Shakeup in Ravens’ secondary; Jackson to face aggressive blitz from Browns
OWINGS MILLS — The Ravens could have a new-look secondary for the Week 8 game against the Cleveland Browns.
Cornerback Arthur Malulet could make his season debut after dealing with knee and hamstring injuries since training camp.
The addition of Maulet could be huge for the Ravens because fellow cornerback Marlon Humphrey is listed as “doubtful” for the game. Rookie defensive back Nate Wiggins (shoulder/illness) is not traveling with the team, but his playing status remains questionable for the game.
“Art’ is a vet. ‘Art’ knows the system,” defensive coordinator Zachary Orr said. “He played a lot of good football for us last year. He was having a heck of a [training] camp before he had his little injury, so he just adds more depth to our secondary, adds another playmaker [and] adds another chess piece that we can use to help us out.”
The Ravens made further changes by activating cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis from injured reserve/designated for return and elevating undrafted rookie Ryan “Bump” Cooper Jr. from the practice squad.
Cornerback T.J. Tampa, a rookie fourth-round pick, was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury.
Jameis Winston was named the starter at quarterback for the Browns after DeShaun Watson tore his Achilles last week against the Cincinnati Bengals. Over his 10-year career, Winston has thrown for 22,187 yards with 142 touchdowns and 99 interceptions.
Winston has a strong arm and will challenge the Ravens’ pass defense, which is ranked last in the NFL, allowing 287.1 yards per game.
Bring on the blitz: The Browns blitz on 39.6 percent of their defensive snaps– the third-highest mark in the NFL. However, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is familiar with those defensive packages and has been blitzed on 61.5 percent of his dropbacks — the second-highest rate of his career.
Jackson has a 119.9 passer rating against the blitz this year, the second-highest success rate (63.2 percent) in the NFL behind Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (65.1 percent).
Madubuike looking to get on track: Ravens defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike had a breakout season last year with a career-high 13 sacks. He has not found the same success this year and has more roughing-the-passer penalties (four) than sacks (two). Teams have focused on containing Madubuike with double teams, so he has to keep adjusting to the opposing game plans.
