Roquan Smith made a strong first impression, and Ravens coaches believe the best for Baltimore's defense is yet to come.
Smith had five tackles and played 76% of the defensive snaps during Baltimore's 27-13 victory over the Saints, making his presence felt immediately in his Ravens debut.
Adding a player of Smith's caliber to a defense that was already improving has raised the excitement level of the entire defense as it looks ahead to the second half of the season. Smith entered the game leading the NFL in tackles, and after seeing him in their lineup for the first time, the Ravens are excited about the possibilities.
"I think we added a great piece with Roquan," defensive lineman Calais Campbell said. "He played amazing. Talk about a guy getting into the playbook. Our paybook is complicated, too. To put the work in to figure it out, and go out and play well? Wow. The guy is impressive, Who does that?"
Less than six minutes into Monday night's game, Smith made his first big play with the Ravens, stopping star running back Alvin Kamara cold for no gain on third-and-1 to force a punt.
"I think we added a great piece with Roquan," defensive lineman Calais Campbell said. "He played amazing. Talk about a guy getting into the playbook. Our paybook is complicated, too. To put the work in to figure it out, and go out and play well? Wow. The guy is impressive, Who does that?"
Less than six minutes into Monday night's game, Smith made his first big play with the Ravens, stopping star running back Alvin Kamara cold for no gain on third-and-1 to force a punt.
Smith credited teammates and coaches for helping him get up to speed quickly, allowing him to play fast.
"Those guys have been very welcoming to me throughout the week, the coaches taking time to teach me things, man, it was amazing," Smith said. "I'm just excited for what we have in store."
The bye week will give Smith more time to get settled, and his ability as a run-stopper, pass defender and blitzer gives Defensive Coordinator Mike Macdonald another versatile piece to work with. Smith's presence will also help fellow inside linebacker Patrick Queen, who was had a Pro Football Focus grade of 85.1 in playing his first game next two Queen. Inside Linebacker Coach Zach Orr believes Queen and Smith can become the league's best inside linebacker tandem.
"You've got two erasers in the middle of a defense," Orr said. "You're talking about two linebackers that run [a] 4.4 [40-yard dash], that are physical, that are instinctive, that are fast. There are not many teams in the NFL that have a pair like that in the middle, and I think you saw that last night. We played a Saints offense, a top offense in the league despite their record, and one of the most dynamic running backs in the league with Alvin Kamara. Those two guys played great coverage on him [and] essentially took him out of the game, which took their offense out of the game."
Head Coach John Harbaugh loved Smith's aggressiveness and saw the ripple effect he had on the defense.
"Great players make everybody around them better," Harbaugh said. "We've got a number of guys on our defense that do that. You add another guy like that into the mix. He's a really good player, everybody knows it. What a great job he did to come in and learn the defense so quickly. He had no issues out there at all, as far as knowing what to do.
"He makes a couple plays and other guys kind of feed off of that. When you have one guy playing well, it has an exponential effect I was looking forward to seeing how we looked out there with Roquan, and I'm pretty fired up the way it looked."
Smith was pleased to get the victory, but he's looking forward to contributing much more as the Ravens (6-3) make their second-half push. In four seasons with Chicago, Smith made the playoffs twice but lost both postseason games. With the Ravens, Smith believes he's with a team that can reach the Super Bowl, and while the Saints game was an excellent start, he believes the best is yet to come.
"I'm going to get accustomed, and it's going to be scary after I get it all down pat," Smith said. "I love the way Mike [Macdonald] calls the game, so I think there's going to be so many great things in store for us."
