The Brutal, The Bad and The Ugly

RavensMania said:

not that we have settled for it as that isn't the case. We all want to win it all and know we need to improve to get there, but the playoffs are better than the 18 other franchises that don't make the playoffs. You're pretty new in this community to actually assume that's who we are as a fan base, because that is totally untrue. We all are disappointed.

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Sorry, I'm just worked up right now

JoeyFlex5 said:

we HAVE TO make teams pay for playing defense like that, and we didn’t. Protection was trash, and the wind makes it hard to execute, and Lamar was about as sharp as a marble last night, but where were the concepts? We began running them and then the drive ended in a red zone pick six, then an injury happened, maybe we were getting the game plan together and shit unraveled, idk, but we absolutely cannot keep letting these playoff teams game plan for us like this.

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i think the frustrating thing about this is that at this point it's not a surprise what teams are going to try and do - especially teams like the bills and titans who've done it to us before... they're going to basically play a 4-4 defence and dare us to beat it

it shouldn't be surprising us when teams come out and play like that - idk why we can't pre-empt that and gameplan for that from the beginning rather than waiting for it and adjusting later

Matt said:

Have to say I did not expect the game to go the way it did in terms of defense and being very low scoring but the wind was wreaking havoc as it can do sometimes there. The wind has a nickname and it is called "The Hawk" for a reason.

Initially most people thought that would favor the Ravens if the Bills air attack couldn't be consistent but it ended up actually favoring the Bills because the Bills D which didn't respect the Raven pass game much even in good conditions and was planing to load up against the run anyway even respected it less because they didn't have to really worry about deep completions because the ball was either going to get hung up in the wind or get pushed by the wind and way overshoot the target.

Bills D used a similar plan to last year to shoot the gaps before the blockers could get there to get into the backfield and make plays before the runners could get going a lot of times.

It wasn't always perfect but it worked pretty well and held the 3 headed monster to around a 4.0 YPC and set up a bunch of 2nd and 3rd and longs.

Bills offense was having some issues of their own with the wind and the Ravens D played pretty tough too at times. A few key drops didn't help either but overall it was a struggle to get anything going.

But the game turned on the pick 6 and more so than a bad read on Jackson's part it was a great read on Johnson's part because that wasn't his zone...technically he should have been in the zone to the flat where Snead was wide open but he was reading Jackson's eyes and basically went right to the spot where he was going to throw it...key play on all of that is the very small piece Milano got on Andrews which looks like it may have been just enough to cause Andrews to not get enough on the diving tackle attempt that let Johnson get out of traffic. If he doesn't get that piece of Andrews it was possible he makes a shoestring tackle and the Bills have it on their 2 or 3 yardline.

Either way it was a hard fought game that was hampered by the wind but I think to really be effective in the playoffs in the future the Ravens are going to need to upgrade their options at the WR position because teams don't respect their ability to beat them through the air.

Wish you all well, it was fun interacting with you over the last week.

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thanks for being a valuable addition to the conversation this week
it's a shame the ravens couldn't at least not shoot themselves in the foot - it feels like we were cheated out of seeing the real matchup between these 2 teams but i wish you and the bills well moving forwards

Sizzle said:

That's what I'm saying lol. Last year's team and 06 were both elite, which makes those playoff losses sting much more

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idk about 06 coz i wasn't around back then but 19 was horrible but 11 was awful too - i have to think that if we hadn't won the superbowl the next year, that 11 loss would still be breaking our hearts - it's stayed in our memories even despite the fact that we overcame it all

but yeah the 2011 and 2019 playoff bow out losses were definitely the 2 worst to me - 19 playoff loss has been the most embarrassing - only game that felt comparable personally to me was the jags beatdown in london

Grim said:

I think the whole OL had a bad day. Dudes were slipping through way too easily at first glance. Could be wrong, would need to watch again but it definitely looked like guys got through way too quickly. Some was definitely scheme while others were simply guys getting beat.

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bills knew that was what they were going to try and do - get quick penetration in the backfield - trying to squeeze through the gaps left by pullers
idk that's its scheme per se but it was definitely a great bills gameplan up front with their front 7 (or i guess front 8)

rossihunter2 said:

idk about 06 coz i wasn't around back then but 19 was horrible but 11 was awful too - i have to think that if we hadn't won the superbowl the next year, that 11 loss would still be breaking our hearts - it's stayed in our memories even despite the fact that we overcame it all

but yeah the 2011 and 2019 playoff bow out losses were definitely the 2 worst to me - 19 playoff loss has been the most embarrassing - only game that felt comparable personally to me was the jags beatdown in london

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For sure man. 06 was a terrible loss, our defense held Manning to nothing but 5 field goals, but our offense led by a very hungover Steve McNair lost the game

Matt said:

Have to say I did not expect the game to go the way it did in terms of defense and being very low scoring but the wind was wreaking havoc as it can do sometimes there. The wind has a nickname and it is called "The Hawk" for a reason.

Initially most people thought that would favor the Ravens if the Bills air attack couldn't be consistent but it ended up actually favoring the Bills because the Bills D which didn't respect the Raven pass game much even in good conditions and was planing to load up against the run anyway even respected it less because they didn't have to really worry about deep completions because the ball was either going to get hung up in the wind or get pushed by the wind and way overshoot the target.

Bills D used a similar plan to last year to shoot the gaps before the blockers could get there to get into the backfield and make plays before the runners could get going a lot of times.

It wasn't always perfect but it worked pretty well and held the 3 headed monster to around a 4.0 YPC and set up a bunch of 2nd and 3rd and longs.

Bills offense was having some issues of their own with the wind and the Ravens D played pretty tough too at times. A few key drops didn't help either but overall it was a struggle to get anything going.

But the game turned on the pick 6 and more so than a bad read on Jackson's part it was a great read on Johnson's part because that wasn't his zone...technically he should have been in the zone to the flat where Snead was wide open but he was reading Jackson's eyes and basically went right to the spot where he was going to throw it...key play on all of that is the very small piece Milano got on Andrews which looks like it may have been just enough to cause Andrews to not get enough on the diving tackle attempt that let Johnson get out of traffic. If he doesn't get that piece of Andrews it was possible he makes a shoestring tackle and the Bills have it on their 2 or 3 yardline.

Either way it was a hard fought game that was hampered by the wind but I think to really be effective in the playoffs in the future the Ravens are going to need to upgrade their options at the WR position because teams don't respect their ability to beat them through the air.

Wish you all well, it was fun interacting with you over the last week.

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Yeah man our offense didn’t show up, and you guys have been disrespected and underrated all season, y’all are the real deal and I don’t look forward to having to deal with y’all on top of KC and Tennessee. It is what it is for us, we got a lot of holes to fill on this roster and even more coming up.

Sizzle said:

That's what I'm saying lol. Last year's team and 06 were both elite, which makes those playoff losses sting much more

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This loss was particularly rough for me because Lamar just looked so bad and then he got injured, just a really depressing game

2nd straight year we've left the playoffs after significantly out-gaining the opposing team

JoeyFlex5 said:

This loss was particularly rough for me because Lamar just looked so bad and then he got injured, just a really depressing game

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Hopefully the proverbial kick in the arse needed to get us to invest in QUALITY linemen, and not a bunch of mid round/UDFA guys on the interior

We went out like a bunch of suckas

Grim said:

Okay so I took time to marinade on this some and think about it rather than making a knee jerk reaction. Here are my thoughts:

1. QB: Lamar regressed and it is painfully obvious. Could be COVID, could be something else. He needs work and must get better. He isn’t in the same tier as Allen, Rodgers, Mahomes, and maybe not even Mayfield. Yes all those guys have in some ways more help but Lamar has to work with what he has and he still makes bad decisions and bad throws. All of these guys do but Lamar is a little bit more. Lamar knows how to be mobile but dude is standing back there at times like Joe Flacco.

2. WR/TE: I’m going to be real and say the only WR we have worth a damn is Brown.

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3. DEFENSE: I’m not worried here. We have the personnel. We just need like a CB to take slot duties. Edge defender & rusher is important but we’re losing games because we cannot score enough points not because the defense sucks.

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1. I agree 100% and I love me some Lamar but he has played poorly in each of these 3 playoff games. Sure, he needs a better O-line and receivers but damn.....he keeps making piss poor reads and throws that aid in the Ravens early and embarrassing playoff exits.

2. Brown is decent and the rest of them are pure trash! Snead NEVER was the answer! Boykins and the rest shrivel up and disappear and are running extremely basic routes that are easily shut down by average DB's.

3. PASS RUSH, PASS RUSH, PASS RUSH! Where was that for the Ravens last night to force turnovers?

It's the same old, same old with the Ravens. I'm sick of it man! Really I am!

"IF" Dobbins picks up this block.....Lamar has more time to see Hollywood coming across for an easy throw and TD!

Militant X 1 said:

"IF" Dobbins picks up this block.....Lamar has more time to see Hollywood coming across for an easy throw and TD!

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JK misses this but tbf that's Tyre's guy and he just lets him go and doesn't block anyone

if either one of them does even half of what they should do there lamar gets the ball off and it's 6 points

We killed ourselves with negative plays. There were several points where I felt like the offense were getting into rhythm, and then someone blows an assignment and we take a big sack, or a snap launches into orbit.

Every team is good at this stage, and you can easily find yourself in a war of attrition like we did last night. That's when execution matters the most, and our line consistently blew it and killed drives, killed momentum.

rossihunter2 said:

bills knew that was what they were going to try and do - get quick penetration in the backfield - trying to squeeze through the gaps left by pullers
idk that's its scheme per se but it was definitely a great bills gameplan up front with their front 7 (or i guess front 8)

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I think it was part scheme, part game plan, part execution. Bills defense did a great job at all levels. Leslie is good

Sizzle said:

Hopefully the proverbial kick in the arse needed to get us to invest in QUALITY linemen, and not a bunch of mid round/UDFA guys on the interior

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To be fair, numerous teams have shown you don’t need to draft an IOL high to be good.

rossihunter2 said:

2nd straight year we've left the playoffs after significantly out-gaining the opposing team

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That makes me sick, and it usually comes down to offense not executing. Some of it goes on defense last year but I can’t blame the defense when offense sputters

Grim said:

I think it was part scheme, part game plan, part execution. Bills defense did a great job at all levels. Leslie is good

To be fair, numerous teams have shown you don’t need to draft an IOL high to be good.

That makes me sick, and it usually comes down to offense not executing. Some of it goes on defense last year but I can’t blame the defense when offense sputters

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For most teams, sure. But on predicated on the run as much as ours, and on low volume passing that has to be efficient to actually work out for us? Yeah we need great OL, not average/above average like most other teams

Militant X 1 said:

We went out like a bunch of suckas


1. I agree 100% and I love me some Lamar but he has played poorly in each of these 3 playoff games. Sure, he needs a better O-line and receivers but damn.....he keeps making piss poor reads and throws that aid in the Ravens early and embarrassing playoff exits.

2. Brown is decent and the rest of them are pure trash! Snead NEVER was the answer! Boykins and the rest shrivel up and disappear and are running extremely basic routes that are easily shut down by average DB's.

3. PASS RUSH, PASS RUSH, PASS RUSH! Where was that for the Ravens last night to force turnovers?

It's the same old, same old with the Ravens. I'm sick of it man! Really I am!

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Yep I agree but I don’t put much on the defense. They did their job. This isn’t 2019 vs Titans here. The pass rush could finish but man they can only do so much. Then again, I also feel like there was some legit home cooking with the refs. There were definitely penalties to be called on the Bills but I don’t recall much being called on them except what an offsides?

Lamar looks handcuffed in this offense. It's like we are relying on his ability to draw in defenders to get the run game going and that is it. I expected this offense coming into this year to air the ball out more but to me it doesn't look that much different than last years offense. Defenses are defending better at key times. Those comments earlier in the year about defenses knowing our plays before we run them come to mind. If you don't trust Lamar, who dazzled and came off an MVP season then who will you trust? The defense stacks the box against us and we run Pistol sets with only 2 receivers sometimes 3? Does that make any sense? The cuffs can't magically come off when we are down big. Greg Roman is a master at creating running concepts, absolute total animal at it. We can't just be that however. Lamar ISN'T just a runner.


As for Lamar, he needs to improve on accuracy/finding the open man which he seemed to do well last year. If he is going to be limited like this in terms of what they will allow him to do he needs to at least become even more efficient with some throws. I am not entirely sure why the flats seem to be ignored in this offense when it's there. I am not sold on the idea that he can't throw to the sidelines. The Titans game told me otherwise. A strong focus on mechanics this offseason is a must. Some of the overreactions to a kid whos ONLY 25 with a record of 30-7 is insane to me. 68 passing TD's with 18 ints. I'd say we have something special here, we need to let him be that and stop restricting him AND he needs to do himself the favor and take the next step with his mechanics. I hate when all we do is run sets with 2-3 guys running routes out of the pistol. Passing concepts MUST improve and it starts with what he can control which is his throws.


Defense looked good to me, Diggs got loose which was to be expected. A healthy Tavon Young, which is a stretch, greatly improves this defense next year if everything stays as is. All things considered, they allowed 10 points to the Bills. I can't complain. I could want more but that would be getting greedy.

Dobbins will get better.


Marcos Andres is killing me with his drops and he will continue to be called this until he starts catching balls again in the postseason. I am seeing a trend with him in the postseason I don't like.

Hollywood earned his name again. He looks much better and I think that comes from HOW we are using him now. Passing concepts MUST IMPROVE to take advantage of his skillset. I think he has potential to be great, number 1? Probably not. Great #2? Absolutely.

Considering how bad we looked mid season, it was a miracle we got to this position and let alone won a playoff game. This was an improvement from last year.






DRAFT TIME BOYZ, PITTS SZN

Militant X 1 said:

"IF" Dobbins picks up this block.....Lamar has more time to see Hollywood coming across for an easy throw and TD!

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Nothing hurts me more than watching this play from last night like imagine if one of those two pick up the block we score and its 10-10 I mean Lamar literally sees it he just cant get it off

Sizzle said:

For most teams, sure. But on predicated on the run as much as ours, and on low volume passing that has to be efficient to actually work out for us? Yeah we need great OL, not average/above average like most other teams

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Nah if we need an elite OL for our QB to be good then we need a new QB. Lol

Things will not always be perfect but we’ve seen great NFL QB make plays when their OLs break down. I think we need maybe a C but I think our G are solid. We can get a C at multiple levels in this draft, the question is if we want them. Also I’ve seen numerous guys I liked at C who were also drafted high but they also either busted or didn’t live up to their draft slot. It happens a lot and C is no exception.

I just don’t think it’s a safe position. I’d go for the best player at any of our huge needs TE, WR, IOL where ever they are. I’d include Edge, S, CB in there but our offense really needs better players to step it up.