The Packers Laid the Blueprint. Are the Ravens Even Capable of Following It?

[Kyle Cactus]

I've heard a lot of people say that the Packers laid the blueprint for beating the Steelers: spread out a lot of receives and throw the ball.

The Steelers don't have the greatest corners, but their pass rush can hide that. It seems like the best way to counter this is to get the ball out quickly. This is perfect for a Packers team with lots of great receivers, a great quarterback, and a West Coast offense.

But do the Ravens have the personnel and scheme to accomplish this?

Personnel
Boldin is a guy you can use for quick, possession type routes, but I'm not sure we have anyone else who can do this. I'm excited about Lee Evans, but this doesn't seem like his strong suit. And just because he's caught a few slant routes in the preseason doesn't mean he'll be profficient at it when it counts.

All our other receivers are young, and haven't proven that they can be relied upon yet. I have high hopes for guys like Dickson, Reed, and Doss, but I'm not about to assume that their ready to take a big role against the Steelers in week 1.

Scheme
I'm no expert on this subject, but it seems to me that the Cameron's pilosophy is basically the opposite of the West Coast Offense. So even if we could beat the Steelers this way, is there any chance that we try?



For all the negativity and questions above, I do think the Ravens can take a tip from the Packers. To beat the Steelers we need to pass the ball more and get the ball out quickly. That said, the Ravens aren't the Packers. It's not as easy as saying "it worked for them, it can work for us." They have different personnel and a different offensive philosophy. It may work to a degree, but I don't see it working as well.

[Captain Silver]

This is no secret, the Packers merely followed what the Patriots did to them at Heinz Field earlier last year.

[Kyle Cactus]

No argument there. The question is, how effective can the Ravens be using this blueprint?

[Ravenswintitle]

all they need is Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers

[NOLARavenFAN]

Time-waster thread of the day. Thanks.

[GOTA]

all they need is Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers

That's the truth. Teams like the Chargers or Saints can try to do what the Packers did but Joe has a long way to go before he's up there with the best QBs in the game.

[Kyle Cactus]

Time-waster thread of the day. Thanks.

Please, no. Thank you sir. Classy replies like that are clearly what makes this forum great.

[RavingMad]

all they need is Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers

You are right but it is most likely our best approach. The biggest question is can Smith be our James Jones.

Boldin= Driver

Evans can be our Jennings to a degree and I like this Doss kid. He could possibly play the Jordy Nelson role.

[Kyle Cactus]

One thing we have that Green Bay doesn't is Ray Rice. He can play the scat back role to provide another option to beat the pass rush.

[Dave Lap]

Time-waster thread of the day. Thanks.

So why did you read and respond to it? Maybe you're just having a bad day, or maybe I am, but what purpose does it serve to do a "drive by crapping" on a thread?

I think it's worth reading.

[chicagoravensfan]

I think this is a great point, and as was pointed out the Packers followed the blueprint of the Patriots. The Patriots game was Week 10 last year and I did not see a lot of spread concepts in our Week 13 loss or the playoffs so color me pessimistic that Cam will follow suit. I am hopeful though! Not utilizing Ray Rice out of the spread is a crime.

[NC Raven]

Don't know if we can exactly copy it, but what's worked in the past is a lot of Todd Heap, and getting the ball to Rice in space. Obviously with no Heap, a lot's going to depend on exploiting the CBs with Evans, and getting the ball out to Dickson in the seams, IF as a team the Ravens feel good about exploiting the middle of the field with him.

The parts are there to have an effective passing game that exploits Pitt's weaknesses in the secondary, but a lot will hinge on Flacco identifying what's there and making his mind up FAST and delivering.

I may not ever forget the Polamalu blitz/strip/fumble play. As sad as it was that Oher didn't block him or let anyone know he was there (IIRC), it's even worse that Flacco seemed not to notice him lined up unblocked AND not notice that he wasn't out there in the secondary. Until I see him make decisions that clearly punish other teams for going into a zero-cover mode (that Manning and Brady quickly identify, adjust, and destroy) this offense will always have trouble dealing with defenses that blitz as much at Pitt's does.