The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Raiders Week 1 Edition

[BoredMarine13]

but it wasnt lamar - it was playcalling...

Play calling was a part of it. The play itself often broke down and Lamar was reluctant to run at times. Just go do what you do best rather than attempt to extend plays in a collapsing pocket


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[Simba]

i do think injuries may have played a part - the lack of practice time with the backs we just added and the fact that ty'son probably didnt have many (if any) of 1st team reps until JK went down means the mesh point's a massive risk - which massively reduces the effectiveness of the rushing offence which in turn is more likely to put us behind the chains - add to that the fact that nick boyle still isnt back and the rushing attack looked super simple

defensively im surprised we were so basic - MP's loss obviously impacted things somewhat but we still sent numbers in the rush and there's no reason we couldnt throw in more stunts etc.

The mesh point was a disaster the few times they tried it. There was one in particularly where Lamar handed it off basically behind his back and one handed because Williams (I think) went the wrong way. And then the fumble. It just wasn't doable with (a) not enough time with all of these guys and (b) a complete shit OL that couldn't hold long enough to use that misdirection.

 

[Simba]

Play calling was a part of it. The play itself often broke down and Lamar was reluctant to run at times. Just go do what you do best rather than attempt to extend plays in a collapsing pocket


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It's not always that simple. You run at the first sign of trouble then you're setting yourself up for complete failure because the D can just key in on that. I thought Lamar handled it almost as well as he could have. The fumble in OT is the big one where he should have just taken the sack but he held in there and made plays when he had to. I'm all for Lamar using his legs but you can't completely abandon the pass. Have to stick it out sometimes because those guys were working themselves open.

 

[Tank]

It's one thing to kind of ignore it, but it's another when it's the actually the principle reason you lose every game you do, especially in the playoffs basically 3 years in a row

It’s been an issue in one form or another since 2012, and even in 2012 until the playoffs when they started playing McKinnie. In 2013 we fielded what could be considered one of the worst O lines ever.

 

[BoredMarine13]

It's not always that simple. You run at the first sign of trouble then you're setting yourself up for complete failure because the D can just key in on that. I thought Lamar handled it almost as well as he could have. The fumble in OT is the big one where he should have just taken the sack but he held in there and made plays when he had to. I'm all for Lamar using his legs but you can't completely abandon the pass. Have to stick it out sometimes because those guys were working themselves open.

The alternative is taking a sack or worse fumbling. IF the pocket collapses just go get 4-5 yards and stay ahead of the chains. There is nothing wrong with that.


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[Simba]

The alternative is taking a sack or worse fumbling. IF the pocket collapses just go get 4-5 yards and stay ahead of the chains. There is nothing wrong with that.


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You aren’t getting 4 or 5 yards a clip if you bail every time there’s trouble

 

[rmcjacket23]

It's one thing to kind of ignore it, but it's another when it's the actually the principle reason you lose every game you do, especially in the playoffs basically 3 years in a row

I mean it's sort of a mirage though.

Like the OLine is also a big reason for a lot of the wins you have, because without an Oline that run blocks as well as this one has for the last few years, you don't run for 200 yards a game like we do.

What we have is largely an inconsistent Oline. Like yes, the last two playoff losses they were the worst unit on the field, but that's also just two games. There's also plenty of games where they're among the best units on the field. Like last years Oline physically bludgeoned that vaunted Steelers defense multiple times, including in pass protection.

At the end of the day, its just a game of "pick your poison". If you want a stud RT, Oweh or Bateman isn't here. Maybe we'd be better off, maybe we wouldn't. The Oline was just as bad as our DLine was at generating pressure last night, so I don't know which is the lesser of two evils. Limited cap resources (which is only going to get worse, mind you) and limited draft resources. At some point, the players you draft or the players you signed (Phillips, Villaneuva, Powers, Bozeman, Zeitler, etc.) are just simply going to have to play better. There aren't resources to replace everybody who plays poorly.

And like I said, this will only get worse. A $40M QB makes that worse. A $20M LT makes that worse. A $18M corner makes that worse. You're going to have to draft players, sign cheap players, and they're just going to have to play better. And if they don't, then the unit is a weakness, and that's that.

 

[rmcjacket23]

The alternative is taking a sack or worse fumbling. IF the pocket collapses just go get 4-5 yards and stay ahead of the chains. There is nothing wrong with that.


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Well until he takes a hit to the knee and doesn't get up, because he's spending 15 plays a game scrambling for 4-5 yards.

 

[rmcjacket23]

That's pretty damn egregious. Godwin on this team would be nuts.

What would Godwin have done last night that would have won us the game?

 

[rmcjacket23]

ThTs exactly what I think it is. Their analytics tell them that they’ve done well maintaining the OL by throwing darts at the OL on day 3 every year, but they’re whiffing on every pick it seems.

Now this I can get behind. Arguably, if Oline play in college has fallen off a cliff and nobody can find quality players, then the "value" of finding an OBJ or a Wagner in the middle round decreases tremendously. And perhaps Eric hasn't adjusted to that.

BUT... there's no real solution. If this logic holds up, that means that if you need quality Olineman, you either a) have to pay up for them, which is unsustainable (especially with a $40M QB) or b) draft them early in the draft.

So now I can seemingly only get quality WRs in the first round, and I can only get quality offensive lineman in the first round or two also. So is that all I'm drafting? Where do I get quality pass rushers and DBs?

I'm not suggesting this is what you're saying, merely asking a philosophical question. I think we can all see why this may be problematic.

The solution, to me, isn't pigeon holing yourself to using high picks on specific position groups. The solution to me is you have to draft Olineman in rounds 3, 4, 5, etc., and you need to continue to develop them to become competent players.

 

[JAAM]

Taken from Reddit:

“Alejandro Villanueva was the lowest rated OT in Pass Blocking this week with a whopping 13.4 PFF rating. Ronnie Stanley was the fourth worst at 27.7”

 

[JAAM]

Surely we’re not going into the Chiefs game with AV starting, right? Who is the backup plan now that Tyre is injured?

 

[rossihunter2]

Play calling was a part of it. The play itself often broke down and Lamar was reluctant to run at times. Just go do what you do best rather than attempt to extend plays in a collapsing pocket


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but my point wasnt about scrambles it was about designed runs

 

[rossihunter2]

It's not always that simple. You run at the first sign of trouble then you're setting yourself up for complete failure because the D can just key in on that. I thought Lamar handled it almost as well as he could have. The fumble in OT is the big one where he should have just taken the sack but he held in there and made plays when he had to. I'm all for Lamar using his legs but you can't completely abandon the pass. Have to stick it out sometimes because those guys were working themselves open.

also because whenever he had protection he was able to gash the raiders in the passing game

 

[rossihunter2]

Surely we’re not going into the Chiefs game with AV starting, right? Who is the backup plan now that Tyre is injured?

there isnt a backup plan - only other option is mekari but he's more of a reliever than a guy you want starting a game

only other option beyond that in-house is Adrian Ealy on the PS but he's not ready at all - maybe he kicks on with time and becomes something but he's nowhere near ready yet

 

[rmcjacket23]

Surely we’re not going into the Chiefs game with AV starting, right? Who is the backup plan now that Tyre is injured?

The backup plan is that AV is going to have to play better.

 

[RavensMania]

The backup plan is that AV is going to have to play better.

Is James Hurst available?????????

Maybe Ricky Wagner would come to Baltimore instead of retiring...

 

[rossihunter2]

i do understand why we passed a lot in the 2nd half - the plays where lamar had the most time in the pocket to go through his reads and work the passing game was when we ran play-action - hard to do that on 3rd and medium/long

 

[rossihunter2]

 

[JAAM]

I really hope he keeps it up and is in contention for RDPOY