Exploring which three Baltimore Ravens players Bill Belichick would love to have on the New England Patriots roster.
There have been some great battles between the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens over the years as Bill Belichick and Jim Harbaugh has gotten to know one another pretty well.
They are also familiar with each other’s rosters.
As players like Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Joe Flacco have been on teams that have found success against the Patriots, a new generation of Ravens players are helping their team rise to AFC supremacy.
Led by quarterback Lamar Jackson, the AFC North champions put a hurting on the Patriots in 2019 with a read-option offense that was hard to defend and a defense that always comes to play against the Patriots.
With a 14-2 record in 2019, the Baltimore Ravens, along with Patrick Mahomes and the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are the teams to beat. If Bill Belichick wants to challenge those teams without the services of Tom Brady at quarterback, he will have to find a way to defend those offenses as well as mimic those offenses.
Perhaps that is why he brought in a quarterback such as Cam Newton, who has proven in the past he can do the same things as Jackson and Mahomes.
So, in looking at the Baltimore Ravens roster, which players would Belichick love to have on the New England Patriots roster? Which players would improve some key facets of the roster?
Let’s flock through this short list of players Bill Belichick should coach.
Justin Tucker a New England Patriots type of kicker.
Yes, we are seriously starting this off with a kicker.
If you are a New England Patriots fans, you know how much Bill Belichick values his special teams players, particularly kickers and punters. That may be the most frustrating part of Belichick’s team building philosophy, but season after season, it is special teams plays that end up having an impact in big games.
So, it would be very Belichick to pick who he has called the best field goal maker in the history of the NFL in Baltimore Ravens All-Pro kicker Justin Tucker.
Let’s remind you, this is coming from a coach who have coached both Adam Vinatieri and Stephen Gostkowski, so this is the highest of praise for Justin Tucker who has been clutch for the Ravens over his career.
To be fair to Belichick, he has placed the best kicker label on both Vinateiri and Gostkowski at different times, but following a 2019 season in which that reliability he always had at kicker was in flux, the Patriots coach certainly would yank Tucker from the Ravens roster if he had a chance.
Clutch, reliable and experienced, Justin Tucker is one of those special team favorites Bill Belichick would absolutely love to coach.
Mark Andrews would solve the New England Patriots tight end problem.
The New England Patriots love the tight end position, which is what made the 2019 NFL season so frustrating.
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There was absolutely zero production from the position, which was a main reason the offense sputtered towards the end of the season.
Any team would miss the high energy and dominance of a Rob Gronkowski, but what had Patriots fans even more frustrated is the team not drafting a possible Gronk replacement sooner.
In re-visiting the 2018 NFL draft, the Patriots passed up a tight end in Mark Andrews who is now a big offensive factor with the Baltimore Ravens.
With 64 receptions for 852 yards in 2019, Andrews is the type of tight end Bill Belihcick would’ve loved. Not as dominant as Rob Gronkowski, but a nice pass-catching tight end that certainly would’ve given the 2019 Patriots a big target to get the ball to.
Given how much Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense rely on the running game, the numbers Mark Andrews put up in Baltimore could’ve been even better had he played with Tom Brady.
At 6-foot-5, 265 pounds, the 23-year-old tight end is only just getting started down there in Baltimore. The New England Patriots could’ve had him just like this next player on the list.
Imagine is the New England Patriots drafted Lamar Jackson.
Remember the 2018 NFL Draft when the New England Patriots were the rumored favored to select Lamar Jackson?
Well, what if Bill Belichick actually selected the 2019 NFL MVP?
In watching what Jackson has become with the Baltimore Ravens through his first two seasons in the NFL, the future Hall-of-Fame coach may be kicking himself for passing up on the quarterback with the No. 32 overall pick in that draft.
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If you remember, that was the draft the team selected running back Sony Michel, who in his own right ended up helping the Patriots win the Super Bowl in 2018, but at the running back position many believe the Patriots could’ve selected him further down in the draft and took the same chance on Jackson that the Ravens did.
Well, Lamar Jackson has certainly come back to haunt Bill Belichick.
Not only did he lead his team in steamrolling the Patriots in their matchup in 2019, he lead the Ravens to a 14-2 record, captured the 2019 MVP honors and took the No. 1 spot on the NFL’s top 100 list.
With an ability to keep defenses on their toes with his feet and also with his passing ability, Lamar Jackson may have sent Tom Brady packing a season earlier.
Now, the young quarterback is a “big problem” for the Patriots and the rest of the AFC for years to come. Here is how Bill Belichick summed up the challenges Lamar Jackson presents to any defense.
"“He’s fast and that’s really a big problem,” Belichick said of Jackson back in October, via CBS Sports. “A lot of times he just outruns people. I mean, he’s got good moves, too. I’m not saying that, but a lot of times he just outruns people with his speed. Catching him is an issue, especially when he keeps the ball. A lot of times he’s running against a defensive end and the ends just aren’t fast enough. They have him but they don’t have him. He’s a problem. He’s definitely a problem.”"
In signing 2015 NFL MVP Cam Newton, the New England Patriots may be admitting they screwed up on that 2018 NFL Draft. But now all we can do is wonder just how special Jackson would’ve been with Belichick. All we can do is wonder.