Ravens' Front Office Ranked No. 2 by NFL Executives and Head Coaches
One of the hallmarks of the Ravens since their inception has been an exceptional front office.
The team's well-earned reputation for being one of the best-run franchises in the NFL was reflected in The Athletic’s front office rankings.
The Ravens came in at No. 2, behind only the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
The list was determined by a survey of 29 general managers, head coaches, and high-ranking team executives, who were asked to rank their top five front offices (no one was allowed to vote for their team).
"General Manager Eric DeCosta has made a seamless transition since Ozzie Newsome passed the torch in 2019," The Athletic's Jeff Howe wrote. "As such, they've maintained the same business model for three decades. That type of consistency and longevity in and of itself is a superpower. The Ravens are always on the same page, from ownership to management to the coaching staff."
One team executive said: "They're the best at doing it on all fronts."
The Ravens' outstanding track record of drafting and developing players was noted.
"They have a diligent, logical approach," another executive said. "There aren't a lot of head-scratchers. They have a type of player that they target."
Another executive said: "They have a process that includes some measurement of objective value and a combination of evaluation and scouting, observing and analyzing data and analytics and finding alignment. They have a really good grasp of understanding value. They play the compensatory pick game. They do a really good job of being patient on draft day, acquiring value. They don't seem to move up a lot."
The Eagles (11) and Ravens (nine) combined for 20 of the 29 first-place votes.
Pundits Haven't Lost Faith in Derrick Henry
Not only has Derrick Henry fumbled in all three games this season, losing two of them, but the usually sure-handed running back also has rushed for just 73 yards on 23 carries (3.2 yards per carry) over his past two games.
Despite the 31-year-old Henry's slow start, NFL.com’s Kevin Patra believes in the five-time Pro Bowler.
"Henry is still averaging 3.73 yards after contact and still has speed to run away in space," Patra wrote. "His five runs of 15-plus yards are tied for first through three games, per PFF. … The King has been questioned in the past. Remember last year, when he opened the season a bit slowly, and many were fretting about his age and carry history, then he romped over defenses for 1,921 yards? I still believe the maniacal competitor is closer to that than washed because of a few fumbles."
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith also said he's not worried about Henry.
"Fumbles happen. You can trust him with the ball," Smith said on "First Take." "… Did you trust him when he ran for 190 damn yards? Did you do it then? Listen, fumbles happen. He'll fix it. He's Derrick Henry."
Regarding the fumbles, Henry has taken full accountability and is determined to resolve the problem.
"To his credit, Henry isn't hiding from the issue," The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec wrote. "After Monday's game, he called reporters over to his locker, knowing he needed to take accountability for the fumble. He initially balked on Wednesday in talking to reporters, saying he'd speak on Thursday, his usual media day. However, he returned to his locker and agreed to answer questions."
Matt Stover Says Tyler Loop 'Is Going to Be a Great Kicker'
Former Ravens kicker and Ring of Honor member Matt Stover believes rookie Tyler Loop "is going to be a great kicker" because of a combination of ability and a first-rate coaching staff.
"First of all, does he have the talent? Yes, it's very evident that he does," Stover said recently on “Glenn Clark Radio.” "Second, does he have the ability to have a fast learning curve and not have to make all the rookie mistakes that I did? Because there was nobody around me to teach me how to kick, how to practice, how to handle a holder and a snapper. He's got Randy Brown."
Brown, the Senior Special Teams Coach, is in his 18th season with the Ravens. Stover, who broke into the league in 1990 with the New York Giants, worked with Brown in his final season with the Ravens in 2008.
"If you've ever seen an operation better in the NFL, I challenge you to find it," Stover said.
Stover said Loop has already shown that he can handle the mental aspect of kicking in the NFL.
"He hits a 52-yarder on the first field goal he ever kicked. That's real," Stover said.
Loop has made all five of his field-goal attempts and 12 of 13 extra-point kicks. His lone missed extra point proved costly in a one-point loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 1, but Stover was impressed with how Loop responded the following week, when he made both field-goal attempts and all five extra-point tries in a win over the Cleveland Browns.
"Can he compartmentalize that miss and go out there and execute the next time? You're going to miss, it's just what you do with the next one," Stover said. "He proved that he can do that."
One area in which Loop needs to improve is kickoffs. Three have not come down inside the landing zone (between a team's own goal line and 20-yard line) and had one kick go out of bounds. Such miscues give the receiving team the ball at their own 40-yard line.
"The kicks that fall short of the landing zone, obviously, those are experimental kicks. [They are] things that we're trying," Special Teams Coordinator Chris Horton said last week. "We're trying to do a lot of different things. We want to get the ball on the ground, but then there are the kicks that are going out of bounds. I think, ultimately, those are the ones we have to get out of our system."
