Baltimore Sun article: To fix Ravens offense, Joe Flacco must fix himself?

[Ravenskid52752]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-ravens-flacco-what-went-wrong-0119-20140118,0,2914385.story

Mostly what i got from this article is that joe needs to fix things that where just off this season. like throwing into double and triple coverage, Forcing things when there was nothing and terrible decisions. also not all the blame should be on him but as the QB he going to get it and in fact that when your are the QB its goes both ways when they lose they get little to no credit on it and when they Win to much credit or you know what i mean. but the people in this article are like flacco going to Be himself next year but he need to put in work this offseason as a leader get his WR's together and throw to them not wait till mini camp to do so. also he need a OC that going to challenge him mentally in the game, see where his head is at and how to improve him not just promote a guy or get anybody but get someone thats going to pick his brain everyday so he can get better at the game mentally.

[PurpleCityLights]

Joe is going to be joe..........

[Bltravens]

He was the same QB this year as he was when he went on a tear during the Super Bowl last year.  Just this year he had no one to throw to outside of Torrey and he had no pass protection.

Two important things for a QB.

[Gordo52]

He was the same QB this year as he was when he went on a tear during the Super Bowl last year. Just this year he had no one to throw to outside of Torrey and he had no pass protection.

Two important things for a QB.

Also no run game to lean on.

[Guest Moderator 6]

Joe is going to be joe..........

This.  Joe will never change.  Joe will always be the way he is now.  Ray Lewis took some heat for it but he was right that Flacco will not get better.  If given the right support cast, Joe will take us to the promise land every year.  If Flacco has a poor line, mediocre running game, and average WRs, he will never be successful like some other QBs that can overcome those factors.

[arnie_uk]

This. Joe will never change. Joe will always be the way he is now. Ray Lewis took some heat for it but he was right that Flacco will not get better. If given the right support cast, Joe will take us to the promise land every year. If Flacco has a poor line, mediocre running game, and average WRs, he will never be successful like some other QBs that can overcome those factors.

all qbs....

[omar586]

no protection, no run game, no OLine, below average WRs, no TEs.

 

 

come' on man

[Ravenslifer]

So pretty much the article says Joe, with a bunch of new inexperienced pieces and a lot of changes to the line and the OC, wasn't really at all comfortable this year.  Fairly obvious - the point was made that he has to work with his receivers a bunch, but i don't see how that would have help at all last offseason - Pitta went out less than a month before the season started, Jacoby went out during the season, and Dickson injured himself and missed the whole month leading up to the season.  Enter Dallas Clark, Brandon Stokeley, and the inexperienced Marlon Brown.  Add to that the shaky o-line that added Monroe and lost KO.

[Jokerraven]

Joe won in spite of the problems from this year . Fix the line and he will get us to the playoffs every year. its hard to make plays from the ground or being chased around . He did make some bad decisions but that can be fixed as well

[MrPlankton]

So much hate in the comments and from the same people as usual.

[hawkprey]

If Joe didn't "force things when there was nothing" he would've taken 10 sacks a game. There was nothing on every play.

[flynismo]

If Flacco has a poor line, mediocre running game, and average WRs, he will never be successful like some other QBs that can overcome those factors.

I'd love to know of any QB that has ever overcome all of that.

[OLD SCHOOL SMASH BALL]

no protection, no run game, no OLine, below average WRs, no TEs.  come' on man

And a vanilla game plan with no adjustments or creatively getting the ball out quicker, or figuring out ways to use the playmakers more effictively

[Ravensfan23]

Every QB has flaws and issues. The better OCs and play caller design offenses and call plays that hide or eliminate those flaws as much as possible. Just look at this Championship weekend. Each guy has a different skill set but more important they have offenses designed to highlight those skills. If you force them into a offense that highlights their flaws then they'll struggle.

This is exactly what has happened to Flacco. As much as people want to say Flacco's strength is throwing down field, it's not, it's just a byproduct of what he does well. But more importantly asking Flacco to hold the ball and wait for long developing routes highlights his flaws more then hide them. Add to that a shaky oline and below average weapons and it's even worse.

Now I'm not saying Joe doesn't have to improve because there is a reason why guys like Peyton Manning still do something thhey call Practice. Every QB needs to improve each offseason and Joe is no different, but the biggest improvement we'll see Joe Flacco is new OC building a system around him that highlights his strenghts and limits his weaknesses.

[wayne]

LOL, another Flacco thread. With positive post comes negative post and I agree, Joe needs to fix himself first. It would be a pity to surround him with elite pieces and he still puts out a mediocre performance or make boneheaded ( Romo comes to mind ) decisions in crucial points in the game. While I won't go overboard to make it seem like Joe has had the worse supporting cast and coaching of all time in  less than a 1 year span, I will say that he does need better pieces in his supporting cast and he needs a run game with a PA scheme to really help him shine.

[FlocksGottaFeed]

You kind of baited us in on that one. Wasn't the article headline?:

To help fix a Ravens offense with flaws, QB Joe Flacco must address his own

 

All that it's really saying is that if we can't improve the oline, play calling and running game he's going to have to evolve into a even more dynamic quarterback for us to win more games. No harm - no foul.

This could be a good discussion if it doesn't turn into another: Joe Flacco is the Man thread. For the love of all things good in the world...please don't let it.

[Purple_ICE 81]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-ravens-flacco-what-went-wrong-0119-20140118,0,2914385.story

Mostly what i got from this article is that joe needs to fix things that where just off this season. like throwing into double and triple coverage, Forcing things when there was nothing and terrible decisions. also not all the blame should be on him but as the QB he going to get it and in fact that when your are the QB its goes both ways when they lose they get little to no credit on it and when they Win to much credit or you know what i mean. but the people in this article are like flacco going to Be himself next year but he need to put in work this offseason as a leader get his WR's together and throw to them not wait till mini camp to do so. also he need a OC that going to challenge him mentally in the game, see where his head is at and how to improve him not just promote a guy or get anybody but get someone thats going to pick his brain everyday so he can get better at the game mentally.

Well thats why a WR who can run clean routes is essential for any QB to have. Joe needs a receiver wo can get open in space by running slants drags back shoulder fades and al of that. We only had one dimensional burner WRs who would do nothing but run the 9 route. Joe will have much more success  and limit turnovers if we can improve on the short to intermediate passing game. A big free agent acquisition would be Julian Edelman...but thats just a start we also need a big WR from the draft.

 

The thing I would love to see Flacco improve on is his pre snap reads, it seems like he never really takes the time to diagnose the defense and look for mismatches moreso just snaps it real quick...if he would try a hard count and look over where the pressure is coming from he could switch the plays and hopefully be more effective. There were only maybe 1 or 2 audibles Flacco would call such as the Alaska call that we have all come to hate haha. And most of all he needs to get his swagger back that he had from the SB run.

[arnie_uk]

LOL, another Flacco thread. With positive post comes negative post and I agree, Joe needs to fix himself first. It would be a pity to surround him with elite pieces and he still puts out a mediocre performance or make boneheaded ( Romo comes to mind ) decisions in crucial points in the game. While I won't go overboard to make it seem like Joe has had the worse supporting cast and coaching of all time in  less than a 1 year span, I will say that he does need better pieces in his supporting cast and he needs a run game with a PA scheme to really help him shine.

hes not a qb that makes bone headed decisions normally. One thing no one, no one, even he's biggest detractors couldn't deny was his clutchness, and it even came through at times this year like minny game. He was obviously trying to much, throwing into coverages he shouldn't have been.

Before this year he was top 5 in history of the nfl td to int ratio, he doesn't aimlessly turn the ball over until this season. I'm not saying he's perfect, he's far from it, but there was clearly mitigating factors that played a huge part in this season for both joe, ray and pierce.

If he gets good blocking he can be as good as any qb in this league. Just like rice can be a great runner

[wayne]

Well thats why a WR who can run clean routes is essential for any QB to have. Joe needs a receiver wo can get open in space by running slants drags back shoulder fades and al of that. We only had one dimensional burner WRs who would do nothing but run the 9 route. Joe will have much more success  and limit turnovers if we can improve on the short to intermediate passing game. A big free agent acquisition would be Julian Edelman...but thats just a start we also need a big WR from the draft.

 

The thing I would love to see Flacco improve on is his pre snap reads, it seems like he never really takes the time to diagnose the defense and look for mismatches moreso just snaps it real quick...if he would try a hard count and look over where the pressure is coming from he could switch the plays and hopefully be more effective. There were only maybe 1 or 2 audibles Flacco would call such as the Alaska call that we have all come to hate haha. And most of all he needs to get his swagger back that he had from the SB run.

Agreed and  it also helps the O-line out with the protection schemes, etc..... To me, what make the elite QB's so great is pre reads when obviously coming out the huddle to the LOS. Throw some hard counts in there with saying something like Alaska to get a feel of what the defense is going to do as far as blitzes, etc...... Pre snap reads to me is winning 70% of the battle.

[shawn ny]

My honest opinion is that Brady and Manning would also have bad seasons if they had the same O-line.  

[jazz1988]

I dont think Flacco has reached his true potentials yet and he does have to improve on somethings(honestly what quarterback doesn't).  I think one major start of the improvement of Flacco is overall giving him  a fresh start in a new offensive scheme because right now i see a quarterback that just has out grown the air corydell philosophy or overall this predictable offense the ravens been running for about 5 years.

 

I do believe that Flacco needs a offensive coordintor thats going to truly take him to the next level and  he definitely going to need a quarterback coach as well whom can work with him  and teach him new things if possible.

[arnie_uk]

Agreed and it also helps the O-line out with the protection schemes, etc..... To me, what make the elite QB's so great is pre reads when obviously coming out the huddle to the LOS. Throw some hard counts in there with saying something like Alaska to get a feel of what the defense is going to do as far as blitzes, etc...... Pre snap reads to me is winning 70% of the battle.

he hard counts a hell of a lot, we got a lot, I think someone said lead leading, neutral zone/offside penalties this year

Edit to say mike oher is lethal and jumping when someone comes into the neutral zone

[JoeyFlex5]

Joe forces throws when he knows he has to. If your offense hasn't helped you the whole game and receivers haven't got open, he knows the only thing he can do is throw it there and hope for the best. Give the man some time and some targets and he will rack up e wins and he's proven it time and time again.

[arnie_uk]

Joe forces throws when he knows he has to. If your offense hasn't helped you the whole game and receivers haven't got open, he knows the only thing he can do is throw it there and hope for the best. Give the man some time and some targets and he will rack up e wins and he's proven it time and time again.

he does do this, and while I can see his thinking, turning the ball over will never help. He needs to learn to take a sack of throw it away and fight another day unless we are in a do or die situation, or we have someone that can contest those balls, like a boldin.....

[Purple_ICE 81]

he hard counts a hell of a lot, we got a lot, I think someone said lead leading, neutral zone/offside penalties this year

Edit to say mike oher is lethal and jumping when someone comes into the neutral zone

Every Qb hard counts quite alot...but what we were disccussing was using the hard count to diagnose the defense and look for mismatches and maybe change up the play rather than just get an offsides alone.

[BmoreBird22]

 

This.  Joe will never change.  Joe will always be the way he is now.  Ray Lewis took some heat for it but he was right that Flacco will not get better.  If given the right support cast, Joe will take us to the promise land every year.  If Flacco has a poor line, mediocre running game, and average WRs, he will never be successful like some other QBs that can overcome those factors.

What quarterback overcomes that and wins a Super Bowl?

[BmoreBird22]

 

Agreed and  it also helps the O-line out with the protection schemes, etc..... To me, what make the elite QB's so great is pre reads when obviously coming out the huddle to the LOS. Throw some hard counts in there with saying something like Alaska to get a feel of what the defense is going to do as far as blitzes, etc...... Pre snap reads to me is winning 70% of the battle.

Agreed.

That's what makes Manning so special: he doesn't have the best mobility or the biggest arm, but he has the biggest brain. He just takes one look and automatically starts making calls to put everyone in the right place. He's a genius at putting people in the right place.

One Patriot's player intercepted him (Ty Law) and after the game, Manning was all over him asking, "What did you see? What did I do that gave it away?" He's a perfectionist and a very hard worker.

[arnie_uk]

Every Qb hard counts quite alot...but what we were disccussing was using the hard count to diagnose the defense and look for mismatches and maybe change up the play rather than just get an offsides alone.

he always changes the play, what do you think Alaska does? It kills play 1 and runs play 2.

One time I distinctly remember him calling a hot route when he read blitz and torrey smith didn't do it, ran upfield, and it almost resulted in an interception. Flacco was livid. Harbaugh then says in the post season review there was ALOT of communication issues on offence, so to me that seems like the just couldn't do anything. Maybe terminology was changed and players didn't understand, or whatever, but it appears they were limited on what they wanted to do.

Changing a play takes more than a qb to notice something. Everyone has to be on the same page and know what's happening. The teams that change plays about are teams with great coaching, all the players know the call, and their new role instantly. That doesn't happen here when I've seen plays changed

[K-Dog]

I'd love to know of any QB that has ever overcome all of that.

Tyrod.
Duh.

[Purple_ICE 81]

he always changes the play, what do you think Alaska does? It kills play 1 and runs play 2.

One time I distinctly remember him calling a hot route when he read blitz and torrey smith didn't do it, ran upfield, and it almost resulted in an interception. Flacco was livid. Harbaugh then says in the post season review there was ALOT of communication issues on offence, so to me that seems like the just couldn't do anything. Maybe terminology was changed and players didn't understand, or whatever, but it appears they were limited on what they wanted to do.

Changing a play takes more than a qb to notice something. Everyone has to be on the same page and know what's happening. The teams that change plays about are teams with great coaching, all the players know the call, and their new role instantly. That doesn't happen here when I've seen plays changed

Thats what I mentioned in my initial response I said that Flacco has a few plays that he calls but thats it...90% of the time its the Alaska call and its nothing fancy it is a run play or just a simple switch from a run to a pass or vise versa. And you never really see Joe diagnose the defense a whole lot. If we could get more complex with it it could be a huge improvement.