Does Flacco trust his WRs to win 1 on 1 battles?

[757RavensFan]

More often then not, I see Flacco take a sack or throw the ball away before giving his WRs the chance to win a 1 on 1 battle with the defender.  In the NFL we ALL know that it's rare that a WR is wide open. Granted there's the occasions when assignments are missed or a defender just gets burnt, but for the most part, the window for a complete pass is usually small.

 

Football is about being better than the guy you're matched up w/ and winning the 1:1 battles. That being said, I don't see why Flacco doesn't trust his receivers enough to win those battles.  He does it w/ Smith and before that Boldin, but outside of those guys, Flacco will take a sack before giving other WRs the chance to fight for a completion.  

[JoeyFlex5]

when he has one trustworthy receiver, he will only throw to that receiver. 

 

when he doesnt have any trustworthy receivers, he doesnt give a damn and throws it to any of them, covered or not.

 

not sure whether we should have a trustworthy receiver or just continue with scrubs so he doesnt key in on one guy...

[Winchester]

He can not trust them on a consistent basis. That's the problem. Joe has to wonder "IF" they will win!! He does not expect brown or aiken to win. They are not contenders til they get some weapons Joe expects to win!! Simple as that.

[stampedehero]

More often then not, I see Flacco take a sack or throw the ball away before giving his WRs the chance to win a 1 on 1 battle with the defender.  In the NFL we ALL know that it's rare that a WR is wide open. Granted there's the occasions when assignments are missed or a defender just gets burnt, but for the most part, the window for a complete pass is usually small.

 

Football is about being better than the guy you're matched up w/ and winning the 1:1 battles. That being said, I don't see why Flacco doesn't trust his receivers enough to win those battles.  He does it w/ Smith and before that Boldin, but outside of those guys, Flacco will take a sack before giving other WRs the chance to fight for a completion.  

Perhaps he is thinking another interception is on the way and he should play strategy until the 4th Q.  Every game we played has been close and that factor is in his head too.

[salamander]

It is obvious that Joe is confident in SSS and SSS has earned Joe's trust to come up with the ball to target him more. With SSS possibly out, perhaps Joe will be forced to see and target other options sooner and with more success. I think Joe was in such a comfort zone with SSS that he seems to look first to SSS. If SSS is out Sunday, it will be interesting to see if these other options will begin to gel a bit more with Joe. This needs to evolve more now if we have any chance of reaching the post season.

[RaineV1]

For the most part Aiken and Brown haven't shown they can win matchups. At least not often enough for Flacco to trust them on a regular basis.

[frozen joe flacco fan]

In the Pittsburgh game, Joe was sacked 5 times. According to the experts, most of the sacks were coverage sacks. That's why Joe doesn't trust throwing to some of his WRs IMO. He has thrown to SSS and Crockett when they were covered tightly. He has shown over and over again he is not afraid to throw into tight coverage when he has someone who will fight for the ball like Q does and SSS does. With SSS and Campanaro out, he now has no choice but to throw balls to a group of JV WRs who may become varsity receivers by season's end. Right now, they are not getting separation, getting back to the coverage sacks. Look around the league. On almost every other team, you see WRs laying out for passes thrown in their direction. You also see WRs fighting for passes against defenders and becoming defenders when passes are thrown poorly. One of the best things about Joe is that he's not afraid to lose. If you want to win, you can't be afraid you're going to lose in a 1 on 1 battle with your opponent. The same principle applies to WRs and secondary DBs. Its all about beating your opponent to the POA. That's what happened on the last play of the Super Bowl when Malcolm Butler guessed right and reached the POA before the receiver did. For the most part, that's why DBs are able to jump routes --- the offensive "weapon" is not getting enough separation and the DB is not playing tentative because he's afraid to lose that 1 on 1 battle. The most casual observer would notice that Joe is more comfortable throwing to two rookie TEs because they have shown that they will take one for the team whether its hurdling a would-be tackler or inflicting a blow on the defender just like SSS does. Its rocket science ----- NOT!   

[redlobster]

I think he trusted Boldin and Steve smith but I don't believe he trusts any others to win 1 on 1.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

In the Pittsburgh game, Joe was sacked 5 times. According to the experts, most of the sacks were coverage sacks. That's why Joe doesn't trust throwing to some of his WRs IMO. He has thrown to SSS and Crockett when they were covered tightly. He has shown over and over again he is not afraid to throw into tight coverage when he has someone who will fight for the ball like Q does and SSS does. With SSS and Campanaro out, he now has no choice but to throw balls to a group of JV WRs who may become varsity receivers by season's end. Right now, they are not getting separation, getting back to the coverage sacks. Look around the league. On almost every other team, you see WRs laying out for passes thrown in their direction. You also see WRs fighting for passes against defenders and becoming defenders when passes are thrown poorly. One of the best things about Joe is that he's not afraid to lose. If you want to win, you can't be afraid you're going to lose in a 1 on 1 battle with your opponent. The same principle applies to WRs and secondary DBs. Its all about beating your opponent to the POA. That's what happened on the last play of the Super Bowl when Malcolm Butler guessed right and reached the POA before the receiver did. For the most part, that's why DBs are able to jump routes --- the offensive "weapon" is not getting enough separation and the DB is not playing tentative because he's afraid to lose that 1 on 1 battle. The most casual observer would notice that Joe is more comfortable throwing to two rookie TEs because they have shown that they will take one for the team whether its hurdling a would-be tackler or inflicting a blow on the defender just like SSS does. Its rocket science ----- NOT!

Watch the tape. Aiken and Brown have gotten open pretty consistently. Joe's just locked in on SSS to a fault.

It's not a coincedence that when SSS went out Aiken showed up. Just Joe finally was looking his way when he was getting open. Expect that to continue against the Browns.

[52520Andrew]

Do any of us trust any of these guys to win 1 on 1 battles?

[Static]

Would you trust them?

I had a hard time trusting Torrey.

[ratedr]

He doesn't and he shouldn't.

[The Raven]

Clear as day he doesn't. I don't trust them either.

[codizzle]

Would you?

[Purple Punishment]

I had a hard time trusting Torrey.

Joe is that you?

[ALSKAN RAVEN FAN]

More often then not, I see Flacco take a sack or throw the ball away before giving his WRs the chance to win a 1 on 1 battle with the defender.  In the NFL we ALL know that it's rare that a WR is wide open. Granted there's the occasions when assignments are missed or a defender just gets burnt, but for the most part, the window for a complete pass is usually small.

 

Football is about being better than the guy you're matched up w/ and winning the 1:1 battles. That being said, I don't see why Flacco doesn't trust his receivers enough to win those battles.  He does it w/ Smith and before that Boldin, but outside of those guys, Flacco will take a sack before giving other WRs the chance to fight for a completion.  

Because Boldin and SSS and even Mason held/hold onto the football when it hits them in the hands and chest. The WR's that are on this team now with exception of SSS cant get separation and so every throw is going to be in to tight areas. If the ball gets popped up or tipped that almost always leads to int. Flacco then gets the blame for yet another int. Just think about it SSS a 30+ year old WR and him being able to get open and hold onto the ball  he sure has had the balls thrown his way the last 2 years he smoked Revis island last season in the playoffs they were even rolling the coverage towards Revis to give him some help did not stop Flacco from throwing his direction . The younger guys just don't catch the balls or separate themselves from the defender enough. Flacco is not afraid to throw into tight coverage but the WR's have not given him anything to be confident with. Just look at all the times this team has had the WR position open and guys getting their chance to move up on the depth chart all they need to do is to step up and separate themselves from the rest of the WR's and how many of the guys have?  All the WR's this week have another shot to step up lets watch if they do.

[Guest]

What  we have here is a game where Flacco must involuntarily raise his "Trust Quotient". 

 

If Joe can't go through his progressions and find the guy that has run the best route this could be trouble.  If it's "Lock on Joe" we gotz some issues.

 

If its "Whos open Joe" and "Let er Rip" Joe we may have a much better passing game than many here think.

[52520Andrew]

Do any of us trust any of these guys to win 1 on 1 battles?

 

Rhetorical question by the way

[ravensdfan]

Do any of us trust any of these guys to win 1 on 1 battles?

Don't trust a one of them right now.

 

So can't fault Flacco for not trusting them.

[beanfigger]

I actually think many of his mistakes result in him having too much trust in his receivers. He doesn't seem to understand their limitations and expects them to make big plays they may or may not be capable of. That is one of the reasons he has been just lobbing it up and hoping instead of gunning it into a spot where is mail sail right passed them.

[K-Dog]

Watch the tape. 

 

I am not singling you out, please believe me.  You just said it and I felt amused enough to comment.

Lots and lots of people say " watch the tape"  which is funny because I really dont think ANYTHING is to tape any more.  I am pretty sure its all, if not almost all, full digital now a days.

Anyway, back on topic, GO JOE !!!!!!!!!!

[FlackAttack]

simple answer to thread title: no

[frozen joe flacco fan]

Watch the tape. Aiken and Brown have gotten open pretty consistently. Joe's just locked in on SSS to a fault.

It's not a coincedence that when SSS went out Aiken showed up. Just Joe finally was looking his way when he was getting open. Expect that to continue against the Browns.

 

Aiken had a whopping 5 receptions against the Squeelers and now has 11 catches in 4 games. You may call that showing up. I don't but I hope you're right and I'm wrong about Aiken's ability. The TD pass he caught was a perfectly thrown ball that he nearly dropped in the end zone from the tape I watched. Its 1 on 1 battles with guys like Talib, Revis, Grimes and others that give me cause to doubt Aiken and Brown's ability to win those battles like Boldin and Smith do in every game. Its my understanding that Chris Givens has more catches in his NFL career than Aiken, Brown & Waller combined so let's not build them up into bona fide "weapons" just yet. Its premature but I can agree that Sunday will be a good test for them. Joe showed that he could win in a hostile environment despite not having any "weapons" against the Squeelers. That game was gift-wrapped though. We would have lost were it not for some pathetic play calling on the part of the Steelers' coaching staff. I'm glad we won because I would hate to have to admit that the Wizard's prediction of a 5-11 season could come true. Some fns might start believing The Wizard is a prophet. As it is, I think we will be 2-3 by Sunday night but it will be a struggle.

[PurpleCity5]

I def. think Joe should look to Aiken more, I think this game could be a great opportunity for Aiken, love him or hate him he pretty much is the only guy who is healthy who I believe is legit. Marlon not only doesn't win his battle, but at the same time shy's away from contact. Like when he knows a defender is coming he drops it. I don't know why, you're going to get hit anyways.

I do believe that Joe needs to put more trust into Marlon, but Marlon also needs to step his game up honestly.

I am afraid of Joe Haden, call him overrated but Kamar will have a tough time.

Edited October 10, 2015 by PurpleCity5

[Tru11]

marlon has been open on quite alot of plays but the ball never got there.

 

it probably has more to do with him being the 3rd read on plays.

 

i think SSS and the TE are the 1st and 2nd reads on most plays before aiken and browns come in to play.

[Ravensfan23]

I'd say yes because those guys are out there and Joe always has a certain confidence in the guys he's throwing to do their jobs. However it's not a confidence that's as strong as he's had with guys like Boldin, Mase, Heap, Pitta or even Housh. He seems to have as much confidence in these guys as he had with guys like Jacoby, Torrey, Dickson and Brown his rookie year, see them open before he throws it.

Flacco even alluded to it himself when asked about working with the WRs he'll have on Sunday. He said something to the tune of, he's gotta give those guys opportunities to show they can be trusted to make plays.

I think the reason Joe doesn't trust these guys as much is because he hasn't worked with them in game action much. Most of the action Brown and Aiken saw last season was in reserve roles and the major of their pass targets came on designed plays to get them open. Never really a situation where Joe had to trust those guys to be in a spot. Aiken and Joe at least built some chemistry in camp but I think Aiken was only targeted like 4 times by Joe in preseason and Brown missed all of the chemistry building portion of camp.

The only way to build in game trust and chemistry is to have in game opportunities. Brown converting on that 3rd and 21 for Joe helped, the back shoulder grab helped. Those are throw Joe has to trust him with. Aiken coming up huge with the Steelers game on the line obviously helped. Because of pressure Joe's only option was Aiken and Kamar delivered.

So I think he has enough trust in these guys that he won't be gun shy playing with them. He'll give them opportunities, but he won't blindly trust them like he does with Sr. Surprisingly that might allow him to cut down on the turnovers.

Chemistry and trust takes time to build, especially when you're not throwing to studs. This game will go a long way in Flacco developing this young WR corp.

[Ravensfan23]

marlon has been open on quite alot of plays but the ball never got there.

 

it probably has more to do with him being the 3rd read on plays.

 

i think SSS and the TE are the 1st and 2nd reads on most plays before aiken and browns come in to play.

Have to agree 100%. I think Trestman's ability to manufacture a passing game gets overlooked with fans. The WCO is really tied to timing and reads more then any other offense IMO and if your first read is open why go else where? Trestman does a really good job of scheming his #1WR and TE open. Both Aiken and Brown have really been victims of just lack of targets really. Even a guy like Roddy White is upset in ATL because he's often the 3rd or 4th option in that offense. If Julio is open why target White? So that's a big part of it with this offense. The #2 WR has to force his way into the offense once teams start overplaying the #1 WR and the #WR is almost just a place holder in this offense.

[January J]

They haven't done much to earn his trust.

[gtalk12]

It's a shame, we just don't have the receivers aside from Steve that have a chance of winning the one on one match ups. Boldin and Pitta are gone. (Pitta may never play again which sucks but his hips are more important than this game)

 

Aiken has shown ability, he is strong and attempts the fight for the ball....he is just slow and his route running to me isn't great to help him get seperation.

 

Marlon Brown is also fairly slow, so he isn't burning you either. That leaves route running and attacking the ball which over the last couple of games have been up and down. He dropped an easy pass from Joe last game which left me confused.

 

Camp has the route running, but he is showing to be cursed by the injury bug. Last game showed that he is explosive and has ability to make plays. Can't stay on the field.

 

Every other receiver is a mystery, Waller and Perriman.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

I am not singling you out, please believe me. You just said it and I felt amused enough to comment.

Lots and lots of people say " watch the tape" which is funny because I really dont think ANYTHING is to tape any more. I am pretty sure its all, if not almost all, full digital now a days.

Anyway, back on topic, GO JOE !!!!!!!!!!

It's a phrase. My apologies - re watch the digitally mastered game footage.

Not quite the same ring to it.