These Critical Numbers Tell The Story Of The Ravens First Two Preseason Wins

The numbers tend to tell a story, even in the preseason.

The Ravens won their second straight exhibition game under Jesse Minter in Minnesota, and it wasn’t nearly as easy as the first time around at home to the Eagles. Baltimore’s offense was particularly suspect in the first half and the defense have up more explosive plays than Minter would like and if Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy was remotely accurate the would have given up more points.

Overall, no matter how you slice the numbers these preseason outings have gone better than anyone could have hoped for. The injuries have been at a minimum and the pre-snap issues have been at a minimum and the penalties have been at a minimum. This team needs its defense to lead the way right away and be infinitely better than it was under Zach Orr, and while it’s backups doing the work, the defense is getting pressure and stops.

These are key numbers that standout both Saturday and through two preseason games.

54.5% Pressure Rate

That’s what the offensive line allowed when Snoop Huntley was on the field Saturday. Vikings defensive coordinator blitzed a ton as we told you he would – 46% of the time on Huntley’s snaps – and the veteran QB was skittish and uncertain of his line.

The Ravens tried to lean into some heavy personnel and that didn’t really help, either. They ran nine plays out of 12 personnel in the first half, and averaged 2.2 yards per rush and 4.8 yards/play. The blitz and pressure overwhelmed them. These young tight ends can get pushed around.

58 Rushing Yards

Yeah it was a real struggle at the line of scrimmage for the Ravens on Saturday. We’ll see what the film tells the coaches, but that first offensive line group had their share of issues and they gave Jovaughn Gwyn a few series but they’ve always known who their starting center was going to be.

Not having rookie running back Adam Randall was significant and this would have been a great test for him in pass protection. Minter says he should be back soon and they should be careful with him. They haven’t offered much of an update on Rasheen Ali, and this is a position they may need to address in a more meaningful way soon.

The Ravens just added Jonathan Ward to the roster and he got 10 carries but it wasn’t pretty. They averaged 2.6 yards per rush as a team.

21.7% Conversions

That’s what this defense has allowed on third down through two games. That’s pretty wild even for the preseason. Of course, it wasn’t perfect Saturday like it was last week, but holding tams to 5-for23 is pretty damn good. It’s a vital area they must improve in the regular season from a year ago.

It was ugly under Orr and the personnel wasn’t good enough and the scheme definitely wasn’t good enough. Minter exceled in this regard (as we broke down in detail)

81.8% Completions

That’s what the Ravens QBs have done when throwing from under center in the preseason. Just a cool 18-for-22 for 209 yards. Undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano did throw a pick from under center in the back of the end zone in the preseason opener – not a horrible pass or decision – but otherwise it’s nearly perfect.

There is a lot of boot action being involved in these looks, often off play action. Loved the miss direction throw across the field to the running back for a nice first-down pick up Saturday. The young tight ends have shown up downfield in under center play action looks, helping them get open and stretch.

Sean Payton believes in it as much as anyone on the planet, as he explained it to us on “The Daily Flock,” and his is the voice in Declan Doyle’s head as the 30-year-old coordinator calls plays for the first time.

41 Snaps

That’s what veteran center Ethan Pocic has played through two preseason games (28 of them came Saturday) and that should be enough. With Danny Pinter out for the season, and Pocic coming off an Achilles tear, Saturday should have been their opportunity to maximize his snaps because the final preseason game is no spot for a veteran as important as he is.

That’s usually a bleep show for the bottom of the roster. If they weren’t sure how far Pocic could do, this was probably the best chance to find out. Get him through practice and get him to Week 1. They need a savvy veteran there for his brain as much as his production.

18 Pressures

That’s how many were generated on Saturday by the Ravens defensive linemen alone. Yeah. How about that? Feels like we could have gone a month last season and not approach that number.

Yes, they got to feast on some offensive linemen who will not be playing in the league. But Mike Green had dominant moments before he made way for others and seventh-round pick Rayshaun Benny flashed and Kaimon Rucker was moving people around and finding pass rush lanes.

Add in the fact how active and effective some of these defensive backs looked blitzing and it’s easy to get excited about what this defense could look like.

1 Penalty

That’s how many flags have been thrown on Minter’s defense through two games. Yes, one penalty. Undrafted rookie linebacker Dominic DeLuca, who has looked better than anyone could have hoped for being asked to play as much as he has, picked up a pass interference call late in Saturday’s game.

Now on offense it was much more of what we warned you was coming given this game’s location and who was calling the defensive plays. They got flagged seven times and all the youth and inexperience of the players and the newness of the coordinator and the offense showed up. All of it was expected and part of the process.

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