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  1. #49
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    Re: This is a seriously good team.

    StalkRavenMad

    I agree with most of your post.

    But, facing a loaded box shouldn’t be deterrent to running the ball. Imho that’s not a good enough reason to justify the playoff gameplan on 1st downs. Good run teams can run against a loaded box.





  2. #50

    Re: This is a seriously good team.

    Quote Originally Posted by John Reglarperson View Post
    They should start figuring out now how to avoid losing playoff games. Run more. Be conservative. Take fewer risks. Be more confident that run first will win in the end. If Lamar has 2 weeks off, he might be a little rusty. Run Ricard up the middle 3 times and then punt if necessary. It won't take long for the defense to be worn down by tackling Ricard over and over again. You can't go in with the idea that if luck isn't on your side, you're going to lose. The Ravens should be the better team, the Ravens should have the premiere running offense, and that premiere running offense should be enough to get the win. Sometimes it seemed like the Ravens thought that it was the risk taking in the context of the running that got them the wins, when it was really simply the dominant running that got it done. If you look at the play by play from the playoff loss, it was the appearance of nervousness, the desire to get back in front immediately, the lack of confidence that superiority over 60 minutes would get it done.


    Ravens Drives

    # Quar Time LOS Plays Len Yds Result
    1 1 11:42 RAV 20 7 3:53 44 Interception (short field Titans 7)
    2 1 3:36 RAV 25 6 3:43 20 Downs (short field Titans 7)
    3 2 14:45 RAV 26 3 1:12 2 Punt
    4 2 11:13 RAV 10 12 5:21 59 Field Goal
    5 2 2:32 RAV 5 14 2:32 91 Field Goal

    6 3 15:00 RAV 24 13 5:05 58 Downs (Ravens lose 3)
    7 3 6:54 RAV 25 1 0:10 -5 Fumble (short field Titans 7)
    8 3 4:16 RAV 25 8 2:31 44 Interception
    9 4 14:49 RAV 12 10 3:45 88 Touchdown
    10 4 6:25 RAV 20 10 1:58 64 Downs (Ravens lose 3)
    11 4 2:45 RAV 24 10 1:56 55 Downs (Ravens lose 3)

    The general rule for 4th downs - in the playoffs - should be (if we aren't talking 4th Q) - on your side of the field - punt. If you're in FG range - kick the FG. Go for it if you're not in FG range and you're on their side of the field. If the other team might be better (not the Titans), loosen those rules, but the Ravens should be the better team next year. The Ravens gave the Titans a short field by going for it instead of punting, they got 7. The Ravens failed on 4th instead of FG 3 times. 9 points. If they had followed those rules, 21 to 21. Or 22 to 21, if they had kicked the extra point.

    That leaves aside the 3 turnovers on pass plays, which I think are unnecessarily risky when you're the best running team in NFL history. 2 short field TDs by the Titans based off those pass game TOs. Without those 2 Titans TDs based off of those 2 short field pass game TOs, Ravens 22, Titans 7.

    to sum up, when you're better, and the Ravens should be great
    1) don't give them the ball on your side of the field, make them work for points
    2) take the points when you can get them
    the Ravens would have won if they did either one of those things (basically).

    Specifically, more running, punting and field goals. When you have 3 or 4 run threats on the field at the same time, it's more difficult for them to stop your run game by stopping one of your 2 run threats. 9 carries by the running backs, or non-QBs? No. Not enough.
    Because not taking risks and playing not to lose are the hallmarks of a champion.
    Let's win the f**king game.
    Joe Flacco





  3. #51

    Re: This is a seriously good team.

    Quote Originally Posted by edromeo View Post
    I don't understand how someone can look at McSorely and think he's better then Griffin.
    I thought he passed the ball better. RG3 really didn't pass very well last year.





  4. #52

    Re: This is a seriously good team.

    Quote Originally Posted by Sarcasticfury View Post
    Because not taking risks and playing not to lose are the hallmarks of a champion.
    In the 1970s.





  5. #53
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    Re: This is a seriously good team.

    Quote Originally Posted by QtR Nevermore View Post
    I thought he passed the ball better. RG3 really didn't pass very well last year.
    When? In preseason? To me it’s not even close to an apples to apples comparison to look at Trace preseason games against 2nd-3rd string comp and compare those stats against actual real game production.

    I like Trace, but I think Griffin is an a whole other level of ability and accomplishment.

    I think Huntley will be legit competition for Trace.





  6. #54

    Re: This is a seriously good team.

    Quote Originally Posted by QtR Nevermore View Post
    In the 1970s.
    I was being sarcastic. I don't understand where the poster was coming from, advocating that the Ravens should turn into some conservative team with an offense that grinds it out when they won 14 games last year by being the exact opposite of that.
    Let's win the f**king game.
    Joe Flacco





  7. #55
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    Aug 2011
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    Northern Ireland, UK
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    7,186

    Re: This is a seriously good team.

    Quote Originally Posted by Corey View Post
    I am not willing to go there. LJ was the driving force behind this teams success and he had an out of this world season. I am a little skeptical of whether he can do it again. For now I am cautiously optimistic and I am not making any bold proclamations about how good they are. If LJ regresses at all, we are going to struggle.
    Yea i wouldnt expect what as good a team as last year.

    Doesnt mean we cant do better in the playoffs though





  8. #56
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    Aug 2011
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    Re: This is a seriously good team.

    Quote Originally Posted by QtR Nevermore View Post
    I think last year's team was the best in team history. They had 13 pro bowlers, the unanimous MVP and they had the best record, too.

    I know a lot of stock is put on playoff victories and Superbowl wins and once it's happened everyone looks on the results as inevitable, but I don't. I know people will think I'm stupid or crazy, because that's not how American sports fans tend to think, but one-off games are one-off games. Luck plays a part, how a team or individual performs on the day plays a part. Knockout tournaments are designed to provide excitement for the fans. Superbowl wins tell you which team won the Superbowl but not necessarily who the best team was.

    I think 'soccer' leagues, where every team plays every other, home and away, tend to give a more genuine measure of the best team. You can see mid-table teams winning the knock out cup competitions occassionally. Tennis plays several tournaments on each surface and different winners emerge on the day. They look at overall rankings to see who is actually best. Last year's Ravens would have been higher in those kind of rankings than the 2000 or 2012 teams.
    This. Last years team was a beast. Itl be very very tough for us to say this seasons team was better come next spring short of them winning a superbowl





  9. #57
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    Re: This is a seriously good team.

    Quote Originally Posted by Corey View Post
    I think if LJ doesn't repeat that performance we will certainly not be as dominant as last year.
    Oh I don't agree. I don't think Lamar needs to run as much as last year, for us to control games and win. We've diversified our WR personnel a little + Dobbins is better than any backup RB we had last year + we have improved the depth & number of options we have at C and LG.

    Also, it won't be Lamar's first full season as the starter, and the team's first season with the new playbook. That all by itself would be reason enough to expect a step forward from the passing game, without any of the personnel stuff above.



    (All that is without even talking about the defense.)





  10. #58
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    Jun 2008
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    Re: This is a seriously good team.

    Quote Originally Posted by arnie_uk View Post
    Last years team was a beast. Itl be very very tough for us to say this seasons team was better come next spring short of them winning a superbowl
    I fully expect this year's team to be better across the board, except at LG and TE #3. And to win the SB.





  11. #59

    Re: This is a seriously good team.

    Quote Originally Posted by Sarcasticfury View Post
    I was being sarcastic.
    Your name gives that away. So was I.

    (But maybe that comment was also sarcastic and I've fallen into your trap by taking it seriously.)





  12. Re: This is a seriously good team.

    Quote Originally Posted by Sarcasticfury View Post
    Because not taking risks and playing not to lose are the hallmarks of a champion.
    why don't you explain that in 1000 words instead of 15. Your argument sounds a lot better when expressed as a slogan than it does when fully fleshed out.

    The fact remains that the Ravens took risks and lost because of it.

    If, in the regular season, you go for it every time, maybe you win 3 of 4 times. But in the playoffs you have to win every single game. Yes, it sounds like a pussy to say "don't take risks". But the Ravens took the biggest risk of all to decide to go against the grain and take the great running QB and to run for more yards than ever before.

    You haven't heard "conservative ball control offense" before? I cannot deny that your 15 words sound great on a bumper sticker. Running a ton with a QB is risky in the long run, but in the short run, it isn't, because running is less risky. How does, "booyah, just jam the ball down their throats" sound to you? That sounds like the hallmark of a champion. But teams that win the Super Bowl generally didn't turn the ball over on downs 4 times in a game like the Ravens did. I don't have access to the data if it exists. What's the record number of times a team went for it on 4th down in a single playoff game? I would assume that turning the ball over on downs 4 times in a playoff game has to be the record. Can't you just be, you know, a confident team, yet not a foolhardy team. And punt when it's reasonable to do so? And kick a FG when it's reasonable to do so? Or is never punting or never kicking a field goal just the true "hallmarks of a champion". It's true that no team every ran their QB as often, or got as many yards rushing from their QB or as many yards rushing from their team. But those things didn't cause losses. Going for it on 4th so many times did give the Titans the ball with a short field and did pretty much take points off the board.

    Hallmarks of a champion can mean things like "impose your will on the other team simply by being dominant." The Ravens won when they ran first. And they lost when they passed twice as often as they ran the ball. In both playoff games, they dived away from the run, and lost. Best running team becomes generic passing team, and loses.

    Still, though, again, yours was a pretty effective post. At the same time, the champion is the one who wins. The Ravens didn't win.





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