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Ravens hopeful bye week can help solve passing game

By Andrew Gillis

Ravens hopeful bye week can help solve passing game originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

Through six games of the 2020 season, the Ravens’ offense is 7th in the league in scoring (29.8 points per game) and has averaged 164.3 yards per game on the ground. 

Those numbers, for most any team in the NFL, are more than enough to celebrate. But for the Ravens, there’s something missing.

The team’s passing attack hasn’t matched its proficiency from its record-breaking 2019 season, with misses on deep shots to wideout Marquise Brown, or miscommunication altogether with wide receiver Miles Boykin. 

Now, the Ravens are hopeful they can use the bye week to get back to their 2019 standard, a level they’re well aware they’ll be compared to for the duration of the season.

“I think it’s natural,” coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “I think it’s understandable. We use the same standard; it’s where we want to be. We want to improve on where we’ve been in the past. Sure, we’re not where we want to be. I don’t think we were necessarily where we wanted to be last year at this time, either. It definitely is a work in progress, but we know we have a lot of work to do. We have to improve. Our guys are all about it.”

Quarterback Lamar Jackson hasn’t been poor over the start of the season for the Ravens, but he’s missed opportunities that could’ve sprung comfortable wins into outright blowouts. 

He’s thrown for 189.2 yards per game with a 63 percent completion percentage. He’s also thrown 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions while averaging 57.7 yards per game on the ground. For most quarterbacks, that’s a level to aspire to.

Jackson, however, isn’t most quarterbacks.

“We did a lot of great things the past few weeks,” Jackson said. “I’d say what we didn’t do is finish drives — scoring a lot of touchdowns. Last year, we started the season out, and we were rolling. (Last season) in the first game, we put a lot of points on the board, but after that, we slowed down, but then we picked it back up after our bye week. So, hopefully it will be similar to that from last year.”

A year ago, Jackson completed 66.1 percent of his passes and averaged 208.5 yards per game. Now, he’s trying to reach last year’s MVP level once again. And one way to get there is to get on the same page with Boykin. 

Multiple times over the last few weeks, Jackson and Boykin have looked to be on different wavelengths during the game. The Ravens had big expectations for Boykin entering the 2020 season, but through six games, he’s tallied just 11 catches and zero touchdowns.

“There have been a couple communication things,” pass coordinator David Culley said Tuesday. “First of all, when we’re in the huddle a couple of those happened when we were kind of in a two-minute or hurry-up situation, and Miles heard one thing and Lamar said another thing. It’s our responsibility when we’re in the huddle to make sure we’re hearing and listening to what he’s saying. He didn’t understand exactly what he had said, because he was trying to get out.”

Outside of Boykin’s progression, there’s a few ways the Ravens could add to their passing attack. Firstly, by completing the deep passes to Brown. 

Brown has 26 catches for 376 yards and one touchdown through six games this year, but those numbers could look much prettier if he and Jackson connected on some deep passes. Notably, in the Washington game in Week 4. 

“It’s about just running more routes,” Brown said. “When the opportunity presents itself in the game, we’ve got to hit it. It’s not really this hard thing. We’ve just got to go out there and do it.”

He also complimented Devin Duvernay, who has seen his opportunities and snap counts increase steadily throughout the season. 

“He’s a guy who’s always ready,” Brown said. “When he’s on the field, he’s looking to make a big play, and that’s what I love about him. Every time he’s on the field, he’s looking to make a big play soon. I’m kind of happy that he can come in and he’s a guy that there’s no complaining. When he gets his opportunity, he tries to make the most of it.”

So while the Ravens’ offense, specifically the passing game, is seemingly missing something significant from a year ago, the answers they need might end up being in-house.

Madden 23 ratings: Which players got the biggest snubs?

By Max Molski
Madden 23 ratings: Which players got the biggest snubs? originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonMadden Ratings Performance Adjustor seems like a pretty sweet gig: stand on the sideline, get a great view of an NFL game and break down players’ skills. Just because the career appears fun, doesn’t mean it’s perfect. The work they produce most certainly isn’t.EA Sports released its “Madden NFL 23” ratings this week, giving its assessment of 2,368 players. Within that group, there were sure to be some head-scratching evaluations. Some of those should have been more obvious to the team at EA, but that’s what we’re here for.Here are eight of the most egregious rating snubs for “Madden NFL 23”:Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs/Josh Allen, Buffalo BillsDid EA forget to send someone to the AFC divisional round showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills? GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium was the site for perhaps the greatest playoff game in NFL history on Jan. 23, and it put two of the league’s best quarterbacks in the spotlight.Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen combined for eight touchdowns as the Chiefs pulled out an unforgettable 42-36 victory in overtime. Mahomes and Co. lost to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC title game, falling short of a third straight Super Bowl appearance.Mahomes’ reward for the season? A fall from the Madden 99 Club all the way to a 95 rating. He’s the third-best quarterback in the upcoming video game, trailing Tom Brady (97) and Aaron Rodgers (96). The order of players can be justified, but something isn’t right with a player featuring Mahomes’ skillset settling for a 95, coming off another great year.The same goes for Mahomes’ divisional round counterpart. Allen is justly slotted as the fourth-best QB, but he has a 92 rating. He played well above that number in the playoffs, shredding the New England Patriots in the wild card round before going toe-to-toe with Mahomes. Toss in Allen’s running prowess, and he is seemingly an unstoppable video game QB. Antonio Gibson, Washington CommandersAntonio Gibson finished in a tie for sixth in the NFL with 1,037 rushing yards in 2021. He also had 294 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns on the season, giving him 21 in his two-year career. Despite his overall production, the Washington Commanders running back enters the season with an 80 overall rating in “Madden NFL 23,” the same number as A.J. Dillon, D’Andre Swift and Elijah Mitchell. Gibson does have a major pitfall. He had five lost fumbles in 2021, two more than any other running back in the NFL. Madden handed him an 80 carrying rating for that, placing him in a tie for 153rd out of 166 running backs in the game. Should he improve his ball security, look for Gibson’s Madden rating to rise.For now, if you’re playing with him in the game, it might be best to give him the ball close to the sideline so you can get him out of bounds.Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals/Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ersWhen it comes to receivers, the Madden team dropped the ball on Ja’Marr Chase and Deebo Samuel.Chase put together one of the most memorable rookie seasons in recent memory, piling up 1,455 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns on 81 receptions. He also helped bring the Bengals to the Super Bowl. Let me repeat that: he helped bring the Bengals to the Super Bowl.For all that work, he was given the same rating (87) as Brandin Cooks and A.J. Brown.Samuel got slightly more respect with his rating, but it doesn’t seem like a fair assessment considering how dynamic he was in 2021, as an all-around weapon with the San Francisco 49ers. His 89 rating puts him on level with D.K. Metcalf and Chris Godwin. That isn’t terrible company, but with Michael Thomas, Tyler Lockett and Amari Cooper earning 90s, Samuel certainly can have a bone to pick. It doesn’t appear Samuel is too concerned, though:Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas RaidersMaxx Crosby played out of his mind in 2021. He reached his first Pro Bowl after compiling eight sacks, 56 tackles and 30 QB hits (tied for fourth in the NFL).Instead of receiving a “great” rating, Madden saw him closer to “good.” Crosby missed out on the top 10 of overall edge rushers with an 87, the same number as Matthew Judon.Patrick Surtain II, Denver BroncosMicah Parsons was far and away the best rookie defensive player in the NFL last season, but don’t let that take away from what Patrick Surtain II did in his first year with the Broncos. The first-year cornerback registered four interceptions as part of a solid secondary in Denver. Those four picks ranked second on the team, and his 58 tackles were third on the team. He was also disruptive without creating a turnover, leading the Broncos with 14 passes defended.Surtain’s 83 rating places him in a tie for 20th among all cornerbacks. While that’s good enough to be a CB1 on an NFL team, this could be the lowest Surtain’s Madden rating gets for a while.Justin Tucker, Baltimore RavensTo summarize Justin Tucker’s Madden rating, let’s turn to a conversation between Patrick Star and Man Ray:Tucker: I have a 99 kick power rating, right?Madden: Yep.Tucker: And I have a 99 kick accuracy rating, right?Madden: Indeed.Tucker: So I, a kicker, am a 99 overall, right?Madden: No, you’re a 90.Make it make sense.
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