Just A Few Thoughts On Our Team So Far

[JEEPercreepermd]

Ok yeah we gave up a huge chunk of yards against San Diego but let's remember this, yards don't equal points. I have seen VERY FEW people here who have acutally given San Diego and more importantly Rivers,Jackson,Chambers and Sproles credit rather than bash our secondary. San Diego's passing game was impressive, could it be that they are just THAT good rather than our secondary being terrible? Our CB's didn't blow coverages, they didn't get burned by sheer speed they were in position but a perfectly thrown ball to a receiver that is 5 or 6 inches taller than you Is almost impossible to defend. Rivers played possibly the best game of his career on Sunday.

Next, I have been hearing tons of complaints about how we need more pressure on the QB. Did you see how badly our Dline manhandled San Diego's O-line? Rivers got hit almost every time he dropped back. Like I said last week, the definition of the term "pass rush" is to RUSH the quarterback through the process of throwing a pass as to not take a sack. Rivers was running all over the place yesterday, and he made two costly mistakes as direct result of it. It just so happens that both Croyle in week 1 and Rivers on sunday did a very excellent job of getting the ball out fast.

We won on Sunday because San Diego absolutely could not run the ball on us, They passed on us and we passed on them as well. While Joe's Total yards weren't near what River's was he was still 17 of 26 for two td's one of which he made fools of the entire San Diego secondary. The other was a TD pass in the red zone, something that Rivers couldn't accomplish all day.

Can we all just give this some time? I mean very few of us here (myself included) had us winning this game before the season started. It seems like every time the other team makes a good play we get this dooms day mentality around here.

From what I have seen, the teams (exception to San Diego) that we all have been predicting would beat us haven't looked quite as impressive as we once thought they were. The Patriots don't scare me one bit, Moss is a big receiver, but he's not nearly as strong and physical as what we were against on Sunday, Welker included.

In closing, I really feel that the future is bright for this team. Remember that the Ravens have only played two games so far, and that there is PLENTY of time to learn from and correct mistakes. We should be proud that they went out there and kept answering back with TD's every time the Bolts hit a big play. We should be proud that with our D's backs against the wall they stopped San Diego cold to preserve the win.

The Raven's defense has saved us for so long, they even brought us a Super Bowl. Don't you think they deserve AT LEAST one free pass?

[BMore27]

+1 I agree...


that is all

[RAVEN63]

ok.
After the game on sunday i was worried about the corners.
Kinda still am.
But reading this makes me feel better.

[Alexir]

I'll be more comfortable when Rolle comes off the PuP.

[wacko4flacco5]

I agree with ya 100%, sure the defense isn't playing like it has the past two years, but give it a couple of games, and i absolutely love the offense so far, if we keep it up this team can beat the pats and of course those losers in Pittsburgh!

[JoeFlax]

that is exactly how I felt except I wasn't able to recollect it in my brain and write it into a brilliant post. +1

[Ravens Lover]

I feel better know that I read that about our pass rush

[mhead66]

[quote name='Ravens Lover' date='22 September 2009 - 07:44 PM' timestamp='1253663046' post='240078']
I feel better know that I read that about our pass rush
[/quote]
The Ravens have 5 sacks so far, which equates to 40 over 16 games - better than the 34 last year, when the Pass D was ranked #2 in the NFL...

Fun with stats... I know it doesn't mean anything, after 2 games...

[RoflDogs]

[quote name='mhead66' date='22 September 2009 - 07:56 PM' timestamp='1253663810' post='240085']
The Ravens have 5 sacks so far, which equates to 40 over 16 games - better than the 34 last year, when the Pass D was ranked #2 in the NFL...

Fun with stats... I know it doesn't mean anything, after 2 games...
[/quote]

40 sacks are not that much.....


The thing you said about our pass rush, Rivers consistently got pressured when we [i]blitzed 6+ people[/i], great teams can create massive pressure with rushing only 4

[Steelerkillers]

Ray Lewis said it best "4 trips to the redzone, allow no touchdowns" "we will win everytime"!

[YYZ66]

[quote name='JEEPercreepermd' date='22 September 2009 - 04:30 PM' timestamp='1253647836' post='239931']
Ok yeah we gave up a huge chunk of yards against San Diego but let's remember this, yards don't equal points. I have seen VERY FEW people here who have acutally given San Diego and more importantly Rivers,Jackson,Chambers and Sproles credit rather than bash our secondary. San Diego's passing game was impressive, could it be that they are just THAT good rather than our secondary being terrible? Our CB's didn't blow coverages, they didn't get burned by sheer speed they were in position but a perfectly thrown ball to a receiver that is 5 or 6 inches taller than you Is almost impossible to defend. Rivers played possibly the best game of his career on Sunday.

Next, I have been hearing tons of complaints about how we need more pressure on the QB. Did you see how badly our Dline manhandled San Diego's O-line? Rivers got hit almost every time he dropped back. Like I said last week, the definition of the term "pass rush" is to RUSH the quarterback through the process of throwing a pass as to not take a sack. Rivers was running all over the place yesterday, and he made two costly mistakes as direct result of it. It just so happens that both Croyle in week 1 and Rivers on sunday did a very excellent job of getting the ball out fast.

We won on Sunday because San Diego absolutely could not run the ball on us, They passed on us and we passed on them as well. While Joe's Total yards weren't near what River's was he was still 17 of 26 for two td's one of which he made fools of the entire San Diego secondary. The other was a TD pass in the red zone, something that Rivers couldn't accomplish all day.

Can we all just give this some time? I mean very few of us here (myself included) had us winning this game before the season started. It seems like every time the other team makes a good play we get this dooms day mentality around here.

From what I have seen, the teams (exception to San Diego) that we all have been predicting would beat us haven't looked quite as impressive as we once thought they were. The Patriots don't scare me one bit, Moss is a big receiver, but he's not nearly as strong and physical as what we were against on Sunday, Welker included.

In closing, I really feel that the future is bright for this team. Remember that the Ravens have only played two games so far, [b]and that there is PLENTY of time to learn from and correct mistakes.[/b] We should be proud that they went out there and kept answering back with TD's every time the Bolts hit a big play. We should be proud that with our D's backs against the wall they stopped San Diego cold to preserve the win.

The Raven's defense has saved us for so long, they even brought us a Super Bowl. Don't you think they deserve AT LEAST one free pass?
[/quote]

Exactly! What was one of our biggest problems in week one against KC? Penalties! 8 flags for 65 yards. What happened against San Diego? 4 flags for 32 yards. We have a very smart coaching staff, give them a chance to correct our problems.

[RavFanStuckInOHIO]

2 sacks, 2 interceptions and how many hurries and chases on Rivers. I have to give the guy credit. When he had time to throw he was perfect. You could not throw those passes any better. Truly an outstanding arm. Our Dbacks were with those receivers step for step. But hard to defend perfect passes. 400+ yards is alot yes. But when it counted our defense stood tall and played "THE RAVEN WAY".

[PIG 20]

Like I said in another post, people soon forget how Indy scorched our secondary early in the season last year. Not to mention a secondary that boasted the likes of Rolle and McCalister. And we still ended up with the #2 secondary by the end of the season.

When you live and die by blitzing schemes, sometimes the corners are going to have trouble covering receivers especially if the blitzes are not effective. How many times did we sack Rivers in that game? Maybe once or twice? I know we hurried him a lot but if you let a guy like that throw the ball, he will find his receiver. The guy was the most accurate passer in the NFL last season. He's good. He's REALLY good!!!

Be happy that we finally seem to have the "complete" Ravens team that we've all been waiting for.

[wbirkhead]

Well put. The one thing I will add is that the shape of our team is going to be a lot more conducive to giving up more yards in the passing game. The fact that we finally have an offense that can put up serious points means people have to pass all day against us. A few stuffed runs and most teams will give up on the run like SD did. That being said, teams are going to throw 45-50 passes on us almost every week because they have to. This is going to lead to us giving up a good amount of yards through the air on some occasions (especially against a great QB) just based on averages. On the flip side, the more teams pass, the better it is for us in the long run because it allows us to control the clock with our running game as well as leads to INTs and sacks (2 of each against SD).

[Fred Sanford]

I was lovin' that run blocking against SD. Birk and Chester's blocks on McGahee's first TD run are hilarious, they flat out embarrassed the men in front of them.

[theFRANCHISE]

[quote name='JEEPercreepermd' date='22 September 2009 - 03:30 PM' timestamp='1253647836' post='239931']
Ok yeah we gave up a huge chunk of yards against San Diego but let's remember this, yards don't equal points. I have seen VERY FEW people here who have acutally given San Diego and more importantly Rivers,Jackson,Chambers and Sproles credit rather than bash our secondary. San Diego's passing game was impressive, could it be that they are just THAT good rather than our secondary being terrible? [b]Our CB's didn't blow coverages, they didn't get burned by sheer speed they were in position but a perfectly thrown ball to a receiver that is 5 or 6 inches taller than you Is almost impossible to defend. Rivers played possibly the best game of his career on Sunday. [/b]
[/quote]
My sentiments exactly. If you go back and watch the game, and I mean [i]really[/i] [u]watch[/u] the game, the corners were constantly on their man and were rarely out-of-position. They did their jobs up until defending the ball. A lot of those balls were thrown high and the taller guy always wins. The only reason why Darrelle Revis of the Jets was able to cover Randy Moss was because he was a split-second faster on the ball, and those passes weren't all traditional jump balls that Moss [i]always[/i] wins.

Sure, for the Ravens, that same scenario could've been offset with more pressure, but it's difficult to stop a guy like Rivers with such a quick release. Not only that, but blitzing too many defenders is dangerous against a guy like Rivers who reads defenses so well; hard to believe he wouldn't find an open receiver if the Ravens put five or six guys in his face all day. He's matured on the field much more from that QB we saw in 2006.

[Runnin Raven]

Great post OP. The only things that worry me in NE are Wes Welker and their tight end.

[Terrellb2007]

Great post. Yes no one believed that it would be that close of a game but the size comparison of their receivers and our CB's were obvious. Also a lot of teams with the large receivers throw the ball high to avoid batted passes that turn into turnovers that we have been notorious for since our defense made a name for themselves. (Year 2000 season). Also keep in mind that a lot of quarterbacks do their best to keep the ball away from Ed Reed especially since he's healthier this season. As long as our Offense can answer and we avoid turnovers, injuries, and other hodgepodge we should have a bright season.

[Ravensfan23]

I think the most common thing that everyone seem to over look is the adjustment period.
We lost possibly the best DC in the NFL with Rex Ryan. You can't expect this defense to just pick up where it left off, without any glitch in the Matrix.

This defense has to adjust to coach Mattison's approach. That sometimes takes weeks to accomplish. Some of the guys will have a bigger impact early on then others. I mean look at JJ, when was the last time he had a 2 sack game? Also Ngata already has a sack and several QB pressure, whereas last year he was more of a QB spy on pass downs.

This defense will be great this season, it will just take some time. That's a good thing and a bad thing. The bad thing is the adjustment period can only be overcome by game experience. So we will have to get more comfortable game by game. The good thing is that the offense is good enough to win games for this team. The defense will just have to fight through this adjust period and make plays when needed just like the last 2 weeks.

I look at the defense just as the offense was last year. There has to be an adjustment period. The offense last year struggled a bit in early games but started to play really well during the second half. Flacco had like 1 TD opposed to 7 INTs. Now look at the offense this year. Last season we probably lose that game to SD.

The offense had it's adjustment period and now look at us. In 2 games we have scored 69 offensive points. In years past we would need the defense and special teams to score in order to produce those numbers. We are like 9-9 in the red zone so far with 8 TDs. Last season we struggled in the red zone.

So what I would say about the defense is give them time. As long as we can still win games in the first half of the season, then we're fine.

I think the schedule is setting up well for the Ravens Defense. It will be able to work out the kinks.

We have Cle next. They don't appear to be able to throw the ball pass 15 yards down field. So I don't see them attacking our secondary.

NE will be a nice test. However that offensive is more reliable on speed then being physical. That game will test the secondaries communication more so then anything.

Next is Cincy at home. That Bengals pass offense has been struggling of late, so Benson has been the driving force of the offense. The Ravens have given up about 60 total rush yards in 2 combined games. So that part of the D is still dominate.

Then we have Minn. They are a run heavy team. Their pass offense is more about speed and timing. Favre won't be able to just sit back and hand the ball off to AP. He will have to test our secondary and I don't think he can.

Then we have the bye week. I would think that after 6 weeks, the Ravens defense should have all the kinks worked out. Then we have a 3 week lineup of Den, Cin, and Cle. Those 3 games should give the Ravens our usual swagger back on defense.

All in all I think the defense is fine. SD never really drove up and down the field on the Defense. Most of their scores came on big plays and those plays came on third and long. Which usually means lack of communication.

They scored on an 81 yards flare to the RB. The long pass to Jackson was on 3rd and long and they beat the zone coverage of a LB and Safety matched up on their best WR. Those were the only TDs. They had a FG set up by a long Sproles return. Then we caught a bad break with the Kickoff out of bounds and they got a FG out of it. That was 20 of their points right there.

So I think the defense will be fine. It'll take just a few more weeks to iron out the kinks.

We are in good shape. The defensive ranking might not look good, but the 2-0 looks great. Look at the Steelers, their defense couldn't keep CHI out of the endzone and could stop them when it mattered the most. Result? 1-1 as opposed to 2-0. How bout TEN? They've been given up yards and points and are 0-2. Which situation would we all rather be in?

[flynismo]

[quote name='Runnin Raven' date='23 September 2009 - 09:54 AM' timestamp='1253714089' post='240234']
Great post OP. The only things that worry me in NE are Wes Welker and their tight end.
[/quote]

They have some Randy Moss guy over there, too. I hear he's pretty good; as tall as Vincent Jackson, and quick, in a greased lightning sorta way. If he ever sets the single season TD record for WR, maybe then I'll take him seriously, but we should keep an eye on him just in case.

[Pino]

i just finished rewatching the game, and i must say, WOW

you could tell we were never really flustered except for the very first series. from then on, it was confidence winning the game. they go up 7 - no problem, we march down the feild and get 7. they make bigs plays and get field goals - so what, we march down the field and get touchdowns.

if you don't have the means to record game, by all means, GET A DVR!! it's a whole new experience being able to watch a play over and over focusing on different players each time. what i saw was the corners did the best they could and sometimes made stellar plays. like foxworth jumped right over jackson to deflect a long pass. our corners never gave up, never doubted themselves.

second, i was watching the linebackers because i wanted to see how t.gooden was doing. so far he's still young and hesitates just slightly, be he persues well. many times ayenbendajo stepped in for gooden, and while he's not very explosive, he's a secure tackler. jameel mcclain and barnes weren't in much but they always seemed close to the ball.

third, a lot of people were downing the d-line, but there's really no evidence to back that up. sure suggs and pryce didn't get multiple sacks but they are always double teamed or more. and they always move the pocket and force the QB to move. but it seems the best plaayer on the D-line is jarret johnson. he is playing out of his mind. and of course, gregg holds the line while ngata busts through it.

some might knock reed but you have to realize offenses intentionally avoid him all the time. the good thing is that landry is making a lot of plays. he's really impressive when you rewatch the game. remember how we're used to seeing reed flying into the back field to take down a running back? well, landry's not that fast but he does seem to come from nowhere to stop the back at the line of scrimmage. plus, he should have had two more picks against the chargers. and he hits hard. dawan landry is fun to watch.