Three Ravens Poised for Strong Finish After Battling Adversity
As the Ravens head into the final four weeks of the season with all of their goals still attainable, The Baltimore Banner staff looked at which players are most likely to finish strong after battling adversity during the season.
Giana Han and Paul Mancano chose Roquan Smith.
"He hasn't been bad — he was third in the NFL in tackles entering Week 14 — but he hasn't been the amazing Pro Bowl player he was last year," Han wrote. "Hopefully, as coordinator Zach Orr steadies this defense, he can unlock Smith — or Smith can find something within himself to take his game to another level. His chances of doing so are high. Smith has consistently been a good player over his career, and his return to 'force multiplier' status is critical to this team's success."
Mancano wrote: "The inside linebacker's stock has been ticking up ever so slightly with each passing game. Smith has been asked to cover more ground than he ever has while holding the hand of first-year starter Trenton Simpson. The two-time All-Pro may not find himself on any honors lists after the season, but he can at least inspire more confidence in this linebacking tandem before the playoffs start."
Kyle Goon and Jonas Shaffer went with defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike and cornerback Brandon Stephens, respectively.
"The boom-or-bust performances of Nnamdi Madubuike have surprised me," Goon wrote. "It doesn't feel like anything is wrong with him, but the fluctuating health of his fellow defensive linemen has allowed opponents to double-team him. We saw he still has breakout potential when he crunched Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow for three sacks in Week 10. But Madubuike can be better, and I suspect that, as Travis Jones returns to full strength, the Ravens could see the dominant version of him that showed up last season."
Regarding Stephens, Shaffer wrote: "Tre'Davious White has cut into his playing time at outside cornerback in recent weeks but, over the past two games, Stephens allowed just three completions for 34 yards on five targets, according to PFF. Some of the deep-ball misfortune that afflicted him early in the season has started to even out. Ravens Pass Game Coordinator Chris Hewitt on Tuesday called Stephens 'sticky' and said 'he's always right there at the catch point, and it's a quarterback throwing a perfect ball' to beat him deep. There aren't a lot of quarterbacks remaining on the Ravens' schedule who can do that regularly."