Boldin

[True]

Last 4 games:

7 targets, 2 catches
7 targets, 5 catches
4 targets, 3 catches
4 targets, 3 catches

He averages 6 catches a game in his career. He's like the forgotten man all of a sudden.

[AwakenTheDemon]

Boldin is far from forgotten.

[FerrariFan87]

[quote name='AwakenTheDemon' timestamp='1290992857' post='553415']
Boldin is far from forgotten.
[/quote]

Yeah, the defenses haven't forgotten him. They're rolling 2 or 3 guys his way daring Mason to beat his man 1-on-1, which he has.

[True]

[quote name='AwakenTheDemon' timestamp='1290992857' post='553415']
Boldin is far from forgotten.
[/quote]
What do you mean? I like that Joe spread the ball out to all his receivers, but for some reason I haven't heard Boldin's name a lot the last few weeks.

[RoflDogs]

Mason is complaining too much I guess

[Milton145]

He just hasn't been getting open. He's been getting double too frequently.

[Marc2k6]

Boldin is our playoffs secret weapon!

[hammer]

Mase was one on one all day. Nobody can cover Mase one on one. Flacco made the right choices. I respect that in him as a leader.

[Ed_Reed20]

I complained about Q not getting enough looks in the game thread but TB, specifically Talib, was giving Mason room to work underneath all game and Joe took it. I'd like to Boldin get more targets and touches period but the passing game is working relatively well right now so I can't complain.

[True]

Today's game with Mason getting the ball was great. If he can keep beating his man, then he should have more targets.

However, I heard on the radio a few days ago that "secretly" the WRs are frustrated with the offense and the only reason we don't see many blow ups is because winning helps to keep that under wraps.

But I've seen a few signs of frustration by Boldin in the Atlanta game where he rallied the offense after a slow first half and last weeks incident with Mason and how he wanted the offense to be more up tempo. I believe Joe is doing the best he can, but I have no idea what Cam's game plan is in utilizing his players. For all the offensive pieces we have, I kept to see it be more explosive and it hasn't hit that stride yet.

[SnOoPy]

We will need him next week! Go Ravens!

[Ed_Reed20]

[quote name='True' timestamp='1290993832' post='553451']
Today's game with Mason getting the ball was great. If he can keep beating his man, then he should have more targets.

However, I heard on the radio a few days ago that "secretly" the WRs are frustrated with the offense and the only reason we don't see many blow ups is because winning helps to keep that under wraps.

But I've seen a few signs of frustration by Boldin in the Atlanta game where he rallied the offense after a slow first half and last weeks incident with Mason and how he wanted the offense to be more up tempo. I believe Joe is doing the best he can, but I have no idea what Cam's game plan is in utilizing his players. [b]For all the offensive pieces we have, I kept to see it be more explosive and it hasn't hit that stride yet.[/b]
[/quote]

And it may never hit it's stride with Cam calling the shots. I know it sounds petty criticizing the OC of an 8-3 team but time and time again, I've seen evidence that Cam either doesn't know or forgets what his players excel at in key situations.

[theFRANCHISE]

It's no secret that the receivers are frustrated with the offense -- but that's because there's only one ball and only so many touches per game. They all have egos, they all want the ball, but they can't be in the spotlight every week. However, it's not really a big deal because the team is winning and the receivers value winning a championship more than individual glory since they've all had their taste of the spotlight before and need that championship to cement their legacy.

Boldin getting fired up on the sideline isn't his discontent with the offense or with Flacco, it's his way of rallying the troops, similar to how Ray Lewis delivers speeches to his defense to inspire them. Mason getting into an argument with Flacco isn't his discontent with the offense, it's his way of getting Flacco to look his way more often in games where he may actually be validly open. Houshmandzadeh has always had a temper, but at least it hasn't cost him on the field.

This is a non-issue. Boldin not getting nearly as many catches isn't because the team isn't looking for him, it's because he's either being doubled or tripled by the defense, or he just wasn't open as quickly as someone else on the same play. It'd be a bigger concern if Flacco was merely targeting one receiver all season long as he did with Mason and checkdowns to Rice, but the fact remains that Flacco is spreading the ball around and the offense has never been more potent.

[Milton145]

[quote name='SnOoPy' timestamp='1290993909' post='553453']
We will need him next week! Go Ravens!
[/quote]

We'll need hm every week...

[AwakenTheDemon]

I'm sorry, but I find it hard to believe anything that's claimed to be "secretly" happening.

[True]

That's why I put it in quotes.

[yakraven]

Today Mase was not only open but was also getting grief from the Buc DBs and I think
Joe was letting Mase get some fun on the Buc backfield. I thought Q provided perfect
defense on Ray's run and got shafted by the ref; but Housh really provided great
traffic control, directing Ray's cuts on what should have been a TD run. The pass to
Todd was great!

[Jamal]

Lets just be glad Boldin has zero ego. A lot of WR's would be calling out the OC/QB by now.

He has been absent the last couple of weeks. Hopefully he gets going next week.

[reediddy]

This is the luxury of the Raven offense. We have so many playmakers that on any given day, one of these guys will have a big day. Today was Mason and Heap. Best believe that next week Boldin will be utilized much more

[PWNEDbyDEANO]

Boldin is a team guy. He draws the double teams that he deserves, and today it more than showed for Mase. I highly doubt he is concerned about his lack of ball recently, and I expect that he will be getting targeted more as teams divert attention more equally.

[purple.n.black]

Defenses rather defend Boldin more because he is a big threat after the catch. Mason is not a big threat after the catch, although he had one real nice play after the catch today.

[AsianRice]

[quote name='purple.n.black' timestamp='1290995590' post='553502']
Defenses rather defend Boldin more because he is a big threat after the catch. Mason is not a big threat after the catch, although he had one real nice play after the catch today.
[/quote]
yep, Boldin was mostly double team today, but they play to win, not for some stats.

PS: You guys complain because you own Boldin in FF!

[Ed_Reed20]

[quote name='AsianRice' timestamp='1290996400' post='553522']
yep, Boldin was mostly double team today, but they play to win, not for some stats.

PS: You guys complain because you own Boldin in FF!
[/quote]

Dismissing the concerns of some simply because of fantasy is stupid.

Yes, the passing game worked for the most part today but there were also times when it stalled and Q wasn't lookedto.

[AsianRice]

[quote name='Ed_Reed20' timestamp='1290996657' post='553531']
Dismissing the concerns of some simply because of fantasy is stupid.

Yes, the passing game worked for the most part today but there were also times when it stalled and Q wasn't lookedto.
[/quote]
Yah, I think Boldin is a good go-to-guy in the 4th Q, especially after what Mason did to the Bucs' DBs in the first half.

We need to get Boldin more involved in the 4th Q so we can move the chain and control the clock. There's nothing wrong for Joe to go to a WR who can beat CB one on one all day long though: it's an exploit.

PS: Joe is playing good today though, but there's still alot more room for him to improve until the end of the season.

[scrock]

[quote name='True' timestamp='1290992820' post='553411']
Last 4 games:

7 targets, 2 catches
7 targets, 5 catches
4 targets, 3 catches
4 targets, 3 catches

He averages 6 catches a game in his career. He's like the forgotten man all of a sudden.
[/quote]

I was thinking the same thing, they need to work him into the game more. Maybe get him a couple balls early, they did run a few plays just for him so he could get in the action.

Joe spreads the ball around too and Boldin is sure to get extra attention most of the time.

[theFRANCHISE]

I said it before, and I'll reiterate, it's good that Flacco is spreading the ball around instead of keying in on just one or two guys because, as the past two seasons have shown, good defenses are quick to pick up on those favored targets and shut them down. We don't want a repeat of the divisional playoff game against the Colts last season where Ray Rice and Derrick Mason were bottled up in the air and on the ground, leaving the entire offense with nothing to work with.

[purple.n.black]

I have noticed seeing him much less since we have started using 3+WR sets much more often. Kind of makes sense. At least we have been more efficient and effective as an offense overall though.

[AsianRice]

[quote name='purple.n.black' timestamp='1291000527' post='553588']
I have noticed seeing him much less since we have started using 3+WR sets much more often. Kind of makes sense. At least we have been more efficient and effective as an offense overall though.
[/quote]
aye aye! opened man wins!

[True]

[quote name='Ed_Reed20' timestamp='1290996657' post='553531']
Dismissing the concerns of some simply because of fantasy is stupid.

Yes, the passing game worked for the most part today but there were also times when it stalled and Q wasn't lookedto.
[/quote]
I agree. For example, the checkdowns to Ray Rice which I'm starting to believe are actually designed by Cam because I see Flacco look at his first read and if it's not open, he passes to Rice afterward. This becomes obvious to opposing defenses and they start to focus in on Rice and stop him for minimal gain (like the Pats game late in the 4th).

I'd like to see instead some crossing or slant routes with Boldin since he is one of the best WR with YAC. Joe is really good at throwing passes to the sideline, but I don't see him pass a lot towards the middle to WRs, unless it's to Heap or Rice. With 3 good possession receivers, going over the middle could prove to really pick up the pace of the offense.

[hammer]

[quote name='True' timestamp='1291001396' post='553611']
I agree. For example, the checkdowns to Ray Rice which I'm starting to believe are actually designed by Cam because I see Flacco look at his first read and if it's not open, he passes to Rice afterward. This becomes obvious to opposing defenses and they start to focus in on Rice and stop him for minimal gain (like the Pats game late in the 4th).

I'd like to see instead some crossing or slant routes with Boldin since he is one of the best WR with YAC. Joe is really good at throwing passes to the sideline, but I don't see him pass a lot towards the middle to WRs, unless it's to Heap or Rice. With 3 good possession receivers, going over the middle could prove to really pick up the pace of the offense.

[/quote]

C'mon True. You got a playbook hidden away somewhere? How do you project the routes if you dont even know the gameplan or the schemes? Thats not to demean your recomendations (I hope you dont feel that way). But C'mon man! This has got to be the job of the coaches, right?