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The Foundation of the Passing Offense is still Intact.
The reality is that we need to calm ourselves, in regard to the missing pieces of the passing offense. The difference in the passing offense, between the regular season and the postseason, was not Dennis Pitta. It was not Anquan Boldin.
It was Jim Caldwell and the offensive line. That remains intact.
For the record, on the outside, Torrey Smith is the key piece to the passing offense. Torrey faced double teams almost all of last season and, his doing so allowed for one on one opportunities for both Boldin and Pitta. Torrey also, almost exclusively, took the top CB with him, which left Boldin to deal with nicklebacks and safeties, playing from the slot, as well as Pitta.
As long as Torrey is in place, one on one opportunities will continue. As long as Flacco is throwing the ball, it will be delivered to the intended WR. As long as the offensive line is protecting him, he will continue to successfully throw the ball. As long as Jim Caldwell is calling plays, it will all come together.
Until one of those pieces falls out of place, dare I say that there is no reason to panic about the passing offense."Please take with you this final sword, The Excellector. I am praying that your journey will be guided by the light", Leon Shore
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07-30-2013, 08:45 AM #2
Re: The Foundation of the Passing Offense is still Intact.
IMHO, the strength of rebounding from the loss of Pitta will be Jim Caldwell. I feel that he has the capacity to adjust the schemes for the personnel, both strategically and in-game. I think that he will make the calls that fit the strengths of the players, rather than always claim that his plays are best and it is the players who fail to execute them.
The passing offense is as much dependent on the ability to run the ball as it is to have the personnel, and the stability of the OL makes the passing game more productive. All of the pieces have to be working together.
I have faith that the plan will be in place as the season progresses.Captain Offense
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07-30-2013, 08:48 AM #3Pro Bowl Poster
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Re: The Foundation of the Passing Offense is still Intact.
Joe Flacco isn't going to throw for 9.0 yards per attempt and 44 TDs to 0 INTs so those expecting the playoff performance to continue all year should probably cool their expectations and realize exactly how ridiculous that run was.
We have no idea what Jim Caldwell is or isn't. The only thing we know is that Joe Flacco and Cam Cameron did not get along. It is fully possible that ANY change would have lit a fire under Joe's ass at that point in time. Let's wait and see.
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Re: The Foundation of the Passing Offense is still Intact.
This. Caldwell actually ran the ball more than Cam. In fact I remember the announcers saying how predictable he was with run, run, pass. The results speak for themselves but I give him more credit for allowing Flacco to audible and take control than I do for his play calling per se
World Domination 3 Points at a Time!
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07-30-2013, 09:13 AM #5
Re: The Foundation of the Passing Offense is still Intact.
I am happy to see that there can be a positive spin on the story of the demise our passing game. Highly optimistic to see the coach and OL overcoming the loss of our two best receivers ---- thanks for making me smile this morning!
Here's hoping that Ray Rice's little legs are up to the challenge.In a 2003 BBC poll that asked Brits to name the "Greatest American Ever", Mr. T came in fourth, behind ML King (3rd), Abe Lincoln (2nd) and Homer Simpson (1st).
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Re: The Foundation of the Passing Offense is still Intact.
As long as Flacco is healthy there is nothing to worry about. The sky didn't fall when Webb went down or Ray went down or all those times that Boldin went down. It comes down to Joe. This is a QB league and the key is to keep your star QB healthy and productive.
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07-30-2013, 05:39 PM #7Steve Flacco, Apparently
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Re: The Foundation of the Passing Offense is still Intact.
My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging. -Hank Aaron
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07-30-2013, 11:18 AM #8Four-eyed Raven
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07-30-2013, 09:22 AM #9
Re: The Foundation of the Passing Offense is still Intact.
Certainly no need to panic, but losing Boldin AND Pitta will have an effect. And as others have said, we weren't going to replicate the last 4 games over the next 16 regardless of personnel.
I'm excited to see what we can do under Caldwell, but I think the key question mark is the o-line. I'm hopeful that they'll play well this year, but Oher and McKinnie will always make me nervous.
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I've already said that this team's main strength will be a physical down hill running game with a very strong defensive front that will create multiple 3 and outs. We could end up having one of the best pass rush in the league, and we get Webb back at corner, who along with Elam, will make plays all over the field. What we lost in the passing offense, we made up for on defense which was a huge weakness last season.
With Caldwell in place at OC, the passing offense will be more effective even with less than what Cam had to work with. We have a massive Oline that can give Joe enough time and can punish smaller defensive fronts in the run game. Let's not forget about Rice, Pierce and Leach.
Basically I see us being the same old Ravens that win a bunch of games by physically imposing our will. Only this time, we have an OC who can adapt and change the game plan, and a QB who can make all the throws.
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07-31-2013, 12:40 PM #11
Re: The Foundation of the Passing Offense is still Intact.
I agree 21215 but we absolutely had to address the defense this OS. I share your philosophy though: if ya gonna pay #5 $120m then arm him with an improved option of two.
"The Ravens are not taking Jimmy Smith at 26!" -- Me, the day before the 2011 Draft
"On their way to the podium, the Ravens FO is going to collectively step over my dead body and select...Breshad Perriman." -- Me, the day before the 2015 Draft
Missed it by That Much: The story of 'Get Smart' and the modern day Baltimore Ravens
@BigPlayReceiver
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07-31-2013, 12:51 PM #12Pro Bowl Poster
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Re: The Foundation of the Passing Offense is still Intact.
It's wasn't an either or proposition. I think they made the right moves in improving the defense. Indirectly, it helps the offense because it takes some of the pressure off. But they HAD the money to bring in at least one proven WR. And they chose to stay pat with Doss, Reed, etc. I think that's a mistake. RIW thinks it was a mistake to not re-sign Boldin; I don't, as I've already stated. What I think was the mistake was to not re-sign Boldin and think that the WRs already in camp were good enough to fill the void. And that was before Pitta went out for the year.
By the same token, I think that there's a very fine line between fielding a top tier offense and a very good offense. There was a lot of discussion when the Steelers fired Ariens and hired Haley. One thought was that the Steelers brass decided it was too expensive and unstable to build an offense around a gun slinging QB and expensive WRs. There might just be something to that. And the more I think about it, it might make the most sense to gear the whole team such that the defense is very strong, and the offense is properly balanced. The Ravens already have Joe locked up, and the running game should be quite good in 2013. They're gambling that one of the as yet unproven WRs is going to pan out. It could happen, but given the Ravens past history, more times than not it hasn't worked out that way. The main way, aside from Smith, that the Ravens have boosted the WR corps was via FA (Mason, Boldin, even Jones.) I think the Ravens could have maintained the basic structure of not overpaying while still improving the offense with the addition of one more WR. And it helps the QB/WR relationship to do it early in camp so things like timing and trust can be established. Waiting until a week before opening day puts that timetable needlessly behind the 8-ball. It's frustrating to see the Ravens so close yet unable to nail down a key piece of the puzzle, especially when there are/were options available.
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