Ravens 2019 Offense Scheme

[JimZipCode]

4th downs
https://twitter.com/abukari/status/1217278956921131010
- I just want to know where Bozeman was going. If he cuts into the C gap, which is where the power is designed in this unbalanced looked based on Lamar's angle he would have plowed into 51 and Lamar follows him. Instead Bozeman goes outside and 51 is the one that gets to Lamar. It would have been a push play, but at least Bozeman would have hit the right fucking gap.

Interesting. JTO had a completely different take on The QB School:

https://youtu.be/2TLWDtTyUik
13:11 to 18:54

Here, let me try to transcribe:

I love the play call, anybody who knows me knows me is going to know that I love going for it on 4th down. But I want to talk about this, I can't stand the design of this play. I don't understand, what is the value of having the tailback in the Pistol here, if you're not going to have him be a lead blocker, or give him the ball? Move him out, get somebody else out of hte box. Do SOMEthing with him. It's a TERRIBLY designed play. I don't want to bash it, especially a guy who's been probably the best play caller, being able to reinvent what they do there. But this is a TERRIBLE play call. And it's also a poor run.
...
I'm not a run-game "afficianado" by any means. But this is just POWER.

This next part I can't transcribe, he's drawing lines on the screen and saying "Here - here". I'll try to summarize. JTO thinks:

• Orlando is double-teaming 90 and then coming off onto 51
• Boyle is helping Stanley double-team 98 then coming off onto 54
• Ricard is kicking out 44
• Bozemen is pulling, wrapping thru to the first one to show, probably 31 although maybe 54 if he comes off the double-team

And it would be BETTER if the tailback, right here, he led the way. Or he was [offset] over here [weak side], and he pulled someone else out of there. But for whatever reason we're just gonna leave him back there, to not do ANYthing.
So the first thing, let's just watch Lamar's track. Normally I'm hesitant to tell runners exactly where to go. I like to tell runners to run thru common color. ...
For me on Power, especially when you know you're gonna have two double-teams, you just want to follow the guard. And it's easy to say that with the clicker. But you need to follow the guard, unless there's a wide-ass, huge hole thru the backside. And there often is! But you can't make up your mind, can't run in the closet. And that's what he [Lamar] kinda looks like right here, he plays a little Hero Ball and just says I'm gonna get it myself.

• Orlando & Zeus “get NO drive on 90. Need to drive 90s ass right into 51; or Orlando needs to come off and hit 51. If you're gonna stay on 90, you need to STAY ON and eject him from the club. But you can't give a stalemate on a double-team.”
• “The next one, and the one I think really impacts the play, is the one on 98. Thinks Stanley steps with the wrong foot, is late off the snap, and comes off to barely get on the inside. It's sloppy. Stanley gets NO push. The TE is basically taking on the DE one-on-one.”

JTO continues – and you gotta imagine him clicking back and forth, re-running different aspects over and over, punctuating events on screen with his words and sentence rhythm:

Again if THAT's how they want to block it, and let's just assume that that's how they wanted to do it, you need to follow your guard, from the QB perspective. Follow the pulling guard. Follow the pulling guard. Follow the pulling guard, yeah there's gonna be a DB there – because you got your tailback not doing anything – in the hole. But what I mean by that is [circles Bozeman's helmet] you gotta follow this big guy. He's coming right here. Wherever he goes, that's right where the QB needs to be, right behind him. Probably going to come right off here [draws an arrow outside Boyle], he's going to come around, wrap for 31, come right around him, collision a corner for a first down. You just can't say ah, eff it, I'm gonna do what I want. And I get it, that that works sometimes. Double team, double team, ugh you run right into the back of somebody. [No:] follow the guard, there it is, comes right out of the hole.

Now again, the design STINKS. Have the tailback not doing anything, which is such a WASTE, for me. And I know I've gone off the deep end here, but this is such an important play in this game. For THIS to be the execution of it, it's just not good enough. It's just NOT, from so may different standpoints, whether it's scheme, system, runner, double-teams: all bad. On many levels.

---

Yeesh, that took FOREVER.

So the reason I took the trouble to try to transcribe 5 mins of JTO's disgusted ranting – really would be better if you watched, so you could see where the video underlines his word choice – is cuz it seems to me that he was the exact opposite take from you, GWNR.

You:

• want to know where Bozeman was going
• think the power is designed in this unbalanced look, to go into the C gap, based on Lamar's angle
• think Bozeman hit the wrong fucking gap

Right? Based on Lamar's track, Bozeman must be wrong. But JTO thinks, based on Bozeman's track, that Lamar must be wrong.

I'm not entitled to an opinion, in a discussion among you & Crawford & JTO, about the X-&-O of a run play. It's a great opportunity for me to keep quiet, listen & learn.

---

Just kidding! Fuck that. This is the goddam internet. You'll get my opinion and like it.
I think there are two major elements here.

One

Lamar was hurrying thruout the game: rushing reads, not letting things develop, etc. Very easy to believe that, on this first 4th-down attempt, already having thrown one INT, Lamar got impatient behind the slow-footed guard and rushed to make something happen. Hero Ball. Of course it's not like Bozeman was fucking impeccable on the day, either. Would be much easier to decide one of them was right if the puller had been Yanda. No such luck on the "analysis" side. But, this play is a fairly routine assignment for Bozeman; and it's a Big Fucking Deal for Lamar, who was pressing all night.

Two

The other factor is – it's striking how much JTO harps on the tailback in the backfield. How fucking useless he is, not doing anything at all. And JTO mentions how Roman has been the best run-game caller in the league; not just this season but over several years. With that in your ears, just LOOK at Gus on this play.

Doesn't Gus' whole body language scream "Wait, what?" He takes a strong initial step play side, then just slows down like, "huh?" Trails along helplessly; then tries to make himself useful, maybe throw a block or something. This to me a strong indiciator that something is fucked up. Gus is looking for work. On his initial step he acts like he has an assignment, but then he slows as if his assignment is taken away from him. He doesn't know what his job is supposed to be on this play. But he's a football player, so fuck it, he'll go try to get some push at the point of attack.

Either Gus or Roman was confused about the tailback's assignment on this play. (And JTO was flat out indignant about the tailback's assignment.) So now, if Lamar was right on this play, it means at least 2 guys were wrong: Bozeman and either Gus or Roman. Hold that thought for a moment.


Relevant factoid: Lamar has been wrong on running plays before. Let's look back at a play from the Patriots game:

Cian Fahey · Nov 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/Cianaf/status/1192608314024243201

I cringe every time I hear Lamar Jackson called unique but I can't remember ever seeing a QB make the wrong read on an option handoff, take a step in the wrong direction, realize his mistake, reverse field and follow his RB through the hole for a nine-yard gain.

Here's vid of the play, from The QB School:

When JTO talked about the play, he said:

"I think Lamar Jackson should probably hand it off here, to me that's a handoff. [Pause.] He pulls it, gonna play superhero ball, and he's a superhero right there. Darn near gets into the end zone."

Yep. Lamar messed up (or misread) his assignment vs the Pats, and he played hero ball to clean it up.

---

Ok! Enough setup. Are you ready for my blazing hot take? Hot like fire! Will singe your eyebrows. Here it is.

• I think Bozeman correctly pulled to the outside, looking to block the first one to show.
• I think G-Ro did not draw up a 4th-&-1 play where the tailback is just sitting idly in the backfield without a job to do.
• I think Lamar fucked up royally on this play. I mean really really FUBAR.

Lamar was supposed to hand it off to Gus.

OR

Lamar was supposed to turn and fake the handoff to gus, then bootleg wide to the field side for the first down.
A little bit like the first TD vs New England (though that was an option, not a bootleg).

That's why Gus looks so lost & confused. And why he's in the backfield at all. It's also why Lamar looks indecisive about what hole to run to. Gus is supposed to follow Bozeman on the Power, out wide. Lamar isn't supposed to be there at all. He's supposed to loop around to the field side, either bootlegging or pretending to so a defender might hesitate.


Come @ me.

[GreatWhiteNorthRaven]

It's funny because Michael and I had a long discussion about that play and it brings up one key element that we, as fans, do not know, and that's adjustments to certain plays. So for example, in a traditional power run play and the way it is designed, Bozeman made the wrong call, 100%. BUT we don't have the privilege of knowing if that play was adjusted for some reason, which would mean Bozeman took the right path and Lamar took the wrong path.

But let me break down why I think it was on Bozeman:
- Looking at Brown: He doubles, but maintains the seal on the playside shoulder of #90. This suggests to me that he's "holding that gap open". If the play was designed to the outside, I would think his role would be to pass #90 off, based on 90's pre-snap position, to Yanda and then climb into 51.He doesn't make any movement to suggest that he was ever supposed to leave 90.
- Looking at Stanley: his first step is his left foot to get to the inside shoulder of #98. If the ball was designed to go off of Boyle's ass, which is where bozeman went, then that footwork doesn't make sense to me. I would think Stanley would try and take 98 head on and work towards his outside shoulde.r
- Looking at Boyle: Bozeman ended up going off his butt, so if we're assuming that's where the play was designed to go then I dont think his footwork makes sense either. His path is straight into 98's inside shoulder. But 98 got onto of him and it ended up looking like he sealed him so that Bozeman could go around him. So that's one of the more interesting parts of this play. It looks like he sealed his outside shoulder, but he attacks his inside shoulder. I'm more looking at where he attacks to determine the play design.
Looking at Ricard He just kicks his man out. But I will say that they way he does it, does give me reason to think that it was meant to go outside.

If you pause at the 2 second mark you can see Ricard going at 44 and Bozeman starting his pull. He's very lateral and really doesn't start to bend it, in fact he never even really looks into that C gap, he has his eyes fixed on the outside of Boyle and Lamar cuts behind him.

So there's a few things to consider if Bozeman was on the right path:
- Why did Boyle attack the inside shoulder and not the outside shoulder?
- Why didn't Brown combo into #51

However Bozeman's right path does has some arguments for it:
- Ricard kicks out like you'd expect.
- Bozeman never even looks at the C gap which makes me think it wasn't him improvising (i.e. he sees the gap closed so he kicks out)

That last line (seeing the gap closed, so you improvise) doesn't make sense though because that's just not how you run gap designed plays. Zone plays, absolutely you're reading and reacting, but now in powers.

Going to Gus Edwards, this is where it gets interesting. In our powers previously in the year we saw the RB line up beside Lamar and serve as a lead blocker. It adds another blocker into the mix, which is great. You can also see Gus look almost confused like "umm where am I supposed to go?"

Is it possible that this play was designed to go outside Boyle with Bozeman lead blocking? And Lamar decided to take it? Boyle's attack point still wouldn't make sense to me, but Bozeman pulling out there would.

Tons to dive into.

[JimZipCode]

- Looking at Brown: He doubles, but maintains the seal on the playside shoulder of #90. This suggests to me that he's "holding that gap open". If the play was designed to the outside, I would think his role would be to pass #90 off, based on 90's pre-snap position, to Yanda and then climb into 51.He doesn't make any movement to suggest that he was ever supposed to leave 90.

True.

It's a little fucked up. Orlando neither climbs to 51, nor drives the shit out of 90 to get some push. Seems content to just get a stalemate at the line with 90. Which, since it's a double-team, is a total win for the defense right there.

- Looking at Stanley: his first step is his left foot to get to the inside shoulder of #98. If the ball was designed to go off of Boyle's ass, which is where bozeman went, then that footwork doesn't make sense to me. I would think Stanley would try and take 98 head on and work towards his outside shoulder.

Great point. JTO raised the exact same. You'd think it would be a combo, with Boyle blocking 98 "onto" Stanley, then leaving to climb to the LB – if the play was designed to go outside, I mean. Stanley's footwork is strongly suggestive of the play being designed to go inside. (C gap?) Stanley turns 98 "onto" Boyle, which is opposite of what you'd want for the run going outside, more consistent with your read of an inside run.

So there's a few things to consider if Bozeman was on the right path:
- Why did Boyle attack the inside shoulder and not the outside shoulder?
- Why didn't Brown combo into #51

Yeah; and, why did Stanley initial-step with his inside foot?

Going to Gus Edwards, this is where it gets interesting. In our powers previously in the year we saw the RB line up beside Lamar and serve as a lead blocker. It adds another blocker into the mix, which is great. You can also see Gus look almost confused like "umm where am I supposed to go?"

Totally! This is one of my stronger indicators for "Lamar went completely rogue.". Pre-snap, Lamar doesn't move Gus next to him, where he can serve as a lead. He leaves him at tailback. Then at the snap, Gus takes a strong first step play side; then Lamar cuts in front of him and you can practically see the question marks sprout over Gus's head.



I'm TELLING you. All the blocking makes sense if you assume that Lamar was supposed to turn & fake the handoff, then bootleg field side and run for the first down.

• Bozeman pulls all the way to the edge to give a big visual key to the linebackers.
• Orlando & Yanda stalemate on their double-team at the line because it doesn't matter.
• Stanley wrong-foots it because, again, it doesn't matter. All this "play-side" shit is just window dressing.
• Nobody climbs to a LB because it would actually be useful to have the defenders overrun to the offensive right side.

Then poor Gus steps with authority to the play side, ready to give a good strong play-action fake. Finds Lamar still in front of him and is all like, wait did I get the wrong play? Finds work like a good soldier; but not what he expected off the snap.

Play call would make sense. A whole lot more sense than what we actually saw. Give strong keys of "Power" to the defense and get the most electric playmaker in the league outside in space to pick up one yard. Shit, Lamar would still be running: that's probably a touchdown.



I recognize that it's an exraordinary claim, that Lamar fucked up SO completely, went SO far off the reservation on this play. I have a huge burden of proof if I'm going to sell this story; and I got nothing, will never have anything. Greg Roman (or Joe D) is never gonna sit one-on-one with me and off the record laugh "Yeah, Lamar really went rogue on that one, ha. What a cluster." Never happen. All I will ever have are these soft suggestions.

But LOOK at what everyone else is doing! Get Lamar out of there, to turn & fake & boot: suddenly everything falls into place on this snap. Last night I was only about 60 to 70% sold on this idea; but the tape itself makes an argument too. Even Lamar's body language. After he takes his first step or two he's like "Whoah, is this where I was supposed to be?"

Seriously. Run the play again, but cover Lamar with your thumb and watch everyone else. Imagine Lamar leaking out the backside with the ball while all this playside shit is going on and Gus is running decisively toward the (offensive) right. See what you think.

[edromeo]

...wrong 4th down play

[GreatWhiteNorthRaven]

...wrong 4th down play

I was gonna say whatchu talking bout Willis!

Your analysis was bang on though. Line didn’t win but I also think Lamar could have gone over Mekari to get enough. Perfect storm


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JimZipCode]

But my take:
I think its a QB sneak all the way.
Most coaches don't try to go wide when they only need a yard or less.
I think JT is over the top with his questioning of 'why was Gus back there' because in most QB sneak formation there is at least 1 RB in the backfield. So my response and to you and him would be another question: why is there a RB in the backfield on any QB sneak?

I think it was a QB sneak and Titans torpedoed the line and Lamar was looking a sliver or space to get the 1st but the Titans front won the battle.

A sneak from the Pistol??? That's not a "sneak", as I understand sneaks.

I thought "sneaks" were from under center. Lamar was not under center on this play.

Interesting theory JZC, you seem to be really married to it and I'm not one to come between JZC and his beliefs. GWNR and yourself do a nice job of going in depth into this play.

It's more that I'm excited about the idea, than that I'm really 100% wedded to it. I do recognize that there's one or two GIGANTIC leaps on my part.

This is by far the most FUN theory about that play. And it absolves a lot of individuals from blame for the play's failure, which is nice.
That's not quite the same as the theory being true, however.




EDIT:

...wrong 4th down play

Wups, looks like I jumped the gun.

[edromeo]

Here's the play slowed down.
Damn you guys got me into this discussion now when I wanted to get to some other stuff.....but I we got a loooonnnngggg offseason coming up.

[edromeo]

[edromeo]

I'm a little late to the part on the 1st 4th down so i'll try to be concise.
Play looks like QB power variation.

I think the failure happens
(a) at the poa when both double teams get stoned by the Titans DL
(b) the Ravens didn't outnumber the Titans on the play side

I would be generous if I said those double teams moved the Titans DL maybe an inch?

Then their LB were fast flow and 'shot their guns' and came down hill hard.
At that point Lamar is looking for any sliver of hope and hunts for a backside weak spot.

JZC while I think your speculation/pontification is certainly possible, its immaterial to me because of the OL failures, but along the lines you were think I think it would be more likely that Lamar was given the option or 'read' to keep the ball on this run or give it to Gus.

Think about this though.....who do you want carrying the with essentially the game on the line? Lamar or Gus?

Which made me think of this play vs Seattle:

This is who we are.
We are an offense fueled by and driven by the ability of the QB to be a very effective runner.
Lamar is the straw that makes this offense go, everything we do is built off that threat.
To the tune of having one of the best offenses in the NFL.


I just wish they built a more variety around the core concepts.

[edromeo]

Yeah it gets tricky. But, early in games when a team is still working off their opening script (e.g. "the first 15" for WCO team) the OC gets to choose their approach independent of gameflow. If Roman wants a run heavy script or a pass heavy script the game plan and game prep during the week will work towards that end. Naturally as the game progresses playcallers have to call the game based much more on the flow of the game.

Starting off the game with 5 runs and 1 pass in the opening drive sets the tone what's that 80% run?
The next drive was 5(R) and 5(P) making the total for the "1st 16" plays: 10 runs and 6 passes in the opening script for 63% run?

i like that

Found it.

Here’s where I would love to see the run game improve:

More outside zone
More outside zone read
More spread + outside zone + read
More RPO
A sprinkle of some under center stuff

[edromeo]

We didn't play our game. One of our goal going into the game was to play the "Ravens" game, right?

I found those words comforting. I see it as an acknowledgement of suboptimal gameplan.

[The Excellector]

They ran a good bit of outside zone last year under Mornhinweg.