You're Hired!

[flynismo]

Your dreams have come true! Ozzie has been listening intently to your rants here on the forums about Cam Cameron, and decided to hire you to replace him, effective immediately.

So, what do you do differently?


Here is what I would do if I were Cam: jump off a bridge.

And here's what I'd do diifferently if I were OC:



1. Put Rice and McGahee on the field at the same time.

Call me crazy, but I think that having those two in the backfield at the same time would be lethal. Two WR, a TE, and two RB...the defense has no idea if we are running or passing, and even if they knew we were running, they would have no idea who is running it. In passing situations, it would leave one or even two RB protecting the QB while everyone is running their routes.



2. More two TE sets

the idea behind this is the same as the two RBs above -- the flexibility of the formation is outstanding. We can pass just as easily as we can run out of this formation.


3. Install our version of a hybrid west coast style offense.

I mean really, this is a no brainer when you look at our personnel. Quick slants over the middle with Boldin and Housh, WR screens, curls, etc ... Our wr were born for this. Of course, there will be plenty of plays in the playbook taking advantage of Joe's ability to throw the deep ball...but the emphasis is to stress a lot more short, quick passes than we currently employ.


4. Put Boldin in the slot

dude is a slot machine, this is another no-brainer that the current regime rarely takes advantage of.


5. Use McGahee almost exclusively to run the ball in the first half.


The idea is to wear down the defense with McGahee's more physical style of running, so that a fresh Rice can come in against a tiring defense in the second half. It is also to preserve both RB's by reducing their workloads over the course of the season.

6. Run an empty backfield a couple times each half.

We have Boldin/Mason/TJ/Stallworth. You cant double them all. Leave Heap on the line for extra protection.


7. Most important of all: give Flacco his balls back.


If he doesn't like a play I called, I'll give him the freedom to audible out of it. If we get a lead, I'll trust Flacco to make a few short completions; not just run run run punt.



Pretty basic stuff. It's not that difficult Cam, no matter how much you try to make it be so.

[SaVaGe]

[quote name='flynismo' timestamp='1291222878' post='556216']
1. Put Rice and McGahee on the field at the same time.

Call me crazy, but I think that having those two in the backfield at the same time would be lethal. Two WR, a TE, and two RB...the defense has no idea if we are running or passing, and even if they knew we were running, they would have no idea who is running it. In passing situations, it would leave one or even two RB protecting the QB while everyone is running their routes.
[/quote]


The simplicity of this is genius. I really believe this could get our offense on a roll because how often do we see Rice and McGahee subbing out and that automatically giving away if it is a pass or run. I don't have any evidence to back it up but generally it seems McGahee breaks his big runs to the right while Rice breaks his to the left. So line them up accordingly and unleash chaos.

[flynismo]

[quote name='SaVaGe' timestamp='1291223487' post='556229']<br />The simplicity of this is genius. I really believe this could get our offense on a roll because how often do we see Rice and McGahee subbing out and that automatically giving away if it is a pass or run. I don't have any evidence to back it up but generally it seems McGahee breaks his big runs to the right while Rice breaks his to the left. So line them up accordingly and unleash chaos.<br />[/quote]


Its not just you, I've noticed the same. McGahee seems to get his best runs running anywhere on the right hand side of Grubbs.

[PWNEDbyDEANO]

Get your application in quick man! Our offense would be crazy!

But seriously, I think the whole 'having too many weapons and not knowing what to do with all of them' is really the case with Cam this year. He has to take into account that he doesn't just have Heap, Mason and Rice to throw to anymore.

Not much consolation for the now, but I think Cam will improve when he fully finds his feet in this situation.

[Marc2k6]

Sounds like a great plan! Let's do it like Nike! or is that "Just Do It Like Nike!"

[AsianRice]

Great plan and alot of diversity which can make your opponents on their feet.

[harfordravenfan]

Completely agree with everything you said fly, that would be the closest thing to an offensive organized chaos imaginable... if it was me, you'd be hired. No guts, no glory right?

[JohnJohnson]

I've always wondered why we don't put Rice and McGahee back there together. We also do too much play action out of the single back set, we need to run more often for that to be effective.

[flynismo]

Actually, I meant for this thread to be one of those threads where everyone gets to play armchair Coordinator, not just me, lol ... What would you guys do with the offense if you were given the chance? I know you guys are dying to put your thoughts out there, cuz most of us here aren't on the Cam train any longer..

[harfordravenfan]

Fly, you pretty well covered most of it. Besides staying aggressive (even with a good lead) and making the defense spread out more often as you said. So much easier to read the defense in a spread 3-4 wr set

[Alexir]

If I was Ozzie Newsome, I would change our defensive scheme to a 4-3 with Suggs and Kruger at DE . Ngata and Gregg/cody would be DTs obviously. I would bench Dawan Landry and put Zibby and Ruki at SS for certain downs. 3rd down I would put Zibby out there and first 2 downs I would put ruki out there because he is a better tackler.

I would also fire Cam Cameron and let Jim Zorn call the plays. Just wouldnt let him ever call the swinging gate play....ever. Zorn would just keep things simple. Run the ball and use 2 receiver sets. Bingo.

[flynismo]

[quote name='Alexir' timestamp='1291231769' post='556354']
If I was Ozzie Newsome, I would change our defensive scheme to a 4-3 with Suggs and Kruger at DE . Ngata and Gregg/cody would be DTs obviously.
[/quote]


Not sure why we aren't already doing so, especially after all the talk about how he wanted to switch to a 4-3.
I think it'd be especially advantageous because it gives Ray and JJ extra protection.

[PWNEDbyDEANO]

Yeah, in an ideal world, as the DC, I would change to 4-3 with (hopefully) Kindle at OLB next year. On offense, switch things about a bit, keep the other team guessing as to what's going to happen. Too often do we see a run get stuffed nowadays because the D knows it's coming. Mix it up between going 4 wide, 2 TE, 2 RBs, you get the idea.

[hawkprey]

I don't care what we do as long as we win.


Psych!

Let's see more Stallworth and flea-flickers. Our RBs are great blockers, so we could really do some damage with those (as if we haven't before). Maybe a flea-flicker TO Stallworth. Really, he's only had like one catch.

[Milton145]

I've seen Boldin playing a lot out of the slot this year. Especially against the Bucs when we went with 3 WRs.

[Nobi]

Where the hell is Boldin? That's all I want to know.

[Rob H]

Bisciotti made his millions by starting a staffing company, and when he hired Harbaugh he said he "made his living off of hiring people with thin resumes" (paraphrasing). What's one more thin resume at OC?

[Milton145]

[quote name='Nobi' timestamp='1291234294' post='556388']
Where the hell is Boldin? That's all I want to know.
[/quote]

Getting doubled up. You HAVE seen Mason and Heap tearing it up the past few weeks since Boldin has cooled down right?

[Romo Ravens]

Let Flacco audible. That's all I want for Christmas.

[Bltravens]

[quote name='flynismo' timestamp='1291232037' post='556358']
Not sure why we aren't already doing so, especially after all the talk about how he wanted to switch to a 4-3.
I think it'd be especially advantageous because it gives Ray and JJ extra protection.
[/quote]
Our LBs are too slow now to play 4-3. Our front 4 would be dangerous, but JJ was never a 4-3 LB and Ray(as much as I love and is my favorite player of all time) cant go sideline to sideline laterally like he could, he can still attack downhill in any scheme, but his lateral mobility isnt what it used to be. Gooden would flourish I believe as a 4-3 will with the protection it would give him, but its not worth hurting 2 guys to make 1 play well. Especially when the one you would be hurting is Ray Lewis, who has made more plays in 1 game than Gooden has in 2.5 years.

[Bltravens]

[quote name='flynismo' timestamp='1291222878' post='556216']
Your dreams have come true! Ozzie has been listening intently to your rants here on the forums about Cam Cameron, and decided to hire you to replace him, effective immediately.

So, what do you do differently?


Here is what I would do if I were Cam: jump off a bridge.

And here's what I'd do diifferently if I were OC:



1. Put Rice and McGahee on the field at the same time.

Call me crazy, but I think that having those two in the backfield at the same time would be lethal. Two WR, a TE, and two RB...the defense has no idea if we are running or passing, and even if they knew we were running, they would have no idea who is running it. In passing situations, it would leave one or even two RB protecting the QB while everyone is running their routes.



2. More two TE sets

[i][b]He's used this formation on more than a few occasions, the problem with it is that it takes McClain off the field. Teams know percentage wise how often we run our of I form and Joe is at his best on PA. Take McClain off the field and the percentages of us running the ball falls, thus defenses arent as surprised by PA.[/b][/i]


3. Install our version of a hybrid west coast style offense.

[i][b]Cam actually did this in the first Steelers game, I have no life studying abroad so I rewatch film to find things that work, what doesnt, and specific players. The first game if you go back and watch Cam did ALOT of short timing routes to Mason, Heap, and Boldin. These were all a prelude to Mason getting that 50 yard bomb of a catch.[/b][/i]


4. Put Boldin in the slot

[u][b]Cam has done this alot too, he cant do it every 3rd down or everytime theres a 3 WR set because then the element of surprise is off but Boldin has been matched up against nickel corners often this year.[/b][/u]


5. Use McGahee almost exclusively to run the ball in the first half.

[u][b]McGahee needs to be used more, but for an entire first half is abit much, Rice is arguably behind Boldin our biggest natural playmaker, to keep him off the field in any capacity other than a change of pace is a no no.[/b][/u]

6. Run an empty backfield a couple times each half.

[u][i][i][b]Ive wanted to see this a couple times as well, however the sad nature of our pass protection at times, and lets be honest Joe doesnt go through progressions like Rodgers or Manning and that could be a problem.[/b][/i][/i][/u]


7. Most important of all: give Flacco his balls back.
[u][b]
Agree with this, Cams line of audibles being over rated was pretty bad, now is audibling to the extent Manning does excessive yes, but Joe needs to be given some slack if theres 9 people at the LOS.
[/b][/u]



[/quote]
This is me playing devils advocate FYI

[Ed_Reed20]

[quote name='Bltravens' timestamp='1291237027' post='556443']
Our LBs are too slow now to play 4-3. Our front 4 would be dangerous, but JJ was never a 4-3 LB and Ray(as much as I love and is my favorite player of all time) cant go sideline to sideline laterally like he could, he can still attack downhill in any scheme, but his lateral mobility isnt what it used to be. Gooden would flourish I believe as a 4-3 will with the protection it would give him, but its not worth hurting 2 guys to make 1 play well. Especially when the one you would be hurting is Ray Lewis, who has made more plays in 1 game than Gooden has in 2.5 years.
[/quote]

Good point and well said.

[RL52TheGreatest]

[quote name='flynismo' timestamp='1291222878' post='556216']
1. Put Rice and McGahee on the field at the same time.

Call me crazy, but I think that having those two in the backfield at the same time would be lethal. Two WR, a TE, and two RB...the defense has no idea if we are running or passing, and even if they knew we were running, they would have no idea who is running it. In passing situations, it would leave one or even two RB protecting the QB while everyone is running their routes.

[b]This would be interesting to see and would also be great against teams that like to blitz a lot like the Steelers. The touchdown that Flacco threw to Housh to win the first game against Pitt was on a play where both Rice and Heap were in the backfield. If they weren't back there to protect Flacco on that play then it probably never has time to develop and gets blown up by a blitzing Polamalu. Substitute McGahee for Heap and it's the same idea basically. To add to this, you could even substitute McClain for Rice or McGahee for a more power-based approach.[/b]



2. More two TE sets

the idea behind this is the same as the two RBs above -- the flexibility of the formation is outstanding. We can pass just as easily as we can run out of this formation.

[b]Pleeeease! Why did the Ravens draft not one, but TWO, TE's if they didn't plan on running a lot of two TE sets? We have the personnel so I don't get why we haven't seen more of this (oh wait, Cam...). You could even run three TE sets if you wanted to as all of our TE's can catch the ball pretty well.[/b]


3. Install our version of a hybrid west coast style offense.

I mean really, this is a no brainer when you look at our personnel. Quick slants over the middle with Boldin and Housh, WR screens, curls, etc ... Our wr were born for this. Of course, there will be plenty of plays in the playbook taking advantage of Joe's ability to throw the deep ball...but the emphasis is to stress a lot more short, quick passes than we currently employ.

[b]That's pretty much what the Falcons did to us with Matt Ryan if I remember correctly. Considering how eerily similar both QB's have been up to this point in their careers, it's another no-brainer. Our WR's, while very good, are more possession-type WR's than deep threats. Why not run a bunch of quick passes and then when the defense tightens up, take some shots deep?[/b]


4. Put Boldin in the slot

dude is a slot machine, this is another no-brainer that the current regime rarely takes advantage of.

[b]I haven't paid much attention to this, but it definitely couldn't hurt. I would also like to see Stallworth and maybe even David Reed get some opportunities there. Stallworth is probably the fastest WR we have on the team and could be a legitimate deep threat if he could get on the field more. Reed has shown explosiveness on special teams so he could also be someone to watch if he got some shots on offense.[/b]


5. Use McGahee almost exclusively to run the ball in the first half.


The idea is to wear down the defense with McGahee's more physical style of running, so that a fresh Rice can come in against a tiring defense in the second half. It is also to preserve both RB's by reducing their workloads over the course of the season.

[b]Not a bad idea, but I would mainly go with whoever seems to be running the ball better at the time. If Willis can't get it done then I would switch to Rice or vice-versa. I would also give McClain at least a few carries every game.[/b]

6. Run an empty backfield a couple times each half.

We have Boldin/Mason/TJ/Stallworth. You cant double them all. Leave Heap on the line for extra protection.

[b]As long as Joe doesn't hold on to the ball too long then I would love to see this.[/b]


7. Most important of all: give Flacco his balls back.


If he doesn't like a play I called, I'll give him the freedom to audible out of it. [u]If we get a lead, I'll trust Flacco to make a few short completions; not just run run run punt.[/u]

[b]This is one of the biggest things that needs to be done. You can't get complacent against good NFL teams and just assume that you'll hold onto a lead. Don't run the ball on every down if it's just gonna lead to a punt! Have some faith in Flacco and let him throw the ball for a couple first downs. If he gets it done then you eat up more clock than if you had just tried to run the ball and ended up punting. Plus, then you can get down into field goal range and THEN you can run, run, run and settle for a field goal if you don't come away with a first down.

Oh, and definitely agree with the audible part. Flacco's decision-making has improved greatly this season and he should be given the opportunity to call audibles if he sees fit. No one's asking him to be Peyton Manning out there, but give him some more freedom.[/b]
[/quote]

I pretty much agree with most of your game plan so I just kinda added my two cents on everything.

Some original ideas that I would add/like to see:

1. Try running some Full House.

I'm not sure if the Ravens have this in their playbook or have run this at any point in the past, but it would be interesting to see. Have Rice or McGahee in the backfield with McClain on one side and Heap on the other as lead blockers. If you hand it off then the RB has a lead blocker on each side and can basically pick which side looks more promising to run to. Alternatively, you could run play-action and then if there's nothing open down-field, dump it off to McClain or Heap out of the backfield for a few yards.

2. Run more "hurry-up" offense, specifically at the start of the game.

For some reason when the Ravens come out in a lot of games, their offense seems likes it's just kind of going through the motions. They've gotten off to way too many slow starts so I would probably have them run no-huddle on their first or second drive of the game to get them into a better rhythm.

3. Call more plays designed to get the ball to Boldin.

I'm not saying that the ball should be forced to Boldin, but he's our best weapon at WR and we need to find more ways to utilize him. Boldin getting double-covered opens it up for our other WR's which is why Mason and Housh have been seeing more targets. Fine, that's great and it works fairly well. However, Boldin should never be forgotten which is what it seems like has happened in recent weeks. Call more WR screens, give him some end-arounds, etc...just get him more involved in the offense.

[SnOoPy]

Rice and McGahee together on the field..sounds goooood! C'mon Cam!!

[1/28/01]

[quote name='flynismo' timestamp='1291222878' post='556216']
4. Put Boldin in the slot

dude is a [b]slot machine[/b], this is another no-brainer that the current regime rarely takes advantage of.
[/quote]
I see what you did there

[flynismo]

[quote name='Milton145' timestamp='1291233930' post='556383']
I've seen Boldin playing a lot out of the slot this year. Especially against the Bucs when we went with 3 WRs.
[/quote]

I wouldn't say "alot", as in a high percentage of his snaps, I mean that we don't do it as much as I personally think we should.

[hammer]

[quote name='flynismo' timestamp='1291222878' post='556216']
Your dreams have come true! Ozzie has been listening intently to your rants here on the forums about Cam Cameron, and decided to hire you to replace him, effective immediately.

So, what do you do differently?


Here is what I would do if I were Cam: jump off a bridge.

And here's what I'd do diifferently if I were OC:



1. Put Rice and McGahee on the field at the same time.

Call me crazy, but I think that having those two in the backfield at the same time would be lethal. Two WR, a TE, and two RB...the defense has no idea if we are running or passing, and even if they knew we were running, they would have no idea who is running it. In passing situations, it would leave one or even two RB protecting the QB while everyone is running their routes.



2. More two TE sets

the idea behind this is the same as the two RBs above -- the flexibility of the formation is outstanding. We can pass just as easily as we can run out of this formation.


3. Install our version of a hybrid west coast style offense.

I mean really, this is a no brainer when you look at our personnel. Quick slants over the middle with Boldin and Housh, WR screens, curls, etc ... Our wr were born for this. Of course, there will be plenty of plays in the playbook taking advantage of Joe's ability to throw the deep ball...but the emphasis is to stress a lot more short, quick passes than we currently employ.


4. Put Boldin in the slot

dude is a slot machine, this is another no-brainer that the current regime rarely takes advantage of.


5. Use McGahee almost exclusively to run the ball in the first half.


The idea is to wear down the defense with McGahee's more physical style of running, so that a fresh Rice can come in against a tiring defense in the second half. It is also to preserve both RB's by reducing their workloads over the course of the season.

6. Run an empty backfield a couple times each half.

We have Boldin/Mason/TJ/Stallworth. You cant double them all. Leave Heap on the line for extra protection.


7. Most important of all: give Flacco his balls back.


If he doesn't like a play I called, I'll give him the freedom to audible out of it. If we get a lead, I'll trust Flacco to make a few short completions; not just run run run punt.



Pretty basic stuff. It's not that difficult Cam, no matter how much you try to make it be so.
[/quote]

I am still waiting for you to reveal what OC in Ravens history has a better record than Cam. I am certain you arent going to respond because you have had that opportunity many times over and passed.

Instead, you appear to be more interested in "fantasy football" while smearing that mans good name. Shame. Lmao.

[flynismo]

[quote name='1/28/01' timestamp='1291242859' post='556563']
I see what you did there
[/quote]

haha, that was clever, right?

[ravensfan2430]

Id let them "play to win" instead of "not to lose"

[flynismo]

[quote name='hammer' timestamp='1291243341' post='556570']
I am still waiting for you to reveal what OC in Ravens history has a better record than Cam. I am certain you arent going to respond because you have had that opportunity many times over and passed.

Instead, you appear to be more interested in "fantasy football" while smearing that mans good name. Shame. Lmao.
[/quote]

What are you talking about? When have you ever asked me that?
If you had asked me that, I would have said Cam SHOULD have the best record in Ravens history, considering no other OC in Ravens history has had this much talent to work with. Crap, Flacco as a rookie was better than any other QB we ever had, save for McNair for a season and Vinny's big season way back when. Hate to break it to you, but Cam is an underachiever. The numbers prove it.


PS - Cam has done a fine job of smearing his own good name, he needs no help from me.