Bitching about our Defense

[LukeDaniel]

I just got reading the threads where Brandon Williams, Jimmy Smith, and Tyus Bowser all got trashed, so I thought I'd share this...

I generally get amused by all the negativity about our defense



Here are our YTD rankings:



Points allowed: 181 (1st)

Yards allowed: 3000 (1st)

Yards allowed per play: 4.8 (1st)




Pass Attempts against: 359 (20th)

Passing Yards against: 2054 (T-1st). Buffalo, who we are tied with, has had 24 FEWER passes thrown against them than the Ravens

Passing Yards per attempt: 5.3 (1st- .3 higher than the next team)

Passing TDs allowed-14 (T-4th fewest)

Passing 1st downs allowed 111 (T-3rd fewest)

Opponents completion %- 58.8 (1st)

Opposing QB rating: 84.2 (2nd)


Rush Attempts against: 242 (8th)

Rush Yards allowed: 946 (3rd)

Rush YPA allowed: 3.9 (6th)

Rush 1st downs allowed: 56 (T-7th)

That damned Brandon Williams and our rush defense is really failing our team!


Sacks: 29 (T-8th)
3rd down conversion rate: 36.0% (4th)
Score % (percentage of drives that yield points)- 29.2% (2nd)


Red Zone efficiency: 63% (22nd)
Turnover rate: 6.2% (30th)



All of this having played the Steelers twice (6th in offensive efficiency) and Saints once (1st in offensive officiency). Carolina is also 8th in offensive efficiency.

I'm not saying this is the 2000 or 2006 or 2008 defense by any means. Those defenses created turnovers, which is clearly the 2018 squad's biggest deficiency, but other than that, our defense has been pretty incredible. Very rarely do you see a team lead the league in both yards allowed and points allowed. Even rarer is seeing that team do so while being in the bottom five in turnovers.

[Desert Raven]

Nice stats. How do they break down on third downs when they're trailing, in the fourth quarter, and in crunch time situations. It's all a smoke screen that doesn't really tell the story.

[bmoreravenous]

I just got reading the threads where Brandon Williams, Jimmy Smith, and Tyus Bowser all got trashed, so I thought I'd share this...

I generally get amused by all the negativity about our defense



Here are our YTD rankings:



Points allowed: 181 (1st)

Yards allowed: 3000 (1st)

Yards allowed per play: 4.8 (1st)




Pass Attempts against: 359 (20th)

Passing Yards against: 2054 (T-1st). Buffalo, who we are tied with, has had 24 FEWER passes thrown against them than the Ravens

Passing Yards per attempt: 5.3 (1st- .3 higher than the next team)

Passing TDs allowed-14 (T-4th fewest)

Passing 1st downs allowed 111 (T-3rd fewest)

Opponents completion %- 58.8 (1st)

Opposing QB rating: 84.2 (2nd)


Rush Attempts against: 242 (8th)

Rush Yards allowed: 946 (3rd)

Rush YPA allowed: 3.9 (6th)

Rush 1st downs allowed: 56 (T-7th)

That damned Brandon Williams and our rush defense is really failing our team!


Sacks: 29 (T-8th)
3rd down conversion rate: 36.0% (4th)
Score % (percentage of drives that yield points)- 29.2% (2nd)


Red Zone efficiency: 63% (22nd)
Turnover rate: 6.2% (30th)



All of this having played the Steelers twice (6th in offensive efficiency) and Saints once (1st in offensive officiency). Carolina is also 8th in offensive efficiency.

I'm not saying this is the 2000 or 2006 or 2008 defense by any means. Those defenses created turnovers, which is clearly the 2018 squad's biggest deficiency, but other than that, our defense has been pretty incredible. Very rarely do you see a team lead the league in both yards allowed and points allowed. Even rarer is seeing that team do so while being in the bottom five in turnovers.

The problem is that people expect shutdown, sack grabbing, turnover generating defenses that hold an offense to 9 points...

The problem is that those don’t exist (and can’t exist) in today’s NFL. It’s not that our defense is bad, it’s that it’s boring and the expectations are too high.

[dscola31]

If you allocate all of your resources to defense, you should be great.

They haven't forced a turnover in how long?
When was their last sack?
The Saints bitch slapped them on 3rd and 4th down
The Steelers bitch slapped them on third down.
The Panthers bitch slapped them pretty much all game.

Miss me with meaningless stats.

[Shrubbs]

The thing is if you actually look at the nuances of the criticism and not just make generalizations you'll see there are some actually good points. Brandon Williams isn't playing well, and he's not on the field very often. Fact. Michael Pierce is playing very well, and nobody's bitching about him. Tyus Bowser wasn't even getting trashed, the thread was about how he deserves more opportunity. The Jimmy Smith criticism was mostly that he should be cut due to his injuries, suspension, and high cap hit, which is what many people have been saying all year. None of that indicates we're upset with the defense as a whole.

[The Excellector]

Investment has a lot to do with why expectations are high as well. That, I understand. From 2013-2017, when you look at the Ravens first three picks in each draft (5 years, 15 total picks), 80% of those picks were on the defense. Williams, Smith, Suggs and Weddle are all making significant money. Yet, they can't get pressure on an opposing QB without blitzing?

[WNCRavensFan]

There's no coincidence that the two teams that scored 50 points Monday night are collectively 19-3. In the modern NFL, the Ravens need a better offense. Defense be damned.

[Ravenswintitle]

It's because a lot of these posters just don't watch other games. They're comparing the D to Ravens of the past.

[BcRaven]

I generally get amused by all the negativity about our defense...

Perhaps I am old and sensitive, but when I see a thread title that ends in how clueless the average Raven fan truly is, I think of how egotistical the OP is! I'm glad you're amused, but I'm not amused by your collectively insulting many on this board... Bc

[Desert Raven]

Investment has a lot to do with why expectations are high as well. That, I understand. From 2013-2017, when you look at the Ravens first three picks in each draft (5 years, 15 total picks), 80% of those picks were on the defense. Williams, Smith, Suggs and Weddle are all making significant money. Yet, they can't get pressure on an opposing QB without blitzing?

Precisely. They aren't overachieving with these misleading stats. They are supposed to do well in the area where they allocated their most resources, but still manage to find ways to come up short in pivotal spots in games. They're not closers.

[bacchys]

This is a solid defense, not a good one.

The lack of turnovers and sacks reflects that.

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[bacchys]

There's no coincidence that the two teams that scored 50 points Monday night are collectively 19-3. In the modern NFL, the Ravens need a better offense. Defense be damned.

Until they blow another fourth quarter lead...

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