[News] Late For Work 12/2: Can Asa Jackson Help Save Secondary?

[cobrajet]

Man I feel bad for Rex Ryan! I think part of him is still a Raven. He wanted to beat the Dolphins knowing that would help the Ravens, just as his team beat the Steelers a few weeks back. I feel for the guy.

I would take him back in a second as our defensive coordinator. Unfortunately, it is not going to happen.

[757RavensFan]

Can we please stop w/ the Ravens should have kept Graham and C. Williams? It happens every free agency.  NO ONE absolutely NO ONE knew that Webb would stil be dealing w/ injuries or that we would lose J. Smith for the season. 

[757RavensFan]

Man I feel bad for Rex Ryan! I think part of him is still a Raven. He wanted to beat the Dolphins knowing that would help the Ravens, just as his team beat the Steelers a few weeks back. I feel for the guy.

 

I seriously doubt Rex was concerned about beating the Jets and Steelers to help the Ravens.  As a head coach you want to win for the benefit of your team not anyone elses.  

[cobrajet]

I think coaching is definitely part of the problem but I believe there is a bigger issue. The Ravens are not as talented as a lot of teams. Part of this is because when you get to the playoffs 5 years in a row, play in 3 AFC championship games, etc.. you are drafting near the bottom, your free agents are coveted by other teams so you either have to spend more or let them go, the teams you were beating up were drafting near the top and keeping their players under contract. Now add to that poor decision by the Ravens on who to cut/trade (Boldin, Pollard), who they drafted (Cody , Kindle , Reid, etc), injuries, and being passive in the draft and cheap in free agency (maybe unavoided due to salary cap) and what you end up with is a team that's better than the bad teams but can beat the good teams.

You make a good point and there is some truth to what you are saying but look at the Patriots. There are some teams that just stay consistently good every season.

[BMORE = BEASTING]

I am a big fan of Marlon Brown and hope he get healthy soon.

[Raven4Life123]

When we did not go for it on 4th down on the last drive when we scored the last field goal, I thought then, the game was over. There was too much time on the clock and the Ravens hadn't been able to stop the Chargers all 2nd half. Kicking a field goal and being up 6 points didn't help us because a touchdown beats us. We needed to try to get that first down and score 7 and put the game away because even if we don't convert the first down, the Chargers would score 7 quickly but we would get the ball back with plenty of time to go down field with 2 time outs and try to score a touchdown for the win. Not Harbough's best game in terms of decision making.

[JacktheRaven]

This was one game the Ravens usually win. Joe plays clean, no turnovers, good ST play, over 100 yds rushing. The reason for the loss? PENALTIES!. The D wasn't great, but they would have gotten off the field, if not for the PENALTIES!

[law215]

You make a good point and there is some truth to what you are saying but look at the Patriots. There are some teams that just stay consistently good every season.

Agree. But the Patriots spend their money better. so they are not year in and year out against the salary cap like Ravens. Patriots acquired Revis and Browner (arguably 2 of the best CBs in the game). They have Tom Brady who makes ANY Wr look good. Tom Brady love or hate him is good enough to beat up the pathetic teams in his division and be in the playoffs regardless 

[respecttheRaven]

What really burns me up is....we finally get our offense on a decent roll, and our secondary falls apart. Go figure!!!  

[rmcjacket23]

Am I the only one who thinks that MOST of the Ravens problems rest on the coaching staff? The last 2 seasons we have heard nothing but excuses for the Ravens poor play and short comings. Meanwhile the offensive line was terrible last season, and the defense has not performed for a whole game in 2 seasons now. Sorry, but I think it's time to start pointing fingers at the head coach and his coaches.

Yes, the offensive line was terrible last season, and literally everybody blamed the coach (Castillo).

 

Yet, the coach stays, his blocking scheme that everybody destroyed stays, the personnel changes, and now they're amongst the best units in football.

 

So, was it really about the coaching?

[budkretz]

With four games left opposing teams have seen what the Ravens do game in and game out. On both the offense and defense the game plan is pretty vanilla. In each of the next four games I'd like to see the Ravens come up with some play variations and different wrinkles each week. It can create confusion for the opposing teams, add a spark for the players during practice and in the game itself and give the fans something to cheer for. Any advantage that gets the Ravens the win the next four games and into the playoffs is what' it's about.

[757RavensFan]

When we did not go for it on 4th down on the last drive when we scored the last field goal, I thought then, the game was over. There was too much time on the clock and the Ravens hadn't been able to stop the Chargers all 2nd half. Kicking a field goal and being up 6 points didn't help us because a touchdown beats us. We needed to try to get that first down and score 7 and put the game away because even if we don't convert the first down, the Chargers would score 7 quickly but we would get the ball back with plenty of time to go down field with 2 time outs and try to score a touchdown for the win. Not Harbough's best game in terms of decision making.

 

I agree w/ this as well. Even if stopped on 4th down and up by 3 we still lose w/ the SD touchdown.  If (very big if) the Ravens make a stop on defense, SD either settles for a FG and OT or we win by 3.   

 #BadHarbaugh

[merryjman]

Our veteran players in the secondary - and there's only two vets, really - are both hurt. Smith got hurt so bad he is out for the season, and Webb is clearly trying his best but not succeeding, after a season-ending ACL last year and a back problem in preseason that I don't think really ever got better.

The rest of them are young, inexperienced, and are making a lot of mistakes, which is not ideal, but it's normal. Even in early draft picks like Elam and Brooks. And some of them are even having to play at positions they're not naturals at - putting Levine, Miles and/or Elam at nickel corner, for example.

All the teams know this about us, and there's not really anything we can do about it. Our pass rush does well, until the opponent figures out that they can stack blockers against us, throw into double coverage, and still complete passes. So the only thing the Ravens can do is try to outscore the opponent and try to keep a stiff run defense. Which I think they've done. But it's just not enough.

[HomeoftheBRAVENS]

How was Flaccos performance last week graded higher than his week 6 performance?That's the reason I take their grades with a grain of salt

[thisme007]

We need to give Rashaan Melvin,some playing time at Cornerback..

[rmcjacket23]

How was Flaccos performance last week graded higher than his week 6 performance?That's the reason I take their grades with a grain of salt

I thought he was better against the Chargers honestly. The TB is a complete outlier, because they literally offered no resistance to anything we were doing.

[OzzieBisciotti]

Yes, the offensive line was terrible last season, and literally everybody blamed the coach (Castillo).

 

Yet, the coach stays, his blocking scheme that everybody destroyed stays, the personnel changes, and now they're amongst the best units in football.

 

So, was it really about the coaching?

I think we really have to credit Kubiak and his schemes and not credit Castillo on this one.  Our defense is weak, and it didn't help that we wasted a number 1 in Elam.  I definitely think it's time for a coaching change with the D-  either Pees or Spags because we are not developing our 5th round cornerbacks, nor can the coaching staff/ Ozzie identify any good undrafted corners as our current season can attest.  We did get lucky with Corey Graham, but he was mainly brought to us a Special Teamer.

[rmcjacket23]

I think we really have to credit Kubiak and his schemes and not credit Castillo on this one.  Our defense is weak, and it didn't help that we wasted a number 1 in Elam.  I definitely think it's time for a coaching change with the D-  either Pees or Spags because we are not developing our 5th round cornerbacks, nor can the coaching staff/ Ozzie identify any good undrafted corners as our current season can attest.  We did get lucky with Corey Graham, but he was mainly brought to us a Special Teamer.

Why do we have to give Kubiak credit for it? His blocking schemes were practically the exact same as Juan's, and Juan is responsible for the performance of the offensive line, as he is the offensive line coach. We can give Kubiak credit for play calling and the overall performance of the offense, which is fine by me.

 

But its incredibly hypocritical to say "well when the offensive line sucks, its the O-line coaches fault", but "when the offensive line is great, its because the OC is great".

 

Bottom line is that the blocking scheme that Juan Castillo implemented, tweaked, and oversees simply works on this team this season. It works, and if we are going to bash him when it doesn't work, its only responsbile for the fans to praise him when it does.

 

I understand this is difficult for fans to do, because it would require them to admit when they are wrong, and most importantly, actually praise assistant coaches, which is extremely rare. We have no problem identifying problems with coaches, but very, very, very rarely do we care one bit about coaches when they are doing a great job.

[Bob21043]

Can't rag on the Jets - we had a 10 pt lead with 6 minutes left in the game and blew it.

[ittwasntme]

Im sorry and this may get negs for saying this.

Hear me out, has anyone ever considered our D/C being part of the issue? yes our guys are young but its not all about there abilities as much as it is the schemes they are put in.
if you you say it doesnt matter the scheme we put them in they will end up being beat, then why do we ease up on the pass rush? the longer the QB has the more he is going to pick us apart on defense.

the last few years we have seen the same crap with our OC's we finally get one with a proper Offensive scheme for Flacco and company and now look, and the numbers compared to previous.
you gotta think that it has to start with the coaching staff first, the last few years with the guys we've had we have been on the outside of the top 10 defenses looking in.

 

this bend don't brake defense Pees has us on is not helping because we don't have the pieces in the back end to not break when they get into the red-zone.

 

Elam isn't playing his natural position in the downhill SS position

Levine is outside is comfort zone playing corner
One week we have Will Hill shadowing a big bodied TE next week he doesn't and gates almost gets 100 yards
Philip Rivers had more time behind center to pick us a part then ever before.

If we are going to go through growing pains why not just say to the hell with it put Brooks in the back end like Ed reed, then put Hill on any TE and put Elam in the box. and say if it breaks it breaks either way we are breaking, and we are breaking bad!!

[ittwasntme]

I think we really have to credit Kubiak and his schemes and not credit Castillo on this one.  Our defense is weak, and it didn't help that we wasted a number 1 in Elam.  I definitely think it's time for a coaching change with the D-  either Pees or Spags because we are not developing our 5th round cornerbacks, nor can the coaching staff/ Ozzie identify any good undrafted corners as our current season can attest.  We did get lucky with Corey Graham, but he was mainly brought to us a Special Teamer.

 

 

Why do we have to give Kubiak credit for it? His blocking schemes were practically the exact same as Juan's, and Juan is responsible for the performance of the offensive line, as he is the offensive line coach. We can give Kubiak credit for play calling and the overall performance of the offense, which is fine by me.

 

But its incredibly hypocritical to say "well when the offensive line sucks, its the O-line coaches fault", but "when the offensive line is great, its because the OC is great".

 

Bottom line is that the blocking scheme that Juan Castillo implemented, tweaked, and oversees simply works on this team this season. It works, and if we are going to bash him when it doesn't work, its only responsbile for the fans to praise him when it does.

 

I understand this is difficult for fans to do, because it would require them to admit when they are wrong, and most importantly, actually praise assistant coaches, which is extremely rare. We have no problem identifying problems with coaches, but very, very, very rarely do we care one bit about coaches when they are doing a great job.

I think it comes down to the fact Juan Castillo prepped our offensive line for a year in the zone blocking before we got the OC that runs a true zone blocking scheme. with out one i dont think we would have the other doing so well so soon. 

 

it did not work last year due to how our OC wished to use the offense in play callings

 

you also have to credit the front offense in in reshaping our offensive line with the personnel we now have in the trenches all the way down to the rookies this year. that shows top to bottom we can get things done when its needed

[balfan23]

Can Asa "save" the secondary? I think "save" is a bit strong here. I think he can "help", as he has to be an upgrade over the parade of players we have been using in that role. But "save" ... I'm not sure if that's what I'd call it.

[balfan23]

Jeez ... enough with the Harbaugh doghouse. Perhaps Taliaferro is not getting playing time because Forsett and Pierce are playing better. How often does a 3rd string RB see the field on any team? Give it a rest.

[Ravens_Flock]

Right. Taliaferro "isn't in the doghouse", and I'm a millionaire. @balfan23 Dude, show me a point in the season when Pierce has "outplayed" anybody on the roster. You say that as if the kid has been nothing. He has a great yds. per carry average, and 4 TDs, in spite of Pierce having more carries. Who should be "third" on the depth chart again? And FYI, he was getting plenty of action, over Pierce, before that fumble. If that isn't Harbaugh's "nonexistant" doghouse, I don't know what is. He has a history of doing this to players who really could have helped us out in the past. It's not unprecedented, and it does happen. If some of us want to point it out, that's our right as fans.

[fight fight fight]

Don't count us out just yet! We must still play Miami and beating the 'phins would be huge because we may flip position with them depending on what others do!

If we lose though,... Rex Ryan won't be the only H.C. with a hang-dog look!

Let's just be clear, Mystigo. Rex is gonna get fired sometime in the next month or two. John Harbaugh will be in Owings Mills next summer, unless he completely loses control of this team and he pees on Steve Bisciotti's car before heading home after the season.

[Drew P]

Right. Taliaferro "isn't in the doghouse", and I'm a millionaire. @balfan23 Dude, show me a point in the season when Pierce has "outplayed" anybody on the roster. You say that as if the kid has been nothing. He has a great yds. per carry average, and 4 TDs, in spite of Pierce having more carries. Who should be "third" on the depth chart again? And FYI, he was getting plenty of action, over Pierce, before that fumble. If that isn't Harbaugh's "nonexistant" doghouse, I don't know what is. He has a history of doing this to players who really could have helped us out in the past. It's not unprecedented, and it does happen. If some of us want to point it out, that's our right as fans.

 

This is where peeps chime in and say "he is getting out practiced by ____" just like Arthur Brown is, remember Pierce was a healthy scratch for one game this year...

[rmcjacket23]

Right. Taliaferro "isn't in the doghouse", and I'm a millionaire. @balfan23 Dude, show me a point in the season when Pierce has "outplayed" anybody on the roster. You say that as if the kid has been nothing. He has a great yds. per carry average, and 4 TDs, in spite of Pierce having more carries. Who should be "third" on the depth chart again? And FYI, he was getting plenty of action, over Pierce, before that fumble. If that isn't Harbaugh's "nonexistant" doghouse, I don't know what is. He has a history of doing this to players who really could have helped us out in the past. It's not unprecedented, and it does happen. If some of us want to point it out, that's our right as fans.

1. He fumbled. If there is any single play in the history of the NFL that is completely warranted to put a player in a "doghouse", its a fumble. Terrance West fumbled for Cleveland just this weekend, and his coach called him out publicly and is considering demoting him to third string duties. Bill Belichick, the unanimous best coach in the NFL, routinely in-game and for multiple game benches RBs who fumble the ball, particularly when he perceives it to be a preventable fumble.

 

Bottom line... not a Harbaugh issue. Its routine in the NFL.

 

2. Taliaferro isn't a very good short yardage back based on actual production, despite the fact that fans insist he is, which is almost exclusively based on size and not actually based on what he does. The guy has had six rushing attempts needing two or less yards for a first down/TD this season, and he's converted a grand total of 1 of them.

 

So, he's not very good at short yardage right now, he recently fumbled at a bad time, and he has a potential all-pro RB ahead of him on the depth chart who appears durable and frankly rarely has a reason to come off the field.

 

So explain to me why LT should be on the field again?

[Grapple Raven]

Just in case any of our Flock members didn't get an opportunity to see the game Sunday and would like to see it, it airs on the NFL Channel today from 3:30 to 5:00PM today!

I know we have a lot of out of state fans that don't often get to see the games.

Don't kill the messenger, lol.

[RavenManiac#7]

You know, I'm not criticizing Harbaugh's decision not to fine Jernigan. I'm not saying he should have or that he shouldn't have. He's the HC, and it's Totally his decision to make. The only thought I have about this speaks, I believe, to a bigger issue. And that is Harbaugh's relationship with his players, and how they view him. There have been times I've found myself wondering just how much respect his players have for him, whether or not they see him as a leader, whether he properly prepares them to begin ball games, those sort of issues. The reason I find myself wondering about this is because too often, it seems, I see the Ravens start games kind of listless and without intensity. And the other thing is the fact that the players seem to get so many PF penalties and lose their self control. I would just like to feel more assured that Harbaugh does, in fact, have the respect and control of the players. I really hope my concerns are totally unjustified, but they seem to be there for some reason. I've never thought a coach should come across to his players as their "best buddy." Of course, I have no idea what goes on in the locker room or the players' heads. I can only go by what I see on the field.

[ittwasntme]

who would be willing to trade rex for pees this offseason? i would more then willing to do it. I feel like pees just cant handle things and plays to safe when to safe isnt helping us in anyway