Wait... Best pass defense?

[52liveforever]

http://espn.go.com/blog/baltimore-ravens/post/_/id/24908/ravens-surprisingly-top-nfl-in-pass-defense-over-last-seven-weeks

So I think the big question is whose fault was it for this first part of the season? Obviously the talent is there. We're the players not playing to their potential or was it coaching?

[K-Dog]

Why does it have to be one or the other?

A little bit of both makes a lot of sense to me.

[rayven98]

I think a big part of it was injuries and new players.  Lewis at safety, suggs hurt first game, jimmy smith coming off a major injury.  I think it all kind of added up. 

[RaineV1]

We mostly played awful offenses in the second half of the season, and even then those offenses tended to do worse against other defenses than they did against ours.

[BmoreBird22]

We mostly played awful offenses in the second half of the season, and even then those offenses tended to do worse against other defenses than they did against ours.

I would definitely say the Steelers, Chiefs, Seahawks, and Jaguars all had respectable to great offenses and aerial attacks.

[52liveforever]

Why does it have to be one or the other?

A little bit of both makes a lot of sense to me.

Very valid point.

[RaineV1]

I would definitely say the Steelers, Chiefs, Seahawks, and Jaguars all had respectable to great offenses and aerial attacks.

The Chiefs are 18th in passing yards per games and 24th in points per game. Their offense not that respectable. The Jags are always very inconsistent. Also, the Rams have a horrible passing game (32nd in the league in pass yards per game) and the Dolphins love underperforming (22nd in passing yards per game).

 

The only consistently top tier passing attacks the Ravens faced were the Seahawks and the Steelers. They did good against one and gave up five passing touchdowns against the other.

Edited January 2, 2016 by RaineV1

[52liveforever]

The Chiefs are 24th in points per game, and the Jaguars offense has been very up and down during the season. Also during this span the Ravens defense got to pad its stats against the Rams and Dolphins.

The Jags have the most consistent WR tandems in the league. Their Passing offense is absolutely no joke.

[BmoreBird22]

The Chiefs are 18th in passing yards per games and 24th in points per game. Their offense not that respectable. The Jags are always very inconsistent. Also, the Rams have a horrible passing game (32nd in the league in pass yards per game) and the Dolphins love underperforming (22nd in passing yards per game).

 

The only consistently top tier passing attacks the Ravens faced were the Seahawks and the Steelers. They did good against one and gave up five passing touchdowns against the other.

The Chiefs were one of the more efficient offenses in the NFL in the sense that they do not turn the ball over and they just methodically move the ball. I'm not sure where you got 24th in PPG because I'm looking at NFL.com right now and they are ninth, a full five points above 24th. Unless of course you sorted it in the opposite direction, which is likely. Keep in mind, however, that despite scoring the ninth most points in the NFL, they have run the second fewest plays in the NFL (they rank 11th in yards per play). That is a very efficient offense and a good one. 

 

The Jags are always very inconsistent? Blake Bortles has passed for at least 300 yards six times and came within five yards another three. Coming into the game against the Ravens, Robinson and Hurns combined for the most touchdowns in the NFL by a wide receiver duo (13) and were both over 700 yards a piece, I believe. They were considered to be the best young wide receiver duo in the NFL in a top 10 passing offense. And as for their team as a whole, they've failed to put up 20 points only twice and once was 19 points. I'm not sure which games had a defensive touchdown, but they're still a very potent offense.

 

I said nothing of the Dolphins or the Rams, even though the defense still played well against them.

 

I know people love to say the offenses weren't as good, but the Seahawks, Chiefs, Steelers, and Jaguars all beg to differ. In fact, in terms of offensive rankings and talent, next week pending, I'd argue the offensive talent was fairly equal.

Edited January 2, 2016 by BmoreBird22

[BmoreBird22]

The Jags have the most consistent WR tandems in the league. Their Passing offense is absolutely no joke.

You mean to tell me two receivers with over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns isn't a joke? Shocking.

[52liveforever]

You mean to tell me two receivers with over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns isn't a joke? Shocking.

Exactly. I mean I don't know how you dismiss those guys. We held Jax a top 10 passing team to 188. Maybe not an all around great team, but a top 10 passing team so it's definitely an accomplishment for the defenses a far as improving.

[nextgen_RavensFan]

Why does it have to be one or the other?

A little bit of both makes a lot of sense to me.

I do agree that it is a little of both. It is like trying to read a crystal ball. We all know Jimmy Smith has the attributes to be a killer corner and at times he shows it but more often then not he gets burned, slips and falls or gets a penalty. So i think our players do not show consistency. I think if a player can not be consistent they should go because you cannot game plan for a "maybe Jimmy will play good this week" scenario.

[Tru11]

Exactly. I mean I don't know how you dismiss those guys. We held Jax a top 10 passing team to 188. Maybe not an all around great team, but a top 10 passing team so it's definitely an accomplishment for the defenses a far as improving.

 

i think most people dont pay attention to other teams and just go by name lol.

 

or they simply dont want to give credit when due.

[52liveforever]

i think most people dont pay attention to other teams and just go by name lol.

or they simply dont want to give credit when due.

Haha yeah probably. Well Hurns and Robinson will be names soon.

[JoeyFlex5]

ugh.. while i like seeing our guys do better, and it gives hope that maybe were a bit more talented than we thought, i dont like that pees is making an argument for himself.. 

[cushrinada1986]

Having the amount of injuries and new people coming into the team, as well as new coaches can make things difficult. A lot of these guys will be back because the team would like to see what they can do with more time, others will be let go due to not being able to fit the system. If we do our due diligence next season, we will be back in the playoffs.

[ravensdfan]

ugh.. while i like seeing our guys do better, and it gives hope that maybe were a bit more talented than we thought, i dont like that pees is making an argument for himself.. 

I don't believe he is making any argument for himself. His contract is up so it would require being willing to commit to Pees long term, not just for one more season. I don't think he's done anything to earn any long term commitment.

 

Again though we're back to the same tired turnaround from the Pees crowd. Players fault when it fails, but all Hail the Great Pees when it is successful. The defense still remains last for turnovers, still remains inconsistent as crap, and still falters in the 4th 9 times out of 10.

 

I'd also have to ask what happened to the Pees defense of having no talent to work with? Injuries? (even though it was only Suggs) etc. Did that just magically go away? Or has Pees suddenly adjusted the scheme and put players in positions to be successful - when he stubbornly refused to do so and even said the scheme was fine early in the season? Is he more aggressive now as he watched his job security falter?

 

He's done nothing to save his job - if they re-sign him long term he will simply go back to the crappy no-adjustments conservative Pees he's been since 2012 IMO.

Edited January 2, 2016 by ravensdfan

[arnie_uk]

ugh.. while i like seeing our guys do better, and it gives hope that maybe were a bit more talented than we thought, i dont like that pees is making an argument for himself..

talent was always there, I've said it all year when most others blamed the players.

We are noticeably getting a lot more pressure the past few weeks in my eyes, which is still the weakness of our defense. Pressure pressure pressure

[BmoreBird22]

I'd also have to ask what happened to the Pees defense of having no talent to work with? Injuries? (even though it was only Suggs) etc. Did that just magically go away? Or has Pees suddenly adjusted the scheme and put players in positions to be successful - when he stubbornly refused to do so and even said the scheme was fine early in the season? Is he more aggressive now as he watched his job security falter?

Injuries took a big toll as far as losing Suggs and it really hurt to have Jimmy hurt at the beginning of the season.

 

Injuries didn't disappear, but players who were young and had no business being on the field early (Z'Darius Smith) were forced into action when they were clearly not ready. However, given that we're at week 17 and he was forced into the fire, he finally is up to speed and understanding the speed and nature of the game at the NFL level.

 

Jimmy is now 13 months removed from his Lisfranc injury and should be at 90%+ healed. We're seeing far more confidence in his foot now that he's so long removed from the injury. Watch the Steelers game again- he was pressing far more, playing more aggressive, and even made some really solid open field tackles, some things we hadn't seen very much of all season. 

 

Small things like that as far as the players go have really helped this defense quite a bit. 

 

As far as Pees goes, you must be dense to think he could make wholesale scheme changes the week before a game. You do realize that they don't install radical changes the week before games, right? That time is spent game planning for the next opponent and running walkthroughs, not trying to learn the playbook or a new position. 

When the bye came, he was actually given a full week off to not focus on the opponent, but rather evaluate his defense and how he could better utilize players. He was then able to do some interesting tweaks, such as move Webb to FS and bring him up to speed at the position at the NFL level. I also think Pees has loosened the reigns a bit for players like Jernigan who seem to freelance and don't always display the best gap discipline and this has really improved his ability to just go full steam ahead to the passer and create pressure.

Pressure is honestly probably the biggest reason for the turnaround. Shareece Wright is playing like one hell of a boundary receiver, Jimmy is playing far more aggressive, and Webb is looking like the old Webb in the slot. The coverage is allowing guys like Smith to get there, but Pees is also allowing Jernigan to just do his thing.

 

It's a really big combination of young players who haven't played before, like Smith or Urban, getting into the swing of the NFL and Pees actually being able to tinker with his scheme.

 

It really shouldn't be a huge surprise that we're seeing this huge upswing in defensive performance after the bye.

[BmoreBird22]

i think most people dont pay attention to other teams and just go by name lol.

 

or they simply dont want to give credit when due.

This is the thing that frustrates me. If the Ravens aren't doing well, it's never because the other players are just flat out good; the Ravens always just suck.

 

News flash: This is the NFL and there are some talented football players across the league.

[ALSKAN RAVEN FAN]

I was SHOCKED to hear the Ravens ranked that high in pass defense. I like to give the guys a real chance but I honestly thought K. Lewis was going to be a better fit in the defensive backfield but so far he really has not fit in very good. Just my opinion.

[DomMcRaven]

All I hope is that this carries on into the beginning of the next season. It'd be nice to come out guns ablazing in week 1 of next season.

[BmoreBird22]

Here's a big reason for it...

 

In the first half of the season, quarterbacks threw at Smith 56 times for 461 yards. In the second half of the year, they threw Smith’s way just 25 times and he allowed a total of 151 receiving yards. He was the NFL’s sixth-best cornerback in coverage during the final eight games of the year, according to Pro Football Focus.

[RavensFanMania]

http://espn.go.com/blog/baltimore-ravens/post/_/id/24908/ravens-surprisingly-top-nfl-in-pass-defense-over-last-seven-weeks

So I think the big question is whose fault was it for this first part of the season? Obviously the talent is there. We're the players not playing to their potential or was it coaching?

I believe its a bit of Jimmy Smith healing and getting the rust off and the soft schedule.  My guess is Deen Pees sticks around.

[DomMcRaven]

Here's a big reason for it...

 

In the first half of the season, quarterbacks threw at Smith 56 times for 461 yards. In the second half of the year, they threw Smith’s way just 25 times and he allowed a total of 151 receiving yards. He was the NFL’s sixth-best cornerback in coverage during the final eight games of the year, according to Pro Football Focus.

Bust

[RavensFan34950]

Here's a big reason for it...

 

In the first half of the season, quarterbacks threw at Smith 56 times for 461 yards. In the second half of the year, they threw Smith’s way just 25 times and he allowed a total of 151 receiving yards. He was the NFL’s sixth-best cornerback in coverage during the final eight games of the year, according to Pro Football Focus.

lol but according to others on here, he's becoming the next Albert Haynesworth.

[Purple_City39]

lol but according to others on here, he's becoming the next Albert Haynesworth.

As we've all noticed, fans tend to overreact and look for someone to blame.  Even when we all know Jimmy was coming off potentially the worst injury for a CB to have, many still gave him no slack

[BmoreBird22]

lol but according to others on here, he's becoming the next Albert Haynesworth.

Refer to the above.

Fans don't care if he had an injury and that he was slowed by it early. Due to the rough opening eight weeks, it set him up to have every single completion against him be, "Jimmy got burned," and we'd hear about how bad he sucks.

Could have been the only completion he allowed for four yards and it'd be another terrible contract the Ravens gave out.

Fans here would rather look for someone to criticize than to admit they're wrong or praise a player.

[hawkprey]

I think some of this has to do with Flacco being injured. The difference between (for example) 4th and 10th can be as little as 25 yards per game. Running the ball more means fewer plays for either side, and even 4 fewer plays can affect total yardage. Then of course the argument that other teams probably felt less compelled to take chances.

[Ravens4Real]

I think some of this has to do with Flacco being injured. The difference between (for example) 4th and 10th can be as little as 25 yards per game. Running the ball more means fewer plays for either side, and even 4 fewer plays can affect total yardage. Then of course the argument that other teams probably felt less compelled to take chances.

This could very well be an attributing factor. What's the point of teams pushing it down the field and risking something dumb when they know our offense is only going to put up 10 points?

Some teams may have just ran the ball more than usual.