The Defense, the Offense, and the Crabtree....

Tyus Bowser = Bust. Congrats to the FO for another superb 2nd round pick

DeVito52 said:

What the hell is it going to take to get Orlando Jr in at RT? We have to get the run game going and he just might be the answer, along with putting Hurst at RG.

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An act of God.

ALI624 said:

An act of God.

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At this point with our run game mightily struggling, hell yesterday was our best day on the ground and we sucked...how can we justify NOT PLAYING MAYBE THE BEST RUN BLOCKER ON OUR TEAM (ok ok behind marshal)

TheCity5 said:

I don't know why anyone would ever want him as their #1. He's never been that. I think they had high hopes on John Brown and it has indeed paid off, so I have to conclude that he was the #1 they were looking for, but Crabtree has been treated as an elite #2 when he's not who he once was, even back then he had issues with drops and being on the same page with Carr. Those issues has followed him here and it's seriously going to get to the point where you have to look elsewhere. I feel like Joe is losing confidence in him already.

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This guy talks a bit about the Ravens expectations for Crab.
https://ebonybird.com/2018/10/08/revisiting-ravens-wide-receiver-trio-week-5/

DeVito52 said:

At this point with our run game mightily struggling, hell yesterday was our best day on the ground and we sucked...how can we justify NOT PLAYING MAYBE THE BEST RUN BLOCKER ON OUR TEAM (ok ok behind marshal)

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Truthfully I don’t know. Harbs is just too stuck in his ways and refuses to change and play who is best for the position rather than his guys.

Tank said:

Yeah, that’s probably more accurate. There were obviously reasons Oakland dumped him for Jordy at basically the same cap hit, but I think the Ravens were in a bind, had to sign someone and Crabtree was the last chance. Still hold out hope he can fix his issues but like you say they are not new and it’s hard for Joe to have any confidence in him. Could end as another bum in a long line of WR busts.

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He can still turn it around, it’s not odd for a QB and WR to not be on the same page during the season. I just think that Joe and Crab needs to work better on their connection.

I do agree though, our options were limited and at the time he was our best choice. I applauded the signing at the time but right now he has some issues that need to be fixed.

I still think he can rebound, but he better do it this season because if not this could easily be a 1 and done for Crab. Hopefully it’s just an issue of timing and concentration for Crab and he fixes those drops.

ravenslord said:

I watched Joe's pass to Carbtree for what should have been a game winner and I dont get how he missed it.

It just bounced off his hands. He had the corner beat.

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It was the type of ball Boldin came down with most times. It was a perfect throw requiring an NFL caliber receiver.

DeVito52 said:

Oh stfu he’s already not a bust. He’s our freaking leading receiver alongside Brown. The guy is productive. His drops are overblown.

Funny that Crabtree can’t do anything right in your eyes and you call him a bum but when Flacco has a bad game you blame everything and everyone else

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The drops were egregious. Was it 3 or 4? The part about being the games leading receiver for us was irrelevant, he was targeted mightily and dropped two critical passes. No excuses should be accepted.

Sami84 said:

Tyus Bowser = Bust. Congrats to the FO for another superb 2nd round pick

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Bowser not much. The guy that is tearing our heart out though is Humpf. If he can't lay way off a receiver or run hands all over him he's complete toast. They're tight end owned him. Their Rookie WR owned him. Its obvious he lacks critical skills for the position. Until Jimmy went out he wasn't allowed in much.

DeVito52 said:

At this point with our run game mightily struggling, hell yesterday was our best day on the ground and we sucked...how can we justify NOT PLAYING MAYBE THE BEST RUN BLOCKER ON OUR TEAM (ok ok behind marshal)

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Tank said:

This guy talks a bit about the Ravens expectations for Crab.
https://ebonybird.com/2018/10/08/revisiting-ravens-wide-receiver-trio-week-5/

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Believe our first two running plays went for 19 and 11 yards. Not sure what happened thereafter, except that Collins got dinged a little.

29BmoreBird22 said:

I'm thoroughly disappointed in the drops and the dropped TD was especially heartbreaking, but Crabtree still led the team in yards and catches this game.

On the two drops that I saw outside of the end zone one, they wouldn't have made a difference in a first down or putting the Ravens in field goal range, so it's not massively consequential. I will say, he appeared to be running before he caught the pass. Just play backyard football and try to catch the ball without watching it in; you'll drop FAR more than you'll catch.

And as far as the dropped TD goes, why were the Ravens even in a position for that to matter that far into the fourth quarter? As someone else said, you have the best kicker in the league and arguably the greatest kicker of all time and you can't win a FG battle? And you know what's really sad? The amount of times that the Ravens started at their own like 40+. They just have to move the ball about 20 yards to be in JT range.

I mean, we're going to sit here and blame Crabtree for his dropped TD, but does anyone remember Joe's goal line interception? Does that not matter? Had Joe not thrown that, the Ravens get a FG and the win. It's a two way street.

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He led the team in yards and catches but he had 12 targets and his drops were pivatol. An end zone drop, and I think 2 others were first down conversion drops. I don’t think the 6 receptions for 66 yards make up for what was a bad performance by him. Even average WRs or guys who are above average look better with a high dose of targets, EXP: Kamar Aiken/Mike Wallace.

He’s led the team in targets with 34, yet he’s 3rd in the team in receiving yards, that’s kind of disappointing and not the production that the Ravens expected of him through 5 games.

I put the blame on Joe and Marty however for this as well. When you continue to feed Crab, it makes you ignore guys like Snead, Moore and Buck who are producing or can be productive. I think Joe needs to look towards their way more and not laser himself on Crabtree. We’ve seen this before with Joe where he looks towards his first read too often and too much in the passing game.

That INT was awful as well, the replay however showed that the pass was batted in the air and had that not happened it would’ve been an incompletion, I also thought Ward made a heads up play that a lot of people would not be able to make in that situation. The guy has serious ball skills. It was a bad play by Joe because in that situation you just have to take care of the Football, he has the arm strength to sail that pass over everyone’s head. To fall back and make that throw with a defender in front of you is just a head scratcher honestly. Just another one of those plays that Joe makes that frustrates you.

TheCity5 said:

He can still turn it around, it’s not odd for a QB and WR to not be on the same page during the season. I just think that Joe and Crab needs to work better on their connection.

I do agree though, our options were limited and at the time he was our best choice. I applauded the signing at the time but right now he has some issues that need to be fixed.

I still think he can rebound, but he better do it this season because if not this could easily be a 1 and done for Crab. Hopefully it’s just an issue of timing and concentration for Crab and he fixes those drops.

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Thinking they should sit him a while as maybe that would help to sharpen his concentration, but I doubt that happens with a high $ FA. Something has to change though, the drops robbed rhythm and momentum early on and the last one effectively lost the game.

Our running game is holding us back. That's 2 weeks in a row we turn the ball over at the goalline. That INT was horrible, it was however due to the defense. We should be running in those situations

I'm still very upset about that 2nd round that had Jaylen Smith and Myles Jack........

TheCity5 said:

He led the team in yards and catches but he had 12 targets and his drops were pivatol. An end zone drop, and I think 2 others were first down conversion drops. I don’t think the 6 receptions for 66 yards make up for what was a bad performance by him. Even average WRs or guys who are above average look better with a high dose of targets, EXP: Kamar Aiken/Mike Wallace.

He’s led the team in targets with 34, yet he’s 3rd in the team in receiving yards, that’s kind of disappointing and not the production that the Ravens expected of him through 5 games.

I put the blame on Joe and Marty however for this as well. When you continue to feed Crab, it makes you ignore guys like Snead, Moore and Buck who are producing or can be productive. I think Joe needs to look towards their way more and not laser himself on Crabtree. We’ve seen this before with Joe where he looks towards his first read too often and too much in the passing game.

That INT was awful as well, the replay however showed that the pass was batted in the air and had that not happened it would’ve been an incompletion, I also thought Ward made a heads up play that a lot of people would not be able to make in that situation. The guy has serious ball skills. It was a bad play by Joe because in that situation you just have to take care of the Football, he has the arm strength to sail that pass over everyone’s head. To fall back and make that throw with a defender in front of you is just a head scratcher honestly. Just another one of those plays that Joe makes that frustrates you.

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You are in fact incorrect about his drops being 1st down conversions.

DeVito52 said:

You are in fact incorrect about his drops being 1st down conversions.

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I really do think there was one or two that was. I have to look back on the film but if it wasn’t it was close to the 1st down marker if I can recall. There definitely was one where he dropped a pass that would have gotten the 1st down.

RayRayRaven said:

The guy that is tearing our heart out though is Humpf. If he can't lay way off a receiver or run hands all over him he's complete toast. They're tight end owned him. Their Rookie WR owned him. Its obvious he lacks critical skills for the position. Until Jimmy went out he wasn't allowed in much.

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While I was disappointed that Njoku had several key catches with Humphrey on him, Njoku is no slouch. He’s a 1st rd tight end and if he develops some more he will be elite. He’s a hard guy to cover, big and fast. I would expect Humphrey to be able to cover him though, as he’s a big corner. But it’s not THAT disappointing. Humphrey is only in his 2nd year! Cut him some slack.

TheCity5 said:

I really do think there was one or two that was. I have to look back on the film but if it wasn’t it was close to the 1st down marker if I can recall. There definitely was one where he dropped a pass that would have gotten the 1st down.

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One was a first down where he dropped it, another was just shy where he could have just fallen forward and got it.

TheCity5 said:

I really do think there was one or two that was. I have to look back on the film but if it wasn’t it was close to the 1st down marker if I can recall. There definitely was one where he dropped a pass that would have gotten the 1st down.

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Well there’s no “really do think”.

Please do not say things that you do not know are facts. We don’t want false claims being spread here.

Tank said:

Thinking they should sit him a while as maybe that would help to sharpen his concentration, but I doubt that happens with a high $ FA. Something has to change though, the drops robbed rhythm and momentum early on and the last one effectively lost the game.

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And Flacco’s horrible int and several horrible passes robbed us of momentum and points but you won’t mention that. It’s all on Crabtree. That last one lost the game my ass. Just stop.

Tank said:

Thinking they should sit him a while as maybe that would help to sharpen his concentration, but I doubt that happens with a high $ FA. Something has to change though, the drops robbed rhythm and momentum early on and the last one effectively lost the game.

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That’s not a good idea. You have to ride it out with him and hope he fixes those drops. You can’t ever bench a player, even when he has these issues.

DeVito52 said:

While I was disappointed that Njoku had several key catches with Humphrey on him, Njoku is no slouch. He’s a 1st rd tight end and if he develops some more he will be elite. He’s a hard guy to cover, big and fast. I would expect Humphrey to be able to cover him though, as he’s a big corner. But it’s not THAT disappointing. Humphrey is only in his 2nd year! Cut him some slack.

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Njoku is already bad matchup for Ds. Very good player.

allblackraven said:

Njoku is already bad matchup for Ds. Very good player.

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He could be like Gronk, Kelce, and Ertz and straight up impossible to cover. Him, and OJ Howard in particular.

I like Hurst but I don't see that with him.