Results 25 to 36 of 47
Thread: What made the difference?
-
12-24-2012, 01:48 AM #25
Re: What made the difference?
Bingo! On 3rd and 2, they weren't trying to throw 40 yards downfield, they had receivers 4 yards down to throw to!
On that touchdown to Rice, it was a thing of beauty. They were 2nd and 5. Rice AND Pitta were right at the first down line. Pitta a yard behind it, Rice on it. Joe actually had his pick of who he could throw to and likely either of them would have had the 1st down. Actually Pitta was wide open with no one covering him. But it just so happens Rice is a little shiftier than Pitta, as San Diego also found out (no offense "Hands"), and took it for the TD.
Pitta was wide open a lot today too. Two plays come to mind. It's 2nd and 5 and they send Pitta on a simple flair out to the right. Not downfield, just a nice little short corner out. Flacco hits him and it's 7 yards and a first down. Later in the 4th quarter it's 3rd and 1. Again Cameron would launch the ball downfield. Instead, while still in the shotgun, Pitta goes short left and Flacco hits him for 6 yards and........another first down. Extending the drive.
Oh and one other thing. The Ravens got themselves in a couple ugly spots like 3rd and 19 and that whole bizarre 8 minute sequence in the 3rd quarter. Cameron at the point of 3rd and 19 would have gone with the good old predictable shotgun draw to Rice for nothing and punted. Instead THIS is the time Caldwell draws up the right deep call and Flacco hits Pitta for 36 yards. Oh yeah, and in the process Flacco takes off toward the line scrimmage to escape pressure and throws a laser-accurate pass to get it into Pitta's hands.
Same thing earlier in the game. 2nd quarter 3rd and 19. Again, Cameron would have pissed his pants and ran the ball and punted. Caldwell says hell no, and the result is Flacco throwing a 36 yard air-dart to Boldin.
Those are the kind of plays that make an offense successful, and confident. It was as much fun to watch as week 1 was.
Now, the 60 million dollar question. Does Caldwell have the balls to call these plays in Cincy next week. And does Harbaugh have the balls to let him?
-
12-24-2012, 05:06 AM #26
Re: What made the difference?
1) Yanda: he really solidifies both our run and pass blocking
2) Caldwell: another week to tweak this scheme. Really it's not a bad scheme--it's more like it's incomplete. What Caldwell did was add more elements to it, while continuing to use the whole field and mixing up our play: short passes/deep passes, runs inside/runs outside etc.
3) Receivers not dropping passes, even making tough catches.
And all 3 of these led to...
4) Joe played with confidence. He stepped into his throws instead of throwing off his back foot, he moved around in the pocket instead of being `a 6' 7" statue--even throwing on the run. When Joe's mechanics don't fall apart and he doesn't feel shackled, he's capable of playing this dynamically. We've seen him do it too often for it to be a fluke.
-
12-24-2012, 07:14 AM #27Pro Bowl Poster
- Join Date
- Jan 2011
- Location
- Watford, England
- Posts
- 1,756
Re: What made the difference?
1. The O-line gave Joe plenty of time in the pocket. The famed Giants' pass rush was nearly non-existent, whereas the Broncos' was dominant. The return of Yanda was a big help here.
2. There was a clear emphasis on getting Joe in rhythm and rolling early.
3. We worked to establish the run before taking the deep play-action shots.
4. The coaching staff had clearly identifed the weakest link in the Giants' secondary (Webster) and kept attacking him relentlessly. Staying with what has been working hasn't always been our strong suit in the past.
5. Similarly they had obviously identified the Giants' backs as a weakness in pass protection and again Pees kept attacking with some nice blitz calls.
Good gameplan on both sides of the ball + great execution = confidence = points = wins"Flacco stepping up and throwing deep down the far sideline... CAUGHT!!! Into the endzone, TOUCHDOWN JACOBY JONES!!!!!"
-
Re: What made the difference?
To me, the key to this game was the first drive in the no huddle... it got Joe in a rythym, and that is a big key to his play. I told my wife after that first drive that they might roll the Giants, and for once I was right!
-
12-24-2012, 11:30 AM #29
Re: What made the difference?
All the above.
Plus, Execution by the players - mainly on converting 3rd Downs.
Defense was rested throughout the game.
Young guy, Chykie Brown? He was everyehere.
-
12-24-2012, 11:39 AM #30Regular 1st Stringer
- Join Date
- Sep 2007
- Posts
- 666
Re: What made the difference?
How about the obvious.
The Giants are pretty bad, they lost to Atlanta 34-0. They are not in Denvers League and are not as good as Washington, and probably on the same level as the Steelers.
We killed a bad team at home, good win but doesn't mean the Ravens are all of a sudden Super Bowl contenders. The Ravens are a 4 seed, should beat the Colts at home and then will lose to whomever they play in the second round.
-
12-24-2012, 11:47 AM #31Pro Bowl Poster
- Join Date
- Jan 2011
- Location
- Watford, England
- Posts
- 1,756
"Flacco stepping up and throwing deep down the far sideline... CAUGHT!!! Into the endzone, TOUCHDOWN JACOBY JONES!!!!!"
-
Re: What made the difference?
The simple answer:
The biggest difference in this game came on 3rd down. The ravens converted on 11 of 18 third downs while holding the giants to 2/10.
-
Re: What made the difference?
My answer: Playcalling, simple as that.
This is the first game in a long long while where I haven't been able to call a lot of the plays pre-snap.... I had gotten good at it under Cam (as had probably most of us).
What was with the motion man going into 3 point stance on the other side? They usually rounded the cut upfield at ball snap.
I saw Rice hit in stride in the middle, not standing there late waiting as a check-down.
Now as time goes on, we may be able to again impress the casual fan with our play reading, but I stunk at it this last game, and looks like the Giants did also.at one point of my life I was exactly Pi years old
-
12-25-2012, 08:59 AM #34Legendary RSR Poster
- Join Date
- Aug 2007
- Location
- Houston, TX Y'all
- Posts
- 34,414
-
12-25-2012, 09:12 AM #35Pro Bowl Poster
- Join Date
- Aug 2006
- Posts
- 2,486
Re: What made the difference?
Boldin had a very good game, made some tough catches. I had almost forgotten how good he can be. (Okay, I guess I did forget).
-
Bookmarks