Fullblack_RAVEN

Now that i've had time to watch the game again, i can delve deeper into what killed them yesterday. - The o-line was bad even with monroe. They were unprepared for the speed of the broncos. The only guy on the line that looked even remotely competent was yanda. He did a fine job. The rest of the guys were bad. I'd like to delve deeper into james hurst's performance. He hasn't improved at all since last season. The ravens need a backup left tackle and need one badly. If you guys go back and watch the ravens' final drive, you'll see that hurst cost the ravens 2 TD shots. Firstly, he let ware get around the edge quickly which affected flacco's throw to steve smith in the right corner of the endzone. If flacco has time, he throws that cleanly and steve gets the go ahead td. Instead, ware got a hand on flacco, leading to a duck being thrown. Secondly, ware destroyed hurst on an inside rush which hurried flacco's throw to the left corner. If flacco had 1 more second, he throws a dart over roby right to steve. Instead, he was hurried and threw an off kilter pass which ended up being tipped by roby. Steve still had a shot to catch the ball but the tip affected his timing. Hurst is bad. It looks to me like the ravens will be drafting a LT next yr for sure. - Flacco had instant pressure in his face for the majority of the game. However, there were some dropbacks where he had some time to complete a pass. The problem was the broncos were playing press on all of the wr's. Steve was being defended by an all pro which affected his performance. The rest of the guys couldn't get any separation... This team needs speed on the outside to loosen up coverage, period. I have no idea how good perriman is but i do know one thing... he has speed. The ravens' offense is NOTHING without a stretch the field guy on the outside. - The running game was horrible for 2 reasons. Firstly, the broncos loaded the box. Secondly, trestman kept running on first down... like, jeez. The broncos knew when the run play was coming. Predictability is this offense's worst enemy. They should've thrown on first down more. - I'm not completely down on this offense. I saw some good things. The back-shoulder fade to marlon brown on the sideline was nice. Despite being pressured, flacco was still focused & looking downfield (minus the int to talib where he threw it off of anticipation). Maxx williams showed me some things in the passing game. This offense will get better as the games continue. The only caveat is they need perriman back & flacco/trestman need to get on the same page. Again, i'm not saying perriman is amazing but his ability to stretch the field takes a guy out of the box, stops teams from constantly blitzing & allows for our possession wr's to play w/o a bunch of press coverage all the time. At this point, no secondary respects our weapons deep. Even if perriman's just a decoy, he's needed. Badly. The ravens played off coverage in the first half because they respected the speed of thomas & sanders. That changed in the 2nd half because they realized manning couldn't throw past 15 yards. The broncos started and finished w/ press man & sprinkled in zone on 3rd down so they could jump the hot reads. The targets dictate what coverage you're going to see... perriman changes coverage bc he's fast and strong off the line (this is one positive he showed consistently in college) & is very fast from a straight line perspective. Pressing him is asking for trouble. This is what torrey smith wasn't good w/. torrey was fast but could be pressed at the line w/ no repercussions bc of his lack of lower body strength. Perriman doesn't have that problem. That's why they need him... he's a press man coverage buster & can take the top off of the defense. Even if he isn't targeted, opposing defenses would respect that. Well, that was long-winded. GO RAVENS!

I forgot to mention one critical thing in yesterday's game thread. CJ mosley is amazing. His combination of speed, smarts and instincts are perfect for an ILB, especially in this era. He can cover, diagnose plays, pressure the qb and tackle all over the field. He's going to be a serious DPOY candidate this season.

1. Denver fans need to contemplate some of those things. They'd be smart to do so. Why? They are fatal flaws that will burn the broncos once again come playoff time. They have a makeshift o-line. Also, manning hasn't been able to throw intermediate passes w/ accuracy since last yr's rams game. They should question their offense regardless of what happened. In fact, i went to their reddit page... they are doing just that. What, do you think them questioning those 2 FACTS is ridiculous? Please... brushing them under the rug like they aren't legit problems would be far more ridiculous. They played today like they did in the divisional vs. the indianapolis colts except their o-line is far worse now. According to you, their fans should twiddle their thumbs and say nothing like a trend isn't building though, right? 2. "Flacco has these games every year" Is that supposed to make it ok? That's partly the reason why this team can't get home field advantage in the playoffs. This team under harbaugh is below .500 on the road. They lose games like this in this fashion on the road way too often. The o-line gets overwhelmed, wr's get pressed & the offense turns into a heaping pile of you know what. They blitz hoping flacco makes a mistake on his hot read and boom, pick. Heck, it happened last yr @ indy, @ cincy and @ houston. That's 3 games... If their offense doesn't fail to the same defensive gameplan, they win all 3 and get homefield. Instead, they lose & have to hope other teams blow it so they can get a wildcard & go through the playoffs on the road. What we saw tonight is clearly a trend. It's so much of a trend that flacco & trestman addressed it in the offseason as something the ravens needed to get better at. They clearly haven't which is why people are pointing it out. The broncos basically utilized the bengals & colts old gameplans on the ravens' O and it worked. The offense let the defense down. If this costs the ravens' homefield advantage or even a playoff berth, our concerns as fans will be validated. 3. "Aiken proved to you all last year that he's a very good player" WHAT? no he didn't. All aiken has done since he got here is play well in training camp and flash some ability in the preseason / reg season. He has been cut by a number of teams already & is only starting right now because perriman is injured. He hasn't proven anything. His supposed 4.45 speed hasn't displayed itself in baltimore yet. He also doesn't get much separation on his routes. Marlon brown has proven way more than aiken (brown had an awesome rook preseason & grabbed 8 TDs in his rook year)... Marlon brown would classify as an average receiver to me. Very good means you're a consistent factor on the field. Kamar has trouble being a factor no matter how much he plays... 4. "no receiver is going to catch passes when the QB has .04 seconds to get rid of the ball" That's the thing... why is it that the ravens and this supposedly vaunted o-line (ranked top 5 last yr) get blasted like this 3-4 times a season on the road to the exact same defensive gameplan? I hate the patriots but after that KC debacle last yr, they made adjustments & seldomly allowed their offense to not protect & not produce going forward. The ravens are going to do what they always do. They'll win 3 or 4 more games before they go on the road & lose in that fashion to some team because that's what they do. It isn't ideal to be a playoff wild card. It's ideal to battle for home field. Losing games like this in this fashion tells me the ravens' offense isn't ready to contend for homefield advantage. Yeah, yeah... they have a new OC and need time... yet this same thing happened with their last 2 co-ordinators. It's a trend that the ravens themselves want to address yet you believe we shouldn't say anything about it? Ok, then. This is one game out of 16. Every game is important. 1 game can decide where you are seeded. I still believe the ravens will be fine but am now scared that this type of dud from the offense will happen 2-3 more times this season. Based on past seasons, i'm justified to feel that way.... others on this thread are justified to feel that way as well.

Nope. This loss wasn't on steve. It was on the entire offense. Hopefully steve brushes this off and balls out vs. the raiders.

Suggs getting hurt really sucks. We may have just seen the last of suggs. Boy... I'll just talk about the game... Positives: Defense, Tucker Negatives: Everything else I mean... we all saw what happened. It was basically a replay of last yr's game against the colts except the broncos' qb can't throw 15 yards downfield. The defense was fantastic until the 4th q. I won't even hold that against them, though. They were on the field all game & got gassed due to the altitude. It was also hot out there. This defense looked like it was championship caliber until suggs got hurt. sigh. I still think this defense will be good but let's be honest... that suggs injury is massive. Jimmy smith was awesome. If he stays healthy all season, he'll be an all pro (yes, all pro!). Will hill was great in the box. I didn't like some of the completions webb gave up but i can't really complain... i mean, the defense held manning to 0 touchdowns for crying out loud. They freaking pick6'd him 1x and daryl almost picked manning off, too. The only bad thing i could say about the defense was the 1st half playcalling by pees. I didn't like those 3 man rushes w/ the corners playing so far off of the wr's in the 1st half. The offense was horrendous. The fast, physical broncos' front 4 dominated the ravens all game. The ravens' offense folded. Eisenberg's most recent article touched on flacco & trestman addressing their propensity to fold on the road w/ that type of defensive strategy. Nothing in that department has improved. They are the same type of sucky offense when that happens. Press the wr's, dominate w/ your front 4 and pressure flacco into throwing quickly and into tight spaces. That's what they did. It worked. I'll also say that monroe being out wasn't the only factor. Yeah, hurst got owned. However, von miller was killing wagner all damn game. This is going to happen again sometime this season... will the offense be ready? Probably not. What kills me is the ravens had a 3pt lead over a broncos team that couldn't move the ball downfield if their life depended on it yet decided to throw an inside slant on 3rd down. Flacco threw it blindly. He anticipated smith getting there when in reality, talib was in prime position to pick it off from the get go. Throwing the ball there was a horrendous, rookie type of decision. Period. I'm not saying that lost the game but damn... you have to exercise better judgement there, right? I'm not crushed about the loss, though. The ravens had a chance to win and will have a chance to win every game going forward because of how good their defense is. za'darius is going to have to grow up fast. This is also upshaw's chance to make some money this offseason. I hope they step up in the absence of the ravens best defender (suggs). Oh, oh, i almost forgot. If the ravens think steve smith and campagnaro are legitimate options for punt and kickoff returns, they are kidding themselves. Yeah, camp didn't get a single opportunity today but he is injury prone. Steve is too old to be doing that. Call up one of the guys from the practice squad to return punts/kicks. Risking steve smith and camp on special teams when the wr core is a disaster doesn't seem smart to me... call up charles james and make him do it. Beat the raiders! GO RAVENS!

BTW, suggs didn't tear the same achilles from that basketball incident. Basically, if he comes back next season, he'll be playing w/ 2 surgically repaired achilles tendons. That's almost impossible to come back from, especially for an OLB... man.

It looks like the ravens' initial plan of bringing za'darius smith along slowly has just been obliterated. Z and Upshaw are going to have to hold down the right side... or maybe doom can switch and play on the right side on passing downs. Pees is probably face palming as i type this.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.... Suggs tore his achilles. CRAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

I really hope suggs isn't seriously hurt. If he can come back w/ the addition of jernigan, this defense is going to be NASTY. That's the only thing i loved about the ravens today. Yeah, they let a 10 min drive happen in the 4th but were dead tired at that point in the altitude and all. They beasted for 3/4 of the damn game. This defense has the potential to be better than the 3rd ranked 2011 one... i'm happy about that. The things i'm not happy about will be discussed in the game thread when it's posted... GO RAVENS!

Nice! If jernigan can go, he's going to manhandle the broncos' interior linemen. They are super weak up the middle... man. I can't wait!

Ahh, ok. Hopefully carl gets some time too, though. Since they rotate linemen often, he could see some action.

I hope the steelers obliterate them. I don't care if that means they get a win in outer-divisional play. I also don't care that they are the ravens' biggest rival. At least their franchise is ethical as far as competitive spirit goes. Yeah, they have slipped up a couple of times (tomlin's electric slide vs. jacoby jones) but overall, they don't bend the rules to win. The pats do. They have done so for over a decade. They have been caught yet still do shady stuff. I don't respect that. What's even more infuriating is their smugness about it. They don't admit guilt. They'd rather disparage the accuser instead of admitting their faulty ways. I'm not talking about deflategate, either. I find their fans hilarious, though. They call the ravens a lowlife, classless franchise when their own franchise bends rules at every turn to win. How can your franchise be first class when your team from the top down will bend the rules and be unapologetic about it? No ethics = No class. That's what the pats are. They are a classless franchise. Yeah, i said it. Classless.

It would be awesome if jernigan could play.He's this team's best pass rushing interior lineman. Denver's line is pretty weak up the middle so he'd probably dominate. If not, this could be an amazing debut for carl davis. Go Ravens!

GL to all of these guys. Cut day is a necessary evil, i guess. I hope these guys use this as motivation to improve physically, mentally & from a technique standpoint. It only takes 1 team to believe in you. Remember that.

Ahh, ok. I didn't know that. In regards to perriman, i just hope that situation doesn't end up like the kevin white situation the bears are currently dealing with. The ravens will need his speed this season for sure.

Is it safe to say that perriman probably won't go wk 1? He must be super rusty. I just hope his injury isn't severe enough to where he is put on PUP.

There's way too much overlap w/ the wr crew. Aiken, Brown and Butler save for a few inches in height here and there are essentially the same guy. All 3 are good at catching contested balls but don't get separation. They don't run crisp routes and seem slow on the field. Aiken has disappointed me the most because he was marketed to us as a really fast guy. I still haven't seen that 4.45 40 he supposedly ran at his pro day in real-time. He seems like a 4.5-4.6 guy like marlon and butler. SSS, campagnaro and perriman are 3 guys that i have confidence in. Perriman has elite speed and strength for his position and can stretch the field. SSS & campagnaro are really good route runners and have a ton of burst. I believe in waller's potential but it'll take some time for it to materialize into production. Since i believe this team will have 6 wr's, i'll take aiken and brown w/ the 4 i listed. Butler isn't needed on this team because he doesn't bring anything aiken and brown don't bring & has less experience than those 2. The 6 man receiving corps i picked isn't amazing but could be solid if healthy. Since perriman and camp are already dealing w/ injuries, the wr corps will be average at best w/ an above average option for flacco to lean on. If perriman and camp can't go, the TE crew will end up being the most important skill position group on this team.

Onto the cut list... I hope all of these guys can go back to the drawing board, improve and make a roster next season. Deandre carter needs to sure up his hands and not get too down on himself. Tramain jacobs clearly didn't make the kind of progress from last season that the ravens expected so he needs to go back & work on his technique more. Cut time sucks. I wish all of these guys well.

Tyrod got his shot! I hope he makes the best of it and seizes that job for years to come. Besides the fact that he was a class act and a good dude from what i observed, i want the bills to become a powerhouse in that division. It's time to give the patriots some legitimate competition down there instead of them cake-walking to a division title & a playoff bye seemingly every season. Enough of my selfish intentions, though. GL, tyrod!

I thought the starting offense was good because the o-line, gillmore and the vets showed up (flacco, forsett & Steve Smith Sr.) Marlon Brown, Kamar Aiken and Jeremy Butler were average in both technique & production. Waller was even worse than those 3 because of how raw he is. If not for SSS , the starting O's WR's would have looked pedestrian. The only saving grace is camp & perriman weren't out there so the wr corps we saw last night isn't indicative of what we'll see all season (unless the injuries to camp & perriman are more serious than the team is letting on). The secondary concerns me. Kendrick lewis hasn't impressed me in coverage all preseason. The only reason why he's a lock to be this team's starting FS is the lack of quality competition w/ that position. He looks lost most of the time. If cousins was a good quarterback, kendrick would have been exposed 3+ times last night. I remember a wr getting behind him on 1 play and cousins flat out whiffing on the pass. His best play all game happened in the box... Melvin clearly can't operate while playing zone concepts. When he's off of his wr reading the qb, he doesn't seem fast enough from a reactionary standpoint to get back to the wr. He commits a lot of false steps which give the wr even more space than he's supposed to get. The same can be said for tray walker. I hate to be a negative nancy but that's what i saw. Obviously, i'm not going to spell doom on the season because of some preseason action. I'm just not buying into the hype of some of these players. This team isn't as deep at wr as some of you may think & definitely isn't set at the starting FS spot.

As i said before, going low on a player is only an issue when it's a qb who's on the receiving end of the hit. If it were a qb instead of jernigan getting hit low, the NFL world would be in an uproar. In fact, we saw that crap in action last wk when suggs went low on bradford. Has any major publication talked about jernigan almost getting his knee torn up by a low hit? No. Yet when an average quarterback gets hit in that fashion (legally i may add), people go nuts. Please.

yesss!!!!

there goes the ravens' deep threat

W/O perriman, this team has no deep threat. Sure, kamar aiken ran a 4.45 at his pro day. I haven't seen that 4.45 speed on the field yet. He's one of those guys that probably trained like heck to achieve a fast 40 but in reality is a 4.5-4.6 guy. Conversely, a guy that we used to have in jacoby jones ran a 4.5 coming out of college but looked like a 4.4 guy in games. Michael Campagnaro is not the answer, either. Besides his injury history, he's more of a quick burst guy. He isn't a stretch the field guy. Waller may be that guy in the future but is raw right now. He needs to learn how to run better routes & get off the line w/ more technique. His technique & stiffness slow him down. Marlon brown & jeremy butler are possession receivers. Steve smith is too old to be the deep threat he once was for the duration of a season. Steve needs a guy that could stretch the field so that he doesn't need to deal with constant, tight coverage. I didn't mention the other bubble wr's on the roster because i feel they either won't make the team or aren't deep threats this team can rely on. The harsh reality is this. If perriman can't go, this team will end up being a 10-20 yard passing team at best with an emphasis on tight end play. Think about the hernandez/gronk pats offense except w/ lesser talent at the qb and TE positions. They'll also throw to the rb a lot as expected because of trestman's influence. This offense will be predictable and far less dynamic w/o perriman. Flacco will have to be super precise with his throws in the short game. He'll be limited in what he and his big arm can do. If you think about it, perriman is the most important WR on this team. This team has depth everywhere else. camp/steve are the short, strong possession guys that get in and out of their breaks w/ quickness & run great routes. Brown/Butler/aiken are interchangeable as big, possession receivers. All 3 have good hands but don't get separation & can't stretch the field consistently. Waller has top end speed & stature but is so weak from a technical standpoint that you could interchange him w/ brown/butler. His lack of technique slows him down (it isn't his fault, though. Georgia tech was run heavy). Perriman's the only wr of his kind on the roster. w/o him, flacco will be confined to doing stuff he did back when they didn't have torrey smith. Hopefully perriman can go. If not, i hope the defense is ready from a conditioning standpoint to stay stout until perriman comes back because i envision a crapton of 3 and outs if that's the case.