Why Do We Struggle Against Teams We Should Beat?

[Rav'n Maniac]

As with every new season's schedule, there are always 4 - 5 teams we should beat. Yet we rarely seem to be able to decisively beat anyone! Why do we struggle to put these teams away early in games and post high scores?

Is it because our players have a tough time getting up for these games and lose focus?

Could it be because our coaches struggle to gameplan properly against these teams?

Are our schemes so vanilla that these teams are easily able to gameplan against us?

What can the team do to fix it? I welcome your input.

[izvoodoo]

[quote name='Rav'n Maniac' timestamp='1341051035' post='1094475']
As with every new season's schedule, there are always 4 - 5 teams we should beat. Yet we rarely seem to be able to steamroll anyone! Why do we struggle to put these teams away early in games and post high scores?

Is it because our players have a tough time getting up for these games and lose focus?

Could it be because our coaches struggle to gameplan properly against these teams?

Are our schemes so vanilla that these teams are easily able to gameplan against us?

What can the team do to fix it? I welcome your input.
[/quote]

No, it's the NFL. There's rarely steam rollings.

[Ed_Reed20]

The NFL is a grind. There's no shame in scraping together wins. With that said, last season was the first in the Harbaugh/Flacco era I'd say the team failed to beat some clearly inferior teams. And we can attribute that to an offense with a number of new starters, match-ups problems (usually in the trenches), vanilla schemes, and simply ill-timed mistakes.

[The Raven]

Actually, this past season is the only time we've had issues with it under Harbaugh. I'd say we just didn't get up for those games, or we were beat up from the week before.

[Gordo52]

We lost vs the JAGS!...the JAGS!!
[img]http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d92/strings74/fuknogf9.gif[/img]
I'm still embarrassed. Why'd you remind me? lol.

[JO_75]

Luckily this year, our schedule looks like it has more good teams on it than it does bad teams. I mean I guess Oakland can be counted for as a bad team after the house cleaning they went through but that really is about it. So if we lose this year it will be because we lost to good teams not lost to bad teams, unless of course one of the teams we play just end up sucking really bad unexpectedly.

[Tiz]

[quote name='The Raven' timestamp='1341064756' post='1094487']
Actually, this past season is the only time we've had issues with it under Harbaugh. I'd say we just didn't get up for those games, or we were beat up from the week before.
[/quote]

It's always been a concern following steelers week to the pointbsuggs has commented on it saying if they beat Pitt then lose the following week it downgrades the win...

[Purple Nurple]

[quote name='Ravens<3' timestamp='1341078486' post='1094504']
We lost vs the JAGS!...the JAGS!!
[img]http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d92/strings74/fuknogf9.gif[/img]
I'm still embarrassed. Why'd you remind me? lol.
[/quote]

In prime time no less. God, how I hung my head in shame at work. What a *bleeping* nightmare.

[wayne]

[quote name='Rav'n Maniac' timestamp='1341051035' post='1094475']
As with every new season's schedule, there are always 4 - 5 teams we should beat. Yet we rarely seem to be able to steamroll anyone! Why do we struggle to put these teams away early in games and post high scores?

Is it because our players have a tough time getting up for these games and lose focus?

Could it be because our coaches struggle to gameplan properly against these teams?

Are our schemes so vanilla that these teams are easily able to gameplan against us?

What can the team do to fix it? I welcome your input.
[/quote]

Like someone else stated, this past season is the only time we really had this problem. If you look at the past 4 seasons with the exception of last season, we normally beat the teams we were suppose to beat ( really no such thing as a team you suppose to beat, its Any Given Sunday ). I think before last season, they brought up the Ravens record under Harbaugh playing teams under .500 and we were like 20-1 or something like that .

[gabefergy]

Last season all of the losses were on the road. Two of them were west coast trips. It doesnt excuse those losses, but those are significant factors.

[Militant X 1]

[quote name='Purple Nurple' timestamp='1341083428' post='1094520']
[u][b]In prime time no less.[/b][/u] God, how I hung my head in shame at work. [u][b]What a *bleeping* nightmare[/b][/u].
[/quote]

[color=#4b0082][font=trebuchet ms, helvetica, sans-serif][b]i felt the same way about our loss to the Chargers man![/b][/font][/color]

[mhead66]

[quote name='wayne' timestamp='1341086644' post='1094528']
Like someone else stated, this past season is the only time we really had this problem. If you look at the past 4 seasons with the exception of last season, we normally beat the teams we were suppose to beat ( really no such thing as a team you suppose to beat, its Any Given Sunday ). I think before last season, they brought up the Ravens record under Harbaugh playing teams under .500 and we were like 20-1 or something like that .
[/quote]
You're right, Wayne.

The Ravens are 44-20 (regular season) under Harbaugh. Before 2011, in the 16 losses, only 1 team had a losing record - Cincinnati (4-12) in 2010. Also, 16 of the 20 losses have been on the road.

Last year, all four losses were road games. The San Diego game was just a pasting, just one of those games - travelling to the West Coast, Rivers was hot, we were flat. The other three games... a bit embarrassing. Losing to Tennesee, Jacksonville and Seattle... only one (Tenn, at 9-7) with a winning record.

[raybaby]

[quote name='Purple Nurple' timestamp='1341083428' post='1094520']
In prime time no less. God, how I hung my head in shame at work. What a *bleeping* nightmare.
[/quote]

That game was tuurrible *Charles Barkley voice*

[Ravenslifer]

Jacksonville was the only game I really couldn't understand. One thing you do have to look at though is that Jacksonville, San Diego, Seattle, and Tennessee finished 8th, 11th, 13th, and 14th in passing yards per game allowed and all but San Diego finished 18th or better in opposing qb rating - to state the obvious, they had very good to great passing defenses - I think Seattle sent three guys in their secondary to the Pro Bowl. Now the reason they lost so much was 1) all but Jacksonville had bad run defenses, and 2) only San Diego had an elite quarterback and managed to score more than 20 PPG. Clearly, what MOST teams did and what we should have done was run the ball down their throats. Instead, Rice had 36 carries COMBINED in all 4 games. When whoever was in charge of the offense last year got down, clearly they abandoned the run in favor of the pass, and as a result played right into the strengths of those defenses.

[Rav'n Maniac]

[quote name='izvoodoo' timestamp='1341060736' post='1094483']
No, it's the NFL. [b]There's rarely steam rollings.[/b]
[/quote]

Ha Ha. Point taken, poor choice of words on my part, so I changed it.

[Rav'n Maniac]

[quote name='Ed_Reed20' timestamp='1341063478' post='1094485']
The NFL is a grind.[b] There's no shame in scraping together wins.[/b] With that said, last season was the first in the Harbaugh/Flacco era I'd say the team failed to beat some clearly inferior teams. And we can attribute that to an offense with a number of new starters, match-ups problems (usually in the trenches), vanilla schemes, and simply ill-timed mistakes.
[/quote]

Agreed. A win is a win, no matter how it's achieved. Just wanted to talk about something other than the same old Flacco stuff.

[Rav'n Maniac]

[quote name='Ravenslifer' timestamp='1341142522' post='1094632']
Jacksonville was the only game I really couldn't understand. One thing you do have to look at though is that Jacksonville, San Diego, Seattle, and Tennessee finished 8th, 11th, 13th, and 14th in passing yards per game allowed and all but San Diego finished 18th or better in opposing qb rating - to state the obvious, they had very good to great passing defenses - I think Seattle sent three guys in their secondary to the Pro Bowl. Now the reason they lost so much was 1) all but Jacksonville had bad run defenses, and 2) only San Diego had an elite quarterback and managed to score more than 20 PPG. [b]Clearly, what MOST teams did and what we should have done was run the ball down their throats.[/b] Instead, Rice had 36 carries COMBINED in all 4 games. When whoever was in charge of the offense last year got down, clearly they abandoned the run in favor of the pass, and as a result played right into the strengths of those defenses.
[/quote]

Good post! I agree with your assessment we needed to run the ball more. If we had, we may have seen more games like the one we had in Dallas a few years back.

[Alexir]

Honestly, because I think for whatever reason, when we play an on par team as us, we feel we have to prove something, like that we are just as good or better than them. Like we feel disrespected. It ticks me off when we play down to the competition.

[JO_75]

[quote name='Alexir' timestamp='1341157413' post='1094672']
Honestly, because I think for whatever reason, when we play an on par team as us, we feel we have to prove something, like that we are just as good or better than them. Like we feel disrespected. It ticks me off when we play down to the competition.
[/quote]

I agree. Like I said earlier, Oakland to me is the only team that we play who could fall into the Jacksonville category in terms of having a bad loss to. Everyone else we play is actually good or improved from last season.

[Thepeas]

[quote name='Alexir' timestamp='1341157413' post='1094672']
Honestly, because I think for whatever reason, when we play an on par team as us, we feel we have to prove something, like that we are just as good or better than them. Like we feel disrespected. It ticks me off when we play down to the competition.
[/quote]
Alexir, I need an elixer, after all it is Sunday (unfortunately not football Sunday).

[Purple Nurple]

[quote name='Militant X 1' timestamp='1341092647' post='1094541']


[color=#4b0082][font=trebuchet ms, helvetica, sans-serif][b]i felt the same way about our loss to the Chargers man![/b][/font][/color]
[/quote]

No way a loss to a good team like the Chargers comes close to the embarrassment of a loss to the Jags in front of the nation.

[Ravens Lover]

the "weaker teams" are most of the time more dangerous than the "good teams" especially late in the season they can throw caution to the wind, and play any way they want to beat you cuz they have nothing to play for at that point

[hawkprey]

Jacksonville's CBs held our receivers on every snap. They hit the WRs before the the ball was touched. And the run game was absent. It was the most frustrating game I can remember.

[Purple Nurple]

[quote name='hawkprey' timestamp='1341169903' post='1094713']
Jacksonville's CBs held our receivers on every snap. They hit the WRs before the the ball was touched. And the run game was absent. It was the most frustrating game I can remember.
[/quote]
Didn't we run Rice like 5 times or something absurd like that?

[hawkprey]

[quote name='Purple Nurple' timestamp='1341174563' post='1094727']
Didn't we run Rice like 5 times or something absurd like that?
[/quote]
I think it was 8, but remember he was benched after he fumbled. Ricky got a bunch of snaps. Overall the run game did nothing for us even when we did try it. And we didn't have many chances to run since we couldn't pick up a first down.

[Blex64]

[quote name='hawkprey' timestamp='1341175834' post='1094732']
I think it was 8, but remember he was benched after he fumbled. Ricky got a bunch of snaps. Overall the run game did nothing for us even when we did try it. And we didn't have many chances to run since we couldn't pick up a first down.
[/quote]

Benching him for fumbling was stupid.

[Greatness]

[quote name='gabefergy' timestamp='1341091556' post='1094538']
Last season all of the losses were on the road. Two of them were west coast trips. It doesnt excuse those losses, but those are significant factors.
[/quote]

Not when you are clearly the better team with Superbowl aspirations. Even if you lose to these teams because of what you said, you don't lose in the fashion we did in those games. Inexcusable for a team of this caliber.

[gabefergy]

[quote name='Greatness' timestamp='1341201643' post='1094809']
Not when you are clearly the better team with Superbowl aspirations. Even if you lose to these teams because of what you said, you don't lose in the fashion we did in those games. Inexcusable for a team of this caliber.
[/quote]
We definitely should have won those games, but being on the road is the biggest factor that contributed to those losses in my estimation. I'm not saying that as an excuse just as a reason. However, the three most important road games were all victories so I think there was a lack of focus as well. That falls onto the coaches and players.

[GrimCoconut]

Last year was strange. I think there are a few reasons why we lost those games and almost lost others. Of course everyone knows any given Sunday, but let's be real here and not cliche.

1. The lockout had a big effect.
2. Loss of veteran presence.
3. Special teams

Let me explain. The lockout hurt players like Dickson, Pitta, Doss, Cody, etc. I believe Ngata was affected by the lockout. Regardless of some success by some players, I did see other players hurt by the lockout.

Next we cut players like Heap, Mason, Gregg, etc. We let some guys walk to other teams. OL was weak due to inconsistency, also related to the lockout from lack of chemistry.

Finally, I think our special teams killed us last year. I think our teams sucked so bad because we cut guys like Marcus Smith among others. While these guys weren't amazing, they were some quality special teams players. I remember BA saying that a lot of the younger guys didn't take special teams seriously. I truly believe 100% that our special teams was the #1 killer for us last year against the "easy" teams.

[Malkavian Raven]

[i][font=trebuchet ms,helvetica,sans-serif]I just hope that what we've been hearing all offseason long is actually true and it isn't more of the same. I understand the Joe Flacco comment, him saying he believes that every QB should feel they are the best, to believe in the abilities. This entire offseason, this is what we've heard...[/font][/i]

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[i][font=trebuchet ms,helvetica,sans-serif]I just hope it's all 100% true, not just fodder for the media & fans. If all of this is true, then it sounds like we are going to be pretty solid all-around this season, barring injuries. Again, I just hope that all of these articles are true and not just fodder.[/font][/i]

[i][font=trebuchet ms,helvetica,sans-serif]~ Malkavian Raven[/font][/i]