What do the Baltimore Ravens need to fix?

The Baltimore Ravens head into their bye week with a respectable record of 6-4. They have seen ups and downs throughout the season, and judging by their record, they have seen a few more ups than downs.

However, there is still plenty that they will have to fix for the remaining six games of the season. The obvious one that pops out is in the secondary, where the pass defense is ranked 21st in the league, giving up 251 yards through the air per game.

Even prior to the loss of No. 1 cornerback Jimmy Smith, they were still struggling mightily. Now, with Smith lost for the season, they need to do something quick.

The team made a couple of moves last week, when they cut Chykie Brown and Dominique Franks and replaced them with Danny Gorrer and Rashaan Melvin. Gorrer recorded the game-sealing interception in the Week 10 matchup against the Tennessee Titans. The secondary actually performed pretty well in that game, but that was its first good performance the whole season.

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The secondary however, isn’t where the only problem lies for the Ravens. Consistency in the passing game has been a big issue as well.

Joe Flacco started off the season throwing darts, and he was off to a career start. But now, he is performing decently at best, and his game has taken a step down. I think a big factor playing into that was the fact that the production of Steve Smith Sr. dropped drastically after the first six games.

Six games into the season, he was second in the league in receiving yards. Now, he is tenth. Perhaps the reason his production has dropped is because Torrey Smith‘s production has raised.

Smith was held to under 200 yards through the first four games, but he now holds a total of 446 yards and six touchdowns. I’m sort of playing the blame game here, but it’s relevant and it makes sense to do so.

So here’s how I see it: At this point, the secondary can not really be fixed. Sure they can play a little better, but they just don’t have the talent to be a top group. And then there’s the passing game that is more than capable of producing big plays week in and week out.

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Joe Flacco has to throw the deep ball more often and include Torrey Smith in more of his plays. Oh, and I didn’t even mention Owen Daniels. He will be key to the Ravens in short-yardage and red-zone situations, and the Ravens must find ways to get the ball into his hands more often.

In conclusion, the Ravens have a few flaws that will need to be addressed during the bye week, but the one that should be monitored the closest is the problem in the passing game. They have a big-play quarterback under center, and they have provided him with talented weapons. There is no reason that this passing game shouldn’t be one of the better groups in the NFL.

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