What a rotten day for the Ravens. Injuries notwithstanding, this was an unacceptable performance at every level. There were plenty of mental and physical mistakes. Here are a couple of comments from the couch.
Harbaugh and the Fair Catch
Coach Harbaugh has been captaining this ship into his 16th season. How can it be that there is an on-field scenario for which he and his staff are unprepared? Frankly, it’s shocking how games are lost on his watch for the zaniest of reasons. Flowers signaled for the fair catch, Harbaugh stated, because the Ravens thought the two minute warning had come, i.e., they were not giving the Colts an extra time-out. Now I originally thought that neither Harbaugh nor anyone on his staff realized that the referees had reset the game clock to more than two minutes remaining. Harbaugh claimed that he realized it late, but couldn’t communicate that new information quickly enough to Zay Flowers.
This occurred not while the game clock was winding in real time, but during a time-out. The Ravens, according to the coach, simply failed to let Flowers timely know that the original fair catch call was changed. Unacceptable, period. I suspect that not a single one of you watching didn’t go nuts when Flowers waived the fair catch signal. Every fan immediately knew this was a massive screw-up. Coach Harbaugh, if you realized that the fair catch signal needed to be changed but you were pressed for time to communicate, it’s pretty simple; call a time-out! In all, infuriating.
The Big Problem (at Least for Now) at Outside Linebacker
First off, David Ojabo, who was destroyed trying to hold the edge in week two, immediately surrendered the edge on the Colts first play from scrimmage. The Colts ran for a big gain. What kind of game preparation was that by Ojabo? Does he not study his own mistakes? Ojabo couldn’t hold the edge at Michigan, which was why Mike Macdonald frequently had him off the field on first down.
With Odafe Oweh hurt, the Ravens had little choice but to start Ojabo on the edge, and he failed miserably. An injury soon thereafter took him out of the game. I reiterate that, to date, I am most disappointed by Ojabo’s almost complete ineffectiveness. I expected an off-season weight training gain that would have allowed him to stiffen on the edge. But there’s no evidence of it so far. Now Ojabo is effectively a rookie. But this player better start learning.
Jadeveon Clowney has provided all that the Ravens could have hoped for, and more. He’s a play wrecker, though too often he still fails to finish. But he’s been consistently disruptive, to his credit. Without Oweh, though, the Ravens just can’t generate pressure on the outside, or hold up frequently enough on edge run plays. Jeremiah Moon is not an answer, which no doubt is why Kyle Van Noy has finally been signed.
Outside Linebacker: The Domino Effect
Without any consistent pressure from the edge linebackers (and none without Clowney on the field) Mike Macdonald must compensate by blitzing. Frankly, I believe he blitzed far more often in the Colts game than he wants. Now I love blitzes from the slot position. Ar’Darius Washington was very effective in that respect before his injury. And Kyle Hamilton was sensational in that role against the Colts.
But the problem is that Macdonald is forced to blitz too often with his inside linebackers. Every time Roquan Smith blitzes I cringe. Why? Because the dominance the Ravens defense can maintain in the middle of the field on passing downs is immediately compromised. Too many intermediate passes in the middle were surrendered to the Colts, and I would expect the Browns to attack similarly whenever Smith lines up in a blitz formation.
This is what happens when you can’t successfully rush the quarterback with four men. The Steelers don’t have this problem. The Browns don’t have this problem. But the Ravens do. It creates a shaky foundation for the defense, which all starts with rush penetration. When you don’t have that, you have to compensate, and whenever you compensate by taking from another area of the field, you create other weaknesses.
Sure, the Colts offense didn’t dominate the game and the Ravens’ defense held its own. But the Colts offense is poor with Garnder Minshew and without Jonathan Taylor, and the Ravens defense, with a normal pass rush, should have completely shut them down. The outside linebackers are really causing a problem, and it’s hard to see that getting any better, at least until Oweh returns and gives them a chance.
Pat Ricard and the Offensive Line
Once again I give Todd Monken a lot of credit for getting Pat Ricard on the field a lot more often than Monken probably planned before the season. Ricard was simply wiping people out and provided excellent support in pass protection when he was called upon. Until the offensive line shows that it can handle pass rushers more effectively, I expect to continue to see a lot of Ricard.
Rushers with speed and quickness are really giving the Ravens a lot of trouble. Ideally, given Monken’s approach, the line would be more athletic with a greater ability to move. But that’s a tall task with the group the Ravens had on the field last week. Tyler Linderbaum will help, and we still don’t know what Ronnie Stanley brings to the table this year. But the offensive line’s deficiencies also has a domino effect.
The Passing Attack and More Dominos
The press reported how Lamar’s release time was tremendously fast in the Colts game. But I argue that this is not necessarily a good thing. For one, there were numerous occasions when Jackson released the ball before his primary receivers could get fully into their routes. Those receivers wound up open, but Jackson had already released to his first visual. The pass rush pressure was high, and Lamar was getting the ball out of his hands at sub-optimal times.
Part of this is Lamar’s continued inability to recognize where pressures are coming from pre-snap. Though I won’t throw in the word panic, there is a certain element of, shall I say, “enhanced anxiety” in his decision-making as a passer. When he can, the ball gets out quickly, with the result that the Ravens are not able to maximize their receiver group. This is particularly the case from the perspective of placing the receivers in the position to generate real yards after the catch. The Ravens have a receiver group that can do it, if they are given the opportunity.
Blitz recognition – or the lack thereof – is a growing problem in the context of an offensive line that is struggling to provide at least three seconds of protection. Communication within the line must improve. But when you have mediocre communication and poor blitz recognition, that is a formula for failure.
Lamar in the Run Game
Monken reincorporated designed runs into the attack, and not a moment too soon. Lamar was highly effective and still has that instinctive shimmy that makes him so tough.
Now Monken must incorporate elements of misdirection in Lamar’s game, particularly to help some of those pass protection concerns. I would love to see two or three plays a game where Lamar takes one or two steps towards being a runner, and then either pulls back as a passer, or the Ravens provide him some quick slant targets to allow him to throw as he draws linebackers and safeties towards himself. There are certainly many more similar concepts.
The goal remains – in my view – to force opposing defenses to cover all of the field. You can do that by combining run and pass elements with Lamar on any given play. I’ve pointed out other concepts in past posts.
Good Lord, Where’s the Ball Protection?
Last week I noted that Lamar had fumbled the ball again, albeit a penalty had saved the Ravens from a loss of possession. The Colts game was yet another fiasco with Lamar’s inability to protect the football. His fumbles alone, if they don’t stop, will kill the Ravens. When, Lamar, can we see a focus on ball protection?
Random Comments
Lamar’s Ridiculous Panic Sack
Jackson is now five years into his career. The sack he took towards the end of the game when he was forced out of the pocket and as he looked downfield was disheartening. (Am I being too kind?). Everyone – and I mean everyone – knows that he should have simply flicked the ball out of bounds. Yet, his thought process didn’t take him there. When, exactly, will pattern and play recognition kick in so that his automated reaction is a throw-away?
Kyle Hamilton at the Line
As he did last year, Kyle Hamilton is thriving at the line of scrimmage. That’s where he belongs. If Marcus Williams really makes it back onto the field this week that becomes a big advantage for the Ravens. Continue to use Hamilton within a five yard radius of the line of scrimmage and good things will happen. More Geno Stone on the back end, given the current state of the Ravens secondary, will work just fine.
It was interesting that, having lost Ar’darius Washington (another guy who just can’t get a break), Macdonald immediately went back to Hamilton in the slot instead of deploying Arthur Mallet. Now Mallet was a reasonably effective slot corner on occasion last year. But Hamilton brings a lot more. Mallet is the best of what’s currently on the Ravens roster from a pure nickel perspective. Bypassing him tells us a lot.
The Running Back Carousel
It’s incredible how quickly the running back room has blown up on the Ravens yet again. It’s a shame that Justice Hill can’t fully escape the injury bug. Turf toe can be a difficult problem. Gus Edwards going down speaks for itself. I’ll be very interested to see if the Ravens activate Keenan Mitchell for the Steelers match-up. He brings that element of speed that no one else possesses.
Rookies Other than Those Named Flowers
I’m sorry, but Tavius Robinson has just been a body on the field. I’m not surprised as I just don’t see a notable trait. Trenton Simpson? Who’s he? Malik Hamm is eligible to return next week – will the Ravens try him if Oweh and Ojabo can’t go? Could we see a group of Clowney, Van Noy, Robinson and Hamm? I don’t see a murderer’s row here, do you?
Mitchell and Hamm might provide some help. But otherwise, the rookie room for this year is bare.
The Browns Game
This is a tough match-up for the Ravens. They have to get a few bodies back, and perhaps Linderbaum and Stanley will dress for the game. It’s almost essential if the Ravens expect to have any success against the Browns stout and penetrating defensive line. The Browns defense is their best in years. They have playmakers at all three levels. Denzel Ward against Zay Flowers will be a real challenge for Flowers.
Bateman, Again
This guy should be wearing a Red Cross badge. Continued soft tissue issues are a problem. Bateman, when he plays, is a threat that the Ravens need to more frequently exploit. But the man just isn’t on the field very often. He’ll be out this week, along with Odell Beckham (no surprise that guy’s missing a game or two or three), and the fourth wideout will certainly be Laquan Re-Treadwell. Suddenly, a group of Flowers, Duvernay, and Agholor might not scare anyone. You can’t like where this stands four weeks into the season.
Monken and the Bomb
There have been plenty of fan and observer complaints that the Ravens aren’t throwing the ball downfield. No doubt Monken wants to be able to do that, especially as he forces defenses to react to the on-paper threats the Ravens have on the field. But the offensive line simply couldn’t protect against the Colts to allow the downfield passes. This will be a challenge in the Browns game and in the Steelers game next week. There’s not much Monken can do if protection breaks down.
