Losing Jimmy Smith For the Season A Devastating Blow For Baltimore Ravens
Evan Habeeb- USA TODAY Sports
The Baltimore Ravens have lost star cornerback Jimmy Smith for the rest of the 2014 season after he underwent surgery on his foot. It was initially reported that the defensive back would miss “a couple of weeks” after injuring his foot in a Week 8 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
This is a devastating blow to the Ravens’ hopes of making a deep run in the playoffs. Smith was Baltimore’s only shut-down defensive back and they will greatly miss his play. Lardarius Webb is the best defensive back currently on the roster, though he seems to be perpetually affected by injuries.
Baltimore made some changes to the secondary after being torched by Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers for six touchdown passes in Week 9. As a result, the Ravens cut cornerbacks Chykie Brown and Dominique Franks and promoted undrafted rookie free agent Tramaine Jacobs from the practice squad and signed Danny Gorrer, who was recently cut by the Lions.
Baltimore’s matchups in Weeks 12 and 13 just became much more daunting as they will visit the Superdome to take on Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints before returning home to face Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers.
After playing the Chargers, the best quarterback the Ravens will face is Ryan Tannehill, so while the playoffs aren’t completely out of reach, the prospect of advancing past the first round against a playoff-caliber quarterback seems unlikely. Baltimore is hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with one of their new corners while Webb slowly comes back to All-Pro form.
Luckily for the Ravens, they still have one of the best defensive fronts in the league. Defensive coordinator Dean Pees will have to be more creative in generating pressure on opposing quarterbacks if the Ravens are going to compete with the better teams in the league.
This news doesn’t ruin the Ravens’ playoff hopes, but it certainly eliminates the possibility of a deep playoff run.
Brenden McLaughlin is a Baltimore Ravens writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @b_maction or add him to your network on Google.
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