Ravens: Jeromy Miles takes his chance

Jeromy Miles made only his second NFL start this past weekend and it went much better than the first. The former undrafted free agent spent his first four years in the league as a special teamer, earning a -3.0 overall grade in his sole start for the Cincinnati Bengals. A combination of injury and lackluster play has forced the Ravens to rearrange their secondary numerous times this season, giving Miles the opening he needed. He saw significant action against the Steelers in Week 2 and the Buccaneers in Week 6, impressing with +1.3 overall grades on each occasion, before finally getting the chance start in Week 13 against the Chargers.

Miles certainly made the most of the opportunity with a +2.3 overall grade, and a +2.8 grade in coverage, the highest mark posted by any safety in Week 13. Miles has been at his best in coverage, giving up just two receptions for 28 yards in limited action, for an impressive 0.24 Yards per Cover Snap. Clearly Miles needs to play more often to validate those numbers, but if he keeps performing like this it's difficult to see playtime being an issue. In his Monday press conference Coach Harbaugh praised Miles, saying:

“I thought Jeromy Miles played really well. I thought he went out there and really did a good job. [He] played defenses well, was in on a lot of tackles, and he did a good job with the opportunity that was presented to him.”