Kenneth Dixon and Righting the Ship
Part two of two examining the Ravens' season as of the bye week.
After looking at what's happened so far, it's time to dust off the crystal ball and see what the future holds for the remaining nine weeks of Ravens football. As mentioned in Wednesday's post, the Ravens' shortcomings in the first seven weeks can be pinpointed to a lackluster offense and the sudden collapse of one of the league's top defenses, so let's look at ways Baltimore can patch up their holes, and also how the AFC North will shake out.
The Offense
Joe Flacco isn't the problem, and Marty Mornhinweg and Kenneth Dixon might be the solution. As of week eight, Flacco ranks 14th out of 32 quarterbacks for average passing yards per game for with 262.4, slightly edging out Russel Wilson. Running, however, is another issue. As a team, Baltimore ranks 26 out of 32 with only 604 rushing yards. For most of the season, the biggest problem was that the Ravens were simply not running, which can be chalked up to the former offense coordinator, Marc Trestman, not having suitable in-game situational awareness. Mornhinweg doesn't have a big enough sample size to draw definitive conclusions from yet, but early signs and overall team chatter indicate he'll be more likely to employ the running game than his predecessor. Complicating matters is that starting running back Terrance West suffered an injury during the loss to the Jets. Rookie Kenneth Dixon is expected to step into the role of starting running back or at least be given an extended look at the position. Will Dixon and Mornhinweg be able to fix the Ravens' running back situation? Or will it continue to plague Baltimore for the rest of the season?
The Defense
The AFC North
Despite dropping four straight and being in week eight already, the AFC North is still wide open for the taking for the Ravens, and two other teams (at least for another week). The Steelers have yet to find their footing since losing Ben Roethlisberger to injury, which has saved not only the Ravens' season but also the Cincinnati Bengals', who are both only a game out of first. The Ravens' week nine matchup versus the Steelers is beyond a doubt a critical game for determining how the division will shake out, and for the Bengals, the biggest hurdle will be staying relevant until the end of the season when most of their big matchups are.
