Flowers. Now, remember the last player to throw a pass for the Baltimore Ravens. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21477,"featured_media":37994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1024,1050,1035,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37993"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21477"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37993"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37997,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37993\/revisions\/37997"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}