The past couple of years have been excruciating for Ravens fans. Last season, Baltimore had every opportunity to make it into the playoffs, with the statistics of the bracket system supporting their chances and with the last team on their schedule being as lukewarm as it was. All they needed to do was beat the Bengals (THE BENGALS) to make it into the playoffs. Andy Dalton proved to be too powerful for Flacco, and their season ended in that stadium.
This year was equally painful to watch. Riding off of the momentum of the excellent decision to make Lamar Jackson a starter, Baltimore cruised through the second half of the season with relative ease. When it mattered most, however, against the Chargers in their first playoff game, the Ravens offence couldn’t get the job done.
Despite these tragedies, the 2019/2020 NFL season will finally be the time that Baltimore ends the Lombardi trophy draught and reclaims its position as king of the league. Here’s why.
1 – Lamar Jackson is Replacing Joe Flacco
Depending on who you ask, Joe Flacco is either a Super Bowl caliber quarterback or a weekend warrior who can’t compete at the elite level. Although it cannot be disputed that he is a Super Bowl MVP, Joe Flacco has been phoning it in as a QB for a few years now. This season, the Ravens lost more games than they should have, and most of that blame can be placed squarely on Flacco. He stopped throwing the ball, instead opting to hand it off to Alex Collins every play. The throws that he did perform were often intercepted or missed their mark. And when placed on the field as anything other than a quarterback, Flacco stood off to the side and watched the athletes play football with his hands in his pockets in a way not dissimilar to Jay Cutler’s behaviour in the same situation. Joe’s glory days were over.
In a way, it was surprising how long it took Harbaugh to bench Joe and put Lamar Jackson onto the field. But after an injury forced him to do just that, Lamar Jackson proved himself as the more capable QB by blazing his way through the rest of the season with back-to-back victories. Lamar Jackson is a really good athlete.
The loss to the Chargers this week can be chalked up to some inexperience on the part of Jackson – he fumbled the ball and was sacked numerous times in the first half of the game alone, failing to score any points for a long time. But this inexperience really only reared its head during this high-pressure playoff game. Jackson froze under the lights of the stadium, and under the implications of the possible loss. With more practise and experience next season, Jackson will be able to contend with other playoff- level teams when the time comes.
2- John Harbaugh is Staying
John Harbaugh is an excellent coach, with a Super Bowl victory already under his belt. Rumours of his replacement probably would have come to fruition if not for the amazing turnaround that the Ravens had midway through the season. If he had been cut, and some other coach had been brought in to replace him, then who knows how that would’ve gone. Transitionary pains can destroy a team outright – just look at the pulseless trash-fire that is the Oakland Raiders.
Harbaugh is an excellent defensive coach. The Ravens’ defence under his coaching is known as one of the best in the league; and Terrell Suggs is (as far as we know) returning next season so there is no cause for concern on that side of the locker room. As for offence, Lamar Jackson will allow Harbaugh to experiment with run-heavy, old-school styles of offence and make better use of a wider range of running backs. That’s not to say that Jackson can’t throw the ball – it just so happens that great running plays were made with Jackson on the field this season.
3- The Patriots and Steelers are Weakening
Look, let’s face it. The Pats weren’t what they used to be this season. Tom Brady is old. There are rumours that Grownkowski may retire soon. They lost to the Tennessee Titans this season, a mid-range team at best who isn’t even in the playoffs. They also lost the Championship game to Philadelphia last year. The New England of years gone by would simply not have allowed that to happen.
With the biggest challenger in the AFC beginning to show cracks in their armour, the Ravens have a better chance of clinching the division and not running into opposition late in the season. In addition to this, the Steelers had a pretty terrible run this season. They didn’t make the post-season, and the argument cannot be made that it is entirely due to the much-talked-about absence of Le’Veon Bell. They are, like the Patriots, getting old and rusty. Mike Tomlin hasn’t brought home a Lombardi trophy in a real long time.
Because of this, Baltimore will have an easier time in the otherwise high-school level AFC North. The Bengals are trash, and the other team in the division is Cleveland. Say what you want about Baker Mayfield, but it’s going to take a lot more than him and the firing of Hugh Jackson to turn the team around completely (although the Browns had a very impressive season following Hugh’s departure). In the end, we’ll just have to wait and see who the replacement head coach is and if they can start the season strong next year. Either way, Baltimore’s chances are looking great next year.
Reporter: Noah Laybolt