38 replies to this topic

[TwentyThirtyFive]

I will say though that it was probably good to have Weaver on staff, as someone who had done it before. No one knew if Macdonald would be successful, nice to have more people in the room that know the basics of what they're doing, just in case, when you're hiring a 35 year old coordinator. The building just lacks experience today, other than a semi retired Pees who wasn't even there to start the year. Going into the year with such a green defensive staff was a bad idea.

This is another reason why having a head coach that was a coordinator can be helpful, it's just more experience if needed.

Yup. Someone mentioned it in a post recently but it went beyond just losing MacDonald. The defensive staff got picked over pretty good

[jamesdean]

I think losing Dennard Wilson hurt just as much, if not more, than MacDonald leaving.  The secondary is just a chaotic mess right now and Orr obviously has no idea how to solve the problem.  When Wilson left Philly, they had the same kind of dramatic fall off in their secondary.  The guy is good and he has the history to show for it.  Maybe he wouldn't have been another MacDonald but I feel pretty confident that Wilson as our DC would have been a much better selection.  

[85Knight]

Even if the Ravens lose this game, it's not the end of the world. It isn't even the end of winning the division. Pittsburgh would have a 1/12 game lead. But their remaining schedule is pretty tough. Starting Sunday, they have all 6 of their division games in the last 8 weeks. And the two out of division games are @Philly, and home to KC. Neither are easy. The Browns loss is a problem for the Ravens, but they also swept Cincinnati. The Ravens schedule isn't much easier, with games against the Chargers, Philly, and Houston along with the Steelers and Browns again. They should have a gimme against the Giants. Bottom line is they would need to pick up 2 on the Steelers and probably beat them in Baltimore. That seems doable given the Pittsburgh schedule.

The real problem is that all of the teams left on the Ravens schedule outside of Cleveland and the Giants could light up their secondary. And I don't hold out much hope that it can be fixed. Maybe after the first 3-4 games but it's gone 10 games now and has not shown any sign of getting better. I have a hard time believing all these players are experiencing drop off seasons at once so I think it is more in the coaching. Either way unless there is a significant change made somewhere i don't see how it gets better.

Of course this isn't a must win game at this point in the season. That's really a no brainer. My point is that this feels like one of those statement/pivotal games you see in a lot of seasons that you look back on after it's all said and done.

For the record I picked the Ravens to win this game in the game thread. So I'm looking at this as an opportunity to go into the lion's den and kick some tail and take control of the division. At the same time we can put the Steelers in their place and excorcise some demons like their winning streak against us and Lamar's 1-3 record against them.

Win or lose nothing is going to be decided on Sunday. I just think this game might be the one that puts the Ravens squarely back into Super Bowl contender status despite some of our struggles.

[Ravens2006]

For context, the Texans defense was bottom third basically the year before Weaver was DC, dipped more with him, and remained one of the 2 or 3 worst overall for 2 years after he was replaced.

The Ravens defense was 1 in points and 6 in yards last year. Top 10 in both the year before. With mostly the same personnel this year.

Not saying Weaver would have kept them top 5, or Wilson wouldn't be better than Weaver... just that Orr was not a clear good choice for reasons of experience and communication. Said it last year but if you saw any of the Ravens Wired clips of Orr leading group meetings... nothing about that dude suggested he was ready to lead an entire defense. And those Wired segments are edited to show everyone and everything at their best. Time and results to date have proven that out. Maybe next year he's better. Maybe this is his Weaver equivalent learning year. But why play those types of games with a known legit SB contender roster...

[Mackus]

I imagine that Harbaugh and DeCosta did more than just watch clips of Ravens Wired before hiring Orr.  Maybe they still got the hire wrong, but that's not much of a rubric.

[Hooded Viper]

Just saw the Ravens are the top D in terms of getting sacks and pressures by rushing only 4, just clean up the freaking blown coverages…please!

[Mackus]

Just saw the Ravens are the top D in terms of getting sacks and pressures by rushing only 4, just clean up the freaking blown coverages…please!

That's a really hard stat to believe. They got tons of pressure last week, but seems like they were never getting anything without blitzing a few games in a row before that.

[TwentyThirtyFive]

I also saw that they had one of the best pressure rates in football. We do have to remember that we have played 1 more game than a number of teams now but yeah apparently the pressure is good. Also not sure what exactly defines a pressure. Not all pressures are the same. 

[Hooded Viper]

That's a really hard stat to believe. They got tons of pressure last week, but seems like they were never getting anything without blitzing a few games in a row before that.

It is but it was repeated yesterday by Marcus Spears and again this morning by the local guys. They are 1 sack behind the Jets. But your point regarding 1 extra game is a good one.

[ivanbalt]

Continually losing and being outcoached by Pittsburgh is demoralizing.  If they can't beat Pittsburgh in a likely close game, they can't beat Kansas City in a likely close game.

[TwentyThirtyFive]

So many of the Lamar era losses to Pitt are because of injury, sickness, or us resting guys. I put no stock in Pitt record over that timeframe

[makoman]

So many of the Lamar era losses to Pitt are because of injury, sickness, or us resting guys. I put no stock in Pitt record over that timeframe

Yeah I don't care much about Huntley, McSorely, and RG3 led games. Lamar is 1-3 against them as a starter. Kind of unbelievable since he's been starting around 6 years now. He hasn't played great. There's not really any reason for that, so it'd just be nice to get a more typical game from him.

[cprenegade]

Of course this isn't a must win game at this point in the season. That's really a no brainer. My point is that this feels like one of those statement/pivotal games you see in a lot of seasons that you look back on after it's all said and done.

For the record I picked the Ravens to win this game in the game thread. So I'm looking at this as an opportunity to go into the lion's den and kick some tail and take control of the division. At the same time we can put the Steelers in their place and excorcise some demons like their winning streak against us and Lamar's 1-3 record against them.

Win or lose nothing is going to be decided on Sunday. I just think this game might be the one that puts the Ravens squarely back into Super Bowl contender status despite some of our struggles.

 

Even if the Ravens win, I can't be serious about them as a SB contender as long as their pass defense is a bad as it is.  Too many good QBs in the AFC for them to win in January if their defense continues to average almost 300 yards passing against it.   Teams like KC and Buffalo don't have offenses as good as the Ravens, but they are good enough and they have defenses that can at least slow the Ravens down.  The Ravens can't seem to slow anyone down.  

[85Knight]

Even if the Ravens win, I can't be serious about them as a SB contender as long as their pass defense is a bad as it is. Too many good QBs in the AFC for them to win in January if their defense continues to average almost 300 yards passing against it. Teams like KC and Buffalo don't have offenses as good as the Ravens, but they are good enough and they have defenses that can at least slow the Ravens down. The Ravens can't seem to slow anyone down.

I agree. I hope this game begins a turnaround for the pass defense. Ten games in, we can't be this bad the entire season can we? That's definitely a big part of being a serious Super Bowl contender.

[Ravens2006]

I agree. I hope this game begins a turnaround for the pass defense. Ten games in, we can't be this bad the entire season can we? That's definitely a big part of being a serious Super Bowl contender.

Wilson will be one of the 3 worst QBs they've faced this season. They managed to lose the first two because they couldn't make a late stop. Today's the day to get right if they ever will...

[TwentyThirtyFive]

Wilson will be one of the 3 worst QBs they've faced this season. They managed to lose the first two because they couldn't make a late stop. Today's the day to get right if they ever will...

Nonsense

[BaltBird 24]

He's better than Minshew, Winston, and Nix. Close to being one of the worst 3 we've faced.

[Mackus]

He's better than Minshew, Winston, and Nix. Close to being one of the worst 3 we've faced.

The part I think is nonsense is the implication that if the secondary doesn't get fixed today, it won't get fixed all season. I doubt what's written is exactly what he means, though. I agree with what I assume he's intending, which is that this is a relatively weak passing offense and a good opportunity for the pass defense to show some much needed signs of life. As bad as they've been, it'll still be disappointing if the pass defense doesn't have a decent showing today.

[jamesdean]

You'd think the pass defense would put up a good showing just out of "we had a good day."  Not necessarily an indication that things are permanently fixed but that they were due for a decent showing.  We haven't really even gotten that.  They contained Nix pretty well and Josh Allen earlier in the year but other than that, it's been bad.  Real bad.