Re: Ravens Report Card???
Quote:
Originally Posted by
HoustonRaven
I'd say C for coaching, with points taken off for time clock management and not giving Ray the ball enough in the fourth.
The coaches didn't drop five balls, give up 300+ in yardage, sailed balls over Torrey's head or commit rather stupid penalties.
I say D minus, because I think the approach on D was don't blitz (or much at all) and keep everyone in front of you to avoid big plays and keep it close.
The lack of pressure allowed Charlie Batch to have ALL DAY.
And on offense, someone needs to realize there i a middle of the field and something other than 9 routes.
Re: Ravens Report Card???
I thought the grades for coaching and defense were both very generous. The defense was broken all over the place & Batch missed more opportunities than he took.
As for the coaching, setting aside all the (legitimate) questions about game planning, that costly & boneheaded challenge on the Batch pass was absolutely inexcusable and worth a full grade and a half by itself.
Anything above a C- for coaching is generous, and even at C- I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that some terrible execution clouded what was otherwise occasional good judgment.
Re: Ravens Report Card???
Complete and utter nonsense to give the coaching staff anything but an F. Maybe if you put on purple shades his grading system makes sense.
Re: Ravens Report Card???
Quote:
Originally Posted by
HoustonRaven
I'd say C for coaching, with points taken off for time clock management and not giving Ray the ball enough in the fourth.
The coaches didn't drop five balls, give up 300+ in yardage, sailed balls over Torrey's head or commit rather stupid penalties.
true but the challenge was a head scratcher. The D was spying Rice and that was part of why he wasn't used as much in the passing game but I don't know why he didn't get a carry in the 4th.
Re: Ravens Report Card???
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Captain Silver
Complete and utter nonsense to give the coaching staff anything but an F. Maybe if you put on purple shades his grading system makes sense.
I agree.
Its simple... if things aren't working, the coaches need to adjust. Player execution sucked Sunday. There is no sugar coating it. However, our coaches presented the same silly crap they seem to do every game. There are different ways to try to help a struggling quarterback... basically you are seeking routes that he can hit easily to get into rhythm - but instead it seems like one of three routes, deep ball, nine, or dump off.
On defense, again, if a qb is picking you apart, you have to find a way to get pressure - I see NO creativeness on our pash rush most weeks. We either succeed with overpower the OLINE or we don't get pressure. I don't see delayed blitzes, overloads, stunts... It felt like I saw more three man rushes than blitzes on Sunday.
What's up with Sanders having nobody within a mile? If he doesn't fumble that, they probably score another td.
Re: Ravens Report Card???
I would give the offensive coaching a grade of "4th down" due to running pass patterns 3 yards short of a 1st down AND never using the middle of the field. Also, I will give them extra credit for "I can't see from the sideline" what the HELL is happening during the entire game. Maybe Cam will look at game footage during next summer to see what went wrong. No RICE for YOU!
On defense, I will give a NB for NO BLITZING. How about attacking their patchwork of a horrible Oline and 37 year old QB with crossing stunts and overload blitzes to make sure they screw up? How about recognizing from the upper deck that our linebackers were not dropping deep enough in pass coverage? No...hmmm.
Re: Ravens Report Card???
Quote:
Originally Posted by
HoustonRaven
I'd say C for coaching, with points taken off for time clock management and not giving Ray the ball enough in the fourth.
The coaches didn't drop five balls, give up 300+ in yardage, sailed balls over Torrey's head or commit rather stupid penalties.
Coaching has nothing to do with that?
If it is one bad game, I am forgiving. However, it has been a pattern throughout the season.
Re: Ravens Report Card???
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.
Re: Ravens Report Card???
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DavidF
There are no good excuses for not having a high-powered offensive attack every week against every opponent.
Hell, why don't we take it one step further and say there are no excuses for not winning the Super Bowl every year?