Originally Posted by
Shas
Okay, I'll defend myself a bit here.
I realize the popular thing to do is to blame Cam for all losses. And to give everyone an F when the team loses.
And I realize that the easy assumption to make when the team loses is to conclude that Ray Rice didn't touch the ball enough. It's easy to look at his 6.5 yards per carry average and say, hey, run the ball all day long with him and he gets 200 yards on the day.
But I argue that part of the reason he was able to run effectively is the game plan, which I applaud, and which I believe was leaps and bounds smarter than what we saw two weeks ago in Pittsburgh, despite a better result.
I liked the approach of spreading the field and pressuring the Steelers to drop back into coverage, opening up running lanes (a hallmark of the Air Coryell system that Cam came out of).
Had the gameplan called for run, run, run, I argue that Rice's production would not be nearly as good as it looked. And besides, take away the 34 yard touchdown where he should have been tackled at the line, and his numbers don't look all that impressive.
Starting late in the second quarter, Rice's carries were for 1, 2, 3, -1, 0, and the 34 yard TD where he should have been tackled for a loss.
Had Cam kept running the ball like that, with three and outs, and then kicked the ball to the Steelers, I guarantee there would be the same harsh criticism of how conservative the offense was, and how scared Cam was to let Joe throw the ball.
Hell, even when they failed to move the ball at the end of the game and were forced to punt, Koch sent it 57 yards to the Steelers 11 and the Ravens defense still failed to hold the lead.
Take another look at the critical Flacco fourth-quarter sack/fumble after the Reed interception. It was typical of what the game was like for the Ravens. The Steelers have seven in the box and are playing one-deep. I don't know what the hell Flacco is doing. The ball should be going to an open Dennis Pitta on the forty, and thrown before he comes out of the break, because he's very much open. Torrey Smith is running a post pattern and has a step on the corner in the middle of the field. Ray Rice is there for a dump off underneath for anyone who thinks he was the magic answer.
There is nothing wrong with the play call, but Oher can't slow down Harrison and Flacco pats the ball three times too many.
No one was complaining when two plays earlier when Flacco hit Boldin for six. And no one was saying run the ball more after the next play, a run that went for -1. They did get Pitta involved on the very next play, and Oher and Flacco screwed the pooch. Not sure how that's on Cam.
I also liked how they were creative enough to get Leach involved and use Rice to draw defenders away from the flat.
My view of this game was that it was a decent gameplan spoiled by receivers who dropped balls, a left tackle who couldn't stop anyone, a quarterback who seems to have lost his way this season, and a general lack of intensity facing a wounded rival whose backs were against the wall.
Look, I would have liked to have seen a few more running plays, too, and I would like to see the route trees consist of some more rubs and unpredictability. But on my list of why the Ravens offense failed last Sunday, the gameplan and playcalling were WAY down the list of problems from my perspective.
Frankly, if I'm grading Harbaugh, Pees, and Cam, Cam gets the best grade of the bunch. Why is no one concerned that for 12 weeks now the defensive secondary can't all get on the same page and receivers are constantly open in the middle of the field?
Let's not be afraid to place blame on players when it's the players who are failing to perform.