[News] John Harbaugh Breaks Down Blocking Issues

[BR News]

John Harbaugh said the Ravens should have helped their tackles earlier, but that they’ve got to be better.

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[PalmBayRaven]

Out coached pure and simple. Tape won't lie. If you knew they needed help why didn't you adjust? I'm sorry still disgusted how poorly the Offensive Line played after being hyped as one of the best in the league. What a way to pop my bubble.

[sjk48]

Immediate solution during an obvious struggling OL from rush edges is get immediate help from TE. Getting better takes time and is a huge question mark. Does Jah Reid ring a bell? Exactly how much time do we give a player to get better before realizing this guy isn't the solution? Has Hurst shown improvement? Time will tell.

[Ravensfolyfe]

Gotta make the right adjustments when your o-line is struggling. We didn't do that,yet i see other teams do it often when there offense sputters. Why can't we ever make adjustments when need,screen pass,quick slant,cross pattern,something different.No creativity by TRES.

[Minionhunter]

Did Harbaugh just call out Trestman for not adapting fast enough? I remember that lay year first game Gary threw every wide receiver in the game to see who could make a play but I don't remember seeing Waller in there yesterday.

[Ravensfolyfe]

Did Harbaugh just call out Trestman for not adapting fast enough? I remember that lay year first game Gary threw every wide receiver in the game to see who could make a play but I don't remember seeing Waller in there yesterday.

I was thinking the same thing too.Where was he,since he could have replaced what's his name...the invisiblle Aiken!

[Crusader]

The Denver look like the games in 2013 when it comes to the offensive line. Scary.

[NeilfromBarbados]

I feel sorry for Monroe. But this guy has never played a whole season. But hopefully he can resolve and be back in a week or two. Denver's pass rush is nasty... poor Cool Joe was under fire all night. It would have all been worthwhile if that last play was a TD. Tough sledding, but that's just Game 1. Fifteen more to go.

[Island.John]

WE DID NOT ATTACK THE MIDDLE OF THE FIELD! All game long they pressured with their LB's we changed nothing until our final drive. We did not even try to add any twists. To start The 2nd half we ran the same exact two plays we started the game with. We throw 35 yards to the sideline to gain 3 yards instead of throwing 3 yd slants to gain 35.

On D, once again our soft zone, (so we never get beat deep, until we do anyway) played 7 yds off their receivers. We never have any batted balls because we are never near the receiver making the catch. We will never improve unless we try to play some man coverage.

The Ravens play like mechanized robots with little to no situational awareness, on both sides of the ball. With #52 and #20 on the field, those years, the entire D knew where to be and swarmed to the ball. They did film study and more film study. These guys appear to be so concerned with technique they have lost their football instincts. This starts and ends with the entire coaching staff. You can't expect these young guys to step up and fill the shoes of legends. The coaches have to set the tone for study and improvement. Who stepped up and took up the slack after they retired? Looks like no one. Hire some film coaches or something, offer more "volunteer" study sessions to the players, since they can't be forced to do more than a limited amount per week.

[Zeus]

So where was the haft time adjustment Harbs?

[PalmBayRaven]

I've been critical of Monroe and neg in the past. This guy is not worth the money we are paying. I'll give you the 5th rounder we gave up for him but he was a high pick for Jacksonville and they traded him to us after they drafted another Left Tackle. At least Hurst has a nasty streak. Monroe has never played up to his draft status and we have enough of those already but at least their cheaper than he is. Time to go

[OLD SCHOOL SMASH BALL]

All I kept hearing the announcers say, "Why arent they double teaming Miller or Ware?" Kinda like ithers do to Suggs or Ngata even when he was here. They said itso much, it was pissing me off.

But that brings us back to the big picture of Why our coaches are sliw to make adjustments?? This has been a problem year after year.. CONTINGENCY PLANS....If they Do This....Then we need to do that. ...This is what Good Coaches Do

[ravens4life86]

AMEN @Old School. That same thing pissed me off during the broadcast. And I take it a step further, its a historical issue with the coaches and people of this organization... The inability to make adjustments but also the concept that you can open up the offense and still be a Smashmouth team. What I mean and most Ravens fans agree, Ravens only use uptempo when they are FORCED to score, not because its best for achieving victory and defeating a opponent. Well, 1950s smashmouth run run run doesnt always work, especially against equally stout defenses comparable to ours that force youto win through the air.

Joe has proven whether playoffs or regular season he can be successful in uptempo offense, like Sunday when early second half he marched down field completing like 5/6 and setting up a FG. Just like he did during the late game deciding drive, the only 2 drives that were uptempo.

Point is uptempo keeps defense on its heals, eliminates pass rush, and builds rhthym.

This organization needs to learn its ok to score 35 a game and still be smashmouth. Like the cheatriots and squeelers

[ravenwildman]

I feel sorry for Monroe. But this guy has never played a whole season. But hopefully he can resolve and be back in a week or two. Denver's pass rush is nasty... poor Cool Joe was under fire all night. It would have all been worthwhile if that last play was a TD. Tough sledding, but that's just Game 1. Fifteen more to go.

I'm with you on this one. Monroe seems to get injured early on in the season every year. As a LT you would think he would be more durable.  If he can't stay healthy, I think OZ needs to plan looking for the next guy via draft or FA, IMHO. GO RAVENS!

[RavensFootballFan]

Would another wide receiver, even better than SSS, would have made a difference against Denver? I highly doubt it. Look at Manning, he was the 26th best QB with a QBR of 59.9 in week 1 after averaging 101.5 last year. Flacco was 2 steps behind at 28 with a QBR of 38.2 in week 1 after averaging 91 last year. Both played well below their normal average. Manning has two world class wide receivers and could not do much, much less even throw one touchdown pass. Let's break it down, the fastest wide receivers can run the first 10 yards from set at about 1.6 - 1.7 seconds ... unimpeded. It is slower when a defender is in their way. Many said Flacco can throw shorter passes with changes, that may be true, to a point, Manning tried that and that did not help much. Short passes are nothing more than a decent run by a running back because most short passes were tackled at spot of catch on both sides. The call for better wide receivers will not change a thing as Ravens proved a great defense will stifle a great QB with great wide receivers.

 

Manning was sacked 4 times and knocked around all day, Flacco was sacked twice and knocked around all day. That will mess up a QB's mind frame which every millisecond counts no matter who your receivers are. Average people like us would be screaming "Blow the whistle" to the refs as soon as Miller and Ware is in our face pretty quickly. All the wide receivers in the world would not change a thing with the way both defenses were playing. Manning threw only 50 yards more than Flacco and they had much better wide receivers overall. It comes down to the trenches, the offensive line is the 2nd most important part of the offense after the QB, an offensive line doing real good makes everyone else shine like stars, if offensive line has a bad day, everyone else will falter with them. Before blaming our wide receivers, start with how the offensive line did in protection/run blocking and whether they were giving their QBs even a couple seconds of comfort.

 

No QB in the NFL would have had a great day with the way the Ravens and Broncos defense was playing. It is a good thing we or any team for that matter won't be playing against top 5 defenses most of the times. We were close to a win on a day our offensive line played at one of their worse because of talents of Broncos defense. Not exactly a time to hit the panic button on our wide receivers considering all ramifications. It's nice to see Ravens fans expecting our offensive line to steam roll every team or every wide receiver having a Jerry Rice type of day every weekend but that is fantasy, not reality. We'll be fine. The Ravens will bounce back in a big way the next two weeks and all will be good again.

Edited September 15, 2015 by RavensFootballFan

[RavensBaltimore]

Would another wide receiver, even better than SSS, would have made a difference against Denver? I highly doubt it. Look at Manning, he was the 26th best QB with a QBR of 59.9 in week 1 after averaging 101.5 last year. Flacco was 2 steps behind at 28 with a QBR of 38.2 in week 1 after averaging 91 last year. Both played well below their normal average. Manning has two world class wide receivers and could not do much, much less even throw one touchdown pass. Let's break it down, the fastest wide receivers can run the first 10 yards from set at about 1.6 - 1.7 seconds ... unimpeded. It is slower when a defender is in their way. Many said Flacco can throw shorter passes with changes, that may be true, to a point, Manning tried that and that did not help much. Short passes are nothing more than a decent run by a running back because most short passes were tackled at spot of catch on both sides. The call for better wide receivers will not change a thing as Ravens proved a great defense will stifle a great QB with great wide receivers.

 

Manning was sacked 4 times and knocked around all day, Flacco was sacked twice and knocked around all day. That will mess up a QB's mind frame which every millisecond counts no matter who your receivers are. Average people like us would be screaming "Blow the whistle" to the refs as soon as Miller and Ware is in our face pretty quickly. All the wide receivers in the world would not change a thing with the way both defenses were playing. Manning threw only 50 yards more than Flacco and they had much better wide receivers overall. It comes down to the trenches, the offensive line is the 2nd most important part of the offense after the QB, an offensive line doing real good makes everyone else shine like stars, if offensive line has a bad day, everyone else will falter with them. Before blaming our wide receivers, start with how the offensive line did in protection/run blocking and whether they were giving their QBs even a couple seconds of comfort.

 

No QB in the NFL would have had a great day with the way the Ravens and Broncos defense was playing. It is a good thing we or any team for that matter won't be playing against top 5 defenses most of the times. We were close to a win on a day our offensive line played at one of their worse because of talents of Broncos defense. Not exactly a time to hit the panic button on our wide receivers considering all ramifications. It's nice to see Ravens fans expecting our offensive line to steam roll every team or every wide receiver having a Jerry Rice type of day every weekend but that is fantasy, not reality. We'll be fine. The Ravens will bounce back in a big way the next two weeks and all will be good again.

Yes, a good WR would have helped tremendously. Because Manning has better receivers, he had an opportunity for 2 TD passes. He just missed them both. Also, if we had someone that could get off press coverage, Flacco could have gotten rid of the ball more quickly and made them pay for blitzing. Besides having no time to throw, Flacco couldn't make any quick throws because our receivers were getting totally shut down. The one time he assumed SSS would win a route and got rid of it before the pressure got there, Smith got owned and the ball went right to the DB. Plus, most #1 receivers don't let the game winner bounce off both hands. And he's our best receiver by far. I think we could have made some adjustments, like going up tempo and spreading them out a little, or maybe helping Hurst with Ware, but having better receivers, or at least one guy who can't be left in single, press coverage, would have been huge.

[RaRaRavens]

Having had time to sit on the result for a couple of days, then all things considered it wasn't a catastrophe of a game, unlike the last time we opened in Denver.

 

Yes, Flacco was mediocre, but the Broncos defense was playing lights out. Yes, Flacco's pick 6 was huge mistake, but in mye eyes he made up for it with the last drive where we should've won if anyone else on this offense other than Flacco would've contributed. Yes, SSS had a fart of a drop, but the defender blocked the view for Smith so 9/10 top receivers would not have made that catch. Yes, O-line struggled, but if we go after Kubiak with his own scheme, that's what's going to happen.

 

However, my biggest disappointment was from the coaching side. Harbaugh's inability to make any kind of adjustments for second half. And most of all, the debut of Trestman. It looked like Cam Cameron 2.0 out there. 1st down-run for minimum gain. 2nd and 3rd down short shotgun passes. I know we didn't have Perimann as the deep threat and Denver defense was supreme, but our play calling was exactly as unimaginative and vanilla as the one Cameron used to run.

 

It brought me back so many terrible memories of the days gone by, where even my half blind grandmother with dementia knew exactly what our next offensive play was going to be. I seriously hope this was nothing but a fluke for Trestman because with this kind of play calling we'll lose to every opponent with above average defense, no matter what players we have available.

 

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE Mark Trestman, don't descend us 5 years back in time! It was heartbreaking to watch so much talent go to waste because O-coordinator didn't have the guts to go after defenses. And I think no Ravens fan wants to go through that kind of disappointment again every Sunday.

Edited September 15, 2015 by RaRaRavens

[RavensFootballFan]

Yes, a good WR would have helped tremendously. Because Manning has better receivers, he had an opportunity for 2 TD passes. He just missed them both. Also, if we had someone that could get off press coverage, Flacco could have gotten rid of the ball more quickly and made them pay for blitzing. Besides having no time to throw, Flacco couldn't make any quick throws because our receivers were getting totally shut down. The one time he assumed SSS would win a route and got rid of it before the pressure got there, Smith got owned and the ball went right to the DB. Plus, most #1 receivers don't let the game winner bounce off both hands. And he's our best receiver by far. I think we could have made some adjustments, like going up tempo and spreading them out a little, or maybe helping Hurst with Ware, but having better receivers, or at least one guy who can't be left in single, press coverage, would have been huge.

 

I understand what you're getting at. Would a better wide receiver help the offense be better, yes, without a doubt, over the whole season but not the Denver game which was my point. Flacco had two decent opportunities for a TD and he also missed on passes that would have kept drives alive. QBs miss passes every game, depends on relevant of misses. It is not simple as to just get rid of the ball quickly, both their cornerbacks are Pro Bowl caliber while we basically had one cornerback who is Pro Bowl caliber. Getting Hurst help would be minus one receiver which is an extra body for pass coverage or blitzes for the defenses. Three things would have won the game, a catch by either SSS or Gilmore near end of game or Flacco not throwing a pick 6, all without even needing a better wide receiver against one of the best defenses in the NFL as well as not paying a lot of money for a wide receiver and dilute another position. Could we have won the game with what we have now? Yes, without a doubt which is why I don't think we need to panic on getting a wide receiver right now, not with Perriman waiting in the wings to play soon. 

[Maryland]

Eh, Ware and Miller are two of the best edge rushers in the league. Couple that with the fact that Monroe went down immediately and I'm surprised we even did as well as we did. We will never face a defense this good the rest of the season.

[RavensBaltimore]

I understand what you're getting at. Would a better wide receiver help the offense be better, yes, without a doubt, over the whole season but not the Denver game which was my point. 

I don't see how you could possibly think that having a WR that could draw double teams and get quick separation against press coverage wouldn't have helped against Denver. Our receivers were absolutely blanketed, and Flacco had nowhere to go with the ball, which made it much easier on their pass rush, and because they didn't have to double cover anyone, they could send extra rushers at the qb.

 

Flacco had two decent opportunities for a TD

I didn't see any. He hit SSS in the hands, but he dropped it, and he threw a 50/50 ball to Gilmore, but he couldn't come up with it. Manning had 2 receivers that were OPEN, so he had better opportunities then Flacco. On Denver's 1st drive, he got some easy 3rd down conversions because our DBs were playing far off, out of respect for their downfield ability. Their DBs didn't give us any cushion all game, because they had no respect for our downfield ability.

 

 

It is not simple as to just get rid of the ball quickly 

Yes it is, if you have receivers that can get open quickly. When you have hardly any time to throw, getting rid of the ball quickly is your only chance, and doing so demoralizes a pass rush and wears them down. When your receivers can't get open, it forces your qb to hold on to the ball or make bad decisions, and the blitzers can tee off on him, as they did in Denver.

 

 

Three things would have won the game, a catch by either SSS or Gilmore near end of game or Flacco not throwing a pick 6, all without even needing a better wide receiver

Any of those 3 things could have happened if we had a better WR. On Flacco's pick 6, he said he saw SSS with one-on-one coverage, and he assumed he would win the route. He didn't. That's why having a true #1 who can consistently beat single coverage would have made such a huge difference, not just on that one play, but in the whole game. With our defense playing so well, a couple mistakes shouldn't have cost us that game anyway.

 

 

I don't think we need to panic on getting a wide receiver right now, not with Perriman waiting in the wings to play soon. 

I 100% agree with this. We're not going to get anyone any better at this point anyway, and I have a lot of confidence that Perriman is going to be better than Torrey, and possibly even our best WR by the end of the year. I was never saying we can't compete with what we have now. I was just saying that having a good WR would have been a huge help against Denver.

[DENNYK]

WR's and TE's must catch the ball. No excuses and they know it. After all, they are professionals and are supposed to be able to play at the NFL level. They all need to step up their games. Be aggressive and fight for the ball. PLAY LIKE A RAVEN is more than a motto. You have to do it.

[The Greek]

neg me all you want but until they prove me wrong this is one sad group of receivers especially marlon and kamar. aiken was useless sunday. i would rather line up max williams out wide

[Run Pass Pass Punt]

I feel you. If the WR can't get open and can't go up and win the 1 on 1 matchups why are they around?

[RavenManiac#7]

I don't understand something. All week long everybody's been talking about Kubiak knowing our offense, since He installed it, and most players and coaches scoffed at that, saying it was being overblown. Well, it wasn't, was it? And, actually, the coaches Knew that it wasn't being overblown or they wouldn't have had plans to help in the blocking like Harbaugh stated. Well, why in the world didn't they try that? He said we really didn't get to do that like we probably should have. Why? That directly goes to the question so many have voiced on here about why our coaches either don't, or are too slow to make in game adjustments. I think our coaches have to get better at this; making in game adjustments. They need to learn that continuing to do something over and over and over again that isn't working isn't usually too smart. It's kind of like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer. It feels So good when you stop.

[Drew P]

All I kept hearing the announcers say, "Why arent they double teaming Miller or Ware?" Kinda like ithers do to Suggs or Ngata even when he was here. They said itso much, it was pissing me off.

But that brings us back to the big picture of Why our coaches are sliw to make adjustments?? This has been a problem year after year.. CONTINGENCY PLANS....If they Do This....Then we need to do that. ...This is what Good Coaches Do

 

No doubt about it. The Falcons went max protect last night and it was unstoppable against a pretty darn good front.. You can see why Cutler got hammered last year TRES thinks he is still playing the Blue Bombers

[PalmBayRaven]

From what I saw last night we should have picked Kyle Shannahan as our OC. They at least had a game plan for Philly and seem to play really well. Pretty disappointed in our debut. Makes you wonder what they were working on all summer?

[fusuymada]

They didn't help on the outside soon enough, they started the game with Juszczyk on some out routes that worked for 5 or 6 yards on first down, then they decided they were going to run it on every first down and that wasn't working. We didn't adjust our blocking scheme soon enough, the play calling didn't take advantage of them constantly blitzing and our offense was straight vanilla.

[ibleedpurpleandblack]

They didn't help on the outside soon enough, they started the game with Juszczyk on some out routes that worked for 5 or 6 yards on first down, then they decided they were going to run it on every first down and that wasn't working. We didn't adjust our blocking scheme soon enough, the play calling didn't take advantage of them constantly blitzing and our offense was straight vanilla.

 

It's the same thing year in and year out; it's the system we have here.  Every game where the offensive line struggles Harbs comes out and says we should have helped them sooner.  Well here we are in his 8th season and he still doesn't make the in game changes when they should be made.  There is no excuse for not making those adjustments sooner, none!! 

[ibleedpurpleandblack]

neg me all you want but until they prove me wrong this is one sad group of receivers especially marlon and kamar. aiken was useless sunday. i would rather line up max williams out wide

 

Yeah, they suck - i mean they didn't catch a single ball that Flacco DIDN'T get a chance to throw because he was being pressured on 64% of his drop backs...how can the receivers be blamed for the QB not being able to throw the ball?  I mean Smith Sr had the ball thrown to him on the goal line, hit his hands and he dropped it.  Where is your anger towards him, because Flacco put it right in his hands and dropped it, that catch would have given us the lead and possibly the win...

[drgeo]

Harbs, your job is to make sure Trestman has done his homework and HAS a plan B, C, and D. After the first quarter, get on your headset and say "Marc, try plan B." Now see how easy that was?