5 replies to this topic

[PrimeTime]

Happy Tuesday everyone.....here's a few things on my mind after the first 4 games.

 

Ravens: Random Thoughts and Other Stuff - Baltimore Sports and Life

[JimJohnson]

Some good thoughts there Jamie. I am coming more and more to believe that pass completion % is an overrated stat, and yards per attempt is underrated. Some teams are throwing a lot of 3-yard passes and would probably be better off just running the ball. I'll happily watch Lamar's % slip a bit when he's pushing 9 yards an attempt-tells me his passes are doing damage, as you pointed out.

[PrimeTime]

Some good thoughts there Jamie. I am coming more and more to believe that pass completion % is an overrated stat, and yards per attempt is underrated. Some teams are throwing a lot of 3-yard passes and would probably be better off just running the ball. I'll happily watch Lamar's % slip a bit when he's pushing 9 yards an attempt-tells me his passes are doing damage, as you pointed out.

 

When several teams were running West Coast systems, predicated on short passes and YAC, comp % was a big deal. Don't get me wrong, it's always good to complete more passes than not but as you said, yards per attempt will tell you quite a bit. Now, you do need to hit on those big attempts from time to time, otherwise you're spinning your wheels. But not all of the big throws are deep shots down the sideline that generally have a relatively low comp %. It helps when you can complete 2-4 throws a game to a wide open, Pro Bowl TE at around 12-15 yards from the LOS.

 

At the root of all of this, I believe, is Lamar's ability to break contain and turn a game on its head with breathtaking scramble. His open field running ability has teams playing zone but the LBs are staying closer to the LOS, leaving that vacated area for Andrews to operate in. Also, there are times where the defensive ends haven't exactly been teeing off, allowing more time for longer developing routes to happen.

 

At the end of last season and throughout the off season, the Ravens received criticism about being last in the league in passing yards. In a vacuum, that's not good. However, we were also last in the league in attempts but our yards per attempt were around 15th or 16th in the league. 

 

I still don't believe our long term success lies in consistently throwing the ball 30 plus times per game but the ability to be able to do so will pay dividends if the post season, should we be fortunate enough to make it.

[jamesdean]

Lamar has shown, as is the case with any quality quarterback, if he's given enough time to throw, he'll take you apart.  The OL and their ability to protect him will be paramount going forward.  So far, it's been about 50/50.  

[hallas]

Some good thoughts there Jamie. I am coming more and more to believe that pass completion % is an overrated stat, and yards per attempt is underrated. Some teams are throwing a lot of 3-yard passes and would probably be better off just running the ball. I'll happily watch Lamar's % slip a bit when he's pushing 9 yards an attempt-tells me his passes are doing damage, as you pointed out.

Even better is completed air yards, or air yards per completion. Lamar is best in the league so far this year among starters. Pro-football-reference tracks this stat.


https://www.pro-foot...ng_advanced.htm

[Mike in STL]

Some good thoughts there Jamie. I am coming more and more to believe that pass completion % is an overrated stat, and yards per attempt is underrated. Some teams are throwing a lot of 3-yard passes and would probably be better off just running the ball. I'll happily watch Lamar's % slip a bit when he's pushing 9 yards an attempt-tells me his passes are doing damage, as you pointed out.

I agree. Completion percentage is going the way of batting average. The kinds of completions matter more. If the Ravens passing game remains this efficient, I'll be okay with the increase in pass attempts we've seen. It's different than the Mornhinwheg offense where they would have Flacco lead the league in pass attempts, but be last in the league in yards/attempt. That's about as inefficient as you can be.

 

Keep taking what defenses give you though. 2 weeks in a row teams have sold out to stop the run (which you don't have to do against Murray/Freeman) but they end up leaving guys wide open deep. Keep taking those shots when they give them to you. Once they soften on the run game to not get beat over the top, pound it out on the ground. The Ravens are a very versatile offense. It's got to be a pain in the ass to prepare for them each week.