Offensive Notes vs. Giants 8/28/10

[Filmstudy]

The Ravens starting offense seemed to be in mid season form, but there were a few cracks.

The Giants ran a vanilla set of rush schemes. On 35 dropbacks in the first half, the Giants did not drop a single lineman to coverage and rushed 4, 5, or 6 (21, 10, and 4 times respectively). They didn’t show much pre-snap movement, and nonetheless sacked Flacco 3 times:
• (Q1, 14:48): Birk failed t pick up the stunting Tuck who looped around Matt’s double with Yanda and through the left A gap. The Giants had a 5-man rush.
• (Q1, 12:42): The Giants brought 5, but the Ravens picked it up. The pocket was contracting, but no Giant had an easy path to Flacco. Joe stepped forward and Bernard wrapped him up for the sack.
• (Q2, 0:37): Moll was beaten cleanly to the outside by Tuck for a 7-yard sack on a plain 4-man rush.

The Ravens ran the no huddle on 32 of the 46 (!) first-half snaps not resulting in a penalty. The 3 sacks came on the 2nd, 1st, and 1st plays of drives respectively and the giants did not knock Flacco down on any other plays, so I think it would be fair to say the no huddle succeeded in tiring the pass rush.

It is extremely rare that an NFL team has 3 tight ends who are receiving threats. That’s not just a matter of luck, but a function of teams choosing their set of TEs to have a mix of blocking and receiving skills. Individually, Heap, Dickson, and Pitta create matchup issues with their size, speed, and fearlessness over the middle. If used in rotation, I have to believe their effectiveness will be magnified. The Ravens have never had more than 101 catches from their TEs in a season (Heap 75, Wilcox 20, Dinkins 6 in 2005). Over the last 3 years, the totals have been 65, 41, and 56. Despite all of the Ravens offensive weapons and the pass-blocking question marks at tackle, I’m going to guess this is the year Cam decides to build more of the offense around the TE and they combine for 90+ catches.

Here are the week 3 player deltas and cumulative preseason totals:

Boldin (+1/+2): He reacted well to the TD pass thrown slightly behind him (Q2, 12:25), found the soft spot in the zone (Q1, 11:34), and twice fought off 2 Giants in attempts to reach the marker (Q1, 1:51) and (Q2, 2:07). Other than the tackle situation, the only thing that is bothering me about the offense is the loss of the 2 best deep threats in the last game. Boldin may have to pick up some of that slack.

Bulger (0/0): He played just 6 snaps, but he threw 2 nice passes to Dickson which were converted for good gains including some YAC.

Clayton (-2/-1): He had a 20-yard catch on 3 balls that went his way. The rating is a function of the injury.

Dickson (0/+2): Ed caught 4 of 6 balls thrown his way for 14.0 YPC. All 4 of his catches came while covered by a linebacker (Bulluck 1, Wilkinson 3).

Harewood (0/-3): After the first 2 games, I’m reminded of an old Simpson’s gag. Homer says that if he tells Bart what he’s thinking, he’s afraid he’ll lose respect for him. Bart responds “I couldn’t lose a lotttt of respect for you.” I think there is some evidence of improved technique, but it could easily be 2012 before he sees a meaningful snap for this team.

Harper (-1/-3): The Ravens’ QBs did not throw him a single pass while Marcus Smith was targeted 5 times. He’ll see some action in the finale, which should be his last game as a Raven.

Moll (-1/+2): He allowed a sack Tuck (see above), but given the number of passing (and total) plays, he was still OK in aggregate with no other QHs or penalties.

Oher (0/-3): Gaither was penalty prone as well. Saturday’s false start wasn’t the typical attempt by Oher to get up a split second early to pass block.

Parmele (0/-3): He may be impacted by the Wilson acquisition if the team uses Josh for kickoff returns.

Pitta (0/+3): He entered late and caught just 1 ball for 11 yards, but it was a pretty slant from Smith to bea 6-man rush (Q4, 15:00).

Reed (-1/0): He dropped the only pass which went his way. He’s another player who might be impacted by the arrival of Wilson.

Stallworth (-3/-2): Uggh

Steele (0/0): The Ravens had 75 rushing yards Saturday spread out among 7 backs, none of whom had more than 16 yards. That’s not the sort of balance we’re looking for. I have no idea who’ll stay between Parmele and Steele. I would guess this spot would be determined on special teams.

[Dave Lap]

Thanks as usual Film.

You must have a better camera angle or just a better eye than me because the only things I've noticed about Harewood is that he plays too high and doesn't sustain his blocks long enough.

Of course I haven't re-watched (well maybe a little) to zero in on particular player performances.

[Galen Sevinne]

O.k. now I am curious. I was half joking last week when I asked why you reviewed Bulger's stats but nothing on Flacco but you did it again this week. What am I missing here?

Not that I can't look up Flacco's stats myself but what's up? Why go to the trouble to list this;

Bulger (0/0): He played just 6 snaps, but he threw 2 nice passes to Dickson which were converted for good gains including some YAC.

and not thoughts on Flacco?

While I am quick to predict a QB controversy this year, I also was greatly relieved to see Flacco's performance against the Giants. Aside from the dismal opening drive, he seemed to settle down, show poise and leadership, spread the ball around nicely and make a couple really nice passes. I thought it was even more meaningful since the opening drive was so lackluster and he got his shit together and came out like he wanted to prove something. And yes, I am one to put a lot of emphasis on the "ebbs and flows" of preseason not stats and certainly not W's and L's but one can learn a lot about the character and potentials of a team in preseason.

So why nothing on Flacco? This is a serious inquiry.

[elland]

O.k. now I am curious. I was half joking last week when I asked why you reviewed Bulger's stats but nothing on Flacco but you did it again this week. What am I missing here?

Not that I can't look up Flacco's stats myself but what's up? Why go to the trouble to list this;



and not thoughts on Flacco?

While I am quick to predict a QB controversy this year, I also was greatly relieved to see Flacco's performance against the Giants. Aside from the dismal opening drive, he seemed to settle down, show poise and leadership, spread the ball around nicely and make a couple really nice passes. I thought it was even more meaningful since the opening drive was so lackluster and he got his shit together and came out like he wanted to prove something. And yes, I am one to put a lot of emphasis on the "ebbs and flows" of preseason not stats and certainly not W's and L's but one can learn a lot about the character and potentials of a team in preseason.

So why nothing on Flacco? This is a serious inquiry.

After the first game.. In his Skins notes, FS commented; I don’t bother rating players whose role is known and secure. This is intended for players for whom we are not clear if they’ll make the team or what their role will be.

[Galen Sevinne]

After the first game.. In his Skins notes, FS commented; I don’t bother rating players whose role is known and secure. This is intended for players for whom we are not clear if they’ll make the team or what their role will be.

that makes sense

[Sua Sponte]

After the first game.. In his Skins notes, FS commented; I don’t bother rating players whose role is known and secure. This is intended for players for whom we are not clear if they’ll make the team or what their role will be.

I also think he said that he would rate new playersto the team, that is why you will see Boldin, Stallworth and Bulger, etc.