The good the bad and the ugly Lions version

[Ravensfan23]

18 hours ago, Filmstudy said:

The great Ravens defenses have all had big contributions from a dime.  Under Marvin Lewis, with the legendary 2000 front 7, they still managed to run 34.5% of the snaps with 6 or 7 DBs on the field.  The last 3 years under Pees, that number is just 2.3%.

Why is that important?  Because vanilla nickel has made this team one of the easiest defenses to game plan against in the entire league.

Levine has been practicing for the dime role this summer, but in 3 PS games to date:

--Panthers: He played 18 dime snaps as anticipated

--Colts: The Ravens were short at nickel, so he played SCB and the Ravens didn't play any dime

--Lions: The team was down 3 safeties with Webb and Lewis sitting and Elam's injury, so Levine played exclusively safety and the team again didn't play any snaps with 6+ DBs.

His aggregate contributions have been outstanding this preseason, but the last 2 games, he's been in roles dictated by emergency.  While he has the talent to fill in at other positions, I hope he'll be able to stay as the dime for the entire season, because that is where the team needs him most schematically and they don't at present have another player who fits the position well (Elam was the backup, Onwuasor might be the next most logical).

Have to admit, I came down hard on Levine during the first 3 weeks or so of camp. Not that I didn't like him as a player because I made that clearly known, it was just that I didn't feel the Dime package was as important to this defense as many made it out to be and I didn't think Levine performed well enough in his other position roles to put much stock in his versatility. Also while Harbs loves ST guys and Levine being a really good one, I thought he could have been one of the talented guys this team wouldn't be able to keep. 

However I was dead wrong. He's improved his game so much, even outside of the Dime he's been playing so well. His confidence level seems so high and he's a lot more sure of himself. He has developed really well and I can definitely see him having a major role in getting this defense back to a ball hawking fearsome unit. 

Looking forward to watching Levine this year. 

 

 

[K-Dog]

35 minutes ago, Ravensfan23 said:

 

Looking forward to watching Levine this year. 

 

 

Me too.

I watched his presser earlier today. 

He said a lot of things I liked. He has a good head on his shoulders.  I kinda want this guy to succeed. 

[Maryland]

@Filmstudy If you take requests, I was wondering if you could give a summary of your thoughts on how Correa has played and how you think he will be used this season based on what you've seen so far. And if anyone else wants to provide their 2-cents, I'd be happy to read. 

Edited August 30, 2016 by Maryland

[Filmstudy]

31 minutes ago, Maryland said:

@Filmstudy If you take requests, I was wondering if you could give a summary of your thoughts on how Correa has played and how you think he will be used this season based on what you've seen so far. And if anyone else wants to provide their 2-cents, I'd be happy to read. 

Correa has been solid at OLB.  He had a good edge hold that allowed Jimmy Smith to come up and make a tackle in game 3 and turned a play inside to Henry in game 1.  He had a QH in game 1 that went unrecorded in the Gamebook and altered 2 passes (at least 1 a PD) in game 2.  He's done less playmaking than Judon, clearly, but his progress is in line with expectations.  One thing we haven't seen much is him dropping to coverage.  I'll be looking for that in game 4, when he should get plenty of snaps. 

Correa hasn't played many snaps at ILB.  In each game, he's played perhaps 3-5 without checking by play.  I can't recall a play he made from ILB.

An oddity is that Correa may be competing with Levine/Orr for snaps.  Why?  Because Pees must make a passing-down choice between the nickel and dime.  If the Ravens play more dime, it means CJ Mosley will be the only ILB on the field lined up next to Levine and the front 4 gets very crowded and competitive for snaps.  Orr will also play some passing downs in the nickel which makes it more unlikely Correa will see time there. 

The best 4-man PR front is probably Suggs, Jernigan, (ZSmith or Judon), Dumervil, but that's also a situation when Urban can wreak havoc with his height or Willie Henry could be disruptive.  I'm sure they will find a way to get Correa on the field in more than a special teams role, but don't be shocked if he is inactive some weeks.

Correa's best chance to get on the field is to focus on his edge-setting skills, because the Ravens can use help there:

--Suggs was a HoF run defender when he was last playing regularly, but even in great shape I don't see him playing more than 70% of snaps.

--Dumervil needs to return to a pure situational PR role to maximize value.

--Judon's edge-setting has been mixed in PS.

--ZSmith was supposed to be a good edge setter, but he undershot the mark as a rookie.

--McClellan is the next best after Suggs, but he may occasionally be inactive as he was 3 times last year.

So Correa's best chance for snaps as a rookie may be in a 2-down role.  

[jdynamite]

Bad- KLM has not been impressive to me, maybe I've only seen the negative plays where he's getting pushed around. 

 

Good - A.Levine just seems to always be in a play this preseason, and he's always a good special teams player.  C.Moore has looked solid to me, haven't seen him on anything deep but I like what I've seen. 

 

Ugly - Dixon leg injury although it doesn't appear to be serious. Earlier in the game when Dixon got that strong run that pushed the pile, I said to myself if this kid stays healthy and can pass protect he will be #1 RB very soon. 

[TurkishRaven]

I watched the game last night and still concerned about our defense this year. 

Offense looks pretty good. 

If we stay healthy I see us winning more than 8 this year.

[OUravensfan]

4 hours ago, TurkishRaven said:

I watched the game last night and still concerned about our defense this year. 

Offense looks pretty good. 

If we stay healthy I see us winning more than 8 this year.

Still have seen the dreaded penalty on 3rd and long this year

[Ravensfan23]

17 hours ago, Filmstudy said:

Correa has been solid at OLB.  He had a good edge hold that allowed Jimmy Smith to come up and make a tackle in game 3 and turned a play inside to Henry in game 1.  He had a QH in game 1 that went unrecorded in the Gamebook and altered 2 passes (at least 1 a PD) in game 2.  He's done less playmaking than Judon, clearly, but his progress is in line with expectations.  One thing we haven't seen much is him dropping to coverage.  I'll be looking for that in game 4, when he should get plenty of snaps. 

Correa hasn't played many snaps at ILB.  In each game, he's played perhaps 3-5 without checking by play.  I can't recall a play he made from ILB.

An oddity is that Correa may be competing with Levine/Orr for snaps.  Why?  Because Pees must make a passing-down choice between the nickel and dime.  If the Ravens play more dime, it means CJ Mosley will be the only ILB on the field lined up next to Levine and the front 4 gets very crowded and competitive for snaps.  Orr will also play some passing downs in the nickel which makes it more unlikely Correa will see time there. 

The best 4-man PR front is probably Suggs, Jernigan, (ZSmith or Judon), Dumervil, but that's also a situation when Urban can wreak havoc with his height or Willie Henry could be disruptive.  I'm sure they will find a way to get Correa on the field in more than a special teams role, but don't be shocked if he is inactive some weeks.

Correa's best chance to get on the field is to focus on his edge-setting skills, because the Ravens can use help there:

--Suggs was a HoF run defender when he was last playing regularly, but even in great shape I don't see him playing more than 70% of snaps.

--Dumervil needs to return to a pure situational PR role to maximize value.

--Judon's edge-setting has been mixed in PS.

--ZSmith was supposed to be a good edge setter, but he undershot the mark as a rookie.

--McClellan is the next best after Suggs, but he may occasionally be inactive as he was 3 times last year.

So Correa's best chance for snaps as a rookie may be in a 2-down role.  

Only play recorded in the stat sheets that I remember him making from the ILB position was a tackle down field he made in the Colts game. I think it was the same play Canady got hurt. 

Correa hasn't had many coverage opportunities, in fact he doesn't really get much time on the field period, Haven't really had the time to breakdown the Lions game, but over the first two games I think i have him averaging 15 snaps per game.  By comparing both CJ and Orr nearly doubled those snaps with about 28 snaps per game, which is odd because you'd think that Correa needs more work.  Both CJ and Orr ran with both 1st and 2nd team units. Like you said he's only getting about 5 snaps or so at ILB which means 10 snaps are coming as a OLB and many of those are 3rd down situations. 

I think Correa has a role in this defense, but as you pointed out snaps will be tough to come by. In terms of who will be inactive on game days, I can see Correa, Judon or McCellan inactive on any given game. I think Correa will be moved around in the defense and that'll allow him to be active more games than not. I definitely think he'll have to be a 2-down guy early on, but I can definitely see him taking snaps away from Orr in nickle packages. He hasn't gotten many coverage opportunities, but the ones he has have been good imo. He seems really smart and instinctive in coverage, but again it's been limited so lets see what happens Thursday when he plays a lot more at ILB i would think. He's played well in PS, but Judon may be the odd man out in terms of being inactive more often than not. 

Also I think i had him credited for another QBH in the Panthers game on the play where Price had tight coverage but the WR made the catch down the sideline through Price's attempt to swat the ball.  

[JoeyFlex5]

On 8/30/2016 at 3:05 AM, Filmstudy said:

Correa has been solid at OLB.  He had a good edge hold that allowed Jimmy Smith to come up and make a tackle in game 3 and turned a play inside to Henry in game 1.  He had a QH in game 1 that went unrecorded in the Gamebook and altered 2 passes (at least 1 a PD) in game 2.  He's done less playmaking than Judon, clearly, but his progress is in line with expectations.  One thing we haven't seen much is him dropping to coverage.  I'll be looking for that in game 4, when he should get plenty of snaps. 

Correa hasn't played many snaps at ILB.  In each game, he's played perhaps 3-5 without checking by play.  I can't recall a play he made from ILB.

An oddity is that Correa may be competing with Levine/Orr for snaps.  Why?  Because Pees must make a passing-down choice between the nickel and dime.  If the Ravens play more dime, it means CJ Mosley will be the only ILB on the field lined up next to Levine and the front 4 gets very crowded and competitive for snaps.  Orr will also play some passing downs in the nickel which makes it more unlikely Correa will see time there. 

The best 4-man PR front is probably Suggs, Jernigan, (ZSmith or Judon), Dumervil, but that's also a situation when Urban can wreak havoc with his height or Willie Henry could be disruptive.  I'm sure they will find a way to get Correa on the field in more than a special teams role, but don't be shocked if he is inactive some weeks.

Correa's best chance to get on the field is to focus on his edge-setting skills, because the Ravens can use help there:

--Suggs was a HoF run defender when he was last playing regularly, but even in great shape I don't see him playing more than 70% of snaps.

--Dumervil needs to return to a pure situational PR role to maximize value.

--Judon's edge-setting has been mixed in PS.

--ZSmith was supposed to be a good edge setter, but he undershot the mark as a rookie.

--McClellan is the next best after Suggs, but he may occasionally be inactive as he was 3 times last year.

So Correa's best chance for snaps as a rookie may be in a 2-down role.  

Just wondering if you caught his dropback on Levine's int? He disrupted that play a good bit with good positioning and came within a inch or 2 of batting the pass 10 yards before it was picked, he showed great adjustment on the play by following the motion of the play and then cutting back and picking up the right man and cutting off the throwing lane, quick thinking to say the least.

[Filmstudy]

3 hours ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

Just wondering if you caught his dropback on Levine's int? He disrupted that play a good bit with good positioning and came within a inch or 2 of batting the pass 10 yards before it was picked, he showed great adjustment on the play by following the motion of the play and then cutting back and picking up the right man and cutting off the throwing lane, quick thinking to say the least.

I wouldn't say he disrupted the play, but he did what he was supposed to do in zone coverage and demonstrated awareness.

1. He covered the crossing route.

2. Passed his man to Orr in zone coverage

3. Found the QB's eyes

4. Leaped, but came up short on the ball.

I don't think you can honestly say he altered the throw.  However, we certainly know how much that sort of lane awareness can be valuable from watching Ray's career here and he's shown that skill at OLB the pass that he either batted or altered to the right sideline in PS2.

But if you're pointing out that I forgot a good coverage play from ILB, you're right.

Edited August 31, 2016 by Filmstudy

[Filmstudy]

11 hours ago, Ravensfan23 said:

Only play recorded in the stat sheets that I remember him making from the ILB position was a tackle down field he made in the Colts game. I think it was the same play Canady got hurt. 

Correa hasn't had many coverage opportunities, in fact he doesn't really get much time on the field period, Haven't really had the time to breakdown the Lions game, but over the first two games I think i have him averaging 15 snaps per game.  By comparing both CJ and Orr nearly doubled those snaps with about 28 snaps per game, which is odd because you'd think that Correa needs more work.  Both CJ and Orr ran with both 1st and 2nd team units. Like you said he's only getting about 5 snaps or so at ILB which means 10 snaps are coming as a OLB and many of those are 3rd down situations. 

I think Correa has a role in this defense, but as you pointed out snaps will be tough to come by. In terms of who will be inactive on game days, I can see Correa, Judon or McCellan inactive on any given game. I think Correa will be moved around in the defense and that'll allow him to be active more games than not. I definitely think he'll have to be a 2-down guy early on, but I can definitely see him taking snaps away from Orr in nickle packages. He hasn't gotten many coverage opportunities, but the ones he has have been good imo. He seems really smart and instinctive in coverage, but again it's been limited so lets see what happens Thursday when he plays a lot more at ILB i would think. He's played well in PS, but Judon may be the odd man out in terms of being inactive more often than not. 

Also I think i had him credited for another QBH in the Panthers game on the play where Price had tight coverage but the WR made the catch down the sideline through Price's attempt to swat the ball.  

Thanks for the thoughtful response.  He's played 58 preseason snaps to date.

He wasn't credited with any QH vs. the Lions, but the one he had was (Q2, 6:52) which would have been negated by OPI81, but wasn't even noted in the Gamebook.  I rewatched the play you mentioned (Q3, 8:02).  I could see that interpreted as pressure from Correa, but I don't think he knocked the QB down.  By QBH, did you mean hurry?

Both you and Joeyflex5 are pointing out good, specific plays.  We definitely need to compare notes on Correa after game the 4th game when I expect he'll play a lot more ILB.

[JoeyFlex5]

51 minutes ago, Filmstudy said:

I wouldn't say he disrupted the play, but he did what he was supposed to do in zone coverage and demonstrated awareness.

1. He covered the crossing route.

2. Passed his man to Orr in zone coverage

3. Found the QB's eyes

4. Leaped, but came up short on the ball.

I don't think you can honestly say he altered the throw.  However, we certainly know how much that sort of lane awareness can be valuable from watching Ray's career here and he's shown that skill at OLB the pass that he either batted or altered to the right sideline in PS2.

But if you're pointing out that I forgot a good coverage play from ILB, you're right.

Yeah I didn't mean to say disrupted but he made the easy throw a non option if the qb decided to pull it down and look elsewhere. 

[Ravensfan23]

4 hours ago, Filmstudy said:

He wasn't credited with any QH vs. the Lions, but the one he had was (Q2, 6:52) which would have been negated by OPI81, but wasn't even noted in the Gamebook.  I rewatched the play you mentioned (Q3, 8:02).  I could see that interpreted as pressure from Correa, but I don't think he knocked the QB down.  By QBH, did you mean hurry?

 

Actually I was going off of memory on that play. Didn't have my note in front of me, I know i noted it but not exactly sure why I noted it. Now that you mention it, I don't think I noted a QB hit nor hurry, I think I just noted him getting chipped by the RB and still being able to quickly beat the OT to get pressure. 

 

4 hours ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

Yeah I didn't mean to say disrupted but he made the easy throw a non option if the qb decided to pull it down and look elsewhere. 

That was definitely a plus play for me. As you said he didn't disrupt the pass but I think he definitely disrupted the timing of the play and forced Stafford to move to his 2nd option late over the middle. Some may look at that as KC simply doing what he was supposed to and that's right. However last year our ILBs struggled to just do their jobs like KC did on that play and because of it that would have been a 1st down for the other offense instead of getting the ball back for ours. Sometimes just doing your job can have a huge impact.

[JoeyFlex5]

14 hours ago, Ravensfan23 said:

Actually I was going off of memory on that play. Didn't have my note in front of me, I know i noted it but not exactly sure why I noted it. Now that you mention it, I don't think I noted a QB hit nor hurry, I think I just noted him getting chipped by the RB and still being able to quickly beat the OT to get pressure. 

 

That was definitely a plus play for me. As you said he didn't disrupt the pass but I think he definitely disrupted the timing of the play and forced Stafford to move to his 2nd option late over the middle. Some may look at that as KC simply doing what he was supposed to and that's right. However last year our ILBs struggled to just do their jobs like KC did on that play and because of it that would have been a 1st down for the other offense instead of getting the ball back for ours. Sometimes just doing your job can have a huge impact.

And heads up plays in coverage like that, from a rookie DE/OLB who is making a transition at this level, is impressive. That, along with consistently being around the ball, shows a deep understanding of how to play defense in general, he's a natural football player and I think that goes a very long way for someone as explosive and exciting as him. 

He just needs to catch up with the pro speed of the game a LITTLE BIT more and I think you'll see him making plays.

[Ravensfan23]

2 hours ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

And heads up plays in coverage like that, from a rookie DE/OLB who is making a transition at this level, is impressive. That, along with consistently being around the ball, shows a deep understanding of how to play defense in general, he's a natural football player and I think that goes a very long way for someone as explosive and exciting as him. 

He just needs to catch up with the pro speed of the game a LITTLE BIT more and I think you'll see him making plays.

Yea definitely. I thought his own words were interesting from the article on the front page. He spoke about how it's basically a rude awakening to see that everyone on this level is just as good if not better than you. I think this clearly shows up in the pass rush department because he rarely uses a secondary move when rushing(think I noted 1 time). As I've mentioned before, once he realizes this ain't college anymore where he was just beating up on guys who won't even make the CFL, he'll start to use that speed and explosiveness much better. He has a really good bag of mixed tools from power, to quickness, explosiveness and he seems really smart, the question for KC is how quickly can he put it together. 

[Somerset Ravens]

3 hours ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

And heads up plays in coverage like that, from a rookie DE/OLB who is making a transition at this level, is impressive. That, along with consistently being around the ball, shows a deep understanding of how to play defense in general, he's a natural football player and I think that goes a very long way for someone as explosive and exciting as him. 

He just needs to catch up with the pro speed of the game a LITTLE BIT more and I think you'll see him making plays.

Correa has flashed some impressive skills. With more experience he should develop better consistency. He would benefit greatly from playing the entire game against the Saints.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

3 hours ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

And heads up plays in coverage like that, from a rookie DE/OLB who is making a transition at this level, is impressive. That, along with consistently being around the ball, shows a deep understanding of how to play defense in general, he's a natural football player and I think that goes a very long way for someone as explosive and exciting as him. 

He just needs to catch up with the pro speed of the game a LITTLE BIT more and I think you'll see him making plays.

Yea - i think with some Correa is going to be a victim of expectations and the early hype he was getting in camp... but if we can get just get that type of solid contribution from him this year - setting the edge, doing his job in coverage, swarming to the ball, and the occasional pressure I'll consider that a win.

Although its been somewhat limited, ive been happy with his progression thus far.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

On 8/29/2016 at 10:47 PM, Ravensfan23 said:

Have to admit, I came down hard on Levine during the first 3 weeks or so of camp. Not that I didn't like him as a player because I made that clearly known, it was just that I didn't feel the Dime package was as important to this defense as many made it out to be and I didn't think Levine performed well enough in his other position roles to put much stock in his versatility. Also while Harbs loves ST guys and Levine being a really good one, I thought he could have been one of the talented guys this team wouldn't be able to keep. 

However I was dead wrong. He's improved his game so much, even outside of the Dime he's been playing so well. His confidence level seems so high and he's a lot more sure of himself. He has developed really well and I can definitely see him having a major role in getting this defense back to a ball hawking fearsome unit. 

Looking forward to watching Levine this year. 

 

 

Happy to see you've come around on Levine.