[News] The Breakdown: Eisenberg's Five Thoughts At Bengals

[twentyER]

draft marqise lee. mike evans cant separate, cant run routes. not what we need.

[WordProphet]

Wining a superbowl is a gift for they are so hard to come by, so that does not make anyone elite or good unless you can do it over and over or stay at the top of your game being effective just about every season. If you're one and done that does not make you elite but it does make you a one hit wonder. But going to the playoffs 5 out of 6 years is impressive, but the name of the game is what have you done for me lately for that's just how fans are, for fans pay money to see winners. So don't make it a habit of not going to the playoffs or the fan base may start to slip, fans like to see winners and not losers. But not only fans, if you don't make it to the playoffs to many times in a row after a while the head coach and the coaching staff may change, so don't get comfortable with what you did in the past for like I said its about what have you done for me lately. Now Ravens, this is your first non playoff season in 6 years, don't think you can do this to many time in a row, for people will forget what you did in the past and folks will start to losing their jobs. For everybody loves a winner and nobody remembers who came in second or third place get the picture. Now its enough blame for everyone on the team the OL and the DL the way this season went but next season better be a little different or serious changes may come about, the kind that ends people receiving paychecks, don't ever think that your position is secure because its not, everyone can be replaced for it happens every year. Coaches change teams, players change teams, and it goes on and on. Understand, the Ravens are now being looked at to see if they will go to the playoffs next year. As Always GO RAVENS!!!

[gooftroop]

Oz&Co have lost their touch the last two years, both in the FA market, and in the draft.

[Zeus]

Oz&Co have lost their touch the last two years, both in the FA market, and in the draft.

I have to agree with you

[Grisbane]

Clean house on the coaching staff except Harbaugh. The offense is one of the worst in the league. The defense gave up too many big plays.

 

Deen pees is not to blame for the defensive failings, that comes down to player execution.  the plays were there, many blown coverages weren't down to bad play calling. i would go so far as to say most were down to players failing to complete tackles or get to their assignments.  The defense overall played very well.  Pees deserves to keep his job, maybe some of the positional coaches need replaced, but that's about it on that side of the ball. the defensive core overall is pretty solid.

[EddiOK]

This is a reckoning day for our offense, esp. the O-line and RB's. Harbaugh needs to be ruthlessly honest and push the coaches we have or find better ones. Having the 31st offense on the heels of winning the SB is inexcusable. Joe needs a sit-down and confronted with the brutal facts of his bad decision-making and gunslinger mentality. You cannot repeat this again next year. Our O-line needs to be overhauled with better players. Our RB's need to be evaluated, and possibly a draft pick is in order. We cannot stand pat and be satisfied.

[Darkraven23]

John is right for once however though it all reall connects if you think about it the offensive line if it was strong joe would have more time dbs would lose the wo's and they would gain seperation like big ben does then the run game would be more effective now if the defense played more spread then attack formations maybe u could collapse the pocket eaiser so blame goes all around however its gonna be alot of money ozzie has to make decisions about so talking wr is not an issue at the moment its paying to keep key players

[Bruce_Almty]

I would love to read Torrey's, Rice's, Yanda's and Oher's (to name a few)critique of the OC, OL coach, and the run game coordinator. Did the players buy into the coaches? Were the schemes appropriate? The plays too complicated? What were the problems that were too difficult to correct this year?

[imabmoraven]

1. Stop giving Harbs/flacco a Pass...We don't deserve the Playoffs? Why Not? Super Bowl MVP, Pro Bowl O line Men, Pro Bowl RB, Pro bowl FB (which we never use) Pro bowl D linemen, etc...... 2. NO Pressure on QB, Sizzle/Doom never set the edge, pressured Dalton or Imposed our will 3. Horrible Play calling on O. 4. No TD's after 4 PICKS and 4 Short fields. (again Flacco and Caldwell??) 5. Ray Rice...Benched? 20 Touches? Anyone who knows football can tell there's something going on here with our PRO BOWL RB, other than an injured hip. Ray Rice is an old school Ray Lewis Guy...Enough said. Coaching issues are obvious...I hope Bisciotti fixes the issues that Harbaugh couldn't or we are in for another repeat year with coaches who don't fit our system....

[EdBallhawkReed20]

Let me sum up the Baltimore Ravens season correctly! The ravens lost this season offensively because: Joe Flacco operated out of one formation majority if not all season long. You can not do that and expect to win. The only person I've ever seen do that is Peyton Manninng and that's beause he is Peyton Manning. This hurt Ray Rice because it removed Vonta Leach from the equation on run plays and your offensive line is pass blocking more than run blocking. Joe Flacco got a big contract and I understand John Harbaugh wanting to turn the offense over to him, but that is not why Joe Flacco had success last post season. The Ravens had a balanced attack if not more run than a passing attack. Joe Flacco has talent but if you take into account the aspect that no one believed Joe Flacco could beat them through the air you'll understand why all those deep passes worked. Joe Flacco before all that checked the ball down to Ray Rice and ran that shotgun formation late into the season. That's the equivalent of San Francisco with their Pistol Offense. Nobody has seen you do it all season and you take the league by suprise. Joe Flacco did that with the Ravens considering Torrey SMith starting to emerge as the deepthreat the Ravens needed. Injuries plagued us like any other team, but their is no mystery running out of one formation. The Ravens will never win another Superbowl and Ray Rice will never have another great season ever again as long as we contnue down that path!!!

[An_Unkindness_Flock]

You can't turn this offense over to Joe he is not that kind of leader. Ravens need to spend more on the offensive line and not defense.

[An_Unkindness_Flock]

"Deen pees is not to blame for the defensive failings, that comes down to player execution." He has no say who is on his defense?

[Duke of Leon]

The Spread offense is what ruined everything. What happened to the Classic Power I that gave the Ravens offense the same hard-hitting identity as the defense. The Vonta Leach and the Power I is what gave Ray Rice and Pierce such great numbers last year. Which in turn set up the deep ball to torrey smith off of the Play Action. I hope Harbaugh and Caldwell learned to go back to the philosophy that won a suberbowl and created the long 5 years of excellence. I hope somebody up stairs reads this.

[Ravenseconbeast]

Eisenburg...flacco is still clutch? You lost me there

[EdBallhawkReed20]

That was offense now let's move to defense: Our biggest problem was deep passes as seen in this game we have been giving up this season. There is a reason behind that and that we have two strong safeties. Matt Elam has a blog online about not liking free safety he is awesome as a strong safety and John Harbaugh as he said is everything as advertised (remember John saying that when he drafted him so much). James Ihedigbo is also a great strong safety and I have no beef with that guy playing, but clearly John you have to make a choice they both got torched deep this season especially against the Bengals. Some of you may defend James but he is not a great coverage safety his interceptions were either tip passes or bad throws straight to him. I understand he got the defense going and outside of Darry Smith probably was the most consistent player, but If James Ihedigbo is great in coverage. Larry Brown back in the day from the Dallas Cowboys should play for the Ravens. John it is decision time that's all I got to say about that. How about we cut Omar Brown the same deal we gave Matt Elam. I have said this since season start. Let him play free safety and develop into the next Ed Reed. Let Matt Elam be Matt Elam and make his tackles and stop people behind the line as advertised John Harbaugh. The only reason I can see this not being done is becaue if this happens we will not the money to keep everyone, but Baltimore will have its best season as a defense probably since 2000 (I know this is a bold statement but lok at our D-Line cornerbacks and linebackers and say Omar Brown or an Ed Reed type player is the only thing missing on our team. Someone to make team not go deep on us). Let James backup if we can afford him...

[BKeyser]

Seems to me we were consistently out-coached. Our offense was as vanilla as it gets with the occasional stupid high school-like trick play thrown in. For all my dislike of the Cam Cameron era, this was worse. Much worse. Maybe it had to do with the talent on the field, but I doubt it. Overall poor play calling all year. We need a new O-Coordinator. Our O-line may have limited the offensive playbook, but we had the same two running backs, same fullback, and four of the five Super Bowl starters from last year at the start of the season. Why we altered the blocking scheme I can't say, but why we stayed with it when it put us so far behind the eight-ball? Obstinance. We took a great Pro Bowl guard in Yanda and made him mediocre. That's on the head coach. No coach on the offensive side of the ball should feel safe. Our defensive scheming was equally baffling. One week, great in man-to-man coverage. The next week, we're playing all Cover 2 or some other zone scheme and getting lit up. It would be one thing if we were versatile and it worked, but we lost to every team we played with a winning record. Often by giving up late, "prevent" scores. Not nearly enough aggressiveness and not nearly enough up-the-gut blitzing. Most of our blitzes came from a cornerback lined up on the TE and everyone within eyeshot of the line of scrimmage knew it was coming. Safety play was awful. We need a new D-Coordinator. Essentially, wholesale changes in coaching personnel and either a new scheme or new players on the O-line. Bright spot: Marlon Brown. This kid can be a star.

[BillicksEGO]

There is plenty of areas to look at. Agreed, the run game was a huge problem. But simply put, if Flacco played more consistent, we win several games that were lost. If he were simply more accurate, we win more games. Five picks in Buffalo, three today, and so on. I agree that not everything is Joe's fault, but grading his performance alone, it was way below what we expected, and it surely was a major factor in several losses. Our defense played their hearts out, and we should have led 14-0 with a killer instinct...we settled for FG's like we have so many times, and that is NOT the DC or the defensive players fault.

[Rave-O]

Eisenberg...It's unfair to dump on Flacco? When your qb throws 3 more interceptions than td's in a season its not unfair to dump on him.

[ittwasntme]

1) bringing in castillo was the worse idea our front office had made 2) Toning down the pressure we put on opposing QBs in the latter part of the season including today against Dalton, HORRIBLE DECISION ON PLAY CALLING 3) Giving up on and changing the playbook this year comparing it to last year. ANOTHER horrible call. 4) No defense will continue to show out and bust butt, knowing the offense cant mutter a sustainable drive. 5) hopefully our front office understands the old saying, "If it aint broke don't fix it." (Oline scheme, defense attack sheme, Offensive formation/play calling, ETC) 6) not getting into the playoffs only helps us get a jumpstart on next year. and do a real evaluation of both coaches and players.

[Vitalvicious]

How about our simplistic, horrific offense was the reason we had no shot at being in contention. Go get a freaking offensive coordinator, go get a few decent linemen that can protect your $120 million dollar investment. I had flashbacks of Kyle Boller today, I mean this offense was so horrendous that our defense was pretty much left to try and win games forus, iit's pretty sad when you're praying that your defense somehow gets a pick 6 or strip fumble for a td because your offense can't score to save their lives. When you're on the plus side of the turnover battle, generally you win the game....psssssttttt not today!

[ravens4life86]

Flacco had 4 Comebacks this year in 4Q or overtime.. Adding to his game winning RESUME.. Thats clutch!! Now he did it mostly without Pitta and 5 Weeks without Jacoby, and No Boldin because a mistake by Management and Staff. So half his WEAPONS were gone and all his Protection on the OLINE was gone and he still managed to get us this far.... LOAD THE DAMN OFFENSE UP!!! LIKE DALTON HAS or Arron Rodgers Has and get the MAN SOME PROTECTION and Watch the Ws PILE UP

[docwis28]

Eisenberg...It's unfair to dump on Flacco? When your qb throws 3 more interceptions than td's in a season its not unfair to dump on him.

I agree with you. When you see Flacco with perfect blocking and an open receiver throw picks because he his throwing to late or inaccurate it is definitely fair to dump on Joe Flacco.

[gas]

One hit wonders, like the O's. Sorry. They could have easily lost the SB to SF. Very bad calls [ SF coaching staff ] on SF's go ahead drive try pass interference in the end zone, not called. It is GREAT to be Joe Flaco. $$$$$

[law215]

Thoughts on the season. 1. Caldwell is not an OC. The offense has always struggled. Even in the Superbowl years. Go outside of the organization can get someone with proven credentials. Harbs stop bringing in your buddies. 2. Poor personnel moves. For example. Who scouted Gino as a Center, Who decided to use a 4th round pick on a FB they never used on offense, Who cut Bobby Rainy to make room for Bernard Scott and other 3rd tier RBs this season. 3. Fix offensive. Bye, Gino, Oher, Shipley. Resign Monroe, get a proven Center in Free agency (trade if you have to) 4. Flacco needs weapons. $120M or not. He has proved he can't do it himself or make players better. 21 INTs is inexcusable. Bad oline, poor routes. He could have decided to throw the ball away 5. Leadership. Harbs wanted a locker room full of Yes men. The result a team that did not play with any heart their last game at home, players like Rice looking out of shape. Offense has no leadership and it shows.

[Smothy]

Ever notice how, fairly often, you'll hear announcers talking about a particular type of play that defines an offense. For example, the Bengals drew up a screen repeatedly, and it was unstoppable. And Nantz and Simms would keep saying "the Bengals love to do this".

 

You never, ever hear an announcer say that about the Ravens. Why? Because the Ravens have the most vanilla offense and playbook one can possibly imagine. The coaching staff doesn't understand unique plays, or if it does, it wants to use them exclusively (see: the overuse of the wildcat against the Jets). The Cam Cameron offense was back at work this year; now, a lot of this had to do with the utter evaporation of the run game, but the passing playbook consisted mainly of short out routes and the deep ball. The middle of the field, yet again, was all but abandoned. There are not one but TWO speed-threat WRs on this team who could easily run crossing patterns over the middle of the field and outrun the DB's, but instead the coaching staff apparently wanted to restrict their talents to going deep.

 

Of course, just as much blame for this could be on the O-line. How can you run decent screens when you don't have a semi-competent O-line? You can't. So that's a play that was completely removed from the playbook. You also can't run the ball when you change a successful scheme to an absolutely inexplicable, horrid zone blocking scheme that just does NOT WORK. Did you notice what the successful runs came from today? Running OFF TACKLE. Imagine that. But no, let's just ram Rice up the middle for nothing like we did all year, because that works, right?

 

If the offense wants to be even middle-of-the-pack next year, three things need to happen:

1. Total overhaul of the offensive line.

2. A coaching and coordinating staff that actually knows what it's doing and knows how to utilize the talent on the team.

3. Dependable weapons who can move the chains consistently.

 

Unfortunately, I doubt that all of these can be fixed over the course of one off-season. As for the defense, there's a lot of talent there, but you can't teach coming through in the clutch. They put up good defensive stats, yes, but how often did they completely fail to show up in clutch situations? And not just in the fourth quarter as we all know, but in general when the Ravens SHOULD have been able to gain some momentum but the defense gave it right back. That type of thing can't be solved just by bringing in new defenders.

[docwis28]

You are so far off - I bet you blame Flacco when the D can't pass rush or get off the field also. What do you think Caldwells job is? Why does he only send down 5 basic plays?

How was "clueless" Flacco last season when we had a 28 point lead in the Superbowl and our amazing D gave up that lead?

I disagree with you. To many times this season the blocks were perfect and the receiver was open. The only problem was Flacco couldn't deliver the pass accurately. He has clearly shown an inability to throw on time while the receiver is in stride. He has shown terrible pocket presence and don't have Boldin here to just throw it up there anymore. Flacco lost the game for us today and has been a big cause of the offensive problems. He is inaccurate and has shown NO leadership skills. Where is the heart, and desire, and pure adrenaline to win, cause when you look in Joe's eyes you don't see any of that.

[sami]

Our WRs are fine. Torrey had 1,128 yds and 4 tds and ave. 17.4 yrds per catch. Marlon Brown as a rookie had 524 yds but also had 7 TDs and ave 10.7 yrds per catch. We also other good WRs in Jacoby, Deonte and Doss. The problem is the O-line and the play design and the plays called. Even our RBs would be fine if the O-line opened holes for them. Hopefully the front office plus Harbaugh will see that when they do their yearly evaluation and make some wholesale changes that will rectify the problems and put us on the right track.

[Shaky End of the Quarter]

Is this the last game of preseason? That was 16 games of Vanilla play calling.

[Shaky End of the Quarter]

Sami, I agree with you. At most draft 1 big WR but only after we draft O-linemen in the first couple rounds. We need to beef up the offensive line. Hopefully the guys like Williams, Simon, Kapron-Moore and a few other defensive guys we have been grooming are gonna be ready to tear it up. The offense needs some TLC in the next draft. The D will be OK with the guys we have on board. We could use a free safety though.

[ravens4life86]

Ravens Offensive Ranks 2013...., PPG 26th, Pass 19th, Rushing 32nd, T/Os 21st.. IN OTHER WORDS GET THIS MAN SOME DAMN HELP!!!!!!
Defensive Ranks PPG 9th, Pass 11th, Rush 8th, T/Os 22nd.. Get a Damn Ball Hawking Free Safety Ed Reed2.0, Elam and Ihedigbo are not it