without blaming coaches, what are the Ravens main issues?

[JoeyFlex5]

its easy to blame coaches, but often isnt the right thing to do. pees called a great defense this year, and it fell apart when jimmy went down. the OCs werent calling good gameplans, they were very off beat and not earning the players trust and respect. but the offensive woes are far from being solely on marty. 

on defense: we need to stop depending on a corner who has had 1 healthy season in his 5 year career. he is elite when healthy, but he isnt healthy often, when he goes down the downslide is drastic and instant. we need not only a starting corner to allow tavon young to slide in and play the slot, but we also need a guy who can play the #1 when jimmy inevitably goes down, that is probably the biggest thing we can do to improve our defense. 

we need multiple pass rushers because the clock is ticking on our only 2 guys, and we have matt judon waiting, who has question marks, and we cant depend on zds or correa because they have shown nothing at all. interior pass rush is great but it is more likely to fade away than an edge rush, and it certainly cant handle 100% of the pressure duties. 

 

on offense: we need better interior linemen, zuttah has been serviceable when healthy, but he can be improved upon, and im not ready to call lewis a starting guard, he appears to be more of a RT. an elite center gives us an elite line, and an immediate boost to the run game, with dixon and west we could make some noise by running the ball. the OC needs to find an identity, albeit its hard to do with no push on the ground and no clean pockets, but our identity with flacco, wallace, perriman, dixon, west, and 2 excellent OTs should always be this: pound the rock, throw it deep. we arent doing that, the exact opposite actually, we are playing smallball through the air, setting up the run with the pass, and then failing to run. the 2 yard outs and quick checkdowns need to stop. receivers need to get separation or just make pplays sometimes, stop needing a perfect opportunity, and flacco needs to fix his mechanics. all of this though, starts with the line. 

 

coaching: drill the offense to stop snapping the ball with 1 second on the playclock, thats easy snap-jumps thus easy pressure, its how the FG against the pats was blocked, and also we need to have a sense of urgency at the right time. STOP LEAVING POINTS ON THE BOARD, when were in field goal range early, take the points, you never know how helpful another 3-9 points will be, you either have a lead late because of it, or you have the luxury of going for a FG instead of a TD at the end. dont outsmart yourself(accepting the penalty vs the raiders), be confident, but dont be overconfident. enough with the coachspeak and start implementing a personality and identity into this team. 

those are my thoughts on what the ravens need to fix. only one of those things seems like a hard-to-fix problem, the pass rush, but everything else seems very attainable in one offseason. 

[hn68wb4]

Stupid penalties - sure the coaches have partly to do with it, but a lot are 100% on the players. Just have common sense please, when we're driving down the field we simply can't afford a killer holding penalty stopping all progress. Also, it felt like we never executed a punt without committing a penalty, whether we were receiving or punting ourselves, penalties every time. Overall the defense has done a solid job discipline wise, but not always, like Jernigan's unnecessary unsportsmanlike call against the Dolphins. And I believe it was Suggs that went offsides on a 4th and 1 play against the Raiders, in which we stuffed them but they got the first on his penalty.

Defense needs to just have common sense and fix some basic stuff - There really is no reason we should have as many dropped interceptions as we had, personally I can remember about 6 off the top of my head. Weddle's open drop against the Bengals was the most egregious, but against the Steelers (first game) we had three dropped picks in a row, one by Mosley, another by Webb, and I can't even remember the third one, Jernigan was the only one that held on to a pick that whole game when we should have had 4. Then when it comes to common sense, play team defense, don't try to be a one man show; Mosley's fumble touchback comes to mind, Jernigan's fumble after making a huge goal line stop as well, crap like that just simply shouldn't happen.

I'll probably add to this later when I've had more time to think about it.

Edited December 28, 2016 by hn68wb4

[LeVer2k2]

On offense:  All receivers/tight ends and Joe work together during the offseason so that they play cohesively during the regular season.  Use this time to iron out Joe's timing issues and footwork, and hammer into the heads of the receivers/ends that they need to actually catch the ball.  Work more on catching the ball while bracing for impact.  Change the cadence/rhythm when hiking the ball to keep defenses on their toes and cause more offsides penalties.  O-line work on techniques to maintain ground and not allow the pocket to collapse.

On defense:  As you did much later this season, bring the pressure on the quarterback without showing your hand pre-snap.  You appeared to do this well when mixing up the four players pressuring Roethlisberger -- same strategy NE used on us.  Actually, you seem to do this well early in the games, but it breaks down near the end.  Keep the opposing offense guessing.  Minimize the stupid penalties.  And I ask this honestly because I don't know what it's like to be out there:  Is it that difficult to turn your head around when your man appears to be staring down an imminent catch?

On coaching:  When a strategy seems to work in a game and the opposing team seems to have no answer for it, CONTINUE said strategy, e.g. running the ball.  Also, when common sense screams at you, it's ok to listen, e.g. again, running the ball.  Show your players that you trust their ability to execute the most needed plays in certain situations.  If you do the opposite, you risk making them and yourselves look inept.  If you don't trust them, then that's another problem in itself.

Edited December 28, 2016 by LeVer2k2

[omar586]

lets just hire REX as the DC of the this team and our D will b fine.

[redrum52]

8 minutes ago, omar586 said:

lets just hire REX as the DC of the this team and our D will b fine.

Id bet that move would buy Harbs at least 2 more years with the fans.

[redrum52]

Pass rushers and another capable starting cb.  Interior OL.  In 13 or 14 we had so many rushers we had to drop John Simon and now look at us.  Cb has now been a problem since the 2013 season.  The only real progress weve made since then all seems to have been made last off season, with Webb to Fs, Weddle and drafting Tavon.

 

Another WR wouldn't hurt either.

[omar586]

3 minutes ago, redrum52 said:

Pass rushers and another capable starting cb.  Interior OL.  In 13 or 14 we had so many rushers we had to drop John Simon and now look at us.  Cb has now been a problem since the 2013 season.  The only real progress weve made since then all seems to have been made last off season, with Webb to Fs, Weddle and drafting Tavon.

 

Another WR wouldn't hurt either.

I AGREE, passrushers>>CB>>OL>>vet WR who his team pixxed him off.

[omar586]

Harb by far is not a good Coach, he's just a good communicator/manager, that's it. the only reason why he's not getting fired is b/c owner wants stability. we have a good squad, coaches don't know how to utilize them. in-game adjustments have horrendous for past years.

[D_UP]

Lack of player development. 

[The Raven]

Jeremy Zuttah

[hn68wb4]

1 hour ago, omar586 said:

Harb by far is not a good Coach, he's just a good communicator/manager, that's it. the only reason why he's not getting fired is b/c owner wants stability. we have a good squad, coaches don't know how to utilize them. in-game adjustments have horrendous for past years.

Did you even read the title of this post? all you've done in reply was blame coaches

[ravens rule]

The line is number 1, then pass rushers, and lastly 3 legit starting CBs and WRs. Random question but who does Doom share snaps with ?

[trevorsteadman]

Just now, ravens rule said:

The line is number 1, then pass rushers, and lastly 3 legit starting CBs and WRs. Random question but who does Doom share snaps with ?

Suggs, Dumervil, Judon, and McClellan handle most OLB snaps.

[Purple_City39]

Without blaming coaches, the issues with the Ravens are as follows imo

- penalties
- lack of CB depth
- inconsistent WRs
- inconsistent pass rush

Other things aren't "great", but they aren't bad enough to consider it a major issue

[ravens rule]

3 minutes ago, trevorsteadman said:

Suggs, Dumervil, Judon, and McClellan handle most OLB snaps.

Yea Mcclellan stinks

[hn68wb4]

12 minutes ago, ravens rule said:

Yea Mcclellan stinks

I wouldn't put as broad a label on it. He's pretty great against the run, he's been the starter all year. Can't pass rush to save his life but he's a part of why our run D has been great.

[balfan23]

1) Pass rush ... both OLB and someone on the D line who can help. Of course, I was hoping we addressed that last year with our 2nd and 3rd round picks ... 

2) Cornerbacks ... need a better starter in the slot and better depth since we can't have the entire defense go to pieces every time Jimmy goes off the field

3) Wide Outs ... Wallace (if he doesn't get cut for costs ...) and Perriman (who still looks lost out there). That's it? 

4) Offensive Line ... this is almost only about getting quality depth ... maybe a starter over Zuttah, but IMO the starting O line when healthy isn't bad

[trevorsteadman]

3 minutes ago, hn68wb4 said:

I wouldn't put as broad a label on it. He's pretty great against the run, he's been the starter all year. Can't pass rush to save his life but he's a part of why our run D has been great.

He's also great on special teams and would still most likely have a roster spot just based off of that... 

[trevorsteadman]

1 minute ago, balfan23 said:

1) Pass rush ... both OLB and someone on the D line who can help. Of course, I was hoping we addressed that last year with our 2nd and 3rd round picks ... 

2) Cornerbacks ... need a better starter in the slot and better depth since we can't have the entire defense go to pieces every time Jimmy goes off the field

3) Wide Outs ... Wallace (if he doesn't get cut for costs ...) and Perriman (who still looks lost out there). That's it? 

4) Offensive Line ... this is almost only about getting quality depth ... maybe a starter over Zuttah, but IMO the starting O line when healthy isn't bad

1. I agree the team needs to address OLB. I think Correa will be more of an inside linebacker. Both need to develop in their second years. Kaufusi is getting old and this injury only set him back. Hopefully he is a monster coming back.

2. I think the team needs more of an outside corner. Tavon Young should stay in the slot. The team needs more height on the outside just in case Jimmy Smith goes down. Tavon Young can be shifted out to the outside just in case but I would rather him stay in the slot.

3. There is no way they let Wallace walk. He is well worth what the team is paying him. Having him leave only puts the wide outs in flux once again. 

4. Zuttah needs to go. Team needs a better center and hopefully a strong center makes the rest of the line better. 

[PurpleCity5]

I see pass rush a lot but the lack of depth at CB is what does us in every year. We just put out guys out there who really shouldn't be out there. I think we need another #2 very badly and not just go for scraps. 

 

[ravens rule]

I don't understand this cut Wallace bs. 

[hn68wb4]

13 minutes ago, ravens rule said:

I don't understand this cut Wallace bs. 

I'm not advocating it, but saves us $5M in cap and he's still limited in what he brings to the table. I don't think he will be cut though, especially since Smith is going to be gone. With that $5M + the other saving from players that will be cut regardless you could bring in some nice, younger pieces. I get it, don't think it's going to happen, but i get it.

[ravensdfan]

It is difficult to actually separate our needs from coaching. As an example, if we retain Pees then our offense needs to be high powered. That would mean that OL & WR become priorities. If we cut ties with Pees, depending on who the replacement is, then those needs might fall down the ladder.

Is Marty staying? Because that then would have an effect on the type of WR we might need.

Here are our needs in no particular order:

OL

Passrush

CB(s)

WR(s)

C

Do we draft or use FA? I mean, Harbs seems somewhat not inclined to use rookies other than on ST unless absolutely necessary so, don't know that answer either.

Edited December 28, 2016 by ravensdfan

[omar586]

54 minutes ago, hn68wb4 said:

Did you even read the title of this post? all you've done in reply was blame coaches

lol, no, but its hard to not blame the coaches. its not the players fault that we didn't run the ball consistently and didn't make in-game adjustments, 

[omar586]

20 minutes ago, hn68wb4 said:

I'm not advocating it, but saves us $5M in cap and he's still limited in what he brings to the table. I don't think he will be cut though, especially since Smith is going to be gone. With that $5M + the other saving from players that will be cut regardless you could bring in some nice, younger pieces. I get it, don't think it's going to happen, but i get it.

HIGHLY doubtful that will happen, we need to cut some coaches though.

[RavensDieHard21]

Without typing a page,

depending on how the draft stacks up, taking a pass rusher, corner, and center early need to be priority . We get a pass rush and we don't get shredded when we have a lead. A corner like Sidney jones or Tabor gives us depth and helps the self implosion when jimmy women down. A mammoth center gets the ground work going and limits pressure from Flacco's face which is the most frustrating for him. Bam

[RavensDieHard21]

24 minutes ago, hn68wb4 said:

I'm not advocating it, but saves us $5M in cap and he's still limited in what he brings to the table. I don't think he will be cut though, especially since Smith is going to be gone. With that $5M + the other saving from players that will be cut regardless you could bring in some nice, younger pieces. I get it, don't think it's going to happen, but i get it.

Wallace was a bright spot. There will be plenty of cap after the cuts as I see many forthcoming. Pitta, Dumervil, Arrington, Webb, Watson, are all guys more likely to go. 

[ellicottraven]

We need to stop shying away from high value free agents that are young and proven to be playmakers, no matter what position. In fact we should go after a great OLB and/or CB in free agency. Figure this out soon. We've depended too long on the draft and short of last year's draft, we haven't been abundantly successful. In fact even last year, the 2nd and 3rd round picks haven't proven worthy quite yet. 

[omar586]

we need to stop shying away from SOME talented draft picks with baggage.

Edited December 28, 2016 by omar586

[redrum52]

1 hour ago, ravens rule said:

Yea Mcclellan stinks

I won't say he stinks but he should not be on the field for passing downs.