Baltimore Ravens Secondary: A Tale of Two Steelers Games
Jan 3, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Heath Miller (83) carries the ball as Baltimore Ravens defensive back Rashaan Melvin (38) chases in the second quarter during the 2014 AFC Wild Card playoff football game at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports
Ravens fans can not deny that when Ozzie Newsome and John Harbaugh see a problem, they address it. Case in point, the Baltimore Ravens secondary.
At the beginning of November, Chykie Brown and Dominique Franks were playing significant roles. They did not have the talent to succeed in the present nor did they have upside to look forward to. Yet, the Ravens trotted them out against Ben Roethlisberger and the NFL’s second-ranked passing offense.
The results have been discussed ad nauseum, so let’s just sum it up in Roethlisberger’s stat line: 25-of-37, 340 yards, 6 touchdowns, 0 interceptions.
That’s the kind of stat line that gets people fired, and it did. Franks and Brown got the axe as the Ravens brought in Danny Gorrer and Rashaan Melvin.
After a gimme against the Tennessee Titans, that new look secondary would face two tough tests against the New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers.
They were gashed, as Brees threw for 420 yards and three touchdowns, Rivers threw for 383 yards and three touchdowns, and the Ravens fell to near the bottom of the league in pass defense. Worst of all, the Ravens lost one of those games, a heartbreaker against San Diego.
In that span, Danny Gorrer was injured and lost for the season, as was Asa Jackson. Things truly did look lost.
Yet out of the rubble, a hope emerged. His name was Rashaan, and he flashed talent immediately in action against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The following game would prove a stiff test, as Melvin would play quite a bit against talented Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Unphased, Melvin stepped up and helped the Ravens hold Case Keenum and the Texans to under 200 yards passing.
The following game, Melvin helped lead the Ravens secondary to another stout performance against another no-name quarterback, Connor Shaw.
Yet, the Melvin and Lardarius Webb led secondary had yet to be truly tested, hence many fans’ consternation against the dreaded Pittsburgh Steelers, whose dominant passing led to the defensive backfield’s day of reckoning in the first place.
Just a look at the snap counts from the Wild Card game could inspire dread: 75 snaps for Lardarius Webb, 49 for Darian Stewart, 71 for Will Hill (actually that one isn’t scary), 66 for Rashaan Melvin, 30 for Jeromy Miles, 29 for Matt Elam and 31 for Anthony Levine. Not a lot of big names.
In the battle of David versus Goliath, though, the Ravens persevered, executing Dean Pees’ game plan perfectly. They kept plays in front of them on the first two downs, rarely giving up big plays, then were aggressive on third down, holding the Steelers to a paltry 31.25 percent third down conversion rate.
Best of all, the Ravens have found niches for each of their remaining corners. Webb and Melvin man the outside and do a fine job of it. Webb looks a lot healthier now than he did earlier in the year, while Melvin has been a revelation. As long as he’s not asked to track the ball, Matt Elam can man the slot well enough, and Anthony Levine is the kind of sound tackler who is a good fit for Pees’ conservative defense.
That group held Ben Roethlisberger to a 79.3 passer rating. That group, with five cornerbacks and a safety on injured reserve, found a way to succeed against the second-ranked passing attack in the league. The pass rush’s dominance helped, but give credit where credit is due, this secondary played well.
Next up, Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and the league’s ninth-ranked passing attack. Bring it on.