Seven things we learned (offense and defense)

[SecretAgentMan]

A lot of things were learned today.... So let's start off with things that are really obvious

 

1. Joe Flacco = This generation's Troy Aikman.

 

He's average in the regular season, and will put up some of the worst games at the worst moments. But he will win enough games to get us to the playoffs.

 

 

In the big game, he'll step up. But he will play down to his opponents

 

 

2. The running game absolutely sucks

 I mean, what the hell right.

      All Pro RB in Rice

      Tons of Promise with Pierce

      Best FB in the NFL with leach.

 

How are we faltering?

 

3. Yep, it's the ZBS

Whatever scheme we are running is absolutely horrible.  We were OK last year, we could at least establish a running game of sorts.

 

Now, we can't. The oline is putrid.  Even Yanda had a bad game. 

 

We need to switch. Really need to switch.

 

4. We can't call plays on the road.

 

Run Run Pass Punt.

 

We're too predictable on the road.  The porous Bills saw this coming.

 

5. Torrey Smith is the real deal

Torrey Smith, while playing a weak defense, was double covered all day. Even if the CBs both suck, double coverage is tough to beat.

 

We got ourselves a #1. He's on pace to break 1000 yards easy.

 

6. Marlon Brown is a capable possession WR

Rookie, 6'5. Not a #2 WR, but a possession WR. Flacco needs to throw it to him more. He's an absolute monster in the red zone.

 

7.Gradkowski might be a bust

I'm doubting Gino now.

 

Defensive

 

1. Suggs is back

Forget the BS penalty at the end of the game. Suggs is back. And he's really good. Might win DPOY. Sack every game.

 

2. We are missing Brown

Bynes sucks.

I said it, good MLB #3. But he sucks. Not a starter

We need Brown back BADLY. He adds a lot to the table as a run defender, and in coverage.

 

Run defense sucked today, and missing Brown hurt

 

3. Webb is injury prone.

His injury isn't too serious, but he's prone to injury.

 

Our injury prone

 

4. Jimmy Smith is not the problem.

Smith played well. Had to go one on one vs Johnson all game, and he was a non factor.

 

He rebounded. Not the problem

 

5. Corey Graham on the other hand

Is the liability in the secondary. He got TORCHED by Woods. TORCHED.

 

I wonder if we start Asa when he comes back. Graham is getting burnt almost as bad as Williams.

 

6. We are FINE at the Safety Position

Elam played very well for a rookie, and looks good in run support

 

Diggs looks good in run support too.

 

7. Art Jones and Smith need to be resigned ASAP.

Those two are just play makers. Jones is coming into his own and Smith is a beast.

 

 

 

 

Oh, and most importantly,

ALL IS NOT LOST.

 

Buffalo has talent, lots of it. They're just young. We should have slaughtered them, but we played down to them.

 

 

 

[GrimCoconut]

I think Jimmy Smith had a better game than Lardarius Webb. Yep. Sticking to that, too. The guy played very well. He has a few bad plays but I liked him for the most part. Center is a problem. I know it's not popular but I think we missed Cody this game. I hope we re-sign him on a cheap deal. Dickson looks terribad. I'm so sick of him. Bynes is not looking good. Our OL is struggling bad and now both RB look awful.

[Hey Diddle]

Good points,

 

Art Jones is the future of our D-line, need to resign him now.

 

No way Torrey Smith leaves the Ravens.

 

Our play calling needs to change early in the game.  Joe said, in post game press conference that maybe we need to throw on 1st more to open up the run.  I think this might really catch defenses off guard. 

 

Still can't beleive we lost, it just seemed like the classic Flacco comeback.

 

And we have no capable TE's! 

[pitchblack_20]

I'm telling you now I think Asa will be a starter by time the playoffs come.

[Hey Diddle]

So so so sick of Ed Dickson, I have given him every chance but its clear, he has no confidence in himself, Flacco has no confidence in him, an its really throwing the offense off, how important Pitta was to Joe, is now is so clear.

[TonyTone1192]

Our biggest problem IMO is our offensive line.
Our run game sucks because our run blocking sucks. Our offensive line, as I mentioned earlier this year, is middle of the pack and Joe is a product of his o-line. If those guys can't protect Joe and give him time to go through his reads and progressions (especially with no Boldin or Pitta to throw a jump ball to) he's going to struggle.
Do we have other issues? Yes!!
But if our offensive line can get it's act together I think that will make our offense as a whole much more productive.

[PlayLikeAFan]

Even with how bad our running game was in the first half theres absolutely no reason to only do 2 running plays in the entire second half when you have Rice and Pierce as your backs. It was clear that Flacco was having a bad day which is even more reason we should have at least kept the play calling mixed up because throwing it the entire second half we still ended up losing anyways. Horrible game on what should have been one of the easy wins for us this season, hopefully this sparks something and we dominate Miami next week.

[DomMcRaven]

My 7 questions:

 

Will there be any creativity for our offensive schemes?

 

Will Ozzie force the coaching staff to make some urgent changes?

 

How long will it be until Dickson is benched?

 

Will Juice, Furstenberg and/or Mellette play at all this season?

 

How will we look after our bye week?

 

Will our offseason be mainly focused on the offensive side of the ball?

 

Can Castillo wake up and look himself in the mirror so he can change his schemes?

 

 

 

 

[baltimoreravensfan4life]

 

Our biggest problem IMO is our offensive line.
Our run game sucks because our run blocking sucks. Our offensive line, as I mentioned earlier this year, is middle of the pack and Joe is a product of his o-line. If those guys can't protect Joe and give him time to go through his reads and progressions (especially with no Boldin or Pitta to throw a jump ball to) he's going to struggle.
Do we have other issues? Yes!!
But if our offensive line can get it's act together I think that will make our offense as a whole much more productive.

/I feel like every QB is at the mercy of their offensive line, for the most part. /

[runamuk]

I'm not sold on gino being a bust during that Texans game he won man on man against watt, that's not easy . On most other things agree 100 %. Joe will get it done it just makes me crazy when the entire team comes out and plays like the three stooges on both sides of the ball . way more talented then that and no excuse for it . Now fire Castillo and fix the run game ,,,, usually most people know you don't give friends a job and you never break something that was working well . very simple

[jdynamite]

Point 8: Ed Dickson has become a liability , he basically is playing TE the same way David Wilson is playing RB with no confidence in fear of making mistakes so he makes mistakes!!

I hope A Brown is ready to play next week and he can remain healthy enough to start over Bynes. Bynes has actually looked worse each game. I'm not sure if McClellan or Simon wouldn't be better than Bynes.

I hope Thompson is okay as well because he finished second in yards today with limited action showing his potential.

[Jillester]

I'm not sold on gino being a bust during that Texans game he won man on man against watt, that's not easy . On most other things agree 100 %. Joe will get it done it just makes me crazy when the entire team comes out and plays like the three stooges on both sides of the ball . way more talented then that and no excuse for it . Now fire Castillo and fix the run game ,,,, usually most people know you don't give friends a job and you never break something that was working well . 

Yanda was a big time player against Watt which gave Gino relief.  Gino requires assistance....which sucks.

Harbs and his cronyism (i.e. Cameron and now Castillo) hurts more than it helps!

[jdynamite]

A lot of people are missing an even bigger issue than the 2 second half runs. The fact that we didn't even get the RBs in a dump off pass, a screen anything to help get easy yardage and confidence builders.

Ray rice has always been a top receiving threat as a RB yet his only target was a ridiculous pass in the back of the end zone. When he should have been running the quick out to flats like welker favorite route.

[jdynamite]

I did like some of the inside Routes Tandon doss ran, some of the plays I thought he would have made the previous seasons.

Torrey smith needs to have more crossing patterns early in the games to set the tempo. He doesn't usually get a cross route until after either 4 failed drives or second quarter, I'm so tired of seeing Deep pass fail, deep pass fail, comeback double covered. Then finally a drag or cross that no one can cover and smith gets 20+ yards every week.

If they tried some crossing patterns earlier in the game that could set up double moves or deep route combinations later.

Dickson caught to passes later on in the game, but I've just totally lost hope in him.

[Guest RBates]

What I learned from this game is that Flacco needs Anquan.  Thanks coach.  He is not worth 120 million dollars without his help. 

[K-Dog]

I had a vision of Princess Leia, kneeling in front of R2D2
saying
"Help us Ray Lewis, you are our only hope."

Not really, but you know....

[SecretAgentMan]

I had a vision of Princess Leia, kneeling in front of R2D2
saying
"Help us Matt Birk, you are our only hope."

Not really, but you know....

Fixed. My vision

[Jillester]

I had a vision of Princess Leia, kneeling in front of R2D2
saying
"Help us Ray Lewis, you are our only hope."

Not really, but you know....

That wasn't Princess Leia....that was ME!  And I meant it!!!

[blitzking33]

Might be crazy but I would like to see some more screens and dump offs to Rice and Pierce.. I mean why not.. The O-Line if pure garbage and the RBs can't get anywhere

[TonyTone1192]

I agree and if Joe had Boldin, Pitta or a jump ball receiver(I believe he does in Brown but the chemistry isn't there yet) then the fact that he doesn't have time to go through his reads and whether we wjn or lose is on his shoulders is a lot to ask of anyone.





/I feel like every QB is at the mercy of their offensive line, for the most part. /

[izvoodoo]

It's not the scheme.  The scheme really isn't much different, we ran a lot of zone last year.  Yanda is coming off of surgery.  KO is playing really poorly and Gino is overmatched.  Not saying he can't turn the corner, but he's over matched.

[flynismo]

What I learned from this game is that Flacco needs Anquan.  Thanks coach.  He is not worth 120 million dollars without his help. 

 

Do you think any of the below is relevant?

Ed Dickson: 6 (SIX) drops by himself -- and that is only what he has been credited with; in reality, it is eigth by my count -- has more drops than most other TEAMS combined. Not to mention the three dropped TD passes from Clark. Our team as a whole ranks in the top three in drops.

An undrafted rookie starting across from Torrey.

A running game that averages 2.something yards per carry.

One of the worst OL in the league.

 

Now, before we are labeled as excuse-making homers, let's hear what a nuetral third party has to say about our offense:

 

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000252511/article/joe-flacco-tosses-five-interceptions-in-loss-to-buffalo-bills

 

 

Cliff notes:

 

" Although Flacco's lack of weapons beyond wide receiver Torrey Smith has been the Ravens' bugaboo over the first month, the offensive line's ineptitude shouldn't go unnoticed. The tackles have struggled to open running lanes while the interior has been a sieve against the pass rush. "

 

" Flacco can't throw to Ed Dickson because the tight end already has six drops this season. Flacco couldn't throw to Brandon Stokley because the slot receiver was inactive. As a result, Tandon Doss and Dallas Clark combined for 18 targets. Clark was on his couch when the preseason started. Doss couldn't last through final cuts. The Ravens desperately need Marlon Brown and Deonte Thompson to gain Flacco's full trust. "

[SecretAgentMan]

Do you think any of the below is relevant?
Ed Dickson: 6 (SIX) drops by himself -- and that is only what he has been credited with; in reality, it is eigth by my count -- has more drops than most other TEAMS combined. Not to mention the three dropped TD passes from Clark. Our team as a whole ranks in the top three in drops.
An undrafted rookie starting across from Torrey.
A running game that averages 2.something yards per carry.
One of the worst OL in the league.

Now, before we are labeled as excuse-making homers, let's hear what a nuetral third party has to say about our offense:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000252511/article/joe-flacco-tosses-five-interceptions-in-loss-to-buffalo-bills


Cliff notes:

" Although Flacco's lack of weapons beyond wide receiver Torrey Smith has been the Ravens' bugaboo over the first month, the offensive line's ineptitude shouldn't go unnoticed. The tackles have struggled to open running lanes while the interior has been a sieve against the pass rush. "

" Flacco can't throw to Ed Dickson because the tight end already has six drops this season. Flacco couldn't throw to Brandon Stokley because the slot receiver was inactive. As a result, Tandon Doss and Dallas Clark combined for 18 targets. Clark was on his couch when the preseason started. Doss couldn't last through final cuts. The Ravens desperately need Marlon Brown and Deonte Thompson to gain Flacco's full trust. "

*makes balatant excuse that Flacco took all the money*

[izvoodoo]

 

 

/I feel like every QB is at the mercy of their offensive line, for the most part. /

 

Offensive line play is still the most important part of the game. QB is the most important player.  But OLine most important players.

[Cville-Raven]

Torrey Smith is the offense

[Poes Crows]

What I learned from this game is that Flacco needs Anquan.  Thanks coach.  He is not worth 120 million dollars without his help. 

The absence of Quan is not the Coach's fault....

 

You know who to blame.

[MKdave]

I think Ed Dickson might be the worst player in the NFL. Not only did he scoop up a relatively easy catch for a pick (for his 40th drop of the season...), Joe obviously has no confidence in him; on the Alonso's first pick, Dickson was part of that crossing route and he was basically open but Joe instead opted to force it to the other part of the cross and that went pretty horribly as we all know. 

Don't really get the Bynes hate. He's not amazing, but I don't see what anyone's seen in Arthur Brown to proclaim him the answer at ILB. Bynes is pretty shoddy in coverage so a good chunk of the time we send him on blitzes and he times those blitzes excellently, for the most part. Reminds me a lot of Ellerbe in that regard. 

Corey Graham didn't play really well again but I can't help but get the feeling he anticipated help over the top on the long TD to Woods, just looking at how he played it. 

O-Line is unbelievably bad in the run game. I don't even know how they're playing this badly. We ran, what, twice in the second half? I think that was two too many given the way we have been run blocking. May as well go 5 wide every play. We're wasting a really good backfield here. 

 

I don't know if their punter was drunk or intentionally kicking it away from Doss. Really don't know why a team would do that, considering it gave us excellent field position throughout the game; outside of one excellent return last week Doss hasn't done anything as a punt returner. 

[mgridda]

We lost the game by not going for it on 4th down when we were down 17-23 in the 4th quarter on their goalline.

[Bullrush]

Can we stop with this Boldin crap already? You'd think he caught 4 billion passes last year the way some of you portray him. Yes he was a good and reliable receiver but that's about it, he's not the answer to fix every issue on offense. Flacco makes a bad throw and suddenly there's somebody babbling about how he's missing Boldin. No, it was a bad throw or a bad decision, has nothing to do with Boldin. Brown is a capable receiver, I think he made more plays yesterday than Boldin would have / could have, especially that touchdown grab. O-Line doesn't block, suddenly it's we're missing Boldin. Calm down with the Boldin stuff please.

 

Anyway, I didn't learn too much after this game. All it did was confirm what I thought and saw the last few weeks. The playcalling on offense is horrendous. Our O-Line is absolutely pathetic, they can't run block or pass block. Oher got beat like a drum yesterday. Gino is awful, Kelechi might be even more awful. Dickson is terrible, can't say that enough times but by now I think everyone agrees. While the O-Line didn't give Flacco much of a chance to make plays, he needs to look at himself and work on his game, he's making way too many mistakes and bad decisions. He's forcing a lot of throws, sometimes it's better to take a sack if there's nothing there. Don't force it all the time. I never thought he's a 100+ mil. type QB that would play up to what he'd earn with a huge contract like that. Said from the get go last season that he was above average with a terrific postseason but that the "real Flacco" is an above average / good QB. But nowhere near Peyton, Brady or Rodgers. He needs to realize by asking for such much money he will be compared to those QB's and he has to accept the fact that people will bash him if he doesn't perform like an elite QB. And quite frankly that's perfectly fair. If you want to be known as the highest paid guy, then be the best. If you throw 5 picks take the criticism and work on your game.

 

On defense I'm really happy with how Suggs is performing, the guy is playing like an All Pro week in week out now matter how the rest is performing he's always out there playing his best ball. 17 tackles and a sack, are you kidding me. Dumervil was a non factor, he needs to step up bigtime with Suggs on the other side he needs to make a couple bigplays each game at the very least. I think he had like 2 tackles, that's it. Added zero QB pressures. Art Jones is a beast, he'll be our best lineman within the next few months. Jimmy Smith will be our #1 corner soon and become a great cover corner in this league. Other than that there's not much for me to say really. Except for please cut Bynes already.

[HoldingCall]

What I learned from this game is that Flacco needs Anquan.  Thanks coach.  He is not worth 120 million dollars without his help.

You told the truth and got those negs, but a QB cannot do it alone. And if the offense doesn't improve immediately they are going to see more injuries on defense because the defense spends too much time on the field. Other than the wrs and Joe, who on offense broke a sweat? That offense received an easy paycheck for their game work this week.