Your blogger apologizes for taking last week off, but I’ll grab for insights from the 49ers game if the Ravens wind up meeting them again. Let’s focus instead on some Ravens comments coming out of the Dolphins shellacking and into the Steelers finale.
To Rest or Not to Rest, That is the Question
The “rust” concept doesn’t worry me. Thirty-four of the last 64 number one seeds (going into this year) have made it to the Super Bowl. The Ravens’ 2019 number one seed fiasco doesn’t mean a thing. That was a different roster, a different quarterback (de facto), and a different offense. They got behind early and lacked a complete passing attack. Of course, all of that is just noise. What should a prudent coach do with respect to an end-of-the-season meaningless game?
When a game “doesn’t matter,” the resting decision is self-evident. Two types of players must sit: banged up players, and irreplaceable players. Hence, in the latter category the rest Lamar decision is easy. And I’d put Roquan Smith in that group too.
In the banged up category, the following offensive players shouldn’t take the field: Kevin Zeitler, Ronnie Stanley, Zay Flowers, and Odell Beckham. On the defensive side rest is apropos for: Marlon Humphrey, Kyle Hamilton, Brandon Stephens, and Patrick Queen.
Not all of these players will be deactivated, as the limit is six. But the Ravens have ten players who should not take the field. I would also add to the not-playing-against-Pittsburgh list Morgan Moses, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill on offense, and Jadeveon Clowney and Kyle Van Noy on defense. The allowed maximum of two practice squad elevations should occur: one running back, and one offensive lineman.
If the Steelers win and make the playoffs against backups, so be it. John Harbaugh’s focus is exclusively on the Ravens.
Ravens Comments From the Miami Game – The Offense
Lamar Jackson has taken a big leap this year because the game has slowed down for him. His understanding on any given play has grown dramatically. Lamar’s eyes are always up. When it’s “scramble” (broken play) time, Lamar’s instinct of escaping at full speed is now secondary. Indeed, when he runs in those situations, we rarely see him hit top gear immediately. Instead, because the game has slowed down so much, Lamar keeps plays alive. And we see huge plays as a result. Witness, as one example among many, Isaiah Likely’s one-handed touchdown catch against Miami.
As long-time readers know, for years I hated Greg Roman’s offensive philosophy. Roman had the most dynamic offensive weapon in the game, but failed to emphasize concepts that spread the field as wide as possible to exploit Lamar’s dynamism. Todd Monken has corrected that, spreading the field in all directions with a focus on 11-personnel formations.
Yes, Monken is blessed with better receivers. But that’s beside the point. He forces defenses to defend everywhere. The Dolphins couldn’t do it. The Ravens ran countless uncovered go routes. With the defense so stretched, throwing delayed wheel or leak routes to Justice Hill left the Dolphins defense defenseless, with Hill making several huge reception gains.
Lamar understands all of this very well. He appreciates more fully how leaking running backs and tight ends are uncovered as he scrambles behind the line of scrimmage. We see much more of receivers working back towards Lamar, realizing Lamar is still looking for them. And Lamar’s great instincts in the pocket make it near impossible for defenses to compete after four seconds or more of fruitless Lamar-chasing.
Justice Hill and Rashod Bateman
The routes last week to Justice Hill were beautiful. The Dolphins linebackers, tasked with covering Hill, were left steps behind. Hill has excellent hands and, frankly, should have been running these routes years ago. But we can’t change yesterday.
Rashod Bateman was running free so many times against the Dolphins secondary that I lost track. I’m not troubled by the first pass where he laid-out on a deep ball and couldn’t pull it in. That was a super high degree of difficulty attempt. Bateman is becoming a serious threat, as we’ve been calling for all year. With Zay Flowers all-field skills and Isaiah Likely who can get to any depth or place, Ravens’ receivers as a group (with Odell and Nelson Agholor), are a massive challenge for any team. As I’ve written many times this year, this offensive firepower will go as far as the pass protection will allow.
The Offensive Line
The line remains the key to the Ravens Super Bowl aspirations. Last week’s tape shows Ronnie Stanley utilizing, if not depending on, long-arm attaching to pass rushers. This is Stanley’s attempt at compensating for an insecure base. He latches on with full arm-extension as quickly as he can while he begins his back pedal. Although I didn’t review the 49ers tape, Ronnie had a reasonable level of success against the Dolphins (primarily, Bradley Chubb). He remains seriously challenged by a full heads-on speed rusher – when Chubb deployed that, Stanley continued to struggle. But at least Stanley has a strategy.
Morgan Moses is back to his old self in run blocking. He remains an above-average puller for an offensive tackle, and he still powerfully drives lineman backwards. At the same time, he generally remains what he was as a pass protector, struggling at time with speed around the edge.
Tyler Linderbaum is tremendous in space. And he has plenty enough fight to compete against powerful interior linemen. He will get overpowered from time to time. But he’s a very big asset in this group, and has kept his mistakes to a minimum.
The much ignored Ben Cleveland had a reasonably effective effort against Miami. Cleveland was consistently strong (though not always overpowering) at the point of attack, and held up very well in pass protection. If he made a mental mistake, then I missed it. Cleveland is a one-dimensional run blocker, as he plunders to get to the second level, typically can’t make it and winds up reaching for blocks at that point with his arms. But overall he held up quite well against the Dolphins, and was an asset on power block plays. Kevin Zeitler remains an upgrade.
John Simpson is a guy we can talk about in the offseason.
Please Kill Bubble Screen-Like Plays
Against Miami Todd Monken tried it again. This time he tasked Simpson (along with Stanley) with getting out wide in front of Justice Hill on a quick flare pass. Lamar delivered the ball perfectly and Hill was set up, with just one block to go, for a very big gain. But lo, Simpson couldn’t get fully in front of the defender, who defeated him and held Hill to a very modest gain. Please, I’d rather just see Hill go in motion at the last instant to the tight end’s side of the field and, if draws just a linebacker, throw him the ball and let him win (or not) alone.
The Two Half-Backs Play is Wonderful
Every time Monken runs this structure to the wide side of the field, we’ve witnessed huge gains. Against Miami, Pat Ricard lined up outside of the left tackle (to the wide side) with Gus Edwards positioned offset in front of Justice Hill. Ricard sealed the edge, and Edwards wound up as a running-free lead blocker who took on the first would-be tackler. It worked to perfection and Hill had a huge game. I love the two halfbacks plus Ricard look, and we are now set up for a variation off of it.
Melvin Gordon or Dalvin Cook?
I haven’t really seen Cook this year, but by the numbers alone he seems to have tailed off dramatically. However, I wouldn’t rely on the numbers here. Melvin Gordon lacks the speed to get around the edge. He brings toughness, determination and excellent receiving hands, but lacks explosion. Does Cook have any left? Because if the Ravens see it, Cook is a better fit on the active roster than Gordon. With very little acclimation, I’d love to see Cook elevated this week and see what’s in the tank.
Ravens Comments on the Defense
Mike Macdonald’s Strategy Against Miami
I originally thought we’d see a lot more man/press coverage against the Dolphins than Macdonald utilized. We don’t know whether his decision was more a function of Jaylen Waddle’s absence, or not. And, for that matter, Kyle Hamilton and Brandon Stephens’ absence as well, followed by Marlon Humphrey going down early in the game. But we saw a lot of zone coverages after early in the game, and Tua Tagovailoa struggled with them. If the Ravens play Miami again and Waddle is healthy, will we see the same approach?
Roquan Smith in the Pass Packages
What stood out on the game tape was how Roquan’s positioning in zone packages was adjusted in-game just enough to cause Tua problems. On the first two drives when Tua delivered a series of perfectly timed and placed passes to gaps in the zones, Smith failed to get adequate depth in the middle of the field. Tyreek Hill had no problem getting behind Smith to the soft spots 12-15 yards downfield. But thereafter, Smith dropped deeper in the zones. This is what led to his interception. It also led to much diminished effectiveness of the Dolphins pass game and much less YAC in the middle of the field. Was this adjustment made by Roquan’s wisdom, was it Macdonald, or both?
Speed to the Edge is Still a Major Weakness
The absence of Raheem Mostert might have impacted the Dolphins run game to the interior. But definitely not to the outside. De’Von Archane runs a blazing 4.32 forty and it was on full display against the Ravens. At various points throughout the game Archane mightily exploited the Ravens at the edges for very big gains. Tacklers who seemed positioned to get Archane were grasping at air or left in his dust. They were unable to get proper angles in time to reach Archane. Too many times the Ravens failed to control the edge against him.
Granted, there are few players in the league with Achane’s speed and explosiveness. And we are still waiting for a team to have a determined run-based game plan against Macdonald’s six in the box cover-two approach. But seeing the Ravens lose so big on the edge implies that an inside-outside running game plan is worth trying against this defense.
Hamilton to the Slot With Stone on the Back End? Or Maulet to the Slot With Hamilton Back?
Arthur Maulet has been the most inconsistent player in the Ravens secondary this year. I would’ve said Rock Ya-Sin, but he’s just generally lost (and poor) in this defense. With Maulet, from one play to the next he can be outstanding or lack mental concentration. Kyle Hamilton hasn’t shown this flaw. Yes, Geno Stone remains a large liability in my mind, both on the back end and as an atrocious tackler. But on balance Hamilton brings so much more for offenses to contend with when he’s in the slot near the line, than you likely risk with Stone left on the back end. Maulet has been effective in more limited play time, and remains solid depth.
This week we should in theory get a strong dose of Pepe Williams in the slot. And when (if) will Ar’Darius Washington return? I doubt either one of them, at this point, can find themselves in the rotation, absent injury.
Ravens Comments of a Miscellaneous Nature
Travis Jones
This is getting to be a weekly observation. Jones just keeps on coming. Every game, he’s getting better and better. Shedding double teams, pressing the pocket, showing more range than one might expect. I don’t know what this means for Michael Pierce’s future (who had an excellent game against the Dolphins) given that Pierce is a free agent. But Jones is ready to take on more snaps. He’s a better threat as a pass rusher than Pierce (who I might welcome back at the right price; but we’ll get to that after the season is over).
Patrick Queen
Queen was more solid against the Dolphins. I marked him for just a couple of misses but much more consistent play. He needs to keep it going.
Ron Darby
Darby has probably been the least appreciated last minute signing by Eric DeCosta, but he’s been worth more than he’s getting paid. Darby, who sometimes doesn’t want to wrap when he tackles, played very well in his zone coverages last week. And he brought down several receivers with no YAC. Darby remains an important depth piece for this season, has played better than one might have thought, and grasps the defense very well. Unlike Rock Ya-Sin, Darby has played an important role this year and generally performed very well.
Run Defense
I remain of the view that, to beat the Ravens, one must run the ball and run it a lot. Because the Ravens have been ahead in almost every game, opponents have generally abandoned the run, allowing Mike Macdonald to stay in his cover two shell with just six men in the box. But against the 49ers the Ravens struggled mightily on the interior attempting to contain Christian McCafferty. Against the Dolphins the Ravens couldn’t handle speed on the edge. If you are game planning against the Ravens defense, you just have to emphasize a run first, run second approach to force Macdonald’s hand. And to keep Lamar off of the field. As the tackles are to the offense, Macdonald’s run defense strategy is the key to the defense.
One Thought on Pittsburgh
All good Ravens fans are hoping the Ravens put the Steelers down this weekend. But the interesting issue for the Steelers is the quarterback situation. For now, Mason Rudolph seems to have won the job. If they make it to the playoffs, will Mike Tomlin select Rudolph over Kenny Pickett? And if all of that happens, what does this mean for Kenny Pickett, and more generally the future of the quarterback position in Steelers world?
I’m not convinced at this point that either player is the long term solution. Pickett hasn’t shown a consistent ability to get the ball down field. Perhaps Rudolph learned a lot while he sat, or perhaps the last few games are just a fortuitous mirage. The Steelers are over the cap for 2024 and have some restructure/release decisions to make. Would they want Kirk Cousins as their answer?
Joe Flacco
It’s hard to believe that this blog is actually writing about Joe Flacco at this point. I was never a big fan, though Flacco caught lightening in a bottle during the Super Bowl run with the Ravens. But his has become quite the story, with Flacco coming off the street, slinging it all over the field, and the Browns offense suddenly being unstoppable. I believe Flacco will force a pass or two too many at the wrong time. But my hat’s off to what he’s done the last four weeks, and the Browns are a legitimate and serious threat in the AFC because of their defense. And, dare I say it, because of Joe Flacco.
