The Hall of Fame Cases for Terrell Suggs And Marshal Yanda
Ryan Mink, BaltimoreRavens.com
Suggs ranks eighth on the all-time sacks list with 139 over his 17 seasons. All seven players in front of him are Hall of Famers and so are seven players not too far behind him.
Suggs has the hardware. He won two Super Bowls: one with the Ravens in 2012 and another with the Kansas City Chiefs as a late-season addition in 2019. He was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2011, when he had a career-high 14 sacks and seven forced fumbles. He was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2003, when he exploded out of the gates with 12 sacks.
Few can match his longevity. Over 17 seasons, Suggs was a seven-time Pro Bowler.
Once Yanda settled in at right guard in his fifth season, he went to the Pro Bowl eight of the next nine seasons (every year he was healthy). Yanda was a two-time first-team All-Pro (2014 & 2015) and five-time second-teamer. He was named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team.
Yanda helped lead the Ravens to a Super Bowl victory in 2012 and Baltimore was the only place he played. He would have likely had more strong seasons if he chose to keep playing. After all, Yanda was still a Pro Bowler and one of the best guards in the game in his final 2019 season.
Steve Hutchinson was inducted into the Hall in 2020 and he went to one fewer Pro Bowl. On Gil Brandt’s list of the best guards in NFL history, Yanda ranked 11th and Hutchinson was 15th.
Film study: Daniel Faalele remains the Ravens’ biggest question mark. Is there a fix?
Jonas Shaffer, The Baltimore Banner
Faalele’s worst plays have all had bad timing
Faalele has not been the NFL’s worst right guard this year, his first as a full-time starter inside, but his missteps have been especially ill-timed.
In Week 1, Faalele was not initially responsible for walling off Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones on a first-and-10 play-action drop-back. That duty fell to rookie right tackle Roger Rosengarten, on his first career snap early in the second quarter. But after the second-round pick missed with his punch and couldn’t recover, Faalele was too slow in his own recovery to stop Jones from getting to Jackson for a strip-sack. The Ravens’ win expectancy fell from 42.6% to 29.8% after losing the ball deep in their own territory, according to ESPN, one of the biggest swings all game.
Another high-leverage mistake later in that game nearly cost the Ravens, too. Midway through the fourth quarter, with the Ravens trailing by 10 and facing fourth-and-1 at Kansas City’s 22-yard line, Rosengarten and Faalele left defensive lineman Derrick Nnadi unblocked on an inside run by running back Derrick Henry. But after Henry eluded Nnadi, the Ravens kept their drive alive.
On Sunday, Faalele allowed his first sack all season on what was ultimately the Ravens’ most consequential drop-back all game. After Crosby looped around Faalele, too preoccupied with defensive tackle Christian Wilkins to handle the stunt, and nailed Jackson for a 9-yard loss on first-and-10, the Raiders’ win probability — below 40% just a few plays earlier — crossed above 50% for the first time all game, according to ESPN. Las Vegas took its first lead all game after the Ravens’ ensuing three-and-out.
Ranking NFL’s nine winless teams: Who has most hope to turn 2024 season around before it’s too late?
Kevin Patra, NFL.com
Reason for optimism: The Lamar Jackson–Zay Flowers connection looks great.
The Ravens are a big toe and 10-point crumble away from being 2-0, so things aren’t as bleak as they might appear in the Charm City. Baltimore is 0-2 for the first time since 2015. It’s also the first time the club lost back-to-back games Jackson started and finished since 2020.
The Ravens are the fifth team since 2000 to start 0-2 after hosting the conference championship game in the previous season, joining the 2015 Seahawks, 2003 Eagles, 2002 Steelers, and 2002 Rams. Three of the previous four made it back to the playoffs, with the 2002 Rams (who started 0-5 and finished 7-9) being the lone exception. Pedigree can win out. Baltimore has issues to smooth out, including an O-line with concerns to open the season and a defense giving up too many big plays under first-year coordinator Zach Orr.
The brightest spot so far has been Jackson’s connection with Flowers, the second-year pro who just racked up seven catches for 91 yards and a touchdown in Week 2. The most encouraging aspect of Zay’s day was that it wasn’t the quick bubble screens or gimmick plays where he did damage; three of his seven grabs came on throws of 15-plus air yards, and just one fell under four air yards. In 16 games last season, just 14 of Flowers’ 77 catches came on tosses of 15-plus air yards.
Ravens mailbag: Answering questions about Baltimore’s 0-2 start
Mike Preston,, The Baltimore Sun
I know it’s early in the season, but so far it doesn’t look like the secondary is playing as well as they did last season. I was more concerned with losing coaches Dennard Wilson than I was Anthony Weaver in the offseason. How much is the loss of Wilson impacting the defense so far? — Paul in Orlando
Losing both Weaver and Wilson hurt the Ravens. From what I saw in the Raiders game, both cornerbacks, Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Stephens, looked tired late in the game. The Ravens sold out the week before in their loss to Kansas City, and it might have caught up with them. I know they had 10 days of rest and Las Vegas was playing on a regular seven-day routine, but the Ravens didn’t have that extra gear. Even Jackson lacked explosiveness on runs off the edge.
When will the front office take accountability for poor game decisions? We’ve replaced the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and other coaching positions, but the head coach has remained the same. Do you think Eric DeCosta is too close to Harbaugh so he won’t make the tough decision? It is widely known they are friends and neighbors. — Ryan Chojnowski
When the final decision on Harbaugh will be made, if there is one, it will come from owner Steve Bisciotti. He will get input from those close to him, such as Ozzie Newsome and DeCosta, but he will make the final call.
I don’t always agree with Harbaugh’s game decisions, especially in the final four minutes, but he has been very successful. Has he lost his voice with this team? I haven’t seen or heard that yet, but Harbaugh is always at his best when the Ravens struggle. He has a knack for rallying his team, so Sunday’s game against Dallas will be interesting.
Week 3 NFL picks: Vikings top Texans to remain unbeaten, Chargers upend Steelers
Pete Prisco, CBS Sports
Baltimore Ravens (-1) at Dallas Cowboys
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET (Fox, fubo)
This game has lost some luster with the Ravens at 0-2 and the Cowboys getting blown out last week. Both teams have issues, but the biggest is the Ravens offensive line. After watching what the Saints did to the Dallas defense, they will overcome that and run Derrick Henry. The Ravens will get their first victory on the road against the Cowboys.
Pick: Ravens 27, Cowboys 24