Even though the Baltimore Ravens are being looked upon as a top-tier team on paper, there’s still one big area of concern for Ravens’ fans — the secondary.
The secondary that struggled mightily against good quarterbacks last season — partially because of a lack of pressure from the front four, partially because of deficiences in personnel — hasn’t changed much.
The best news that Ravens’ fans have received regarding the secondary has to be that both Lardarius Webb and Fabian Washington are ahead of schedule on their respective rehabs.
This is obviously great news for the Ravens, whose starting cornerbacks would be Domonique Foxworth and Chris Carr if the season were to start today. At this point, only the returns of Webb and Washington will be able to improve the current look of the secondary since free agency has come and gone. The faster Webb and Washington can return, the greater depth the Ravens have on the back end of their defense and the greater talent the Ravens have to match up with top passing games.
Webb, who suffered a torn ACL late in a blowout game against the Chicago Bears on December 20, should never have been in a situation to get hurt. Webb, by that point in the season, had established himself as a vital part of the Ravens’ defense, not only in deftly defending the pass, but his superb tackling ability. Webb shot out of a cannon towards ball carriers. His ability on kick and punt returns proved to be a weapon for a Ravens after previously getting nothing on returns from Carr. Webb ended up getting injured on kick coverage in a game the Ravens were leading by 24 points at the time. Why was Webb out there? No clue.
Webb’s progression will be key to the Ravens’ pass defense. I saw a future shutdown cornerback in Webb last season before he got hurt. Hopefully his injury won’t slow down what looked to be a steady progression to eventually a top cornerback down the line.
A healthy Webb and Foxworth, who improved by greatly over the course of last season, would make for a good starting cornerback duo. I think Foxworth may have struggled early last season to adjust to a new defensive scheme, but once he found his footing, he was fine.
Washington tore his ACL on November 22, and is progressing well in his rehab, too. Washington began the season as the starting cornerback alongside Foxworth, but struggled a good bit at times. Still, the experience that Washington brings to the table can only increase the Ravens’ depth on the back end.
The secondary should be bolstered this coming year by an improved pass rush with the addition of Sergio Kindle via the draft and a re-committed Terrell Suggs. The pash rush was non-existent at times last season, which left the secondary out to dry. Cornerbacks can’t stay with a receiver forever.
No significant pieces were added to the secondary itself during free agency and no cornerbacks or safeties were drafted in April. The only additions were cornerback Travis Fisher and rookie safety Brad Jones, who were both signed on May 17.
Fisher, who has awesome hair, has played for St. Louis, Detroit, and most recently, Seattle last year. Fisher, now 30 years old, only played four games for Seattle last season, making five total tackles. His best year was in 2003 with the Rams, recording 61 total tackles, defending 11 passes and picking off four passes. Fisher, in 2007, recorded 78 tackles and had two interceptions for the Lions. My guess is that Fisher will compete for a spot in the secondary with Carr and Frank Walker — who is not currently on any NFL roster, but I think he’ll be back to compete for a roster spot in training camp.
Jones, a free agent rookie out of Cincinnati, made 42 total tackles his senior season, and had three total interceptions in his four years at Cincinnati. He’ll be fighting to make the team in training camp.