[News] Late For Work 10/4: Why It's Smart For Ravens Not To Declare Terrance West The Starter Yet

[BR News]

Harbaugh opened presser by sending well wishes to Joseph Bauer. Sunday could get busy with Ravens day game and Orioles night game. Smith is a ‘freak.’ Flacco must be happy to hear Stanley can return after getting worst PFF grade. Williams’ season in jeopardy?

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[Bat-mite]

Note to Harbaugh: increasing security is not the answer. Eliminating tailgating and selling alcohol at games is the answer. Sorry, but sober people usually don't throw bottles at each other and get into fights.

[dirtybird66]

i think it is better to get one hot guy running the whole game,gives continuity and a feel for the defense.the thing i'm concerned about is when harbaugh shuffled the o-line the run game picked up,so now you put bacl 2 guys better at pass protection what happens to the run,mabey like every other position they need to rotate the o-line in and out? FLACCO does his best work out of the shotgun,big ben seems to love being in it a majority of his snaps,it also seems to never let a defense know when the run is coming when they stay spread and in shotgun,also spreads the defense out and creates running lanes.

[rmcjacket23]

Note to Harbaugh: increasing security is not the answer. Eliminating tailgating and selling alcohol at games is the answer. Sorry, but sober people usually don't throw bottles at each other and get into fights.

Would cause a large decline in revenue for the teams and the NFL, so that's not happening.

Ultimately, it falls on people to be responsible for their own actions. There is no measures that can be taken to eliminate stupidity.

[stixfix69]

I don't think its smart at all not to name West the starter, its all about mind set for players......I don't agree any player should go into every week not knowing, name him the starter until further notice, should be his job to lose....He ran hard, played hard, and turned the game offensively in the 2nd half.....Dixon needs to get into real game shape, and if he proves he is the better back, then go from there, but until then he hasn't played a real NFL game yet.....JMO......

[Steve32]

I don't think its smart at all not to name West the starter, its all about mind set for players......I don't agree any player should go into every week not knowing, name him the starter until further notice, should be his job to lose....He ran hard, played hard, and turned the game offensively in the 2nd half.....Dixon needs to get into real game shape, and if he proves he is the better back, then go from there, but until then he hasn't played a real NFL game yet.....JMO......

It's called competition and it makes everyone better, as Harbaugh says.

[stixfix69]

  5 minutes ago, stixfix69 said:

I don't think its smart at all not to name West the starter, its all about mind set for players......I don't agree any player should go into every week not knowing, name him the starter until further notice, should be his job to lose....He ran hard, played hard, and turned the game offensively in the 2nd half.....Dixon needs to get into real game shape, and if he proves he is the better back, then go from there, but until then he hasn't played a real NFL game yet.....JMO......

It's called competition and it makes everyone better, as Harbaugh says.

Competition is done through camp, with West getting carries his YPC is where we want it to be, and he registered a 100 yard game....When a team has struggled, and a player steps up, and outplayed the competition then you reward him with the starting job.....Showing you have confidence in a key position is part of the so-called confidence you have that the offense will get where it needs to be....

[The Greek]

if the o-line is inconsistent than so will the running game. i like west and it is never good to have a rb by commitee. a rb needs to get into the flow of the game and not switch off every 3 carries. defense must feast on cousins. skins have talented receivers and te's and they will make plays if cousins goes untouched. if doom struggles i hope we go back to the younger guys earlier because it worked in the 1st 3 games

Edited October 4, 2016 by The Greek

[ryananth]

Nice work from the headline editor! You got my attention with the Williams season in doubt line. I immediately though Brendon Williams. Whew, glad it's not him!! Put Maxx on IR, bring up Waller to fill his spot and also to be the gunner replacing Aiken who did pretty poorly last week. We've also got Boyle coming back after week 10 if we lose another TE. No story here...let's move along

Edited October 4, 2016 by ryananth

[7NationArmy]

Don't worry about traffic issues on Sunday...

Signed, Ravens/Jays fan

haha sorry had to stir that up.

[creigle]

I don't think its smart at all not to name West the starter, its all about mind set for players......I don't agree any player should go into every week not knowing, name him the starter until further notice, should be his job to lose....He ran hard, played hard, and turned the game offensively in the 2nd half.....Dixon needs to get into real game shape, and if he proves he is the better back, then go from there, but until then he hasn't played a real NFL game yet.....JMO......

Why "name" a starter?? The coach and the players know what's going to happen. No need to tell the other team what's happening, Just to appease us fans and fantasy owners.

[A Fish Called Yanda]

Sunday is going to be very interesting. Possibility of Ravens, Orioles doubleheader with a massive hurricane moving its way up the east coast. Could end up with 2 games, 1 game, or no games at all.

[HomeoftheBRAVENS]

PFF ratings and ESPNs QBR Ratings are both garbage to me.They seem to be based more off of emotion and personal opinion than the actual results on the field.The only QB measurement I care about is the NFL's passer rating.Its perfect.Any rating you can't calculate for yourself should be taken with a grain of salt.

Edited October 4, 2016 by HomeoftheBRAVENS

[playlikeawhat]

I know it's easier to blame a player than fix the line, but, fix the line please? Thanks.

[Space11jams]

Forsett was cut. Wishing him the best.

[TheConquerorWorm]

PFF ratings and ESPNs QBR Ratings are both garbage to me.They seem to be based more off of emotion and personal opinion than the actual results on the field.The only QB measurement I care about is the NFL's passer rating.Its perfect.Any rating you can't calculate for yourself should be taken with a grain of salt.

I agree. PFF rankings are a joke. Zuttah ranked higher than SSS? What game were they watching. I guess the holding penalties on 2 huge run plays don't count. Neither does a missed assignment as long as he blocks another guy.

How can your rankings be serious when you graded out Will Hill as the #1 Safety over Mathieu, Chancellor & Weddle. It's because there is a serious flaw in your grading system. It's like Fielding % in baseball - the guy that holds the record - he never tried to field a ball unless it was hit directly at him. That doesn't make him the greatest fielder ever.....

[eze17]

Forsett was cut. Wishing him the best.

Not cut, asked for his release...saw the handwriting on the wall, and decided to leave on his own terms. Classy player, don't know how many teams will take a chance on him, but wish him the best...

This does leave a roster spot open for Waller, however. With Maxx Williams sidelined for an unknown amount of time, nice timing to get another TE to step right in. If Williams is done for the year, I seriously hope the Ravens would take a look at bringing in someone to take over the back-up left tackle position. Hurst is not the answer.

[bioLarzen]

Goodby Justin, and wish you nothing but the best.

Sad, but it seems Forsett could only thrive in Kubiak's offense.

Nonetheless, as classy as one can get. It was great to have you in purple. Go and find your next great home.

[bioLarzen]

  56 minutes ago, Space11jams said:

Forsett was cut. Wishing him the best.

Not cut, asked for his release...saw the handwriting on the wall, and decided to leave on his own terms. Classy player, don't know how many teams will take a chance on him, but wish him the best...

This does leave a roster spot open for Waller, however. With Maxx Williams sidelined for an unknown amount of time, nice timing to get another TE to step right in. If Williams is done for the year, I seriously hope the Ravens would take a look at bringing in someone to take over the back-up left tackle position. Hurst is not the answer.

There were O-linemen and a safety reportedly brought in for tryouts. None remotely close to strating - or even quality backup - caliber, but if Maxx Williams has to go on IR, his spot may go to one of those... It was frightening to see how low quality our depth at O-line is...

[eze17]

  25 minutes ago, eze17 said:

  1 hour ago, Space11jams said:

Forsett was cut. Wishing him the best.

Not cut, asked for his release...saw the handwriting on the wall, and decided to leave on his own terms. Classy player, don't know how many teams will take a chance on him, but wish him the best...

This does leave a roster spot open for Waller, however. With Maxx Williams sidelined for an unknown amount of time, nice timing to get another TE to step right in. If Williams is done for the year, I seriously hope the Ravens would take a look at bringing in someone to take over the back-up left tackle position. Hurst is not the answer.

There were O-linemen and a safety reportedly brought in for tryouts. None remotely close to strating - or even quality backup - caliber, but if Maxx Williams has to go on IR, his spot may go to one of those... It was frightening to see how low quality our depth at O-line is...

Well, Hurst and K. Lewis were two players that I was suspect of during training camp, and they both looked sloppy as you can play Sunday...I wouldn't expect there to be much out there as far as back-ups go, but are we losing much in any case getting rid of those two? I really think it would be worth looking at someone with little experience but possible potential over these two. The problem is they know our system and our playbook, where bringing in anyone new would require time to adjust to our system...I guess it will depend on just who we could sign that will help us overall, and not just make a change for change's sake. Be nice if we can find a workable solution, cause i'm starting to cringe just seeing Hurst or Lewis come out on the field...

[rmcjacket23]

4 hours ago, HomeoftheBRAVENS said:

PFF ratings and ESPNs QBR Ratings are both garbage to me.They seem to be based more off of emotion and personal opinion than the actual results on the field.The only QB measurement I care about is the NFL's passer rating.Its perfect.Any rating you can't calculate for yourself should be taken with a grain of salt.

LOL, well NFL passer rating is certainly far from perfect. Doesn't take into account anything about the game, such as score and context.

Also ignores the fact that pretty much nobody knows what a good or bad Passer rating is, because there's no recognizable scale that's relevant to the analysis.

Among the more popular "issues" with Passer rating:

1. It essentially double counts completions, since two of the major metrics in Passer Rating are completions and yards/attempt. Since an incompletion negatively impacts your Y/A, you're essentially double counting completions as a benefit in both areas

By accounting for completions as such, you're also giving QBs a positive contribution for a completion that nets no gain, or even a negative completion, neither of which is really a good play for the offense or the QB in most instances.

2. Interceptions are far too volatile, and naturally, this measurement doesn't take into account game flow and perspective.

For example... if I throw up a Hail Mary at the end of the 1st half and its intercepted at the 10 yard line, that's a significant negative play against my Passer Rating, yet it has virtually no impact on the actual game itself. There's no opportunity for the other team to benefit from it. 

Edited October 4, 2016 by rmcjacket23

[rmcjacket23]

  5 hours ago, HomeoftheBRAVENS said:

PFF ratings and ESPNs QBR Ratings are both garbage to me.They seem to be based more off of emotion and personal opinion than the actual results on the field.The only QB measurement I care about is the NFL's passer rating.Its perfect.Any rating you can't calculate for yourself should be taken with a grain of salt.

I agree. PFF rankings are a joke. Zuttah ranked higher than SSS? What game were they watching. I guess the holding penalties on 2 huge run plays don't count. Neither does a missed assignment as long as he blocks another guy.

How can your rankings be serious when you graded out Will Hill as the #1 Safety over Mathieu, Chancellor & Weddle. It's because there is a serious flaw in your grading system. It's like Fielding % in baseball - the guy that holds the record - he never tried to field a ball unless it was hit directly at him. That doesn't make him the greatest fielder ever.....

Well I mean its not like fans really know what they're looking at anyway. Most fans judge how a player performed based on the box score, so when they see Steve Smith put up good numbers, they think "o look he played great", not taking into account any number of things that don't show up in a box score.

In general using PFF to evaluate skill positions isn't all that necessary. They're far more useful for evaluating guys who don't show up in a box score, like offensive lineman and defensive players. No way you could grade an offensive lineman by looking at a box score or even watching a game in real time.

Same thing applies for defensive players. Fans ignorantly think pass rushers are solely judged by sacks, and secondary players are judged by interceptions. Those are box score stats that make up just a sliver of what's actually happening in a game.

[Maryland]

If PFF judges an interception on a 2-pt conversation as being equal in value to an interception during regulation, then it only further proves how gimmicky their stats are. A turnover on a 2-pt conversion doesn't end a drive and give the other team field position, and it only leads to points if the other team returns it. It's a play where, if there's no one open, throwing the ball into a tight crowd and getting picked-off is actually not the worst idea--it's the equivalent of an incompletion as far as the outcome is concerned. Those INTs don't go on the stat sheet for a reason.

Nevertheless, that's more a response to PFF's gimmicky grading system and not a critique of their overall point, which is that Flacco had a sub-standard game.

Edited October 4, 2016 by Maryland

[b93333]

If I remember correctly Waller is ready to return from suspension... Max to the IR may be the solution.

[b93333]

Still waiting for Joe to start living up to that contract. We need that from him big time.

[OUravensfan]

Not being bitter but what was so great about their punters performance? Yards? Their best grade in 10 years would be someone who had 6 inside the 5s or something. Whatever. I guess this guy had some good net yardage and inside the 20s from further out 

[OUravensfan]

19 minutes ago, b93333 said:

Still waiting for Joe to start living up to that contract. We need that from him big time.

2014 playoffs were pretty good, we gave up 2 14 point leads. This last game someone dropped the game winner potentially, sound familiar?

[OUravensfan]

7 hours ago, Steve32 said:

It's called competition and it makes everyone better, as Harbaugh says.

I'm also not ready to trust West in terms of ball security, he was very fortunate last game.

[OUravensfan]

 

1 hour ago, rmcjacket23 said:

LOL, well NFL passer rating is certainly far from perfect. Doesn't take into account anything about the game, such as score and context.

Also ignores the fact that pretty much nobody knows what a good or bad Passer rating is, because there's no recognizable scale that's relevant to the analysis.

Among the more popular "issues" with Passer rating:

1. It essentially double counts completions, since two of the major metrics in Passer Rating are completions and yards/attempt. Since an incompletion negatively impacts your Y/A, you're essentially double counting completions as a benefit in both areas

By accounting for completions as such, you're also giving QBs a positive contribution for a completion that nets no gain, or even a negative completion, neither of which is really a good play for the offense or the QB in most instances.

2. Interceptions are far too volatile, and naturally, this measurement doesn't take into account game flow and perspective.

For example... if I throw up a Hail Mary at the end of the 1st half and its intercepted at the 10 yard line, that's a significant negative play against my Passer Rating, yet it has virtually no impact on the actual game itself. There's no opportunity for the other team to benefit from it. 

Flacco right now is being hurt with his yards per attempt. Stats in general need context as you are already fully aware, nothing makes me more mad than a QB throwing screens that gets significant YAC, like Andy Dalton.

Edited October 4, 2016 by OUravensfan

[FloridalovesRavens]

Still waiting for Joe to start living up to that contract. We need that from him big time.

You haven't had your eyes open. He has more then lived up to his contract imo. He can get the job done but needs help. He shouldn't have to throw 50+ times a game.