First thoughts on offense

[LC_Ravens_87]

The issue has and always been our oline rather then scheme. We couldn't run the football and we couldn't pass protect either.

That is on Decosta. I know people want to lay into lamar and roman that is not to say they are blameless either but our oline put us in awful positions all game whether it be sacks or throwing the ball ten feet over lamars head. They got zero push in the run game. Got destroyed in pass protection.

Would I like to have seen more PA? Hell yes but you have to be able to run the football. We couldn't and the truth of the matter is the Bills weren't even selling out to stop the run.

Context: The contingency plan for an injury to one of their Tackles did not not go as planned. They signed Andre Smith as the back-up RT and he opted out. The Fluker/Tyre Phillips experience was the 2nd level of contingency for an injury at Tackle. That then led to a depletion of the RG depth as both those guys were viewed as superior options at RG to start the season. I'll say Powers did okay as the 3rd choice at RG (4th if you count Mekari).

The reliance on Skura or Mekari at C is something that went according to plan, however. For that, EDC is to blame. Although again, I think Mekari was decent (maybe he was still banged up against Buffalo).

[organizedchaos21]

OC great job on Film Study this week! That being said, can you defend the lack of hot routes or checkdowns against the blitz last weekend? When does Roman help Lamar as a pocket passer? Where are the layups to build confidence? Where is the uptempo approach that he only used against Indy? Does that sound like a sound offensive coordinator in the NFL in 2021?

Of course Lamar must play better (a LOT better) and we need receivers (and maybe some reps to develop our young wrs?) and competent offensive line play instead of the trash that Ken outlines in his notes this week.

Roman needs a lobotomy from a passing perspective but since that's obviously not happening, I think we all need to get comfortable with Lamar never fully developing into a pocket passer and always being a lightweight in January.

Resting on our laurels on the strength of this historic "juggernaut" offense rings extremely hollow this week/offseason.

Thanks!

As far as defending Roman, I think he certainly has things to improve on. Regarding a lack of hot routes, I would like to see more as well. Buffalo wasn't hiding what they were doing. They blitzed early, often, and continued even after the game was in hand. One thing that isn't 100% clear (at least to me) is whether that's a coaching failure or an execution failure (or, more likely, a combination of both). I wouldn't expect a veteran like Willie Snead to miss when he's hot, but can we say the same about Miles Boykin?

As far as checkdowns go, I'd estimate the Ravens probably had a player in one of the flats or short over the middle on at least 50% of the pass plays (I need to go back and thoroughly chart it). There were some examples in JTO's video

• (Q2, 03:25), 3rd&14, Andrews over the middle on the no hot read
• (Q2,10:56), 3rd&3, Edwards over the middle on the forced incompletion to Andrews
• (Q2, 00:32), Boykin on the crosser where he doesn't read the D and realize he needs to sit down, sounds familiar...
• Dobbins/Snead in the flats on a number of other plays

QB has to be willing to throw them though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. That's one of the things I'd like to see Lamar improve on (taking what the defense is giving).

Another is something that I've picked up from ed's posts (not sure this is exactly what he's said, but it's what I've taken from his posts): using consistent footwork to fix his mechanics and improve his timing. For this one, I'll point to the sack he took on the long drive ending in a pick six (QB School also highlighted this one). (Q3, 06:34) 2nd&9, Lamar drops back, hits his back foot, and immediately has Snead open over the middle. Instead of firing, Lamar holds the ball and takes a sack. Throw it! ed has consistently said that he sees plays where Lamar is using unrecognizable footwork. Clean that up. He's so incredibly talented that he can often get away with it, but it was clearly an issue on Saturday and at many other times in 2020.

Now, the OL was awful, and it looked pretty clear to me that it had a big effect on Lamar mentally. He was quick to pull the ball down, even when the pressure was near him but out of reach (see the big scramble on 3rd&13, (Q3, 05:48)). Powers getting driven back into Jackson's lap on the wonky incompletion at (Q2, 03:30) is a perfect example of the day as a whole. Just absolutely whooped off the snap.

I don't think the point is original, but that doesn't make it any less true. No offensive position group was above reproach on Saturday, and all could significantly improve. I don't expect the Ravens to rest on their laurels. I'm not expecting them to morph into the Chiefs over the offseason, but I'm hopeful that they can correct some of the more glaring issues, especially with a little more structure in the 2021 offseason than they had last year. I'll wait and see before declaring Lamar, Roman, and the Ravens offense has peaked. I certainly hope that's not the case (but I understand why others are worried)!

[jamb17]

Harbs just said he has no plan on changing or really adding to the offense. So get ready for another failed season! They will ruin lamar and then John will be fired. There are not helping Lamar in anyway to develop and it is a real shame!

[QtR Nevermore]

Harbs just said he has no plan on changing or really adding to the offense. So get ready for another failed season! They will ruin lamar and then John will be fired. There are not helping Lamar in anyway to develop and it is a real shame!

That's how I read the press conference too. It seems the plan is to draft O line early, bring in an aging receiver, roll it all back and hope it turns out differently.

It sounds like we might be in for a repeat of the first 10 years of Harbaugh's career. Competitive when the QB is cheap then gradually fading out of contention as he fails to develop because the team isn't supporting his development. It seems wasteful of a star QB on a rookie deal.

[Corvus Corax]

That's how I read the press conference too. It seems the plan is to draft O line early, bring in an aging receiver, roll it all back and hope it turns out differently.

It sounds like we might be in for a repeat of the first 10 years of Harbaugh's career. Competitive when the QB is cheap then gradually fading out of contention as he fails to develop because the team isn't supporting his development. It seems wasteful of a star QB on a rookie deal.

To the best of my knowledge, John Harbaugh has zero experience in the NFL running an offense or defense. He is the only current NFL head coach who was hired based on his experience as a special teams coordinator (eight years with the Eagles). OF COURSE he has no plans to change or add to the offense. He is not qualified to gameplan offensively or defensively. ALL of his success as a head coach is attributed to his coaching staff. Why do you think he doesn’t call his own offensive plays on the sideline? I have always had the suspicion that he relied on the help of others in building his staff.

Steve Bisciotti apparently trusts so heavily in managerial stability to the detriment of the organization moving forward. My conjecture is that John, in turn, will not interfere with Roman’s overall handling of the offense for the same reason. With the notable exception of the playoffs, Greg Roman has had major success on the field with both the Ravens and the Forty-Niners. He represents offensive stability and is very popular with the fans.

HOWEVER, in three consecutive postseasons, Roman’s offense has been neutralized and Lamar has been frustrated (and blamed) accordingly. The negative pattern was clear a year ago. The main problem is a lack of accountability. Justified criticism of Harbaugh and now of Roman is not ‘sticking’. Apparently in Bisciotti’s view, both are ‘Teflon’ (immune to criticism).

In my honest opinion, the most probable solution is for Roman to filter the criticism by quietly consulting expertise to overhaul his passing routes/schemes. We all would be extremely disappointed and appalled if his ego is too large to enable much needed improvement from within.

CCx

[The Excellector]

Would you consider Duvernay having growing pains? Do you honestly believe Roman is going to develop Boykin or Duvernay or Proche?

Please tell me with a straight face how you see Roman accomplishing this with 16 passes a week?

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I’m wondering the same thing. It’s good that we’ve spent more high-mid round draft capital for Lamar than the previous QB. However, for all of the love for this offense, no one has explained how WRs are actually supposed to develop in this offense.

[Jam31]

I don't think the point is original, but that doesn't make it any less true. No offensive position group was above reproach on Saturday, and all could significantly improve. I don't expect the Ravens to rest on their laurels. I'm not expecting them to morph into the Chiefs over the offseason, but I'm hopeful that they can correct some of the more glaring issues, especially with a little more structure in the 2021 offseason than they had last year. I'll wait and see before declaring Lamar, Roman, and the Ravens offense has peaked. I certainly hope that's not the case (but I understand why others are worried)!

You are not wrong. Roman, Lamar, O-line, & wrs & rbs didn't do themselves any favors. Appreciate your work & insight as always my man.

But I place no faith in our medieval Greg Roman offense going into year 3 given his pathetic track record as a developer of mobile qbs into bonafide pocket passers.



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[seraph]

Harbs just said he has no plan on changing or really adding to the offense. So get ready for another failed season! They will ruin lamar and then John will be fired. There are not helping Lamar in anyway to develop and it is a real shame!

Harbs won't be fired. They'll just move on from Lamar when they realize the project failed.

[veritas]

Fooled by volume again.

The Niners offensive rankings by DVOA (run/pass) for those three years, and also for points scored:

Year	Run	Pass	Points
2011	22	15	2
2012	5	5	2
2013	14	4	3

Two top-5 passing attacks, and all three seasons in the top 3 for points scored.

Our DVOA last year (run/pass) was 1/1 yet we scored 12 points against Tennessee. This year it was 3/17 and what did we do in two games? Average 11.5 points. Buffalo edge blitzed much of the game and condensed the running lanes while daring us to beat them throwing the ball. This has much less to do with arcane ratings and much more to do with having a balanced offense and coaches able to make adjustments. Roman hasn't shown he can do that.

[Ravenswintitle]

https://twitter.com/ravens4dummies/s...16891435880448

[s.r.genovese]

They are definitely scoring a lot of points. What I'd like to know more about is who are they scoring the points against? Are they running up the score on bad teams (relative to other similarly ranked offenses) and getting shut down by good teams? It feels that way in the regular season but I'd have to see a breakdown of points scored against teams compared to overall record. Not that this is a bad thing - it is very important to beat bad teams in order to reach the playoffs - but on the other hand it may help us understand how they can score so many points in the regular season and get shut down in the playoffs.

We see this in college a lot, especially locally with the Terps especially under Matt Canada. They way the offense was built was much different than any other B1G team and when they had success against a defense they had a LOT of success - running for 300+ yards against OSU, for instance. But the lows were also extremely low - teams like Michigan who understood the importance of reading keys and eye-discipline - the offense couldn't move the ball at all. The Ravens offense has some similarities - it's an offense that NFL defenses do not see but for when they play the Ravens and the offense relies on misdirection - so it's just something to keep an eye on.

And then the question is - OK - say this offense is designed to beat the crap out of bad teams (even more so than other similarly ranked offenses) do we change that and perhaps sacrifice winning some regular season games? Probably not.

[leachisabeast]

OL should be the priority. We need to build an elite OL then you will see the offensive performance improve in the big games