597 replies to this topic

[You Play to Win the Game]

Why no blitz packages? I thought Hamilton was an added linebacker with cover skills? We haven’t seen anything like that yet. Macdonald seems to be just as bland as the last D Coordinator we hired from Michigan so far.

[Slidemaster]

They did fail but rather than rant about it, I'm trying to analyze it a bit. We're 2 games in the season, we're a bit nicked up and still holding out hope for some reinforcements.

Today was the perfect storm of bad circumstances for the Ravens. The defense played 84 snaps last week and had to play another 69 this week. Even though the offense scored 35, after the opening drive of 10 plays, the Ravens offensive drives went for 1, 6, 6, 3, 3, 5, 3 and 6 plays. So an already groggy defense that had been stretched thin due to injury got knocked down and couldn't get back up.

The Ravens are going to have to play some complimentary football and do what they can to take some pressure off of the defense.

Oh please. "Perfect storm of bad circumstances?" THEY WERE UP 21 POINTS WITH 15 MINUTES TO PLAY. They had FANTASTIC circumstances! The best possible circumstances! They just crapped the bed, like this defense has done for two straight years now.

[Slidemaster]

Man I really try to refrain from calling people out but this is an absolutely ridiculous statement. It’s 2 games in and the D was pretty good last week against the Jets who hung 31 today on the Browns and their otherworldly defensive front! Chill the F out dude!

Oh, they were good against THE JETS? I guess he's awesome then! Everything is fine!

Honestly, the knots some people twist themselves in to try to excuse piss poor play. The defense is garbage and it isn't because there's no talent.

[PrimeTime]

I think so too. Lamar probably needs to have more called runs until Dobbins and - maybe in late October - Gus can change the current flow. Or, is it the OL which suddenly appears to be better at pass blocking than run blocking? I am perplexed.

We definitely don't look like we can line up and knock the opposing defense of the LOS at this point. I'm not sure what the adjustment is. Will Dobbins and hopefully Edwards be enough to get the ground game going?

[PrimeTime]

Oh please. "Perfect storm of bad circumstances?" THEY WERE UP 21 POINTS WITH 15 MINUTES TO PLAY. They had FANTASTIC circumstances! The best possible circumstances! They just crapped the bed, like this defense has done for two straight years now.

To quote the great Andy Dufresne, "How can you be so obtuse? Is it deliberate?"

[PrimeTime]

Oh please. "Perfect storm of bad circumstances?" THEY WERE UP 21 POINTS WITH 15 MINUTES TO PLAY. They had FANTASTIC circumstances! The best possible circumstances! They just crapped the bed, like this defense has done for two straight years now.

Rather than rant and rave, look at the points I made and try presenting a counter argument.

I never once denied that the defense didn't perform well enough but I also looked at the entirety of the game and came to, what I feel, is a logic rationale as to how and why. Clearly you feel differently but give me, and the board, something to think about and discuss; as opposed to barking at the moon.

[Ravens2006]

In sorta good news... Joe Flacco was quoted the other day saying something like he's won more games than anyone in Cleveland, which was spun by some media as sorta trash talking and guaranteeing a win... AND THEN JOE FLACCO THROWS 4 TDs and 0 INTs for a 31-30 Jets win in Cleveland.

Pretty awesome... While the Ravens run game isn't what it once was, rest assured Joe Flacco still owns Cleveland. Not everything has changed.

[Slidemaster]

Rather than rant and rave, look at the points I made and try presenting a counter argument.

I never once denied that the defense didn't perform well enough but I also looked at the entirety of the game and came to, what I feel, is a logic rationale as to how and why. Clearly you feel differently but give me, and the board, something to think about and discuss; as opposed to barking at the moon.

Your "logical rationale" is merely a set of excuses masquerading as points.

1. It's WEEK 2. I don't care how many snaps they played last week, or this week. Being tired isn't a reason to give up a 21 point lead in a quarter, and if you're so tired after 2 weeks of football that you can't help but do it, you need better conditioning.

2. They aren't any more "stretched thin" by injury than any other team. It's football. Injuries are something everyone deals with. Nobody cares if you aren't playing with your A-1 perfect squad, and neither should you.

3. Yes, the offense has its share of the blame too, horrible decisions on 4th down being the primary problem. However, given that they hung 31 points and had a little help from special teams, I'm going to focus more on the total defensive ineptitude than on them.

4. If players are missing assignments repeatedly, coach them better. Hamilton isn't an idiot and he isn't lacking for talent. Make sure he knows WTF he's doing. He's a rookie in his second game. How about dialing up some blitz packages? How about finding creative ways to shake Houston or Oweh loose? How about moving Hamilton up to help LBs in coverage on passing downs?

MacDonald has managed to do what I thought was impossible - show he is out of his league without even needing a full season to do it. How do you not adjust ANYTHING and keep letting Waddle and Hill waltz around the field like they own it?

Again - worst loss in franchise history. I have never seem a team snatch defeat from the jaws of victory like this one did today since the Falcons blew the SB to the Patriots, and at least the Patriots were really, really good.

Disgraceful. I know everything I need to know about this team after today.

[jamesdean]

Yeah, the whole division losing did sweeten the bad taste in my mouth but not much. This one is going to bug me for a few days I'm afraid. Its just tough to accept that a franchise built so much on great defenses can perform that poorly going back to last year. Just seemingly clueless, like they've never stepped on a football field before. What's next? Someone throwing for 600 yards?

[Slidemaster]

Yeah, the whole division losing did sweeten the bad taste in my mouth but not much. This one is going to bug me for a few days I'm afraid. Its just tough to accept that a franchise built so much on great defenses can perform that poorly going back to last year. Just seemingly clueless, like they've never stepped on a football field before. What's next? Someone throwing for 600 yards?

The franchise founded on great defense and ball control is dead. This defense has no leaders. None. Just a bunch of guys collecting paychecks.

As far as 600 yards is concerned...you see who comes to town week 4 right?

You think this was bad? Josh Allen must be giddy about what his numbers will look like when they abuse this defense in a few weeks.

[Mackus]

When you have a huge meltdown it's really hard to focus much on the good stuff you did to build the big lead.

Basically the inverse of the Colts game last year.

[PrimeTime]

Your "logical rationale" is merely a set of excuses masquerading as points.

1. It's WEEK 2. I don't care how many snaps they played last week, or this week. Being tired isn't a reason to give up a 21 point lead in a quarter, and if you're so tired after 2 weeks of football that you can't help but do it, you need better conditioning.

2. They aren't any more "stretched thin" by injury than any other team. It's football. Injuries are something everyone deals with. Nobody cares if you aren't playing with your A-1 perfect squad, and neither should you.

3. Yes, the offense has its share of the blame too, horrible decisions on 4th down being the primary problem. However, given that they hung 31 points and had a little help from special teams, I'm going to focus more on the total defensive ineptitude than on them.

4. If players are missing assignments repeatedly, coach them better. Hamilton isn't an idiot and he isn't lacking for talent. Make sure he knows WTF he's doing. He's a rookie in his second game. How about dialing up some blitz packages? How about finding creative ways to shake Houston or Oweh loose? How about moving Hamilton up to help LBs in coverage on passing downs?

MacDonald has managed to do what I thought was impossible - show he is out of his league without even needing a full season to do it. How do you not adjust ANYTHING and keep letting Waddle and Hill waltz around the field like they own it?

Again - worst loss in franchise history. I have never seem a team snatch defeat from the jaws of victory like this one did today since the Falcons blew the SB to the Patriots, and at least the Patriots were really, really good.

Disgraceful. I know everything I need to know about this team after today.

If you think an NFL team is everything they're going to be after 2 weeks, then I don't have anything else to say.

[cprenegade]

There might be a real simple answer for today.  Maybe some of the members of this team may have been over-rated by the local purple media and the fans.  Maybe the team as a whole has been a bit over-rated.  Losing a 21 point lead twice at home is hard to look at.

 

I don't know, but maybe it is time for an honest assessment of any player on the Ravens whose names aren't Jackson, Andrews, or Tucker.

 

But it could be worse.  Indy fans are trying to figure out how their team is 0-1-1 after starting with the easiest possible first two game  schedule in the NFL.  Lose your first games to Houston and Jacksonville.....that's far worse in the big picture than the Raven's collapse today.  

[Slidemaster]

If you think an NFL team is everything they're going to be after 2 weeks, then I don't have anything else to say.

I don't think they're everything they're going to be, but they should be a hell of a lot better than whatever it was they were today, and there is an excellent chance they get MORE injured, not less, as the season goes on.

[russsnyder]

They did fail but rather than rant about it, I'm trying to analyze it a bit. We're 2 games in the season, we're a bit nicked up and still holding out hope for some reinforcements.

Today was the perfect storm of bad circumstances for the Ravens. The defense played 84 snaps last week and had to play another 69 this week. Even though the offense scored 35, after the opening drive of 10 plays, the Ravens offensive drives went for 1, 6, 6, 3, 3, 5, 3 and 6 plays. So an already groggy defense that had been stretched thin due to injury got knocked down and couldn't get back up.

The Ravens are going to have to play some complimentary football and do what they can to take some pressure off of the defense.

I think you make a really good point about the offense playing complimentary football to take pressure off of the defense.

Like it or not, Jackson is the best running option with Dobbins and Edwards out. Hill did break off a couple of decent runs yesterday, so I would like to see his role expand a bit as well.

[jamesdean]

I think you make a really good point about the offense playing complimentary football to take pressure off of the defense.

Like it or not, Jackson is the best running option with Dobbins and Edwards out. Hill did break off a couple of decent runs yesterday, so I would like to see his role expand a bit as well.

Keep dreaming, buddy.  Knowing Harbs, it will just be the same duo of Davis and Drake next week.  What happened to Badie?  He would be off the practice squad so fast, everyone's heads would be swimming if I was coach of this team.  It would be him and Hill in the backfield with the retreads sitting on the bench just in case of injury.  Oh, that's right- they haven't practiced enough.  A lot of good practice does for the defense each week, right? 

[bmore_ken]

Oh please. "Perfect storm of bad circumstances?" THEY WERE UP 21 POINTS WITH 15 MINUTES TO PLAY. They had FANTASTIC circumstances! The best possible circumstances! They just crapped the bed, like this defense has done for two straight years now.

Maybe someone should tell Roman, you run the ball with a 21 point lead to work the clock. The defense sucked but he did them no favors. One 6 or 7 minute drive completely changes that game. 

[jamesdean]

Maybe someone should tell Roman, you run the ball with a 21 point lead to work the clock. The defense sucked but he did them no favors. One 6 or 7 minute drive completely changes that game. 

Yeah, this loss is on the coaching staff 100%. Harbaugh won't take any accountability of course but he knows they butchered that game.

[Ravens2006]

Consider this. Up 21 in the 4th, the Dolphins have to score three times straight and stop the Ravens two possessions in between. You run the ball 6 times on 2 possessions and punt both times, that's about 4:30 off the clock if executed to maximize clock usage and some hang time on the punts. Now the Dolphins have a little over 10 minutes to score 3 TDs.

Play 6 or 7 DBs with 2 or 3 deep (like ACTUALLY deep) on every snap, force them to go underneath more, and every tackle is another 20+ seconds off the clock. Even if they dink and dunk perfectly for the whole quarter and tie it... chances are that last possession of regulation is the Ravens and starts with very little time on the clock. You're then trying to kick the FG or taking it to OT.

It takes serious game mismanagement to blow the game in the manner that the Ravens blew it yesterday.

[Ravens2006]

As for Dobbins and Edwards, honestly I don't expect them to be saviors alone for the running game even if they were a full go tomorrow. I certainly think they help improve it, but an effective Stanley that doesn't get reinjured if he ever comes back would be a major boost to the run and pass game I think. Mekari was getting pushed and holding on for dear life at times.

And then there's the Roman factor. Not sure he will push the run game load appropriately even if / after all three return.