227 replies to this topic

[85Knight]

The offense scored a td in every qtr. and Tucker missed a fg. The defense giving up 17 pts. in the 4th qtr. is the bigger negative. If we have to score more than 31 pts. to win games then we're in trouble.

The good news is that if we can play a clean game we can beat anybody. 8 games in and we should be 8-0 if we put it all together. That beats feeling like we should be 0-8.

[TwentyThirtyFive]

Thought the defense was dominant until the end when they softened. Offense good enough. Good to be able to win comfortably even when you don't play particularly well overall.

This is the bottom line. They played their B or B-game overall and won comfortably. Shoulda covered a huge spread on the road. The takeaways were huge.

[CantonJester]

The Ravens were a competent QB from having this game stolen from them. If they were better on both sides of the ball (lines included), and which they were, they should've had this game sewn up by halftime. 

[TwentyThirtyFive]

The offense scored a td in every qtr. and Tucker missed a fg. The defense giving up 17 pts. in the 4th qtr. is the bigger negative. If we have to score more than 31 pts. to win games then we're in trouble.

The takeaways were the biggest difference in the game. The offense got it going a bit but the defense was the better unit today. The soft garbage time points while up multiple scores late doesnt hold much weight for me. If I were grading the D would get a B+ and the Offense a C+ or B-.

[85Knight]

On top of scoring 31, they scored a TD to put them up 16 the last time they meaningfully possessed the ball. Kind of hard to expect more than that. Would have been nice for defense and special teams to not mail it in early.

It feels like if we had won 31-16 people would still be complaining which makes no sense to me.

[CantonJester]

The takeaways were the biggest difference in the game. The offense got it going a bit but the defense was the better unit today. The soft garbage time points while up multiple scores late doesnt hold much weight for me. If I were grading the D would get a B+ and the Offense a C+ or B-.

 

If you're expecting a playoff run out of this team, then this was a C- effort by the offense. They were gifted 14 points by a second rate QB who may well be out of the league in two years. Agreed the D gets the better grade. 

[TwentyThirtyFive]

If you're expecting a playoff run out of this team, then this was a C- effort by the offense. They were gifted 14 points by a second rate QB who may well be out of the league in two years. Agreed the D gets the better grade.

Yeah I think C+ is closer than B-. But the two big pluses for the offense were converting TDs in the redzone and not turning the ball over. Its why I cant go lower than a C+ for that unit.

[CantonJester]

Yeah I think C+ is closer than B-. But the two big pluses for the offense were converting TDs in the redzone and not turning the ball over. Its why I cant go lower than a C+ for that unit.

 

Fair enough. I'd be coming down harder on the Ravens if it weren't for how they dismantled Detroit last week. 

[85Knight]

If you're expecting a playoff run out of this team, then this was a C- effort by the offense. They were gifted 14 points by a second rate QB who may well be out of the league in two years. Agreed the D gets the better grade.

The defense played well for 3 qtrs but giving up 17 pts in the 4th is unacceptable. The offense had a much better 4th than the defense and if they hadn't we would have lost this game. I give the offense an equal if not better grade.

[cprenegade]

Through 8 weeks nothing has really changed my opinion from what it was at the start of the season.  I still believe the same 3 teams will be the ones teams need to go through in the playoffs.  KC looked bad today, Buffalo has looked bad at times, Cincinnati had people asking what was wrong with the Bengals.  I still think all three of them will be there at the end.  KC and Buffalo will win there divisions.  The difference might be if the Ravens can win the AFC North.  That could change the playoff picture.  The Ravens, Jacksonville, and Miami will all be tough outs in the playoffs.  But I still believe they will have to beat KC, Buffalo, or Cincinnati come playoff time to advance. 

 

The first 8 games weren't much of a test for the Ravens.  Outside of Cincinnati with Burrows hurting, and maybe a Detroit team that may or may not be as good as the hype, the rest of their schedule was a gift.  The last 9 games will not be as easy.  And quite honestly that might be the best thing for them.  You can't just beat up on terrible teams and then expect to do it come playoff time.  

[TwentyThirtyFive]

The defense played well for 3 qtrs but giving up 17 pts in the 4th is unacceptable. The offense had a much better 4th than the defense and if they hadn't we would have loss this game. I give the offense an equal if not better grade.

Game situation. The D softened up to try and use clock. Criticize that decision to play prevent but when the coaches flip that switch to keep everything in front and not give up something big that hinders the D ability to get off the field. As does the willingness to go for Ari to go for it on 4th downs.The defense gets the better grade mostly because of the turnovers. In particular setting up the offense with great field position.

[Mike in STL]

"Garbage time" is just a euphemism for lack of concentration and execution and doing your best to try and let a team stay around. Needlessly. I predicted 27-13 but to be honest, I really thought it would be very similar to last week, if not more so. The conservative side of me never gets that bold in predictions. Sure, 31-15 looks better but this was not the beat down it should have been. Don't worry, I'll get over my irritability by tomorrow and appreciate the win.

So it should have been 38-6 or better.

That is a completely unrealistic bar to set for any game. The line was not Ravens -32.

[85Knight]

Game situation. The D softened up to try and use clock. Criticize that decision to play prevent but when the coaches flip that switch to keep everything in front and not give up something big that hinders the D ability to get off the field. As does the willingness to go for Ari to go for it on 4th downs.The defense gets the better grade mostly because of the turnovers. In particular setting up the offense with great field position.

The defensive coordinator is a part of the defense. If they give up 17 pts. in the 4th because of poor strategy then it's bad defense. Giving up 24 points to the Cardinals and especially 17 in the 4th lower the defenses grade. I can't let the defense off of the hook for a bad start and a bad finish. At the end of the day the offense did their part with 31 pts.

[TwentyThirtyFive]

The offense was set up by the defense for two of their scoring drives and they were the 2 biggest plays of the game. The first set up the TD before halftime to give us the lead. The 2nd Int set up the next score that extended the lead and made it a comfortable 2 score game. The D jump started the offense twice in what was very much a stale performance through 3 quarters. Now, if you want to knock my B+ grade down to a B for the defense Im fine with that. If you want to give the O a B- Im also fine with that. Makes the two units close. Its picking nits but picking nits is what I do. I wont hear that the O was the better unit today. Looking at the score and assuming 31 scored while 24 given up must mean the O good and the D suspect isnt accurate. Not close to accurate

[PrimeTime]

My biggest takeaway/observation/concern going forward is how the Ravens will react/adjust to the defensive look they saw yesterday going forward.

Much like the Thursday night Dolphins game a couple years ago, where the cover 0, all out blitz strategy that stymied Jackson and the offense was employed by other opponents, I suspect the Cardinals' strategy deployed yesterday will be mimicked by other opponents. The Cardinals didn't seem to blitz very often, instead choosing to rush 3 or 4, play zone on the back end and have their Dlinemen stand up and roam a bit prior to the snap.

It will be incumbent upon Monken to adjust the plan of attack sooner and Lamar needs to take what the defense gives him. It was great that Jackson was able to hold the football and make plays downfield vs Detroit but the bigger play won't always be there. Rather than having to throw the ball away or take a coverage sack, look for a check down underneath.

[jamesdean]

The Ravens were a competent QB from having this game stolen from them. If they were better on both sides of the ball (lines included), and which they were, they should've had this game sewn up by halftime. 

There's still a lack of consistency with this team and I imagine that's just the way it's going to be from this point forward.  It's a Harbaugh trademark, outside of 2019.  If they play like they did yesterday against Seattle, they'll get beat but who knows which team will show up. Who knows which Lamar will show up.  Impossible to build any inner confidence with this team. 

[Ravens2006]

Ravens got called again for blocking early on a WR screen yesterday. I didn't see that called in any other game I watched yesterday. Said it a couple weeks ago but you basically NEVER see that called. Peyton used to throw that to Demaryius Thomas at least once or twice a game, their OL was usually down field early, and other receivers were blocking for him early EVERY time. Fascinating that the Ravens seem to get noticed...

[jamesdean]

Ravens got called again for blocking early on a WR screen yesterday. I didn't see that called in any other game I watched yesterday. Said it a couple weeks ago but you basically NEVER see that called. Peyton used to throw that to Demaryius Thomas at least once or twice a game, their OL was usually down field early, and other receivers were blocking for him early EVERY time. Fascinating that the Ravens seem to get noticed...

There's certain plays in the Monken playbook that I wish he'd rip out a burn.  Just forget about screens with this team.  It's an epic waste of time.  They just can't execute them and never have under Harbaugh.  Waste of a down.  

[PrimeTime]

There's certain plays in the Monken playbook that I wish he'd rip out a burn. Just forget about screens with this team. It's an epic waste of time. They just can't execute them and never have under Harbaugh. Waste of a down.

The WR screens really bug me because you end up throwing to ball to a player that is surrounded by defenders, which means every block needs to be executed perfectly to have a net positive. At least with the more traditional RB screens, you're baiting defenders, throwing it over them and have forward momentum. Either way, we haven't been any good at them since Cam's offense and Ray Rice.

[jamesdean]

The WR screens really bug me because you end up throwing to ball to a player that is surrounded by defenders, which means every block needs to be executed perfectly to have a net positive. At least with the more traditional RB screens, you're baiting defenders, throwing it over them and have forward momentum. Either way, we haven't been any good at them since Cam's offense and Ray Rice.

And I'm sure even then, it failed more often than not.  It's a shame they just can't do it well because it would help take some of the pressure off Lamar and make teams pay.