Baltimore is again being talked about like a team built to cruise into the postseason, and for good reason. The Ravens are among the betting favorites to win the AFC, the schedule looks friendly, and the front office has clearly made major changes. But football has a way of humbling the confident, and there are a few paths that could still send this season off the rails.
The biggest reason for concern starts with how much is being asked of a rookie head coach and a rookie offensive coordinator. That kind of setup can work, but it also brings a learning curve, and the source material points out that there is no easy breeding ground for taking over a team for the first time.
Even with confidence that Minter will be ready and that his scheme is “pretty airtight,” the adjustment could be steeper than expected. The same goes for Declan Doyle, who is expected to handle the job, but may face a major game-day adjustment after already mastering the play-calling and in-game decisions on the other side of the ball.
That matters because Baltimore has not missed the playoffs in consecutive years since 2015-2017, and before that the drought stretched back to 2004-2005. In a league built on parity, that kind of run says plenty.
But it also doesn’t guarantee anything, especially with the quarterback entering what could be his walk year despite two MVP awards. A year ago, the idea of Baltimore missing the postseason would have sounded outrageous.
Now it sits at least inside the realm of possibility if enough things go wrong.
One of those things could be the center position, along with the broader adjustment to a new system and a new tempo. If that transition is rough, the Ravens could find themselves digging out of another slow start and playing catch-up in the standings.
The source also notes that this has been an ongoing issue during Eric DeCosta’s time as general manager, and that outside of Zay Flowers, there isn’t anyone you can absolutely count on to be a factor in the downfield pass game. That alone may not sink the offense, but it could absolutely be part of the problem if the season starts going sideways.
The defense has its own warning signs. If Trey Hendrickson is slowed by age and recent injury issues and is no longer a difference maker off the edge, that would echo the kind of collapse the source points to from last season.
There are also questions about whether Nnamdi Madubuike can hold up all the way through the year, while Calais Campbell is already 40-years-old. If you’re sketching out the worst-case version of Baltimore’s season, that’s where you begin.
Even with Lamar Jackson at the center of everything, the Ravens have not been as bulletproof as many assume. They’ve owned the NFC and handled prime-time games, but the source argues they have not been nearly good enough in those two metrics over the last few years to treat anything as automatic. If that continues, getting back to the playoffs becomes a much tougher climb.
And in a division where a loss or two to a Steelers team that is less talented than Baltimore, or a Browns team in the same boat, can tilt the whole picture, the margin for error gets thin in a hurry.
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