RavensBaltimore

Rally How? The defense Couldn't get off the field yesterday? the defense wouldn't be on the field if Flacco could sustain a drive. If "Flacco could sustain a drive"? So he's supposed to sustain a drive by himself? Did Joe commit any of those drive killing penalties? Also, I don't think the offense had a 3-and-out all game, so it's not like they were quickly putting the defense back on the field. Flacco played well and the offense picked up first downs, but stupid penalties and the defense's inability to get off the field killed us.

Crying for more runs make absolutely no sense. Before the final 2 drives, we had 16 runs and 23 pass attempts. That's pretty balanced, and it wasn't working. The rushing average was inflated because of 1 first qtr drive, but besides that, running was doing nothing but killing drives. On our first 2nd half drive, we completed a 22 yd pass, then ran for no yds, which put us in an obvious passing situation, and we punt. On our next drive, we get another 1st down throwing the ball, then run for 9 yds and get a penalty, so on 2nd and 16, you're not going to run it. When we finally stopped running the ball, we went down the field and scored a TD. On our final drive, we had less than 2 mins to get 2 scores. We really only abandoned the run on one drive, and it resulted in a TD.

Please, Flacco missed open targets as usual. He came out hot, went to sleep and only woke up when we fell behind as he always does. Flacco missed the RB a couple times at the end of the game, but I don't remember him missing any open receivers besides that. Penalties killed our offense.

Please, Flacco missed open targets as usual. He came out hot, went to sleep and only woke up when we fell behind as he always does. Dak was hitting receivers in stride, putting the ball where only they could catch it (post-up to Dez, back-shoulder throws, low and away to Beasley), and generally making good decisions. He was the better QB today. Dak was consistently missing open receivers until our pass rush died down, and then he had all day to throw and take advantage of our horrible secondary without J. Smith.

I agree with Joe. The Cowboys didn't stop our offense. Stupid penalties did. Our defense got torched in the second half, but if it weren't for the penalties, we could have had a bigger lead, more rhythm on offense, and a more rested defense.

Am I the only one wondering where the no-huddle was? It's worked well for us in the past, and it got us going last week, yet we don't use it until there are 10 mins left in the game. It worked immediately when we used it, but our defense couldn't get off the field to give us another shot. Maybe the coaching staff should watch tape of the SB run. This offense could be good if they spread it out, put Flacco in the shotgun, and pick up the tempo.

We didn't score in the 2nd half until we stopped running it. Besides that one drive in the 1st qtr, running the ball was just killing drives. If we wouldn't have waited so long to spread it out and put Flacco in the shotgun, I think our offense could have torched them.

Waller might have had a TD against the Steelers, but James Harrison blatantly grabbed his arm and somehow it wasn't called. It definitely was PI, and Waller is our only TE who can use his speed to create those mismatches. I think he needs more playing time. He could be a game changer.

I have always wondered that too. Flacco is at his best in no huddle, it helps tire out the pass rush, and when that gets going, the run game usually picks up as well.

Our defense basically gave up 14 against the Raiders, who have a great offense, and they weren't healthy against the Giants. Yeah, they gave up a couple of clutch TDs, but when healthy, they haven't been overmatched by anyone. Not even close. We've had issues with A.J. Green, but our defense is better, and the Bengals lost a couple of their other wrs and haven't been as good this year. With the offense, SSS was just starting to get in shape when he got injured, Perriman is a rookie that hadn't played in almost 2 years, Flacco and Pitta were coming off major injuries, and the O-line had injury issues. It's not too surprising that they had a rough first half, but now that they're healthier and have had some time to gel, it's reasonable to believe they will start playing at least a little better, and with our defense and kicker, that's all they'll really need to do. Maybe they can break out and play really well, but even if they don't, we still have a shot at the postseason. Saying we have no chance to make the playoffs isn't "half empty". It's simply false. There are certainly no guarantees at this point, but at worst, we at least have a legit chance.

It looked like it probably hi the ground, but you couldn't tell for sure. He may have pinned it against his side before it hit the ground, if it hit the ground at all. By rule, a play should not be overturned unless the evidence is conclusive, and it wasn't conclusive, so yes, it was legit.

I've been waiting for the no huddle all year. I hope we see more of that. I also really liked the crossing routes by the wrs. Hopefully we can keep it going against better defenses.

Your stats are wrong. Flacco has at least 40 pass attempts in half our wins this season, and our offense is averaging more points in games where Flacco has at least 40 attempts. In our two games we won where Flacco had less than 40 attempts, the offense scored 13 and 10 points. That's not exactly a winning formula.

Flacco isn't garbage. The O-line is. He's playing behind the same line that can't even get us 2 yds/carry in the run game. Our receivers aren't good either. The reason Joe's been off lately is because he rarely has time to throw, and he has no faith that he'll have a clean pocket, which prevents him from stepping into his throws and getting into a rhythm. He can't get rid of it quickly because our receivers don't get separation. If the line can stay healthy and get it together, Flacco will be fine and we can contend again. Otherwise, there isn't a qb in the league who can do any better. Also, on his worst day, Flacco still isn't as bad as Roethlisberger was today.

Saying the offense was better because they didn't abandon the run makes no sense. The offense was just as bad if not worse than when we were throwing it 40+ times. Running did not keep Roethlisberger off the field. Our defense did. When your defense gets as many 3 and outs as they did, you should have the ball a lot more than 4 mins longer than your opponent. Playing conservative like that is not going to get us anywhere. Our defense was good, but we were helped out by the fact that Roethlisberger was terrible. If we are going to get back to winning consistently, the offense is going to have to open it up a little more and put some points on the board, and the o-line has to improve.

Can't they move Joe around to make up for poor O line play? Roll outs, play action, screens or even designed run plays for Joe? Joe's got some wheels on him and maybe in having some movement to his play, it would help him see more of the field. It seems when he is in the pocket, he gets fixated on routs opening up, only to be blindly sacked. At least if he's on the move he may be able to see where the defender is coming from. When Caldwell took over in 2012, they did move Joe around a little more and it worked pretty well. I'm curious to see if they do that now.

Aiken's quote about not just running routes as lines on paper says a lot. The receivers were not getting open, and hopefully, Marty can change that. I remember with Cam, it was mostly Sideline in, out, or fly routes, and it got very predictable and easy to defend. When Caldwell took over, he used the middle of the field more with crosses and slants, and the offense took off. Our defense is much better than it was in 2012, so if the offense can start playing well, we will have as good a chance as anyone to win the SB.

how is every other qb in the league able to throw intermediate to deep throws, but flacco cannot? surely there are not 31 great offensive lines giving everyone perfect protection and we are the only team not. we are leading the league in pass attempts or at the top. flacco just has no awareness or escapability to find a dead spot when rush is oncoming, like every other qb. he has never had that quality which is why he fumbles a lot when he is sacked. he throws some excellent passes, but more often lately he is bailing out and throwing inaccurately and it is not just because there is pressure, but that he cannot escape or evade it. that is a flacco problem. I don't think anything you said here is remotely accurate. Flacco is one of the best intermediate/deep throwers in the league. "Every other QB in the league" doesn't consistently complete passes down field with no time to throw and wrs who can't get open or catch. In fact, none of them do. Did you see Brady when his o-line was struggling and Gronk wasn't healthy? He was literally one of the worst QBs in the league, even though he had Edelman, who can get quick separation. Flacco has no one who can do that. You are also dead wrong about Flacco's pocket presence and awareness. Aaron Rodgers fumbled as many times in one game as Joe did has all season. Flacco is leading the league in pass attempts and gets pressured and hit more than just about anyone, yet there are other QBs that are fumbling and getting sacked more than he is. Even one of the CBS broadcasters mentioned how great Joe was at avoiding sacks. He is avoiding the pressure when he can, and he usually protects the ball, but you want your QBs eyes down field, and when you have an o-line like we do, anybody would get caught with an unexpected shot from time to time. If Joe didn't have great awareness, he would probably lead the league in sacks taken, because the line has been that bad. Despite all that, Flacco's stats throwing the ball down field would still be pretty good if the wrs would catch the perfectly thrown passes that hit them in the hands. The excuse machine rolls on. Nothing you said here is a fact. To even compare Far Below Average Joe to Brady or Rodgers is ridiculous. Run along and mix up your next batch of grape Kool Aid. There are plenty of facts in my post, but there are none in your response. Watch the game and tell me what part of my analogy was false. You can call them "excuses" all you want, but you have nothing to refute them. I'm not drinking purple Kool aid. I'm looking at all aspects, whereas you are ignoring the circumstances and simply putting blame on the qb. If anything said here is ridiculous, it's calling a qb with Flacco's abilities and accomplishments "far below average".

Flaccos mechanics is one thing Kubiak really stressed...FOOTWORK. It seems Trestman got completely away from that and was stressing more quick release. Flacco needs to get back to working on his footwork. Its not the whole answer but it would make him more accurate. A QBs footwork is never going to be good when he constantly has pressure in his face. I don't see how he could be more accurate. He's completing almost 2/3 of his passes despite having no time to throw and wrs that can't get open or catch.

how is every other qb in the league able to throw intermediate to deep throws, but flacco cannot? surely there are not 31 great offensive lines giving everyone perfect protection and we are the only team not. we are leading the league in pass attempts or at the top. flacco just has no awareness or escapability to find a dead spot when rush is oncoming, like every other qb. he has never had that quality which is why he fumbles a lot when he is sacked. he throws some excellent passes, but more often lately he is bailing out and throwing inaccurately and it is not just because there is pressure, but that he cannot escape or evade it. that is a flacco problem. I don't think anything you said here is remotely accurate. Flacco is one of the best intermediate/deep throwers in the league. "Every other QB in the league" doesn't consistently complete passes down field with no time to throw and wrs who can't get open or catch. In fact, none of them do. Did you see Brady when his o-line was struggling and Gronk wasn't healthy? He was literally one of the worst QBs in the league, even though he had Edelman, who can get quick separation. Flacco has no one who can do that. You are also dead wrong about Flacco's pocket presence and awareness. Aaron Rodgers fumbled as many times in one game as Joe did has all season. Flacco is leading the league in pass attempts and gets pressured and hit more than just about anyone, yet there are other QBs that are fumbling and getting sacked more than he is. Even one of the CBS broadcasters mentioned how great Joe was at avoiding sacks. He is avoiding the pressure when he can, and he usually protects the ball, but you want your QBs eyes down field, and when you have an o-line like we do, anybody would get caught with an unexpected shot from time to time. If Joe didn't have great awareness, he would probably lead the league in sacks taken, because the line has been that bad. Despite all that, Flacco's stats throwing the ball down field would still be pretty good if the wrs would catch the perfectly thrown passes that hit them in the hands.

What numbers are you referring to? Lewis is good, but not better than Stanley. PERIOD. complete as in pass and run,wev'e done way better the last 2 weeks in the run dept. We've also faced 2 of the worst run defenses the last 2 weeks.

Have you ever watched an NFL season before? You don't give up on a season when you're 3-2. Teams have had much worse 5 game stretches and won the SB. We lost 4 of 5 in 2012(won the SB), and we went 5 games in a row without scoring a TD in 2000(won the SB). On the other hand, because 2 out of the 5 teams we played have losing records, we should just give up on the whole season. That makes plenty of sense.

I agree with this. The other wrs aren't getting it done, and they are what they are at this point. Perriman's mistakes can be fixed with experience. We don't have another wr on the team that can beat the best corner in the league off press coverage.

Anyone who thinks it's as simple as running more and throwing deep more is wrong. Other than at times against a couple of the league's worst run defenses, our run game has been awful. If the o-line doesn't improve, running more will do nothing but put us in more 3rd and longs. As far as throwing deep more, our receivers need to get some separation(and catch the ball when it hits them in the hands), and our line needs to give Joe enough time to let his receivers get down field, and right now, neither is happening.

Remains to be seen? Not sure about Joe? Too inaccurate and the back foot lobs kill me. I watch Rookies play better than Joe. Hasn't played up to his contract since signing it. A lot a money to pay 1 guy to Not perform. Flacco has been extremely accurate this year. He's completing almost 2/3 of his passes despite being under constant pressure. He's dropped some perfect dimes and thrown lasers into tight spaces, only to watch them bounce off his receivers' hands. The back foot lobs only happen when he has no room to step into his throws. Out of about 50 drop backs, I see him miss about 2-3 open targets per game, and it's almost always when he has pressure in his face. A QB that makes perfect throws every time does not exist.