When people assess Ringo's drumming, they do it through the lens of hindsight. They put Ringo up against drummers who came later, like John Bonham or Keith Moon, and of course Ringo comes up short.
But if you compare Ringo against the drummers of his own era, when he started out, it becomes clear how much he innovated.
A great example is "It's My Party" by Lesley Gore, which was a #1 hit in 1963 that was produced by Quincy Jones. (Let's put aside Jones' big band/jazz background because we're talking Top 40 pop and rock here.)
The drummer hired by Quincy Jones for "It's My Party" is metronomic, bloodless, and rudimentary. His uninspired beat makes this record sound dated. In fact, all the Gore records Jones produced sound more dated than the Beatles records from the same era and a big reason is the stiff session musicians.
And yet the drumming of "It's My Party" was considered state-of-the-art then and is very indicative of that era. Jones wasn't busting on this song's drummer in his interview, though. Maybe he should have been.
What was Ringo doing in '63? He was innovating.
He made the Beatles' first big hit, "Please Please Me," come alive with with his wild rolls and a variety of beats. Most people don't listen carefully to his drumming here because the singers get all the attention, but his drums alone in this song are revolutionary for rock.
Ringo was also bringing his rock solid beat to "Twist And Shout" and "She Loves You," and giving them the drive and propulsion that still blows people away.
In other words, Ringo was paving the way for the Ginger Bakers of the world who would bust on him later.
If Ringo didn't grow as a rock drummer, it's because the Beatles grew more and more pop-oriented and they didn't require a Ginger Baker type. Still he was a lot closer to Baker than Jones' pick for a drummer:
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