Mike Preston’s Ravens mailbag: Answering questions about Derrick Henry, Marcus Williams and more | COMMENTARY
By Mike Preston, Baltimore Sun,
1 days ago
The Buffalo Bills sideline watch Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry sprint to the end zone for the first touchdown of the evening during NFL football in Baltimore. Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun/TNS
Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Preston will answer fans’ questions in the middle of each week throughout the Ravens season. A week after the Ravens (2-2) held off the Dallas Cowboys, they crushed the Buffalo Bills, 35-10, on “Sunday Night Football” for their first signature victory.
Here’s Preston’s take on a handful of questions from readers:
(Editor’s note: Questions have been edited for length and clarity.)
How surprising was it to see the Ravens easily dispose of Buffalo on Sunday night? — Ed Helinski
I thought the Ravens would win, but not totally dismantle Buffalo. The Bills have been a soft team for years, but they also seemed ill-prepared to play the Ravens. They have had some injuries on defense, especially at linebacker, but they weren’t ready for a physical team. Days before the game, I thought it might come down to Josh Allen versus Lamar Jackson, but once the Ravens’ defense took running back James Cook out of the game, the Bills had no other playmakers. Their receivers ran pretty vanilla routes, and the Ravens manhandled Buffalo’s defensive line. The Ravens also hammered Buffalo’s offensive line, and the trick play to Allen showed the desperation to manufacture points. I thought the Ravens might win by four to seven points, but the 35-10 final was impressive.
But the season is still young. I never thought Buffalo was the best team in the NFL or even in the AFC. It’s way too early to make that claim, just as it is to say that Baltimore is the best team in the conference. We will see at the end of the season.
I like Todd Monken, and his first 20 scripted plays to start the game are usually spot-on. However, it feels like his play-calling becomes questionable when we have a lead. For example, we opened the second half Sunday night with two consecutive three-and-outs, with the first drive consisting of three straight pass plays — even though we had been dominating with the run. I understand that the defense has also struggled in the second half, but I believe they wear down because the offense can’t sustain drives. What are your thoughts on the Ravens’ second-half struggles? — Orlando from Hanover
Orlando, the Ravens opened the third quarter with three straight passing plays and maybe that’s because they learned that Buffalo starting safety Taylor Rapp was out of the game after he tried to tackle running back Derrick Henry earlier. If a team faces second-and-10 and third-and-10, they really have no other choice but to throw. The Ravens ran Henry twice in the next series, but 5 of his yards on first down were nullified because of a false start penalty, and then Jackson was sacked on third-and-10. Maybe Monken was trying to send a message to his team that they were going to come out and be aggressive instead of trying to run down the clock with the running game. Overall, I thought Monken called a great game and the Ravens finished with more than 400 yards of total offense.
Offensively, the Ravens have to be more opportunistic and run some time off the clock in the fourth quarter. As for the late collapses by the defense, most of the starters didn’t play in the preseason. A team can do all the conditioning it wants, but nothing replaces 60 minutes of game time on Sunday. I saw the Ravens get tired, especially their secondary and especially late in the first three games. They are also replacing three defensive assistant coaches, and it has probably caused some confusion in the secondary. Plus, few of the playmakers stepped up. Jackson, Henry and Zay Flowers did in the Dallas game to secure the victory, but that wasn’t the case in the first two games. Against Buffalo, the Bills weren’t much of a threat after early in the third.
Mike, you have stated that wide receivers in the NFL are divas. (I find it ironic that Marquise “Hollywood” Brown’s greatest success was under a Greg Roman offense, yet he still demanded a trade). Assuming that the Ravens continue their run-first mentality on offense, how does the coaching staff balance team success with the diva whispers from the receivers? — Dan H. from Elkton
I’m sure some of the receivers aren’t happy about their lack of production, but that will change week to week, just like it did for Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Right now, who can complain? The Ravens have won two straight games with a strong running attack. Only tight end Mark Andrews, because of previous standout years, has earned the right to complain. Veteran receiver Nelson Agholor knows his role is limited and fellow wideout Rashod Bateman should just play and be quiet. Tight end Isaiah Likely might be a star someday, but he has only been productive for one season when Andrews got hurt last year.
Fortunately for the Ravens, they don’t have any divas at receiver. Flowers touched the ball a lot in the first two games, maybe too much, but he is only in his second year. Before a receiver can become a diva, he has to at least make a Pro Bowl team once or twice. If not, just be quiet and play. If that doesn’t happen, there are always other options for coach John Harbaugh to fill positions. This Ravens team is not star-studded, and the best athlete on the team, Jackson, prefers to win more than anything else. So far, he hasn’t complained about his statistics.
The receivers should follow his lead.
Because of his past workload and age, I thought that the Ravens stated that Derrick Henry was going to run the ball 10 to 20 times a game. Obviously, he is now assuming a larger workload. Do you think Henry can last a full season carrying that large workload, even though Justice Hill has performed well in his limited snaps? Keaton Mitchell can’t return soon enough. — Bob in North Carolina
Bob, it’s all about balance. Again, I’m not talking about the run-pass ratio being even, but a team has to be versatile in its attack. Against Kansas City and Las Vegas, the Ravens had to throw more because both teams have strong defensive lines. Against Buffalo and Dallas, the Ravens attacked with the running game because they could physically handle both teams, and that will probably happen Sunday versus Cincinnati. The running game sets up the play-action passes as well as the run-pass options for Jackson, and that’s when the Ravens are at their best.
It makes no difference if you run or throw the ball, just win — whatever it takes. Jackson has already proven that he can win a lot of games in the NFL with both his legs and his arm, and that makes the Ravens’ offense diversified. A team needs that type of confidence headed into every game, and the Ravens have enough tools to be successful.
Through four games now, I’ve RARELY seen safety Marcus Williams make a play, let alone an impact play. Is that a product of how Zach Orr has him positioned on the back end? Or he just isn’t the impactful player anymore that Eric DeCosta paid a lot of money for? — Paul in Orlando
Williams has battled injuries the past couple of seasons, but every player can’t be a star. The Ravens have several on defense in middle linebacker Roquan Smith, outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy, end Nnamdi Madubuike and safety Kyle Hamilton, and Williams fits nicely into the mix as a role player. Has he been overpaid during his time in Baltimore? Yes, but he played well during his five years in New Orleans, which earned him the five-year, $70 million contract with Baltimore in March of 2022.
Williams plays a decent center field and really is a free safety. Hamilton plays more near the line of scrimmage as a strong safety, and this secondary needs to get better. Hamilton needs to improve in coverage on the back end, especially in open-field tackling. And yes, Williams can have more impact. Cornerback Brandon Stephens always had great positioning, but he never turns to look for the ball. Even Smith struggled early in the season, so there is time for a turnaround.
There were a lot of people who wrote cornerback Marlon Humphrey off last year, and he has played surprisingly well at times this season on both the inside and outside. Maybe Williams can play at a high level again.
Have a question for Mike Preston? Email sports@baltsun.com with “Ravens mailbag” in the subject line and it could be answered in The Baltimore Sun.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Local News
Comments / 0