Ravens Coverage Could Give Cam Ward Problems

According to Sharp Football Analysis, the Ravens play zone coverage 75.5% of the time. Ward has struggled in general this season, but he seems particularly bothered by zone coverage. The young quarterback sports an 80.9 passer rating against zone defenses, according to PlayerProfiler.

To Ward’s credit, there have still been flashes of the player who convinced Tennessee to select him first overall last season. He has performed well under pressure, ranking seventh among quarterbacks in completion percentage when pressured, while also completing a respectable 67% of his passes against zone coverage.

The issues have come when Ward has a clean pocket and more time to process the defense. He ranks just 30th among quarterbacks in clean-pocket completion percentage.

Part of that could simply be the growing pains of a young quarterback adjusting to the more complex coverages he sees in the NFL. When Ward is pressured and forced to make quicker decisions, his natural arm talent and instincts can take over. Give him more time, however, and defenses have an opportunity to disguise their intentions and force him to work through more complicated reads.

Regardless of the reasoning, Baltimore may not need to rely on traditional pressure to make him uncomfortable. The Ravens rank eighth in blitz rate this season, and Tennessee has not been particularly strong at keeping pressure away, so that avenue will still be available, but they may be better served leaning on their preferred zone coverages and forcing Ward to consistently read the field from the pocket. That could be more effective than flushing him outside and allowing his improvisational ability to take over, which has been one of the stronger parts of his game so far.