Random game observations

[Shas]

Some random observations of things that stood out to me from watching the Eagles game.

The quickness of the Eagles defensive Line was a problem. This was predictable. They get to the QB and limit YPC from opposing RBs. The style of linemen they bring in and their gap scheme leads to a lot of up field penetration at the snap of the ball. It's why Jernigan was a fit in Philly, but not Baltimore. It led to a lot of sidearm throws from Lamar. And it blew up a lot of running plays where a pulling lineman or Ricard was just a step too slow getting to their blocks. I saw this game as a statement about the quality of Philly's defensive line more than a statement about the quality of the Ravens offensive line. The Ravens will face another good front seven in their next matchup vs. the Steelers.

The last couple of weeks I heard a lot of fans and media talking heads criticizing the Ravens for getting away from the running game too soon...and focusing too much on Brown and Andrews in the passing game. Today I'm hearing they need to be more creative. It's hard to know what to believe. This was an opponent where you could have predicted it would be tough to run or buy a lot of time in the pocket, or run out the clock. Credit them for using pump fakes to the outside and an end around to counter what Philly was doing. Lamar also seemed attuned to spreading the ball around to different receivers. I am typically skeptical when fans call for more screen passes, but this was one game, with an aggressive defensive front, where I expected to see more of that. Although that isn't easy when you have linemen in your face batting balls down.

In the offseason Lamar was said to be working on throws outside the hashes. I'm still not seeing a lot of this yet. He still seems to prefer more vertical throws. Here is the spray chart this week:



Compare that to, say, Deshawn Watson.



The Eagles secondary seemed to emphasize defending the middle of the field. But it's not just this week. I can not recall seeing a lot of Jackson passes completed near the sidelines, aside from some success against the Browns and Bengals. I would like to see Roman and Lamar get the ball to the outside more. Lamar seems to be more effective doing this in two minute situations. With two weeks to get ready for Pittsburgh, I'd like to see if they can try some no-huddle and see if a faster pace helps Lamar.

Jackson and Boykin still aren't the same page when it comes to reading defense the same way. If they could figure this out it would go a long way to addressing the aforementioned need to complete passes near the sidelines. I'm starting to question what kind of job David Culley is doing in teaching these guys.

It was good to see Sean Elliott more so comfortable in his role. He still looks good in run support and had one near INT and two forced fumbles. I will continue to keep an eye on his progress.

People like to point to a lack of killer instincts when teams give up fourth quarter points while sitting on a lead. I've heard speculation the Ravens D was already thinking about their time off during the bye. But I didn't see lazy play in the second half. Wink continued to be very aggressive and they were constantly in Wentz's face with hurries and QB hits. Wentz just managed to make plays-so, credit him.

It looked to me like Marcus Peters let his emotions get him outside of himself. He seemed to be trash talking and was upset with his teammates or coaches for a good part of the second half--I'm not sure what that was about. I've heard people say he "checked out" but I thought it was the opposite. I thought he got over aggressive. With the defense making big plays early, I thought he got impatient, wanting get interceptions, and he overplayed the ball. I thought the Eagles shied away from Jimmy and Humphrey and targeted Peters, and maybe came into the game wanting to rattle him. Here is where Wentz went with the ball:


I have not had a problem with officiating this year, until this week. Shawn Smith's crew over-officiated this game. When I see a game that goes longer than 3 and a half hours, like this one, I immediately suspect the officiating. Some calls were correct of course, like Hollywood covering the TE on the illegal downfield call. But The PI on Peters was a poor call. And the call on Orlando midway through the second quarter for lining up in the backfield was incorrect. Here is how he was lined up when flagged:


You can see that Snead has lined up further upfield than everyone, other than Skura (although he is not offside); it probably created the illusion for the side judge that Orlando is in the backfield. Still, it's a bad call that should not have been made.

I will be curious to see how the Ravens and Steelers match up in two weeks. They could both be 5-1 (pending Pitt v. Tenn). They don't have a lot of common opponents, but those games have gone very similarly.

The Ravens beat the Browns 38-6 in week 1, getting three turnovers and holding Mayfield to fewer than 200 yards passing. The Steelers beat the Browns 38-7 in week 6, getting two turnovers and holding Mayfield to fewer than 200 yards passing. A week ago the Steelers were beating the Eagles 31-14 late into the third quarter. The Eagles then scattered some big plays in around sacks of Wentz to score two unanswered TDs to pull within 2 pts in the fourth quarters, and the Eagles had a chance to take a late lead when they missed a field goal (The Steelers would get a late score). The Ravens were beating the Eagles 30-14 in the fourth this week, and gave up two unanswered TDs as the Eagles pulled within two, only to miss a conversion that would have tied it. In week 3 the Steelers played the Texans tight, winning 28-22; the Ravens won 33-16 versus the Texans.

[camdenyard]

Great stuff as always.

Speaking of Pittsburgh, they do appear to be rolling. But has anyone noticed that they have played 4 consecutive home games? The next 3 are away and against tough competition.

[Shas]

I'm still trying to figure out if home games mean as much in 2020.

[Waywatcher]

I'm still trying to figure out if home games mean as much in 2020.

As much as in years prior? I don't have any supporting evidence one way or the other, but I can't imagine any home games in 2020 are as "impactful," given most of the nationwide COVID crowd restrictions.

[BcRaven]

I'm still trying to figure out if home games mean as much in 2020.

I don't believe so, except perhaps if the visiting team has to travel from the East to the West coast or vice versa... Bc

[PTORaven]

And the call on Orlando midway through the second quarter for lining up in the backfield was incorrect. Here is how he was lined up when flagged:


You can see that Snead has lined up further upfield than everyone, other than Skura (although he is not offside); it probably created the illusion for the side judge that Orlando is in the backfield. Still, it's a bad call that should not have been made.

the only thing that matters for that is where the non-snapper (in this case OBJ) is in relation to the snapper (Skura): "his helmet must break a vertical plane that passes through the beltline of the snapper."

Snead doesn't even come into play...

[Unibomber]

Great stuff as always.

Speaking of Pittsburgh, they do appear to be rolling. But has anyone noticed that they have played 4 consecutive home games? The next 3 are away and against tough competition.

We'll find out how good they are soon. The Ravens failed their only test against a top team, the Steelers have not yet had that test.

[Shas]

the only thing that matters for that is where the non-snapper (in this case OBJ) is in relation to the snapper (Skura): "his helmet must break a vertical plane that passes through the beltline of the snapper."

Snead doesn't even come into play...

Right. In no way should he. I was only trying to explain how the ref could have muffed the call so badly when Orlando is clearly not in the backfield...only meaning to suggest that Snead being so far forward (and so close to the official's POV) that it probably creates an illusion.

[Iamjacks]

I'm still trying to figure out if home games mean as much in 2020.

Short weeks or long travel likely. Maybe a little with more fans. Comfort of home. Kicking conditions (lol Butker didn't he know Tucker says Baltimore is the hardest place to kick in the league for a reason?)

[stevez51]

Great stuff as always.

Speaking of Pittsburgh, they do appear to be rolling. But has anyone noticed that they have played 4 consecutive home games? The next 3 are away and against tough competition.

The Titans bye week caused that.

[Corvus Corax]

Here’s my observations of the Philly game:

1. Blame the Eagles’ impressive 2nd half comeback on multiple stupid penalties by our offense, our O-linemen especially. Our defense is not pretty when the offense is not moving the ball.
2. Except for one long TD run, our defense handled well the absence of Brandon Williams.
3. Tucker’s 3 for 3 kicking performance (including a 55-yarder) was the difference in the outcome.
4. Eagle receivers dropped two passes that clearly would have had a major impact on the game.
5. Eagles will win the NFC “Least.”

[Shas]

2. Except for one long TD run, our defense handled well the absence of Brandon Williams.

They limited damage, but we may have to limit that thought by saying they handled the Eagles running game well under very particular circumstances.

The Eagles offensive line was dogcrap and Sanders still averaged 5.5 ypc on only eight carries (because the Eagles fell behind early, and because he left in the third quarter)—other than his 74-yd run—‚which meant overall he had a 13 ypc average on the day.