Quote:
Originally Posted by DRM08
I dunno, Baltimore found a way to win games without him last year. Harbaugh does a great job and the GM does a great job. They have a great defense, which has nothing to do with the QB. They had a great defense 20 years ago, long before Lamar ever showed up. Harbaugh and the current GM have done a great job continuing the tradition of strong defense in Baltimore going back 2 decades. But then I think about this one...
The other day the TV guys had a stat about the Pittsburgh Steelers. 90% losing rate when TJ Watt misses games with injury. That's insane right there, especially for a defensive player to have that type of impact on a team's ability to win games. You go from a team with a solid record to losing 90% of your games from one pass rusher going down? That's wild.
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The defense and just overall roster quality have always been there for sure. And if they didn't have Lamar, they would still be good with a different system. But this current version of the Ravens has been built around Lamar and is dysfunctional without him. I actually think that's the best argument for why he's the MVP. It's not a statistical argument so much as he is indispensable to his team and propels them to (regular season thus far) success.
In 2021, they were 8-3 and the one seed until Lamar got hurt, and then they lost their final six games to miss the playoffs. In 2022, 9-4 until Lamar got hurt. They remain competitive with Huntley because he can run the same offense and the rest of the roster/coaching staff is very good, but Lamar makes it all go.
Here's a way to think about it. Take Brock Purdy. He put up big numbers on the 49ers. Now put him on the Ravens. Are the Ravens even remotely as good as they are now with him throwing to Zay Flowers/Bateman/Likely instead of Aiyuk/Deebo/Kittle and having a backfield with Gus Edwards instead of McAffrey?