When the Baltimore Ravens finished as the No. 1 scoring offense and No. 2 overall offense in 2019, it marked a distinct turn of events for the franchise. That season marked just the second time in franchise history (and the first since their inaugural 1996 season) that the team finished in even the top 10 in both points and yards. It has not happened since.
Perhaps even more remarkably, in the 22 years in between that inaugural season and Lamar Jackson’s unanimous MVP campaign, the Ravens finished in the top 10 in either category just six times. (That’s six out of 44 total rankings.) For context, the Ravens’ defense has finished as a top-10 unit in BOTH points and yards in 17 of the last 24 seasons. The unit has finished outside of the top 10 in both categories just four times in the same span.
Your response to this might very well be something along the lines of, “Right, Glenn. What other stunning things are you about to tell us? The Oakland Athletics aren’t good? It’s utterly bizarre that Ben McDonald doesn’t know who Blink 182 is? A crab cake does not belong on a sandwich and if you’re eating it on a sandwich it’s because you need a better crab cake? These are all universally accepted facts, idiots. Why are you regurgitating them?”
Fair.
I present it because I couldn’t help but think about it in the aftermath of the news of Marlon Humphrey’s injury last week. It was quickly agreed upon that Humphrey was the player the Ravens could least afford to lose behind only Lamar Jackson. The team’s lack of depth at corner was a serious issue even before they lost their former All-Pro.
“How do the Ravens replace Marlon Humphrey?” quickly became the most predictable topic in Baltimore sports media. We debated which remaining free-agent defensive back might still have something to offer and whether the secondary depth issue could be lessened with additional edge rush help. With Ronald Darby and Jadeveon Clowney now in the fold, it would be reasonable to deduce that the team might feel like it has addressed the issue satisfactorily. We can nitpick about how much either player can impact this team at this point, but the team has addressed these areas of concern.
