Baltimore Ravens 2017 Season Recap
In the realm of the NFL, there are 3 places a franchise can be. The most obvious is on top, as a Super Bowl champion or on the short list of legitimate contenders. Another is in the proverbial cellar, a team whose losses far outnumber their wins and understand the task at hand is a rebuild of the roster at least with a complete organizational restructure at most. But the third place is a veritable purgatory unto itself, one where a clear assessment of the franchise is wanting, and that is the middle; not strong enough to make a deep playoff run but one who can consistently beat their peers in the regular season. It's an area where the difference between 6-10 and 10-6 are of the smallest degrees. This makes improving a team's roster a tricky exercise.
Baltimore Ravens
2017 Record: 9-7
2016 Record: 8-8
Win Differential: +1
What Happened: Say what you want about the Ravens, but they have been a bellwether of the American Football Conference. Either battling division rival Pittsburgh or making a familiar push to the playoffs, Baltimore have been in the junior conference postseason picture for the better part of a decade, even winning a Lombardi Trophy a few years back. But as of late, the Ravens are showing signs of diminished capabilities. The offense has endured struggles, from their backfield by committee approach due to the inability of a running back to stake their individual claim on a starter's position to a revolving door of wide receivers due to free agency or the dearth of a homegrown talent being developed through the draft process. Defensively, they are a solid unit. Not as dominant as they were with Ray Lewis playing middle linebacker and safety Ed Reed patrolling the deep middle of the field. This has rendered the Charmed City Blackbirds to that of a middling ballclub. This lack of upward mobility has only emboldened critics of QB Joe Flacco and head coach John Harbaugh to speak their collective minds, expressing great displeasure with Flacco's annual salary and being viewed as an impediment to improving the team. While general manager Ozzie Newsome has often turned a deaf ear to such talk, Flacco's performance over the last three years have not put the issue to bed, as his average individual stats do not scream franchise quarterback. That may explain the machinations of this offseason for the Ravens.
What To Expect: Baltimore addressed their biggest concern, wide receiver, through free agency. They let WR Mike Wallace and TE Benjamin Watson walk, and brought in Willie Snead (New Orleans), Michael Crabtree (Oakland), and John Brown (Arizona). This should be seen as a decided upgrade. Yes, Flacco loses a big target in Watson, but gets 3 diverse receiving talents to put on the field, which should greatly improve the passing game. But the most curious move was done during the draft, as the Ravens selected the University of Louisville's Lamar Jackson, a quarterback talent that was passed by all other teams. Jackson has incredible athleticism on top of a strong arm. If he can develop his decision making abilities and comprehend the pro game similar to how he picked it up in college, then Baltimore has just locked up their signal caller position for the next decade plus. Flacco has been undeniably been put on notice with the investment made on Jackson. If Flacco wants to stick around, he will need to be better than what he's been, otherwise the fans will be clamoring for Jackson to take the reins. For the short term, the Ravens will contend for a playoff berth in a weaker AFC and be the only believable roadblock to a Steelers' steamrolling the AFC North. In the long term, Baltimore is trying to be in position to become a power in the coming years. It will remain to be seen if they can make that happen.
