Solving the Speed Equation
If it’s true what they say; that speed kills, then the Miami Dolphins come to town this weekend equipped with the football equivalent to Michael Meyers and Jason Vorhees.
You would be hard pressed to find a faster wideout in the league than super bowl champion, Tyreek Hill. Ironically enough one of the few who can compete for the title of NFL’s speed king will be lined up alongside Hill Sunday afternoon. Jaylen Waddle was a top 10 pick in the 2021 draft primarily because of his game changing speed and elusiveness, and if we’re on the subject of irony his pro comparison was none other than, you guessed it, Tyreek Hill.
Okay, now that I’ve painted a picture of just how much speed the Dolphins are bringing to the dance, the question now becomes; what do the Ravens do to stop it? All Pro cornerback Marlon Humphrey has had plenty of experience against Hill during the latter’s stint in Kansas City, However even if Humphrey has the game of his life and neutralizes the cheetah, that still leaves half of the equation unsolved.
Baltimore did manage to bring in 2 new safeties as well, signing Marcus Williams and drafting Kyle Hamilton. Williams is a proven vet with great instincts, he showed that Sunday when he led the team in tackles and picked off former Ravens super bowl MVP Joe Flacco. Hamilton was projected as a top 3 pick just months before the draft, and his size and length for a defensive back are nothing to sneeze at. Both will be joining seasoned vet Chuck Clark, who bore the green dot responsibilities this past week.
The Ravens do have another All Pro Corner on the roster, but Marcus Peters is coming off of a major knee injury, and even if he does make his season debut this weekend (unlikely), it wouldn’t be in the Ravens best interest to have him shadow one of the league’s fastest players. Baltimore native Kyle Fuller, who the Ravens acquired this offseason, suffered a torn ACL in week 1 and will be out for the year. Second year corner Brandon Stephens, who had a decent outing against the New York Jets (3 completions on 8 targets allowed, 1TD) has missed practice this week with a quad injury.
The Ravens were prepared for the injury bug this time around. In this past draft, General Manager Eric DeCosta somehow managed to acquire 6 picks in the 4th round. 2 of those picks were used to select University of Houston DB Damarion “Pepe” Williams and former Alabama Crimson Tide Jalyn Armour-Davis. Williams stood out during training camp and the preseason, bringing an infectious energy to every practice and preseason game. Armour-Davis was sidelined the majority of camp and preseason with an injury, but has since returned and even made appearances on special teams in week 1.
Head Coach John Harbaugh said earlier in a press conference that both Williams and Armour-Davis will be ready to take on defensive and special teams snaps this week, regardless of the health of Peters and Stevens. Now by no means am I or anyone expecting these two to be the solution to the speed equation. But they will play a key role in trying to slow down Hill and Waddle.
Among other defensive acquisitions, the Ravens also brought in former Michigan defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald to take over for Wink Martindale. Macdonald’s scheme (from what we’ve seen) is different than that of his predecessors, and week 1’s performance against the Jets did not disappoint. Macdonald’s defense forced the Jets to throw the ball nearly 60 times and held them to 2/14 on third down conversions. The interior pass rush by Calais Campbell, Michael Pierce, Justin Madubuike and Broderick Washington played a major role in containing the Jets, and that group could see an upgrade with the addition of rookie Travis Jones.
While the secondary will be under the microscope and rightfully so, it’s the defensive line in my opinion that will be the key to stopping Miami’s passing attack. If Campbell and Co. can get to Dolphin’s quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in a similar fashion to the way they got after Joe Flacco, it takes pressure off of the secondary to try and keep up with Miami’s Speed. If I were to guess we won’t see Marlon Humphrey following Tyreek Hill this week, you’re playing with fire if you try to play man against him anyway. I think the Ravens best bet is to play zone, specifically Cover 3 in order to get your corners as much depth as possible with Marcus Williams roaming over the top. But at the end of the day, the solution to this speed equation is the pass rush, specifically from the interior. I’m certain Macdonald will pull out every weapon in his arsenal this weekend, and with Miami having one of the most dangerous wide receiver duo’s in the league, Sunday will be a great test for a defense that was so heavily invested in.
