Shaffer: Ravens Ceiling Is Still High

For Jonas, how are you man? I'm doing alright, thank you for having me.

Absolutely, thank you and appreciate the time. Now we know when we get these AFC North match-ups is everybody punch each other in the mouth. But why aren't things a little bit more even here when it comes down to the Steelers specifically for the Ravens? I think if any of us knew that we would probably be getting a lot of money on the Ravens coaching staff because it's not clear to me. Obviously, some of Lamar's and the Ravens not having a leg up in this series is just because they've not needed Lamar in games that they haven't needed to win. They've missed him for some games where he's been injured and of course have not had him at their services, but Pittsburgh has just kind of dragged the Ravens down to their level on defense especially. They've gotten after Lamar as a pass rush group, they've been the beneficiary of some dropped passes, they've gotten after him with sacks, and they've just kind of thrown a wrench into this whole offense that you don't typically see, especially this season. I think yesterday was really apparent just how much attention the Ravens paid to the Steelers pass rush group with the amount of chip blocks that we saw and the Steelers were able to set the Ravens back enough on early downs that when they were going for it on 3rd long, the Ravens just couldn't really pick them apart on zone defense or man-to-man because they were so worried about blocking a T.J. Watt or Nick Herbig or Cameron Hayward. It just did not really sing the way you're kind of used to seeing for this Ravens offense.

Jonas, you're from Maryland. How much or how bad was the sky falling this morning for Ravens fans? Was this a, hey, we lost to the Steelers again or is this now an indicator of what the season will look like the rest of the way?

I think it's probably a good question. I think there's a little bit of A, a little bit of B because this is not, I think, the way that Ravens fans expected to lose a game to the Steelers. You know, this was a relatively high flying Steelers offense under Russell Wilson, but the Ravens did a good job on defense. It was, you know, they got probably their best combined defensive, you know, pass defense run defense effort of the season.

And it was still not nearly enough. I mean, I think this is the first time that a team in this Ravens Steelers rivalry, the history of the rivalry has ever won a game without scoring a touchdown. That's just not what you typically see. But there were certainly some red flags that you kind of continue to see in this game in Ravens wins and other Ravens losses. It's the penalties.

They leave the NFL by far in the number of flags. It's that inability to finish some of these lower scoring games where, you know, you would think that with Derek Henry and Lamar Jackson, they'd be able to grind these ones out. So obviously the Ravens and the fans would much rather be in first place in the AFC North, but I still think they are, you know, in a relatively safe position to make the playoffs. It's just probably not going to be a top two seed at this point.

And it's about positioning yourself for possibly, you know, winning on the road when you get to the postseason. Jonas Schaeffer is here with us from the Baltimore banner. When you talk about some of the moves that the Ravens have made in season to try to bolster their playoff hopes and where they end up, we saw Tredavious White.

Okay. He's still playing. Didn't have an impact at all yesterday. And, uh, Deontay Johnson, we heard from Mike Tomlin.

He said, Hey, I got other players to worry about. He came down with zero catches. So all things considered, have the Ravens really made any adjustments in season that could affect them come January? With the trade acquisitions, um, it's to be determined. Um, I think Deontay Johnson could be a nice piece down the road, but you're right, just that the results have not yet been there. Uh, I think Tredavious White definitely showed the Ravens something, uh, you know, for him to get on the field after basically less than two weeks of practice. Uh, considering just how much of a struggle it's been for guys who've been in this Raven system after they lost Mike McDonald, uh, to get up to speed and get on the same page, I think was definitely impressive. Um, but you know, the, the, some of the most noteworthy, some of the most significant moves that they've made, uh, on, on the roster personnel side of things is just, you know, them benching guys or them deactivating guys.

It's, it's, you know, putting our Darius Washington, a former undrafted rookie as starting safety next to Kyle Hamilton, uh, who's usually in the slot in the box because Eddie Jackson has been a really, really disappointing signing because Marcus Williams who was, you know, signed to create a claim a couple of years ago has been even more disappointing signing, uh, especially this year, just completely out of nowhere. So, um, they are continuing to, you know, hit certain levers, push certain buttons to try to get the most out of the defense. I think they feel pretty good about their offense. It's still, you know, probably, you know, a top two offense in the NFL, but for whatever reason, they just haven't had a whole lot of luck, uh, getting things consistent on defense.

And, uh, the next two weeks going against Justin Herbert and then, uh, that really, really talented Eagles offense, especially with them turning things up with Saquon Barkley, I think could be huge, huge challenges as they kind of try to get rolling into the buy. Now, Jonas, you talk about the defense that this has typically been the Ravens bread and butter and just completely ignore them winning championships with Ray Lewis and Ed Reed and what have you. This has still been their bread and butter. And this year they've given up about 25 points a game. The pass defense has been pretty bad given some of the top flight names that they have. We see the pass rushes and what it used to be. How has the defense fallen off in such a way that it looks like this now over the past several years?

I think the big culprit has been, you know, just the brain drain. Obviously last year was the second under Mike McDonald, you know, that defense the first year under Mike McDonald in Baltimore took a while to get going. It really didn't start to turn up until, uh, guys got comfortable in the system until Roquan Smith arrived at mid-season in that trade with Chicago. Um, but they also lost Anthony Weaver to Miami and, you know, we're starting to see that dolphin ticket, that dolphin defense get turned around. Uh, Denard Wilson, you know, who was, uh, I think heralded for a lot of what he did, the defensive backs group last year in Baltimore, you know, went to Tennessee and despite, you know, the injuries there with with Jerry Snead and them just kind of parting ways with assets, you know, every other week, it seems like has done a really, really nice job with them. And for whatever reason, the, the lessons and all the, uh, you know, strategic carryover has not really done anyone, um, all that much good, you know, early season there with the ratios with the pass rush, not getting home more recently. It's been guys in the secondary not being on the same page or just being unable to hang with number one, receive number one wide receivers. They're probably the worst defense in the NFL at this point against number one wide receivers.

And, you know, that continued yesterday, you know, uh, George Pickens just had the one moon ball catch. He's still finished with close to a hundred yards, you know, Brandon Stevens, uh, who's been starting opposite Marlon Humphrey has, has really, you know, done a pretty spectacular regression from last year and done it in a contract year for him. Um, and then Marcus Williams, you know, like I said, uh, I think the safety group, even though it has Kyle Hamilton, um, who's, you know, another potential having another potential pro bowl season. You know, you look at the PFF grades and pretty much every single one of those guys hitting into week 11 was, uh, you know, near the bottom of the league in PFF grades. And no one expected that considering just how acclaimed they've been and how well they've played last year.

So it's really tough to point your finger at just one group. Um, Roquan Smith has not had a good year in past coverage either. And, you know, you put all that together and suddenly this, this spine and this defense that was so well regarded last year has just taken a huge step backward. And, um, even though it looked a little, a little approved yesterday, you know, I'm still not fully committed to saying that this is a, a, a group that should be anywhere close to feared come playoff time. Oh, well, Jonas, you talked about Monday night football next week. We have the Harbaugh bowl as the Ravens are going to be in Los Angeles to take on the chargers. You talked about the Eagles. They get a bye week, which I would say, Hey, when you got a rushing team on the offense, like the Ravens, they're certainly going to enjoy it. They have the giants, the Steelers again, this time at home, they go to Texas to take on the Texans or Houston, I should say. And then they finish against the Browns. You talked about this being a Ravens team that is likely going to have to hit the road, uh, in the playoffs. What do you see as the most realistic outcome by the time we get to the post season? Um, in terms of what their seating is or what they can do in the playoffs? Oh, I mean, what, what's the most likely is the scenario for this season to conclude?

It's a good question. Um, you know, it's, it's, it's tough to get over the defensive hang ups we've seen this year. And it's also tough to, uh, imagine a, you know, it's also tough to, I guess, get over some of what we've seen from Omar in the playoffs, which has been a guy who, you know, does not look anything, look, who does not look anything like the excellent regular season version that we've seen. You know, you think back to even last year and it was, um, I don't think there was a player who finished the season on a hotter hot streak than Lamar did. And then he goes into that game against the Texans and it was the Ravens defense that carried them for the first two and a half quarters.

He just could not figure out the blitz. And then, you know, you go against the, the Chiefs and they take away the Ravens run. And again, it was a whole lot of kind of running around with your head cut off, not really any direction and, you know, come, maybe it's just the kind of fumes of that game against Pittsburgh, but you do get a little bit shaky. You know, if you go against the team that is able to take away the run, is able to, you know, get after Lamar with the pass rush without devoting, without devoting a whole lot of bodies. Um, I think this is a much more capable Ravens offense than, than last year's, but, uh, I still think, you know, considering where the Chiefs are, who they might be, um, just that, that championship pedigree, considering the direction that the Bills are right now. I know the Ravens, you know, flew their doors off, uh, you know, a month or two ago, but the way that they've kind of developed into a very well rounded unit, I think has to be a little bit fearful. So I think the Ravens are probably underdogs at this point to make the AFC championship game. But I think you could also say that, you know, if this defense even gives them, you know, a top 15 double, top 15 defense level, I don't know if anyone's feeling it in the AFC as higher.

Okay. Well, Jonas is to be seen. That's why they go out there and play the games. Let's see if the Ravens can turn things around. I think there's like you, they'll get into the post season.

Maybe you went around, maybe two, uh, but we, we, we see the teams that are competing at a higher level than them, especially right now. Jonas, where can people follow you in all of your work? Yeah. Uh, on, on X, uh, Jonas underscore Shaffer, J-O-N-A-S-S-H-A-F-F-E-R and then, then, uh, the Baltimore banner. So the, the baltimorebanner.com slash sports. And, uh, yeah, we'll be covering all through the season. And thank you, Jonas. Appreciate it, man. And enjoy the rest of the evening, the rest of the season. Great catching up with you, man. Thanks for having me on.