My positive comments this week, post-Jaguars, are limited. The key takeaways from this game are negative – critically so. But let me start with the few positives.
Key Takeaways: Three Positives
As others have noted, Josh Oliver has been a wonderfully pleasant surprise. In fact, the Ravens are not utilizing Oliver enough. He’s not just the newer version of Nick Boyle. Oliver is much more athletic, and can do things with the ball in his hands that the other tight ends on the roster can’t. By this I mean his combination of speed and power are impressive. He’s a load who can accelerate. Get him a few more touches going forward.
Then there’s Morgan Moses, who has really done a good job in the run game. Moses’ pulling ability has been excellent, and we see him frequently sliding all the way across the formation to pile drive would-be tacklers. The Ravens have certainly received their money’s-worth from Moses.
I’ll end this feel-good section with Marlon Humphrey. Some complain that Humphrey lacks elite speed at the corner, which is true. But so did Jimmy Smith, so did Chris McAllister. Humphrey’s game this season is very well rounded. He’s doing it all, on the inside (where he plays too much, in my view – see below) and on the outside. He’s doing it in run support. Humphrey’s attacking screens and in the flat. He’s physical across the field. And he’s making plays in the secondary. Humphrey has had an excellent year.
Negative Key Takeaways: Marcus Peters
I’ve previously noted Peters’ comparative lack of speed and quickness coming back from his knee injury. It’s obvious that NFL offensive coordinators see the same thing. The Ravens must find ways to support Peters. This is no easy task, especially until Marcus Williams returns. With Williams on the back end, he could tilt towards Peters as needed, or simply provide over the top protection behind Peters. But that’s not happening for a few weeks longer.
The Ravens have no alternative to Peters at this point. Is he better in zone or man? Press or soft? What I’ve seen in recent weeks is Peters yielding a lot of cushion pre-snap. This is understandable in defensive shells where there is no direct protection behind him – better to yield yards underneath than over the top. But given the Ravens fairly good ability to pressure quarterbacks, I’d rather take away some of that cushion. Let Peters play more press coverage, eliminate the easy yardage underneath and make the receivers earn deeper routes – if you can pressure well enough, the probability of completing those passes goes down even if Peters struggles maintaining contact.
Negative Key Takeaways – Too Much Zone Coverage
Zone looks underneath have hurt the Ravens all year, and certainly last week. In the game winning drive, the Ravens yielded way too many uncontested looks, making it very easy on Trevor Lawrence. I’d much rather see more combo coverages – man under with zone looks over. I can understand Mike Macdonald’s reluctance, sans-Williams, to play man. He doesn’t want to lose on the big play. Again, when Williams returns the Ravens will be in a better position to play more man. But even so, Macdonald has to better gage what is happening in-game and react to the real-time events. Perhaps a little more mixing-and-matching makes more sense.
Negative Key Takeaways – The Ravens Really Need Kyle Hamilton
A month ago, I couldn’t imagine making that statement. But now it’s true. Hamilton playing over the slot receiver allows Humphrey to go back to playing on the outside. That’s essential, because we know that Brandon Stephens cannot play man coverage on the outside. For that matter, Stephens isn’t a corner in this league – I’m not sure he really has a position.
But without Hamilton, the Ravens are left with Peters and Stephens on the outside. This didn’t work against Trevor Lawrence. And it won’t work against Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen – and perhaps even Russell Wilson. Without Hamilton, I’d rather see the Ravens go with Pepe Williams in the slot and get Humphrey back to the outside, where he just has to play this year.
Other Negative Key Takeaways
Soon enough we’ll be sending out an AWOL report on Odafe Oweh. He played a mere 25 snaps against the Jags – and that was too many. Oweh’s pass “move” consists of a shimmy of his shoulders as he stands in place. I guess this is his spin move. There’s real trouble here and it’s so disappointing. David Ojabo – and whatever he offers – can’t get here soon enough.
Lamar
This Lamar Jackson “situation” is getting worse. Make no mistake, Jackson cost the Ravens the Jaguars game, not the defense. He left at least eight points on the field – two easy touchdown passes if he could just hit a target, which he can’t. The Ravens wound up with six points instead of 14. He’s feeling the pressure, as evidence by his deleted tweet rant.
The beat writers finally noted how slow Jackson is getting out of the huddle. The writers implied that the blame is Greg Roman’s. But it’s not. It’s Jackson’s slowness in processing the play, pointing back to the regularity with which he is still studying his wrist band as he approaches the line of scrimmage. Sure, it would help to get the play in five seconds earlier. But that’s not the biggest problem.
Greg Roman
Then there’s Greg Roman. Realize the big offensive picture in the Jags game. The Ravens struggled in the first half, running their offense largely out of their big formation (two tight ends, a fullback, and one wide receiver). To start the second half, they spread the offense out to great effect, forcing Jags defenders to cover more of the field. The Ravens moved the ball with ease and then, when they entered the red zone, Roman went back to the big formations, which largely didn’t work. It’s the root cause behind the Ravens struggle down there. Spread it out more, run or pass out off the spread, and more touchdowns will follow.
I hope Roman’s interview with Stanford went well.
