Pundits Say Upgrading Both Lines Should be Ravens’ Priority This Season and Offseason
One of the biggest issues for the Ravens this season is their performance in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
Regarding the offensive line, Head Coach John Harbaugh said Monday that personnel changes during the bye week are “absolutely” under consideration. The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec said he gets the sense that changes will be made.
“I know Harbaugh said he was considering O-line changes before Week 6, and nothing changed,” Zrebiec wrote. “But it wasn’t hard to detect the frustration in his comments after Sunday’s game about that goal-line sequence, and again during his comments Monday.
“Heading into Week 6, I would have probably told you that I thought [right guard Daniel] Faalele was playing better than [left guard] Andrew Vorhees. However, Vorhees was much better against the Los Angeles Rams. I’d be moderately surprised if Ben Cleveland and/or Corey Bullock weren’t given a shot to start after the bye.”
Zrebiec doesn’t believe third-round guard Emery Jones Jr., who underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason, is close to making his debut.
“Harbaugh said Monday that because of his shoulder, Jones was just cleared to do pass-block reps in recent days. That, plus the fact that he wasn’t able to participate in any minicamps, organized team activities or training camp, suggests that it will still be some time before he’s game day ready, even if he’s added to the roster when his practice window closes next week,” Zrebiec wrote.
NFL.com’s Kevin Patra identified the defensive line as Baltimore’s biggest need before the Nov. 4 trade deadline.
“Kudos to the Ravens for holding an explosive Rams offense to 17 points. Given the state of things in Baltimore, that’s an accomplishment,” Patra wrote. “However, the defense remains in a bad way; the trade for Alohi Gilman did help the back end, but the front seven still can’t generate pressure.”
Zrebiec expects bolstering both lines to be a priority this offseason.
“I’d be surprised when this season is over if General Manager Eric DeCosta doesn’t acknowledge that he didn’t add enough in the trenches. And I’d absolutely expect that to be a focus this offseason and primarily in the draft,” Zrebiec wrote.
