[News] Eisenberg: The Ravens' Recipe For Success In 2016

[BR News]

Now that NFL rosters are essentially set, teams are switching their focus to finding the best strategy to win football games in 2016. Here’s what Baltimore’s should look like.

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[JacktheRaven]

Good Points J.E.. If you want proof, watch the '11 playoff game against the Texans. The Texans had the better run game, & D, and honestly looked like the better team, that day. The Texans turned the ball over, at least 4 times. The Ravens had ZERO turnovers & penalties, and won.

[Bob21043]

Recipe for success this season : stay healthy. If the team stays healthy, the rest will fall into place.

[jravens1313]

Recipe for success this season : stay healthy. If the team stays healthy, the rest will fall into place.

There is a lot of depth. Staying healthy isn't as important as consistently running the football for 1st Downs, controlling clock, and keeping the defense off the field. That falls on Trestman in Year 2 with 0 excuses.

[January J]

Depth is important because Injuries happen- but most importantly we need to focus on what we can control.  We need to display better clock management. Too many stupid timeouts , unneccesary challenges and questionable playcalls. In a tight one score game every second counts and one play can be the difference in a win or loss-- as we saw SEVERAL times last season. Being disciplined and understanding the situation! Against Jacksonville whether they got the play off in time or not all we need to do is not let them score a 60 yard TD and its game over. Hussle to the line during a 2 minute drill situation. We had guys lackadaisically walking to the line of scrimmage with the game on the line and the clock ticking. One penalty can continue a drive. One dropped pass can stall a drive. Its the little things and its a game of INCHES. do the little things well and you will win games. As much as I hate the Patriots the reason they consistantly win and have had 14 straight 10-win seasons is BC they are the most disciplined team in the league. You won't see them make many mistakes. You wont see them blowing assignments and getting burnt on a simple route. There was atleast 6 games last season that literally 1 play could have changed the outcome of the game. Either a play that wasn't made or a bonehead mistake. Thats potentially the difference in a winning or losing season if we even pull out half of those games. Luck does come into play as well- guys make unreal butt catches ( barnidge) and sometimes the ground just mysteriously gives way from underneath of you ( San Fran) ..horrible calls get made (Arizona among others) ...however when you do the little things well that you can control; display discipline; and  manage the clock well- 9 times out of 10 you will come out on the winning end

[bnyce52]

Depth is important because Injuries happen- but most importantly we need to focus on what we can control.  We need to display better clock management. Too many stupid timeouts , unneccesary challenges and questionable playcalls. In a tight one score game every second counts and one play can be the difference in a win or loss-- as we saw SEVERAL times last season. Being disciplined and understanding the situation! Against Jacksonville whether they got the play off in time or not all we need to do is not let them score a 60 yard TD and its game over. Hussle to the line during a 2 minute drill situation. We had guys lackadaisically walking to the line of scrimmage with the game on the line and the clock ticking. One penalty can continue a drive. One dropped pass can stall a drive. Its the little things and its a game of INCHES. do the little things well and you will win games. As much as I hate the Patriots the reason they consistantly win and have had 14 straight 10-win seasons is BC they are the most disciplined team in the league. You won't see them make many mistakes. You wont see them blowing assignments and getting burnt on a simple route. There was atleast 6 games last season that literally 1 play could have changed the outcome of the game. Either a play that wasn't made or a bonehead mistake. Thats potentially the difference in a winning or losing season if we even pull out half of those games. Luck does come into play as well- guys make unreal butt catches ( barnidge) and sometimes the ground just mysteriously gives way from underneath of you ( San Fran) ..horrible calls get made (Arizona among others) ...however when you do the little things well that you can control; display discipline; and  manage the clock well- 9 times out of 10 you will come out on the winning end

This is the most on-point comment I've ever read.

[RRRRRavens]

1 hour ago, January J said:

Depth is important because Injuries happen- but most importantly we need to focus on what we can control.  We need to display better clock management. Too many stupid timeouts , unneccesary challenges and questionable playcalls. In a tight one score game every second counts and one play can be the difference in a win or loss-- as we saw SEVERAL times last season. Being disciplined and understanding the situation! Against Jacksonville whether they got the play off in time or not all we need to do is not let them score a 60 yard TD and its game over. Hussle to the line during a 2 minute drill situation. We had guys lackadaisically walking to the line of scrimmage with the game on the line and the clock ticking. One penalty can continue a drive. One dropped pass can stall a drive. Its the little things and its a game of INCHES. do the little things well and you will win games. As much as I hate the Patriots the reason they consistantly win and have had 14 straight 10-win seasons is BC they are the most disciplined team in the league. You won't see them make many mistakes. You wont see them blowing assignments and getting burnt on a simple route. There was atleast 6 games last season that literally 1 play could have changed the outcome of the game. Either a play that wasn't made or a bonehead mistake. Thats potentially the difference in a winning or losing season if we even pull out half of those games. Luck does come into play as well- guys make unreal butt catches ( barnidge) and sometimes the ground just mysteriously gives way from underneath of you ( San Fran) ..horrible calls get made (Arizona among others) ...however when you do the little things well that you can control; display discipline; and  manage the clock well- 9 times out of 10 you will come out on the winning end

Maybe.  But it sure doesn't hurt that they have been in the weakest division in the NFL for those same 14 straight seasons.

[rmcjacket23]

19 minutes ago, RRRRRavens said:

Maybe.  But it sure doesn't hurt that they have been in the weakest division in the NFL for those same 14 straight seasons.

Would be interested to see the stats behind this and see if this is actually true. 

At least in recent times, the AFC South has been by far the weakest division in the AFC, and I'd consider the AFC West to generally be pretty average.

As it were, I did find some stats for Brady in his regular season career...

AFC opponents (North, South, West) - 63-21, 75% win pct

AFC opponents (East) - 65-19, 77% win pct

NFC opponents - 42-14, 75% win pct

Full divisional breakdown:

AFC East: 65-19, 77%

AFC South: 25-5, 83%

AFC North: 21-5, 81%

AFC West: 17-11, 61%

NFC East: 13-3, 81%

NFC South: 12-3, 80%

NFC North: 13-3, 81%

NFC West: 6-5, 55%

So he certainly struggles against the West (relatively), with a career 23-16 regular season record. Against all other divisions, he's basically equally as dominant against all of them. 

 

Edited July 19, 2016 by rmcjacket23

[757RavensFan]

2 hours ago, Bob21043 said:

Recipe for success this season : stay healthy. If the team stays healthy, the rest will fall into place.

YEP.!!! With ALL the injuries we had last year and still competing in a majority of the games, staying healthy is the biggest key to success for the 2016 Ravens. 

I mean we lost 8 games by less than a touchdown. 

[757RavensFan]

2 hours ago, jravens1313 said:

There is a lot of depth. Staying healthy isn't as important as consistently running the football for 1st Downs, controlling clock, and keeping the defense off the field. That falls on Trestman in Year 2 with 0 excuses.

It's up to Pees to get the defense off the field.  

[757RavensFan]

1 hour ago, January J said:

Depth is important because Injuries happen- but most importantly we need to focus on what we can control.  We need to display better clock management. Too many stupid timeouts , unneccesary challenges and questionable playcalls. In a tight one score game every second counts and one play can be the difference in a win or loss-- as we saw SEVERAL times last season. Being disciplined and understanding the situation! Against Jacksonville whether they got the play off in time or not all we need to do is not let them score a 60 yard TD and its game over. Hussle to the line during a 2 minute drill situation. We had guys lackadaisically walking to the line of scrimmage with the game on the line and the clock ticking. One penalty can continue a drive. One dropped pass can stall a drive. Its the little things and its a game of INCHES. do the little things well and you will win games. As much as I hate the Patriots the reason they consistantly win and have had 14 straight 10-win seasons is BC they are the most disciplined team in the league. You won't see them make many mistakes. You wont see them blowing assignments and getting burnt on a simple route. There was atleast 6 games last season that literally 1 play could have changed the outcome of the game. Either a play that wasn't made or a bonehead mistake. Thats potentially the difference in a winning or losing season if we even pull out half of those games. Luck does come into play as well- guys make unreal butt catches ( barnidge) and sometimes the ground just mysteriously gives way from underneath of you ( San Fran) ..horrible calls get made (Arizona among others) ...however when you do the little things well that you can control; display discipline; and  manage the clock well- 9 times out of 10 you will come out on the winning end

You have to look at the flip side of that as well. If it wasn't for the block 6 in Cleveland they would have swept us last year.  

[The Beak]

IMHO, 4 key points that held us back last year. (1) Injuries, it doesnt take a genius to see how below average we were without Joe, SSSr and TSizzle
(2)The secondary , Jimmy Smith was not all the way back last year, I fully expect him to be a shutdown CB, Weddle and Powers , are a massive upgrades for the Secondary, Davis,and wright, are nice pieces as well, and lets not forget Webby possibly having a great year at safety. (3) Pass rush , with Sizzle out and Doom being double teamed , the pass rush was almost dormant at times, the addition of Sizzle back, and the infusion of young talent, (Correa, and others) the sacks will definitely improve. (4) The offense, with the addition of Stanley ,and having JZuttah back this solidifies our OL, The Passing game, with the addition of fast WRs, and having the fearless one ,Steve Smith Sr ,back will create many options for Joe,Whats not to love about the TE arsenal .
We will be back in the playoffs , and who knows how far we can go.....

[The Greek]

we need to have a running game so the o-line must be aggressive and in sync. trestman and pees must be creative with the talent they have and scheme/gameplan appropriately

[January J]

2 hours ago, 757RavensFan said:

You have to look at the flip side of that as well. If it wasn't for the block 6 in Cleveland they would have swept us last year.  

True but if it wasn't for schaub throwing a pick 6  and that last interception we would have never been in that position either. Could play the what if game all day but the fact is when you do the little things consistantly well and play disciplined football you win games. We were on the losing end of games far more  due to bonehead mistakes  more than anything else. Whether it Bea stupid penalty, a blown coverage , or horrible clock management.

Edited July 19, 2016 by January J

[ellicottraven]

How do you get to our forums? Has something changed again with our website or is it just me?

[mearzunkies]

  4 hours ago, RRRRRavens said:

Maybe.  But it sure doesn't hurt that they have been in the weakest division in the NFL for those same 14 straight seasons.

Would be interested to see the stats behind this and see if this is actually true. 

At least in recent times, the AFC South has been by far the weakest division in the AFC, and I'd consider the AFC West to generally be pretty average.

As it were, I did find some stats for Brady in his regular season career...

AFC opponents (North, South, West) - 63-21, 75% win pct

AFC opponents (East) - 65-19, 77% win pct

NFC opponents - 42-14, 75% win pct

Full divisional breakdown:

AFC East: 65-19, 77%

AFC South: 25-5, 83%

AFC North: 21-5, 81%

AFC West: 17-11, 61%

NFC East: 13-3, 81%

NFC South: 12-3, 80%

NFC North: 13-3, 81%

NFC West: 6-5, 55%

So he certainly struggles against the West (relatively), with a career 23-16 regular season record. Against all other divisions, he's basically equally as dominant against all of them. 

 

Baltimore has opened the NFL East it all comes down to playing the GAME IMO.

[Moderator 3]

1 hour ago, ellicottraven said:

How do you get to our forums? Has something changed again with our website or is it just me?

There seems to be a problem with the banner.  You can use this link: http://boards.baltimoreravens.com

I keep it in my favorites.

[letitgosometimes]

John: THE recipe for success in Baltimore for 2016 is same as it was in 2015 and 2014: faster DB closure. The DBs must close on a two beat, versus the three or four beat they traditionally give receivers.

[ellicottraven]

I would state that if we can manage to win 10 games and make the playoffs this year, it's been a very successful year. I am managing my own expectations this year following the epic let down of last year. Or with the expectation of winning 10 games am I really?

[Guest]

Have to be pragmatic. Sure it would be nice to have a playoff season, but lets look @ where we are.

1. We have a rebuilt offensive line. The Blind Side is missing and there's even questions at Center and Right Tackle. One can hope it gels, but we gave up Osemele and put a rookie Left Tackle on his vacated side. Probabilities say it could get very ugly.

2. In regard to the foregoing, our Hickory quarterback is coming off his first significant injury and is likely hopeful for a little security. Though, it appears unlikely he'll find it. The anxiety regarding pass protection won't help his completion rate. The real issue is who put this package together?

3. We are also in flux in the secondary. Jimmy Smith had a couple decent games, but he also had games floundering. He's been a decent corner, but certainly not an all pro and he's about as good as it gets back there. Safety is in flux, has been for four years. Whether Weddle can shore up the holes is the question, along with whether Webb can adapt. Webb is a good tackler, but the idea of Safety type tackles frankly haunts me.

4. Linebacker.........well we have aging linebackers and attempted to address the issue in the draft. I'm a little less concerned here, but its not an area to say......."We are deep". ZaDarious Smith is useful and he could improve, but currently he's not gonna make anyone forget Suggs or Dumervil.

5. Wide Receiver....I don't like our receivers. I personally believe we have the worst group in the league. Not gonna sugar coat it.

6. Defensive Line.......ok Brandon Williams is a stud...but other than him we are short of stud support.

Put it all together and we are going to have to be extremely fortunate to get to 8-8.......I'm projecting not.

[Ksinger]

Depth is important because Injuries happen- but most importantly we need to focus on what we can control.  We need to display better clock management. Too many stupid timeouts , unneccesary challenges and questionable playcalls. In a tight one score game every second counts and one play can be the difference in a win or loss-- as we saw SEVERAL times last season. Being disciplined and understanding the situation! Against Jacksonville whether they got the play off in time or not all we need to do is not let them score a 60 yard TD and its game over. Hussle to the line during a 2 minute drill situation. We had guys lackadaisically walking to the line of scrimmage with the game on the line and the clock ticking. One penalty can continue a drive. One dropped pass can stall a drive. Its the little things and its a game of INCHES. do the little things well and you will win games. As much as I hate the Patriots the reason they consistantly win and have had 14 straight 10-win seasons is BC they are the most disciplined team in the league. You won't see them make many mistakes. You wont see them blowing assignments and getting burnt on a simple route. There was atleast 6 games last season that literally 1 play could have changed the outcome of the game. Either a play that wasn't made or a bonehead mistake. Thats potentially the difference in a winning or losing season if we even pull out half of those games. Luck does come into play as well- guys make unreal butt catches ( barnidge) and sometimes the ground just mysteriously gives way from underneath of you ( San Fran) ..horrible calls get made (Arizona among others) ...however when you do the little things well that you can control; display discipline; and  manage the clock well- 9 times out of 10 you will come out on the winning end

Thank you for stating what I have been saying for at the last 3 years. Harbaugh is a great coach but his game management skills are in question. It's frustrating to watch sometimes.

[hen826957]

My honest opinion, l don't even really feel excited about the season that much due to the disappointing season we had last year. I just hope we have a decent year. At least make the playoffs and win a playoff game. I don't expect a Super Bowl team just yet but we're on the right path. Just have a good year and l'm will be happy with that. ?

Edited July 20, 2016 by hen826957

[law215]

The Ravens have made some moves to improve the team. The problem is so has all the top contending teams like KC, Raiders, Bengals, Steelers, and Texans. I want to see which young players step up and become consistent playmakers . so far the only consistency with young players have been injuries. The recipe for the Ravens success has always been balanced offense, protecting the football, and getting to the QB. We have guys to do that. They need to be healthy and consistent.

[January J]

On July 19, 2016 at 6:52 PM, ellicottraven said:

How do you get to our forums? Has something changed again with our website or is it just me?

Go to flock and then you'll see message boards. Took me a second to find it too.

[January J]

20 hours ago, Danny D said:

Have to be pragmatic. Sure it would be nice to have a playoff season, but lets look @ where we are.

1. We have a rebuilt offensive line. The Blind Side is missing and there's even questions at Center and Right Tackle. One can hope it gels, but we gave up Osemele and put a rookie Left Tackle on his vacated side. Probabilities say it could get very ugly.

2. In regard to the foregoing, our Hickory quarterback is coming off his first significant injury and is likely hopeful for a little security. Though, it appears unlikely he'll find it. The anxiety regarding pass protection won't help his completion rate. The real issue is who put this package together?

3. We are also in flux in the secondary. Jimmy Smith had a couple decent games, but he also had games floundering. He's been a decent corner, but certainly not an all pro and he's about as good as it gets back there. Safety is in flux, has been for four years. Whether Weddle can shore up the holes is the question, along with whether Webb can adapt. Webb is a good tackler, but the idea of Safety type tackles frankly haunts me.

4. Linebacker.........well we have aging linebackers and attempted to address the issue in the draft. I'm a little less concerned here, but its not an area to say......."We are deep". ZaDarious Smith is useful and he could improve, but currently he's not gonna make anyone forget Suggs or Dumervil.

5. Wide Receiver....I don't like our receivers. I personally believe we have the worst group in the league. Not gonna sugar coat it.

6. Defensive Line.......ok Brandon Williams is a stud...but other than him we are short of stud support.

Put it all together and we are going to have to be extremely fortunate to get to 8-8.......I'm projecting not.
 

This is an extremely pessimistic view. Ofcourse I'm going to temper my expectations but you seem to be really out of touch with what's going on. I can rebute every single point you made but it's not very necessary bc everybody sees things differently. I just don't think it's going to be as doom and gloom as you project. Ppl are worried about our o-line when in reality I think this group could be a strong point. Are people forgetting we drafted arguably the top LT in the draft? Urschel has promise and is extremely versatile..zuttahs back.. Wagners strong and we don't even need to mention yanda. I also think this kid  Alex Lewis might be a hidden gem. We've got a ton of pass rushers..we've shored up the secondary and added a pro bowl veteran in the back end. We've moved Webb back there as well who has arguably the best hands on the team. Davis is returning who looked promising . Shareece came on strong after the San Fran game. Hired a new secondary coach and potential replacement for pees who will be focusing on nothing but getting us turnovers. We've got a contingency plan in place this time if perriman doesn't pan out with Wallace and Moore. Aiken is becoming something special and you know what happens when ppl count out Steve smith. If campanaro can't stay healthy we may have found his replacement in Reynolds who can do everything he can and be an electric returner.Our running backs aren't superstars but they all are solid and Kenneth Dixon could really excel in trestmans system running and catching the ball in the backfield along with buck and Forsett carrying the load. We're absolutely STACKED at tight end and I can't wait to see some of these double and even triple tight end packages. We've actually got the same coordinator for once and joe will actually have some contingency this year for the first time in his career. shoot even if flacco goes down this time I feel a lot better having another strong armed qb like mallet to takeover and we won't have to switch things up too much. We had to change around the whole playbook for Shaub bc he has no zip on his balls whatsoever. So god forbid something happens to flacco even if it does all hope isn't lost.Suggs will be back which will allow doom to roam free. Jimmys foot is healthy. The Wolfpack is intact and our special teams unit will most likely continue to be one of the best in the league. I could go on but I think I've made a pretty good case to be optimistic. We've shored up almost every position other than ILB and we still have time and space to do that as well. No worries here. I will keep my expectations tempered due to the debacle last year but I ATLEAST see us returning to an above .500 team easily.

[harfordravenfan]

9 minutes ago, January J said:

This is an extremely pessimistic view. Ofcourse I'm going to temper my expectations but you seem to be really out of touch with what's going on. I can rebute every single point you made but it's not very necessary bc everybody sees things differently. I just don't think it's going to be as doom and gloom as you project. Ppl are worried about our o-line when in reality I think this group could be a strong point. Are people forgetting we drafted arguably the top LT in the draft? Urschel has promise and is extremely versatile..zuttahs back.. Wagners strong and we don't even need to mention yanda. I also think this kid  Alex Lewis might be a hidden gem. We've got a ton of pass rushers..we've shored up the secondary and added a pro bowl veteran in the back end. We've moved Webb back there as well who has arguably the best hands on the team. Davis is returning who looked promising . Shareece came on strong after the San Fran game. Hired a new secondary coach and potential replacement for pees who will be focusing on nothing but getting us turnovers. We've got a contingency plan in place this time if perriman doesn't pan out with Wallace and Moore. Aiken is becoming something special and you know what happens when ppl count out Steve smith. If campanaro can't stay healthy we may have found his replacement in Reynolds who can do everything he can and be an electric returner.Our running backs aren't superstars but they all are solid and Kenneth Dixon could really excel in trestmans system running and catching the ball in the backfield along with buck and Forsett carrying the load. We're absolutely STACKED at tight end and I can't wait to see some of these double and even triple tight end packages. We've actually got the same coordinator for once and joe will actually have some contingency this year for the first time in his career. shoot even if flacco goes down this time I feel a lot better having another strong armed qb like mallet to takeover and we won't have to switch things up too much. We had to change around the whole playbook for Shaub bc he has no zip on his balls whatsoever. So god forbid something happens to flacco even if it does all hope isn't lost.Suggs will be back which will allow doom to roam free. Jimmys foot is healthy. The Wolfpack is intact and our special teams unit will most likely continue to be one of the best in the league. I could go on but I think I've made a pretty good case to be optimistic. We've shored up almost every position other than ILB and we still have time and space to do that as well. No worries here. I will keep my expectations tempered due to the debacle last year but I ATLEAST see us returning to an above .500 team easily.

Only thing ya missed was breaking your reply into paragraphs... Tough read on mobile but I agree with ur post

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, January J said:

I can rebute every single point you made but it's not very necessary bc everybody sees things differently. I just don't think it's going to be as doom and gloom as you project. Ppl are worried about our o-line when in reality I think this group could be a strong point. Are people forgetting we drafted arguably the top LT in the draft?

The categories of concern I illustrated are unassailable.  Relying upon rookies is not a recipe for success, though I agree to succeed this year we would have to have a bumper crop of stud rookie  and 2nd year player results. The type of play they have not yet demonstrated.

I promised to be hospitable regarding our 1st round selection and will wait for the season to  unfold.  I will be very vocal when the results being to roll in.

[ellicottraven]

  On 7/19/2016 at 6:52 PM, ellicottraven said:

How do you get to our forums? Has something changed again with our website or is it just me?

Go to flock and then you'll see message boards. Took me a second to find it too.

Yep. Got it. Thx