Baltimore made the trip to The Big Easy look all too easy in dominating the Saints 27-13 in Monday Night Football.
The Ravens jumped on New Orleans early thanks to an overpowering defense, sparked in large part to recently acquired linebacker Roquan Smith.
Smith wasted little time in establishing himself as an anchor to the Ravens defense. The game was barely five minutes old when Smith sliced his way to the line to stop Saints running back Alvin Kamara a yard short of a first down on a second-and-3 at the New Orleans 29-yard line.
On the very next play, Smith, beating a block, then stopped an off-tackle run for no gain, forcing a Saints punt, and most importantly setting the tone for the game.
Smith, who just one week ago was acquired from the Chicago Bears, cost the Ravens something the organization covets, high draft picks.
In his introductory press conference last week, Smith vowed to “run and hit and play good ball.” After just five minutes last night, it was apparent that Smith was determined to keep his promise.
The Ravens organization has a good understanding of what to look for in a top-shelf NFL linebacker. A few years back the Ravens had a linebacker named Ray Lewis, who had an entire career in defining the role of linebacker.
Looking at Smith, the first impression is that he has every tool you want from an NFL linebacker. He’s fast, strong, and like Lewis, very elusive. How elusive? He does what linebackers usually do: he makes tackles.
What makes Smith special is what made Lewis special. In addition to his ability to fight off blocks to reach the line of scrimmage and plug holes in the defensive line, he is just as capable of dropping back to provide pass coverage in the secondary. It’s that combination that makes Smith, as Lewis, All-Pro-caliber.
Sometimes football can look overly complex, because sometimes the talking heads make it sound overly complex.
Monday night in Smith’s Ravens’ debut against the New Orleans Saints, he made playing linebacker in the NFL look straightforward. He ran hard, he hit hard, and he made his presence known on the opening drive of the contest.
For the game, Smith had five tackles to up his league lead and most importantly, according to Saints head coach Dennis Allen, “forced us to make some serious adjustments in our play-calling.”
On Tuesday, Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said, “Roquan made a few tackles in the run game, he somehow found a way to slip in there. He’s a heck of a player, heck of a guy, to come in and learn the defense that quick, that says a lot about him.
Smith appears to have provided the Ravens with a newfound swag, strengthening a unit that coughed up double-digit leads in three of its first six games. Like Lewis, Smith may have the ability to make everyone else better, playing more confidently.
In Baltimore’s two Super Bowl championship seasons, the blueprint to the Lombardy Trophy was clear, a capable offense and a dominating defense.
Now 6-3 on the year, that blueprint is visible once again. Lamar Jackson is now playing within himself; he understands his role. The offense, injuries and all, can put enough points on the board to win games, and as importantly, give the defense ample rest on the sidelines.
The addition of Smith on defense has elevated the Ravens to elite status. Prior to the trade, Baltimore lacked that defensive presence of a run-down and hit type defender; many teams are void of that type of defender.
Monday night, Smith wasted no time showing Baltimore is no longer one of those teams.
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