It’s not all doom and gloom at The Castle.
Regardless of the outcome of the Ravens’ negotiations with star quarterback Lamar Jackson, there is faith in the team’s new coordinator Todd Monken and his ability to turn around a sputtering offense.
Monken, who left Georgia after winning back-to-back national championships to join the Ravens in mid-February, has yet to call a play in Baltimore and spent the past two seasons as a college offensive coordinator, but his resume is certainly more impressive than Jackson’s postseason statistics and win-loss record.
Because of the stalled negotiations with their dynamic signal-caller, there seems to be some worry surrounding the Ravens and their ability to build a championship contender. There is more doubt than ever in general manager Eric DeCosta being able to sign a highly touted free agent wide receiver like Odell Beckham Jr. or make a trade for Arizona’s DeAndre Hopkins, but the Ravens have always been reluctant to make those types of deals.
Instead, they have always built through the draft. It’s why they are in contention almost every year. And that brings me back to Monken.
It’s been fun watching him dialing up plays at Georgia, and he certainly believes in attacking the entire field and playing to his team’s strengths. When he was with Tampa Bay in 2018, the Buccaneers had virtually no running game but still led the NFL with 320.3 passing yards per game.
A year later, as Cleveland’s offensive coordinator, the Browns’ receivers were in total disarray, so Monken relied on their strong running game and Nick Chubb, who finished second in the league with 1,494 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. Quarterback Baker Mayfield still managed to throw for a career-high 3,827 yards.
Last season, the Bulldogs were versatile as the they finished fifth in the country in points, averaging 39.8. That’s the hope for the Ravens in 2023 — that Monken can at least get more production out of the passing game to complement the rushing attack.
If that happens, the Ravens will be competitive in a mediocre NFL. Can they win a Super Bowl without Jackson? No, not at this point, but they haven’t won one with him, either.
Jackson has won only one of four playoff games, completing 76 of 136 attempts (55.9%). He has thrown only three touchdown passes, been intercepted five times and sacked on 19 occasions. His passer rating in the postseason is 68.3.
After Jackson committed two major turnovers late in a 24-20 loss to the New York Giants in Week 6 last season, the Ravens went conservative and turned their star into a game manager.
With or without Jackson, this passing game will change.
“There was nothing going on there from a scheme standpoint, a passing scheme,” ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said. “Now you got Todd Monken, now you’re going to have some semblance, hopefully, a big-time semblance to a sophisticated passing offense.”
So regardless of whether Jackson returns or the Ravens resort to backup Tyler Huntley or a veteran free agent or a rookie, Monken has experience working with all types. The Bulldogs ran everything from run-pass options to straight dropbacks to a power running game.
The Ravens aren’t going to do anything bold at this point, not with Jackson in hibernation. But they still signed veteran Nelson Agholor, and though he isn’t a true No. 1 receiver, he has enough speed to make plays on the outside or in the slot.
The Ravens have salary cap issues, having signed middle linebacker Roquan Smith to a five-year, $100 million extension in January and committing to pay Jackson $32.4 million if he signs his non exclusive tag for the 2023 season.
There are always ways to circumvent the cap, but that’s not the Ravens’ style, which is why I think the team has been posturing in dealing with Beckham.
The same financial restraints have forced the Ravens to allow free agents such as guard Ben Powers and defensive end Calais Campbell to leave for other teams. Campbell’s leadership will be missed.
Overall, though, the Ravens’ defense was as good as any team not named the San Francisco 49ers during the final month of last season. They have a weakness at cornerback but should be able to fill that with one of their five draft picks later this month. They need a pass rusher, too, but second-year outside linebacker David Ojabo has all the physical attributes to be outstanding. Third-year pro Odafe Oweh will need to step up.
DeCosta has gotten a lot of criticism recently for allowing first-round draft picks such as tight end Hayden Hurst and wideout Marquise “Hollywood” Brown — and now possibly Jackson — to leave.
Hurst didn’t do anything in his two years with Atlanta after being traded and was a third- or fourth-down passing option for Cincinnati last year. Brown battled a foot injury, started 10 games and had 67 receptions for 709 yards last season for the Cardinals, who traded a first-round pick for the wideout on the first day of last year’s draft.
DeCosta deserves criticism for drafting them in the first round, but at least he traded them for good value.
And now there is Jackson.
A good agreement between both sides would be for the Ravens to offer Jackson a three-year contract, two of those guaranteed, worth about $45 million a season.
But that won’t happen, at least not on Jackson’s part. Unfortunately for him, no other team has reportedly made an offer for the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner and 2019 NFL Most Valuable Player, so the Ravens might be stuck with him.
That’s going to be a hard sell in the Ravens’ locker room. Maybe Jackson shows up for training camp on time, and maybe he doesn’t. Maybe he’ll miss the final month of the season the way he has the past two years because of health concerns.
The only way for Jackson to become a superstar in Baltimore again is for him to win big, meaning he has to go deep into the playoffs or win the Super Bowl.
But for right now, I’ll ride the Monken train. At least I know he will show up.
