Roquan Smith is not a mind reader, but on the football field, he can often read what's coming.
Philadelphia Eagles Pro Bowl tackle Lane Johnson was impressed with Smith's pre-snap acumen during the Ravens' 24-19 defeat in Week 13. Johnson said that Smith called out many of the Eagles' plays, helping the Ravens anticipate what was coming.
"I thought they were a pretty stout defense," Johnson said. "You've got Roquan Smith calling out lots of plays we were about to run. For me, seeing a MIKE linebacker doing that? Since Luke Kuechly, he's probably the guy calling out the most stuff. Very smart player. Instinctive player. That's why he's had so much success."
Smith led the Ravens with 12 tackles against Philadelphia after missing one game with a hamstring injury. His leadership and intensity had been missed, but the Ravens also played well without him during a 30-23 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 12.
The Ravens don't think their defense has arrived, but it's moving in the right direction. Baltimore has surrendered just four touchdowns over its last three games – an encouraging sign for a unit that struggled during the first half of the season.
The Ravens have stopped giving up big plays in the passing game and their secondary play is much improved since Ar'Darius Washington became a starting safety. Snap counts have also been shaken up in the linebacker rotation. Tavius Robinson played a career-high 93% of the snaps against the Eagles, while Malik Harrison and Chris Board have seen their roles increase recently.
Baltimore has made lineup, schematic, and attitude changes, and feels good about making more progress following this week's bye. After giving up 34 points and making costly coverage mistakes against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 9, Marlon Humphrey challenged the Ravens’ defense, and those words were taken to heart.
"I think guys responded really well to what was being preached amongst the coaches, amongst the players, and we're holding guys more accountable now," Humphrey said. "The brand of defense we were playing, it's disrespectful to be in this Ravens uniform and play like that, and I feel like we've turned that corner.
"It's not perfect, and I still think there are more corners to turn, but the mindset has really changed, and that's kind of where it starts."
Smith acknowledges improvement but isn't satisfied, especially since the Ravens lost Sunday. He expects his teammates to return from the bye rested and focused, ready to play the kind of defense it will take to win the AFC North and make noise in the playoffs.
"It just gives me more fuel, honestly, more fuel going into the bye week, just knowing that this game got away from us, but we can't let this game beat us twice," Smith said. "We have to recharge, knowing that with a four-game stretch at the end, if we do what we have to do in the four-game stretch, we'll win the division, and we just have to have that mindset."
