[News] The Breakdown: Eisenberg's Five Thoughts vs. Carolina

[Bat-mite]

  1 hour ago, Shaky End of the Quarter said:

West had 2.8 yards per carry. Allen had 1 yard per carry. Dixon had 4.8 yards per carry. Since when is 2.8YPC and 1YPC stealing the show? I was not impressed one bit with the performance we put forward. If the Panther starters would have played the entire game we would have got creamed by 35. Its only the first preseason game (don't mean to be a debbie downer) but everything
i have seen and read indicates we are a 7-9 non-playoff team. Hope it doesn't come to fruition but last year I had the same feeling and predicted we would finish 5-11 or 6-10 at best. Which is exactly were we finished.

A huge average YPC isn't the only way to be impressive. You can have a 10 YPC average but turn the ball over three times - and you can have a 3.0 YPC average with 3 TD's - which one's better?

You always say wise things, bio. I'd thumb you up, but I can't figure out how....

[Bat-mite]

2 hours ago, bioLarzen said:

QB stats can be so, so misleading and unfair at times... you throw a perfect pass, but the target fails to catch it - it's an INT on your resumé... on the other hand, you throw a 1-yard screen which the target magically turns into a 50-yard TD - you get a 50-yard TD on your resumé...

Stats are stats, and they can mean different things to different people at different times. Stats could be used to show how Germany was the safest place to live in 1938.

But in sports, the only stat that really matters is the win/loss record.

[RaRaRavens]

3 hours ago, Shaky End of the Quarter said:

West had 2.8 yards per carry. Allen had 1 yard per carry. Dixon had 4.8 yards per carry. Since when is 2.8YPC and 1YPC stealing the show? I was not impressed one bit with the performance we put forward. If the Panther starters would have played the entire game we would have got creamed by 35. Its only the first preseason game (don't mean to be a debbie downer) but everything
i have seen and read indicates we are a 7-9 non-playoff team. Hope it doesn't come to fruition but last year I had the same feeling and predicted we would finish 5-11 or 6-10 at best. Which is exactly were we finished.

In West's case I think you might need some explanation as to his low YPC.

It's very true that he rushed 9x for 25yrds with 2.8YPC, but consider the following. 3 of those runs were in goalline situations. 1 of those 3 was for no gain, the other 2 were for 1 yard and 3 yard TD runs. I think you'll agree with me that the 2 TD runs weren't bad attempts, albeit they vastly distorts his YPC stat.

If you remove those 3 attempts from the equation however, you'll see that he rushed 6x for 21 yards and 3.5YPC for the rest of the game. While 3.5YPC isn't astonishing stat, it also isn't half bad considering how our O-line was getting pushed around most of the night.

Allen was not good though. Hope he'll bounce back next game if he wants to stay on the roster. 

[OUravensfan]

55 minutes ago, bioLarzen said:

QB stats can be so, so misleading and unfair at times... you throw a perfect pass, but the target fails to catch it - it's an INT on your resumé... on the other hand, you throw a 1-yard screen which the target magically turns into a 50-yard TD - you get a 50-yard TD on your resumé...

It's called the Andy Dalton effect

[olescule24]

Seems like our defense took a couple pokes in the eye last night, but aside from that they came out without injuries --- Thank God!

I liked the intensity and level of effort from both West and Dixon on the offense and the young front seven played a nice aggressive

game.  Not impressed with Pees still doing that bend but don't break crap.  Want to see them get on the same page as the motor KC and the other

LB'er in the 2nd half showed.  Hadn't heard squat throughout OTA's, or camp about Henry, but he showed his potential last night.  I like Waller, just hate that

every time they throw to him it seems to be low instead of over the top where his height advantage is being wasted.  All in all, it's a good

start and plenty of film on bubble players/depth to determine who the players are you want to count on when the starters get off the PUP.

[trevorsteadman]

1 hour ago, RaRaRavens said:

In West's case I think you might need some explanation as to his low YPC.

It's very true that he rushed 9x for 25yrds with 2.8YPC, but consider the following. 3 of those runs were in goalline situations. 1 of those 3 was for no gain, the other 2 were for 1 yard and 3 yard TD runs. I think you'll agree with me that the 2 TD runs weren't bad attempts, albeit they vastly distorts his YPC stat.

If you remove those 3 attempts from the equation however, you'll see that he rushed 6x for 21 yards and 3.5YPC for the rest of the game. While 3.5YPC isn't astonishing stat, it also isn't half bad considering how our O-line was getting pushed around most of the night.

Allen was not good though. Hope he'll bounce back next game if he wants to stay on the roster. 

Exactly and another 2 or 3 instances it was 3rd and short and the Panthers stacked the box and he was still able to power through and maneuver to get the first down. 

I'm sorry I know that people talk about the running backs all playing well but Allen had a rough start. I think with how close some of these guys are West plays before Allen next game. I wouldn't be surprised if Dixon also gets more snaps. Allen would run into piles and didn't show his explosiveness at all.

[January J]

9 hours ago, Ravensfansince03 said:

I have to disagree with Eisenberg on the RB situation. I watched the game at a bar near the stadium and during the game many people including me said that Kennith Dixon looks ready and Allen & West are mediocre at best. First of all good RB's dont run East & West

 

Yeah I don't know what game you were watching. On several occasions he made guys miss and turned possible negative yardage plays into 4 and 5 yard gains. He looked extremely sharp and that's without yanda and the starting o line. Maybe you had just drank a bit too much lol. 

 

Carter had a good showing, and I really think z smith is going to explode this season. Waller bounced back from his one gaffe and made several nice grabs and once again Butler quietly had a solid performance like he usually does. Its a shame that waller and boyle start off the season suspended bc they both looked pretty good( boyles got a knack for that mario bros. Hurdle huh?)but with the numbers game its probably a blessing in disguise. Dixon showed some burst and we may have a serious FOUR headed monster this year at rb. Weddles leadership is just so evident and he just puts off this aura/vibe that brings a lot of confidence to our entire team. Another guy that was born to be a raven. The only thing that still scares me is the PR position. For some reason we just have always had trouble finding somebody who can just catch the damn ball. Reynolds one wasn't really his fault but the clay gaffe almost cost us the game had our defense not buckled down in the redzone. This onky furthers the reason we need to hold onto campanaro who atleast catches the ball. We will see how reynolds does the next 3 games. Will Davis had another strong game and although he's mainly a nickel guy I think he could get the job opposite jimmy if shareece doesn't step it up.  Mallet had a good showing as well. Made smart decisions with the ball and if not for the waller gaffe he put up respectable numbers with limited weapons and gave me some confidence that if god forbid joe goes down he can keep us afloat. Overall I'm pretty satisfied with our performance and opening the season with a win at the bank is good for morale.

Edited August 12, 2016 by January J

[trevorsteadman]

10 minutes ago, January J said:

 

Yeah I don't know what game you were watching. On several occasions he made guys miss and turned possible negative yardage plays into 4 and 5 yard gains. He looked extremely sharp and that's without yanda and the starting o line. Maybe you had just drank a bit too much lol. 

 

Carter had a good showing, and I really think z smith is going to explode this season. Waller bounced back from his one gaffe and made several nice grabs and once again Butler quietly had a solid performance like he usually does. Its a shame that waller and boyle start off the season suspended bc they both looked pretty good( boyles got a knack for that mario bros. Hurdle huh?)but with the numbers game its probably a blessing in disguise. Dixon showed some burst and we may have a serious FOUR headed monster this year at rb. Weddles leadership is just so evident and he just puts off this aura/vibe that brings a lot of confidence to our entire team. Another guy that was born to be a raven. The only thing that still scares me is the PR position. For some reason we just have always had trouble finding somebody who can just catch the damn ball. Reynolds one wasn't really his fault but the clay gaffe almost cost us the game had our defense not buckled down in the redzone. This onky furthers the reason we need to hold onto campanaro who atleast catches the ball. We will see how reynolds does the next 3 games. Will Davis had another strong game and although he's mainly a nickel guy I think he could get the job opposite jimmy if shareece doesn't step it up.  Mallet had a good showing as well. Made smart decisions with the ball and if not for the waller gaffe he put up respectable numbers with limited weapons and gave me some confidence that if god forbid joe goes down he can keep us afloat. Overall I'm pretty satisfied with our performance and opening the season with a win at the bank is good for morale.

I agree PR is the position I am most interested to see change next week. Everyone seemed to have their issues. Reynolds got hit but he also wasn't set the best to catch the ball in the first place. I'm hoping he bounces back from that.

But at KR I know that Harbs stressed wanting a running back there and Dixon on his one return didn't get that far (I think to the 27 or something like that) but he did show off his explosiveness and speed. I want to see him return again next week.

[January J]

If we really get suggs, doom, perriman and sss back for week 1 the bills are in trouble. It would be nice to use Johnson to practice for tyrod and rg3 since we got them both week 1 and 2 but we can only carry 2 and I'm pretty sure Johnson is ineligible for the PS. his mobility would be good practice. Don't mean we can't start working on it now but would help if we could do it closer or all the way up to game time. Johnson actually looked pretty solid against the twos and threes but no way he beats out mallet. Mallets game and arm  mirrors joes so not only is that good for practice but if Joe went down the playbook would stay virtually the same.

Edited August 12, 2016 by January J

[trevorsteadman]

5 minutes ago, January J said:

If we really get suggs, doom, perriman and sss back for week 1 the bills are in trouble. It would be nice to use Johnson to practice for tyrod and rg3 since we got them both week 1 and 2 but we can only carry 3 and I'm pretty sure Johnson is ineligible for the PS. his mobility would be good practice. Don't mean we can't start working on it now but would help if we could do it closer or all the way up to game time. Johnson actually looked pretty solid against the twos and threes but no way he beat out mallet. Mallets game and arm  mirrors joes so not only is that good for practice but if Joe went down the playbook would stay virtually the same.

I actually think the commentators said Josh Johnson was able to go on the practice squad because every practice squad has a couple spots for those who have more experience. But after how he has played so far he may not make it there because he has been playing very well I could see a team snatching him.

[January J]

26 minutes ago, trevorsteadman said:

I agree PR is the position I am most interested to see change next week. Everyone seemed to have their issues. Reynolds got hit but he also wasn't set the best to catch the ball in the first place. I'm hoping he bounces back from that.

But at KR I know that Harbs stressed wanting a running back there and Dixon on his one return didn't get that far (I think to the 27 or something like that) but he did show off his explosiveness and speed. I want to see him return again next week.

Yeah Im not so sure how I feel about putting west or Dixon in that position though. They are greatly needed at rb and not only does that take some energy out of them but puts them at far greater risk for injury. The kickoff return is one of if not the most dangerous play which is why there are actually discussions about doing away with it completely. I just would feel far more comfortable with a guy like tavon young or Campanaro out there. Which is what they may end up doing anyway- I get they are just trying things out- but it'd be a damn shame to lose Dixon for the year due to a injury in preseason and cost him a year of development when we could've easily avoided it and thrown somebody else back there. Most of the time it doesn't get ran back anyway- so just give me somebody that can catch. And actually since they moved the touchback out to the 25 yard line kickers will be trying to dare them to take the ball out. I'm just not a big fan of putting rookies at the KR/ PR position, esp when that's not even there speciality and they have another primary position. Interested to know how everybody else feels about this. 

I did love seeing Levine at the linebacker position. He almost pulled in a nice pick.. I think he could potentially really excel there.

Edited August 12, 2016 by January J

[Tdot.to.Bmore]

For those complaining about our secondary, please consider it was the first preseason game! We didnt have any of our starting DL playing that first series. With Williams, Jernigan, Suggs and Doom im sure there would have been more pressure on Cam and Tolbert would have not ran up the middle so easily for those first downs. SO JUST CALM DOWN FOLKS.

It was a good game. A couple players that stuck out last night to me. Young seemed to always be around the ball on special teams. Butler made some nice grabs to move the chains, he just needs to learn to catch with his hands and not his body. Im sooo excited for our front 7 this year, we have power, speed and just nastiness all over the line. I think we will cause some havoc to opposing QBs all year if we can stay healthy.

[BoominRaven]

Not a single word about Matt judon arguably the most dominant defensive player of the second half - kid was BALLING!!

[January J]

29 minutes ago, January J said:

2 minutes ago, BoominRaven said:

Not a single word about Matt judon arguably the most dominant defensive player of the second half - kid was BALLING!!

 

Yeah he did have a good showing along with carter. One guy I didn't see at all was Victor Ochi. I was pulling for the kid to be probably the lone udfa to make the team. Never even saw him. Also where was kendrick lewis? Did he even suit up last night?

[EdTheMythicalOne]

And here is John Hargbaugh sharing his thoughts on the new kickoff rule:

“The goal is misappropriated,” Harbaugh told ESPN. “If you’re trying to get the kickoff out of the game, just take it out. I don’t like the whole premise at all, as far fewer returns, which will make the game less exciting. Maybe that’s their goal, to make it be less exciting. If you want to make it safer, I think there are better ways to look at that. We just have to be smart about it.”

Seems like that is the general thought among a lot of fans and other people in the NFL. There are ways to make the game safer, like I dunno, giving a team an extra bye week after before and after a Thursday game...or...just not having a Thursday game. You could spend some of those millions of dollars you make to develop new helmets which haven't really changed that much over the years since the hard shell was brought into play.

[cbrook1862]

  2 hours ago, January J said:

  1 hour ago, BoominRaven said:

Not a single word about Matt judon arguably the most dominant defensive player of the second half - kid was BALLING!!

 

Yeah he did have a good showing along with carter. One guy I didn't see at all was Victor Ochi. I was pulling for the kid to be probably the lone udfa to make the team. Never even saw him. Also where was kendrick lewis? Did he even suit up last night?

I don't think he did

[cbrook1862]

  2 hours ago, trevorsteadman said:

I agree PR is the position I am most interested to see change next week. Everyone seemed to have their issues. Reynolds got hit but he also wasn't set the best to catch the ball in the first place. I'm hoping he bounces back from that.

But at KR I know that Harbs stressed wanting a running back there and Dixon on his one return didn't get that far (I think to the 27 or something like that) but he did show off his explosiveness and speed. I want to see him return again next week.

Yeah Im not so sure how I feel about putting west or Dixon in that position though. They are greatly needed at rb and not only does that take some energy out of them but puts them at far greater risk for injury. The kickoff return is one of if not the most dangerous play which is why there are actually discussions about doing away with it completely. I just would feel far more comfortable with a guy like tavon young or Campanaro out there. Which is what they may end up doing anyway- I get they are just trying things out- but it'd be a damn shame to lose Dixon for the year due to a injury in preseason and cost him a year of development when we could've easily avoided it and thrown somebody else back there. Most of the time it doesn't get ran back anyway- so just give me somebody that can catch. And actually since they moved the touchback out to the 25 yard line kickers will be trying to dare them to take the ball out. I'm just not a big fan of putting rookies at the KR/ PR position, esp when that's not even there speciality and they have another primary position. Interested to know how everybody else feels about this. 

I did love seeing Levine at the linebacker position. He almost pulled in a nice pick.. I think he could potentially really excel there.

The return man position is definitely up in the air. First and foremost we need guys to catch the ball. I hope someone emerges tho b/c we haven't had a good returner since JJ left. I also think moving Levine to LB was a success, he was constantly around the football. I also think Orr edged out Correa at MLB last night. There were times when he was pass-rushing that a spin or some type of countermove coulda been used to help finish the job, but he was constantly getting pressure and probably was just so eager to get a sack he didn't necessarily think about technique

[The Greek]

is it just me or did weddle and webb look like midgets on the back end. only one game but i was definitely not impressed with the secondary play at all. powers was awful. on offense i was not pleased with the running game. aside from a few descent runs there were not many lanes to run through. west 2.8 avg. and allen had a 1.0 avg.. im sure we will see improvement moving forward

[cbrook1862]

  3 hours ago, bioLarzen said:

QB stats can be so, so misleading and unfair at times... you throw a perfect pass, but the target fails to catch it - it's an INT on your resumé... on the other hand, you throw a 1-yard screen which the target magically turns into a 50-yard TD - you get a 50-yard TD on your resumé...

It's called the Andy Dalton effect

LOL exactly he is so overrated

[cbrook1862]

  4 hours ago, Shaky End of the Quarter said:

West had 2.8 yards per carry. Allen had 1 yard per carry. Dixon had 4.8 yards per carry. Since when is 2.8YPC and 1YPC stealing the show? I was not impressed one bit with the performance we put forward. If the Panther starters would have played the entire game we would have got creamed by 35. Its only the first preseason game (don't mean to be a debbie downer) but everything
i have seen and read indicates we are a 7-9 non-playoff team. Hope it doesn't come to fruition but last year I had the same feeling and predicted we would finish 5-11 or 6-10 at best. Which is exactly were we finished.

If all you look at is stats then Ryan Mallet ran for 6.5 yds a carry, why didn't we just let him run all night? You have to take into consideration when those yards were made, what were the downs, what were the situations, what was the ball location? Its hard to run for 20 yards when 1 yard gets you into the endzone. That happened twice to West yesterday. And on short yardage, the runner is attempting to get a first down on an obvious run down so the defense stacks the box. Getting 2 yards and a first down is highly successful in that instance. And how would the Panthers starters have scored 35 points based on their production because when Cam was in they only scored 3 points? I would say I am happy that Ryan Mallett played almost dead even with MVP Cam Newton. And I am happy that our young guys were able to get the stops they needed in crucial points in the game to allow us to secure the victory. Last year they could not do that. Anyone who is not tickled with the running game, Waller, Butler, the young defensive guys and our secondary, are looking for reasons to whine. YES, our secondary, because I saw passes blocked last night and we didn't even get close to passes last year. So are they perfect? No, are they vastly improved from last year? Absolutely and well on the way to a very good season

Thank you for this post. I think last season's record has some fans uptight and nervous, but I seen a lot of good things last night.

[cbrook1862]

  8 hours ago, verified said:

2 thoughts. kyle arrington still cant cover. Cam was picking on him with ease. I cringe everytime i see him on the field. Number 2, sharece wright is not a starting corner, i dont know what the coaching staff sees in him and i couldnt care less about him and jimmy smiths relationship the guy simply cant play.

I think the 2nd half of 2015 proved that he can play pretty well.

Wright was put up against guys way bigger than him and not once were they wide open. even though the receivers caught passes against him he almost always had good coverage on them and forced them to make a tough catch.

[cbrook1862]

How come nobody is mentioning Josh Johnson. If Mallet was solid, then Johnson was "solider." Mallet threw some lame ducks and overthrew some guys, underthrew some others. Josh Johnson was dropping the ball into guys perfectly in stride most of the night and only one bad miss I saw was the short hop to Clay.

The O-line was a bit underwhelming. Stanley did a good job and I realize Yanda wasn't in there, but Ducasse and Wesley looked pretty bad at RG and the line got pushed back often, didn't open up many running lanes. They protected the QB's pretty well though so that's a plus.

Arrington and Powers had rough nights. Arrington because he was simply out of position all the time and Powers because he was falling down. I noticed that even though Jimmy Smith wasn't in the game long, he was in long enough to be beaten on a pass that should have been a TD if it wasn't thrown so poorly. I thought the safeties did a pretty good job overall. Elam missed a tackle on a play where he crashed down on an outside run, but he stopped the play's momentum and somebody else was able to clean up the tackle.

Yea most the time the backs just used their skill and athleticism to make something out of nothing. Pass protection a B+ run blocking a C-

[cbrook1862]

Lots of stuff for the Ravens to work on. The secondary is still a concern to me at CB. Powers got owned, twice receivers had a couple steps on Jimmy, Wright had a height disadvantage on the TD, but his technique was solid. Of course defense was playing vanilla without some starters so perhaps it seemed worse than it was. Backups looked solid this year so far :) GO RAVENS! 25

I think the most important thing is that we seen we have much better depth this year

[Ravenous_Ravens]

For the first preseason game they looked pretty good. There are obviously things to clean up and work on, but now they have some real experience vs another club where there is less familiarity with the system and play calling.

As far as I can remember Harbs said the first 2 preseason games are vanilla play calling. MY guess is that would have a little do with some plays being made against them, etc. Secondaries always take a bit to really gel and get the communication honed in just right, so that doesn't bother me too much right now, because they cleaned up the elephant in the room being eliminating the big plays.

[EwholoJeroro]

I think the Ravens team played well. Lots of players showed flashes of what they could be with some more work and coaching. However we might never see the full potential of the defense if Dean Peas is our DC going into the season. The fault in our defense is Dean Peas. It has ALWAYS been Dean Pees. The man has no imagination when it comes to defensive schemes. He has absolutely no feel for the game. I really hope it doesn't take all season for the front office to get rid of him. I have nothing against the man outside football. He is just not the DC for the Baltimore Ravens

I know most will say 'It's just a game'.or.. 'Injuries have plagued the team'....or my favorite.. 'it's just a preseason game'. Yada, yada, yada. We have had 4 years of this man and it's always the same thing. Enough is enough. We have new young talent that are versatile and can play multiple positions but yet.. it was the same ol "bend but don't break" BS. ENOUGH!

[eze17]

I was happy with how the rookies played last night. Stanley played a solid game, and looked good helping the running game. Correa was o.k. for being switched around at different positions. Come regular season he should have his roles more clearly defined and be more of a contributor. Young played well, especially flying around on special teams, and with Arrington and Powers looking less than spectacular hopefully gets more time at nickel. Dixon showed he can be a more than capable RB, and was easily one of the bright spots of the game. Henry showed up and was pushing to make plays. Judon especially came out with a chip on his shoulder and showed very good skills. The only poor showing was Reynolds, although the bobble wasn't really all his fault, he didn't look sharp or in the correct position in any case. He needs to step up his game, as returner is his way to make the squad. Overall, I was very happy with our rookies first taste of real action.

[January J]

1 hour ago, The Greek said:

is it just me or did weddle and webb look like midgets on the back end. only one game but i was definitely not impressed with the secondary play at all. powers was awful. on offense i was not pleased with the running game. aside from a few descent runs there were not many lanes to run through. west 2.8 avg. and allen had a 1.0 avg.. im sure we will see improvement moving forward

Just you.

[bioLarzen]

Here's a great player-by-player analysis of the game:

Edited August 12, 2016 by bioLarzen

[mearzunkies]

And here is John Hargbaugh sharing his thoughts on the new kickoff rule:

“The goal is misappropriated,” Harbaugh told ESPN. “If you’re trying to get the kickoff out of the game, just take it out. I don’t like the whole premise at all, as far fewer returns, which will make the game less exciting. Maybe that’s their goal, to make it be less exciting. If you want to make it safer, I think there are better ways to look at that. We just have to be smart about it.”

Seems like that is the general thought among a lot of fans and other people in the NFL. There are ways to make the game safer, like I dunno, giving a team an extra bye week after before and after a Thursday game...or...just not having a Thursday game. You could spend some of those millions of dollars you make to develop new helmets which haven't really changed that much over the years since the hard shell was brought into play.

Word. IMO, The league does not GOS about their health. They care about the money.

[cbrook1862]

QB- J.Flacco, R.Mallett
TE- C.Gillmore, B.Watson, D.Pitta, M.Williams
RB- J.Forsett, K.Dixon, T.West, J.Allen
WR- SSS, K.Aiken, M.Wallace, C.Moore, M.Campanaro, B.Perriman,
OLINE- R.Stanley, M.Yanda, R.Jensen, J.Zuttah, J.Urschel, R.Wagner, R.Lewis, D.Wesley

OLB- T.Suggs, E.Doom, Z.Smith, C.Carter, M.Judon, A.McCllelan
ILB- C.J. Mosley, A.Levine, Z.Orr, K.Correa
CB- J.Smith, S.Price, T.Young, J.Powers, S.Wright, W.Davis
S- E.Weddle, L.Webb, T.Brooks, K.Lewis
DLINE- T.Jernigan, B.Williams, L.Guy, B.Urban, C.Davis, W.Henry

ST- J.Tucker, M.Cox, S.Koch

projected 53 man roster after first pre-season game