The Good, the bad and ugly vs 49ers

[ratedr]

At some point, people need to stop questioning the coaching decisions and begin to question the perceived talent, on this team. Because we have guys that either played way over their head, in the past or are just not doing very well this year.

Wagner, Forsett, Flacco, Osemele, Jernigan, Dumervil, Upshaw, D. Smith, Mosley, J Smith have all seemed to of regressed. It doesn't help when almost every guy the FO has brought in has been a complete disaster. Losing Kendrick Lewis isn't that big of a deal because he literally did nothing to deserve his starting position to begin with.

When EVERY person on the team is regressing, that's when you look at coaching even more closely. It's not a coincidence that every single person on the team is playing worse.

[rmcjacket23]

Wright is being used as a scape goat.  If he was good he wouldn't have been waived.  The coaches should have known he wasn't good enough to cover speedy receivers.  He probably won't be on the team long.  Why call out someone you picked to be on the team just a few days before?  If Wright is so bad why is he on the team to begin with?  

 

Harbaugh needs to take responsiblity for his own mistakes.  Like challenging a play that he had no chance in winning which cost the team a valuable time-out which could have been the difference in the game.  Harbaugh didn't get signed a day ago.  He has been doing this for 8 years.  Passing blame on the weakest links when he should be taking it is not what a leader does.  And it is the exact same thing he did last year.  

 

If he is going to blame someone for mistakes it should be people who have been here all season.  The offense had all their starters and they didn't produce well enough.  Why not go there....

Well, my guess would be that the reason Wright was singled out there is because he made two plays that largely had nothing to do with scheme or even coaching. It had everything to do with him simply not doing his job.

 

You are right though... he likely won't be here this time next week, so this is a moot point.

[Ravens2343]

There is no scheme on this planet that doesn't require MLBs in a 3-4 defense to cover RBs or TEs. Not one.

 

Changing the coordinator will not in any way change that. 

 

I understand that, but last year no one was complaining about how he covered guys.  He can cover, he had a good pass breakup on Boldin yesterday.  He has to be put into positions to cover guys, not have to sprint across the entire formation to cover one of the fastest guys in the 2015 draft.  No linebacker in the league could have covered that play from the Browns game, I agree he needs to improve but Mosley is no where near the top of our list of problems.

[rmcjacket23]

When EVERY person on the team is regressing, that's when you look at coaching even more closely. It's not a coincidence that every single person on the team is playing worse.

The question though is... is everybody REALLY playing worse?

 

Our run defense looks about what I expected it to look... pretty solid. Our running game started slow but overall has looked fine, and our offensive line has largely bounced back well since week 1.

 

Is it possible that consistently losing just amplifies the weaknesses of 2-3 areas on the field and makes EVERYONE look worse than they really are?

 

Me personally, I think Flacco has generally played pretty well all year. Certainly some dumb decisions and poor throws still being made, but I've come to expect that. Yet, look at his statistics and the success of the offense, and you'd think he was hot garbage.

[rmcjacket23]

I understand that, but last year no one was complaining about how he covered guys.  He can cover, he had a good pass breakup on Boldin yesterday.  He has to be put into positions to cover guys, not have to sprint across the entire formation to cover one of the fastest guys in the 2015 draft.  No linebacker in the league could have covered that play from the Browns game, I agree he needs to improve but Mosley is no where near the top of our list of problems.

I don't necessarily think his coverage skills are the problem. I think he had a bad coverage game against Cleveland, and that's it.

 

I think his tackling has been worse this season than last (which has zero to do with coaching) and his pursuit of the ball has generally been worse (also has nothing to do with coaching).

 

He had to run across the line plenty of times last season to cover RBs, TEs, etc. That hasn't changed.

[jimmypowder]

When EVERY person on the team is regressing, that's when you look at coaching even more closely. It's not a coincidence that every single person on the team is playing worse.

This is a very astute statement and indeed it is correct .

[FastEddie]

Looking forward to the adjustments for next season...players have thrown in the towel.

 

We NEED play makers for the rest of the team to rally around. 

[RavensPunkXVX]

Needed some cheering up. Rewatched our Super Bowl run. Unbelievable. I miss that team.

[berad]

Flacco played decently, but his mistakes were inexcusable - especially the second INT. Both INTs hurt us. Still, he was moving the chains and had to carry the offense with a mostly stagnant running game.

 

Running game was tepid but Forsett showed a lot of guts playing through injury. They were heavily involved in the passing game with good effectiveness - Allen dropped a pass in the endzone that would've been a nice play.

 

The only WR on the team is a 36 yr old with broken bones in his back. It's ridiculous. He dropped two TDs but he would've been the only one to catch them, anyways. Marlon watches a pass sail by his head and then after the game says how great it is that Steve Smith is sacrificing for the team. Ross and Givens made some plays, Aiken was largely invisible. For what it's worth, the TEs were productive and look good going forward.

 

OL was average, maybe worse than average. Couldn't get the run game going and even though Flacco wasn't sacked, he was running all day and had to throw off his back foot.

 

Defense as a whole was uninspired (there's a trend). Run defense was stout, like usual. Got some sacks and pressure but too often Kaepernick slipped out for a big pass. Wright was abused but he's been on the team for less than a week and asked to cover on an island. Their FB was gashing us until he literally got tired from running all over our team. The stiff-arm Mosley took was shameful and then he caught a 52-yd pass on 3rd and 1. The fullback... Mosley has that wrist swaddled like a baby, he's probably playing through a lot of pain.

 

Tucker missed a FG for the second time in two weeks - nearly fell into the abyss of the terrible field conditions. Not worried about him just yet but it did hurt us in the game. Koch punted well and the coverage/return units were very good.

 

Penalties were also down A LOT. We had a crappy one where Jimmy was holding on 3rd down in the 4th quarter. Cost us a good chunk of time - we would have gotten the ball back with ~2:25 rather than ~1:10. We were 3 penalties for 15yds.

Edited October 19, 2015 by berad
forgot our WRs

[bpytnjr58]

Flacco played decently, but his mistakes were inexcusable - especially the second INT. Both INTs hurt us. Still, he was moving the chains and had to carry the offense with a mostly stagnant running game.

 

Running game was tepid but Forsett showed a lot of guts playing through injury. They were heavily involved in the passing game with good effectiveness - Allen dropped a pass in the endzone that would've been a nice play.

 

OL was average, maybe worse than average. Couldn't get the run game going and even though Flacco wasn't sacked, he was running all day and had to throw off his back foot.

 

Defense as a whole was uninspired (there's a trend). Run defense was stout, like usual. Got some sacks and pressure but too often Kaepernick slipped out for a big pass. Wright was abused but he's been on the team for less than a week and asked to cover on an island. Their FB was gashing us until he literally got tired from running all over our team. The stiff-arm Mosley took was shameful and then he caught a 52-yd pass on 3rd and 1. The fullback... Mosley has that wrist swaddled like a baby, he's probably playing through a lot of pain.

 

Tucker missed a FG for the second time in two weeks - nearly fell into the abyss of the terrible field conditions. Not worried about him just yet but it did hurt us in the game. Koch punted well and the coverage/return units were very good.

 

Penalties were also down A LOT. We had a crappy one where Jimmy was holding on 3rd down in the 4th quarter. Cost us a good chunk of time - we would have gotten the ball back with ~2:25 rather than ~1:10. We were 3 penalties for 15yds.

And there was zero sense of urgency in that last 1:10 either....everyone including Joe just waltzed up to the line and lost about 18 seconds which is enough time for at least one play.

[berad]

And there was zero sense of urgency in that last 1:10 either....everyone including Joe just waltzed up to the line and lost about 18 seconds which is enough time for at least one play.

 

I wish they were faster about it, I'd like to see some running lol

[Tank 92]

Flacco played decently, but his mistakes were inexcusable - especially the second INT. Both INTs hurt us. Still, he was moving the chains and had to carry the offense with a mostly stagnant running game.

 

Running game was tepid but Forsett showed a lot of guts playing through injury. They were heavily involved in the passing game with good effectiveness - Allen dropped a pass in the endzone that would've been a nice play.

 

The only WR on the team is a 36 yr old with broken bones in his back. It's ridiculous. Marlon watches a pass sail by his head and then after the game says how great it is that Steve Smith is sacrificing for the team. Ross and Givens made some plays, Aiken was largely invisible. For what it's worth, the TEs were productive and look good going forward.

 

OL was average, maybe worse than average. Couldn't get the run game going and even though Flacco wasn't sacked, he was running all day and had to throw off his back foot.

 

Defense as a whole was uninspired (there's a trend). Run defense was stout, like usual. Got some sacks and pressure but too often Kaepernick slipped out for a big pass. Wright was abused but he's been on the team for less than a week and asked to cover on an island. Their FB was gashing us until he literally got tired from running all over our team. The stiff-arm Mosley took was shameful and then he caught a 52-yd pass on 3rd and 1. The fullback... Mosley has that wrist swaddled like a baby, he's probably playing through a lot of pain.

 

Tucker missed a FG for the second time in two weeks - nearly fell into the abyss of the terrible field conditions. Not worried about him just yet but it did hurt us in the game. Koch punted well and the coverage/return units were very good.

 

Penalties were also down A LOT. We had a crappy one where Jimmy was holding on 3rd down in the 4th quarter. Cost us a good chunk of time - we would have gotten the ball back with ~2:25 rather than ~1:10. We were 3 penalties for 15yds.

 

 

Pretty much agree with all you are saying here, but you missed a major failure...... Smitty again failing to execute. While he played well, again failing to come down with the ball in the end zone, TWICE in this game, is inexcusable. One could view this alone as the reason for the loss.

[berad]

Pretty much agree with all you are saying here, but you missed a major failure...... Smitty again failing to execute. While he played well, again failing to come down with the ball in the end zone, TWICE in this game, is inexcusable. One could view this alone as the reason for the loss.

 

Yeah those hurt us, too, I'll include it. Not the only reason, he was the only one making plays for our WRs

[ravensdfan]

Pretty much agree with all you are saying here, but you missed a major failure...... Smitty again failing to execute. While he played well, again failing to come down with the ball in the end zone, TWICE in this game, is inexcusable. One could view this alone as the reason for the loss.

The man was playing with broken bones in his back and was the only WR that actually made an effort so it is difficult for me to put blame there.

[Ravens2343]

Good: SSS, Forsett, Gilmore, O-line (except for jogging on the final drive), Jeremy Ross and the run defense

 

Bad: Flacco having to press in order to keep up.  Kamar Aiken and the pass rush

 

Ugly:  Dean Pees play calling and gameplan, MARLON BROWN (how has Butler not replaced him yet?), SHAREECE WRIGHT and the entire pass defense, Courtney Upshaw on pass rushing and most importantly the teams desire and passion

[hawkprey]

We were starting a CB who was inactive all year and then cut, but at least we made up for it by moving our special teams ILB to OLB. This team has just been completely gutted by injuries.

[HoldingCall]

The man was playing with broken bones in his back and was the only WR that actually made an effort so it is difficult for me to put blame there.

I agree, and is surprised he was permitted to play. 

[Tank 92]

The man was playing with broken bones in his back and was the only WR that actually made an effort so it is difficult for me to put blame there.

 

While I can appreciate that he was playing hurt, his gaffs cost us two TDs.  And he's had the dropsies on and off during the two years he's been here, yesterday wasn't an isolated case of him choking because he was injured.

 

Again, I appreciate Smitty's efforts while playing here in bmore, but he has disappointed at times. 

[ravefan52]

I don't think Shareece Wright is a good player at all, but Harbaugh basically singling him out kind of irks me. He's been here for less than a week and we left him on an island without safety help against Torrey Smith. I'm pretty sure we know what a threat Torrey is 1-on-1. Kind of ridiculous, if you ask me. It's easy to put some plays on Shareece Wright, but the coaching staff did him no favors either.

I felt the same way when I heard that. Like what the heck do you expect from a guy just signed off the street? And I get that we've had a ton of injuries, but Pees has to to put our players in a better position to succeed. He's just making idiotic play calls that anyone who understands defense shouldn't be making. You can't put Shareece Wtight 1-on-1 versus Torrey just like you can't put Kendrick Lewis 1-on-1 vs AJ Green and expect our guys to win. I really do understand how hard it is when you have so many backups in, but I feel like Harbs is refusing to put the blame on Pees and unwarrantedly putting more of it on players.

[HoldingCall]

Very fortunate the team didn't lose Tucker to an ankle injury.  

[HoldingCall]

While I can appreciate that he was playing hurt, his gaffs cost us two TDs.  And he's had the dropsies on and off during the two years he's been here, yesterday wasn't an isolated case of him choking because he was injured.

 

Again, I appreciate Smitty's efforts while playing here in bmore, but he has disappointed at times. 

SSS Choking? While no one is perfect, to suggest he missed because he choked is just wrong. While neither pass made easy catches, the first pass was well off. I credit the second as a miss but not the first. 

[52520Andrew]

I wonder if I've got time to catch them for autographs.

 

Considering they landed at 2:30 am local time after a long flight after a loss, doubt they would be in the mood lol. After they play the Cardinals on Monday night, they will probably not even land till 5 or 6 am

[BmoreBird22]

SSS Choking? While no one is perfect, to suggest he missed because he choked is just wrong. While neither pass made easy catches, the first pass was well off. I credit the second as a miss but not the first. 

The first one hit him right in both hands.

[rmw10]

I felt the same way when I heard that. Like what the heck do you expect from a guy just signed off the street? And I get that we've had a ton of injuries, but Pees has to to put our players in a better position to succeed. He's just making idiotic play calls that anyone who understands defense shouldn't be making. You can't put Shareece Wtight 1-on-1 versus Torrey just like you can't put Kendrick Lewis 1-on-1 vs AJ Green and expect our guys to win. I really do understand how hard it is when you have so many backups in, but I feel like Harbs is refusing to put the blame on Pees and unwarrantedly putting more of it on players.

Also felt it was kind of crappy to pick on Wright of all people. What about everyone else that has played terribly in the previous 5 weeks? It's not like this is new, and we pick on the player that had been here the shortest amount of time.

[wizard1]

When EVERY person on the team is regressing, that's when you look at coaching even more closely. It's not a coincidence that every single person on the team is playing worse.

 Accolades, cheers and applause for this post. It is indeed the coaching staff and the FO who are responsible for the complete failure of our football team. And nobody pointed that out stronger with a hard slap in the face than Torrey Smith and Anquan Bolden gave us last night. Talk about Karma!

[HoldingCall]

The first one hit him right in both hands.

I am referring to the one behind SSS and very low. Was that the first or second? I thought it was the first.

[wizard1]

Also felt it was kind of crappy to pick on Wright of all people. What about everyone else that has played terribly in the previous 5 weeks? It's not like this is new, and we pick on the player that had been here the shortest amount of time.

 When the finger pointing starts things get ugly and when ugly starts the locker room divides. Does this scenario sound slighlt familiar? Hmmmm Jim Harbaugh in SF and Marc Trestman in Chicago. We have a caustic mess brewing. I can give you one guess what the end result will be.

[jazz1988]

 When the finger pointing starts things get ugly and when ugly starts the locker room divides. Does this scenario sound slighlt familiar? Hmmmm Jim Harbaugh in SF and Marc Trestman in Chicago. We have a caustic mess brewing. I can give you one guess what the end result will be.

 

If you think John Harbaugh is getting fired you beyound wrong.  Jim Harbaugh scenario is alot different that situation was mainly because  him and general manager didn't get along and there was some speculation that their owner isn't all that good either.

[wizard1]

I'm not saying he will get fired. Only there is big trouble in Baltimore brewing and someone has got to be held accountable for the ridiculous play - calling, absurd penaties, the lack of talent and dismal over-all play. Lackluster play comes from poor coaching plain and simple. I don't know about you but I hate being the laughing stocks of the league.

[CorvusCorax]

The Good: Ticket prices probably won't go up next year. Ravens gear will probably go on sale just in time for the holidays. (sarcasm for the Sheldon Coopers on the forum, but we know there's probably some truth to it). Tucker wasn't injured. 

 

The Bad: That whole game. 

 

The Ugly: The last offensive drive. That was just putrid. 

Edited October 19, 2015 by CorvusCorax