The Random Thought Thread

[Craven_Raven]

WRs are a weak link, but we did things this year with those same group of receivers in terms of being able to take advantage of teams 8/9 man fronts that we just didn't do this game. I think some of Lamar's passes got away from him and it played a pivotal role in terms of the Titans commitment to the run. We just didn't do enough to get them out of those fronts. I think Boykin is in a shaky spot because he has not looked good outside of short yardage plays and that one catch against Seattle for 50 yards accounted for about 25% of his total offensive production this year? That pretty much tells the story as far as that goes.

I will say this though, Roberts screwed up dropping that pass big time because if he comes down with that it's a house call easily. That might have gotten them out of their commitment to the run and shifted the momentum in our favor. He blew with that one, would like to see him back though since he's on a cheap deal.

Yeah, some of his passes did get away but that’s because he threw it a ton. The problem wasn’t that though, it’s that there were literally six drops, two of which are probably touchdowns. You can’t be a contender in a competitive game and have that happen. You have to be able to count on professionals to make those plays. Roberts drop was egregious to the degree of the muffed punt in the Patriots game imo and we all know what happened to Cyrus Jones.

 

[D1City55]

I think you’re inverting the cause and effect. We saw why we never relied on the WR corps in the playoff game. If you have a sure handed WR that makes a couple of plays the complexion of that game is completely different. The only sure hands at WR belong to a diminutive guy who has to hit the dirt to avoid injury or have the perfect ball lofted over defenders to him, he’s not someone who can phyiscially battle and high point DBs or give the QB an oversized catch radius to target. That’s what we have to have in this offense and we don’t. Willie is okay, but he’s a possession guy with average speed and physical attributes. Roberts and Boykin shouldn’t be top 3 options and wouldn’t be on most contenders.

One of the most unfair takes since pro-bowl voting began was that Lamar was “surrounded by talent”. In the loss it became evident he isn’t which is something I’d also said from the beginning.

FWIW, no disrespect towards Lamar, he's made leaps that I don't think we've ever seen from a player ever, but I do think his passing game still has places to improve at. We can talk about the drops but the throws were not the best we've seen from him. I wish some of those passes hit guys on the chest rather then them having to extend to make the catch. The Andrews drop was a perfect example and I think that one sailed a little too high.

It's pretty upsetting because we should have taken more advantage of Titans 8-9 man boxes. We've been doing it all year with the same group of receivers and we should have, I was more disappointed at the play calling and the coaching staff if Im going to be honest with you.

I have to say though, apart from that I was very disappointed with Roberts. He dropped what would be a TD pass from the back of the end zone which would have possibly change the tide of the game. That was probably the play I would like to have back, even more then Judon's whiff of a tackle on Henry's 66 yard run.

With the offense we have a veteran should be enough. I like the formula which this offense runs and it allows us to not have to make overwhelming investments at WR. I think that a cut guy would really be good at this spot which will allow us to do as much as we can to shore up the DL because that unit let us down badly.

 

[RavensMania]

I don't think the receivers are good at all, that Willie Snead extension is not looking like a good idea atm because he let us down.

I'm not big on AJ, he's a top 10 talent but I think we need someone here who were can depend on to be active, AJs injuries worry me. Top 10 talent at WR but he's barely been available lately.

I would only be interested in AJ if it were a one year 8m or inexpensive two year deal, other than that I'd go in a different direction.

 

[cdp]

based on his production, even the improvement in year four, he wasn't worth giving him the salary that he got. That being said, I'm happy for him, but wish he showed that improvement in year four so we could have found a way to keep him in the fold.

Why don't you think he is worth his salary?
Tbh we let Zadarius rush a lot from the inside so I thought we're better off not paying him edge rusher money.
Sacks get you paid. I think we should look for a value FA pickup i.e. low pressure to sack conversion rate

 

[D1City55]

I would only be interested in AJ if it were a one year 8m or inexpensive two year deal, other than that I'd go in a different direction.

Oh I would definitely love that, I don't know what his market will be like since he's a top 10 WR when healthy.

 

[JoeyFlex5]

The TEs don’t get separation, they’re slow and relatively unathletic. They’re big targets but they perform a different function in the offense. And why in the hell wouldn’t you want more of that?

The gameplan looked like we panicked. I’m not even sure we saw the original gameplan after they got up 7-0. The offensive gameplan reeked of desperation, going for it on 4th down in field goal range of a one score game reeked of desperation. The coaches were unhinged and that certainly didn’t do anything to help the players.

1. Our TEs do get separation, Mark Andrews has been elite at getting open all year.

2. I wouldn’t want more of that because we have big physical targets in 3 quality TEs, but what we lack is a diverse skill set on the boundaries, we wanna open up the field, we wanna pressure the defense, you don’t draw extra defenders with pure jumpball receivers. Get a guy who’s gonna demand brackets and/or safety help, we already have one, add another and you will truly never face a situation like we saw against Tennessee, Kevin byard was up the TEs asses all night, can’t do that if you have a 4.3 route runner screaming up each sideline, taking that high bracket off the TE allows a guy like andrews to slip past the LB and sit down, and that’s what we did all year and the titans took it away from us, as did the niners, as did the bills, one common thing is they all have very quality safeties to do exactly that.

 

[RavensMania]

Why don't you think he is worth his salary?
Tbh we let Zadarius rush a lot from the inside so I thought we're better off not paying him edge rusher money.
Sacks get you paid. I think we should look for a value FA pickup i.e. low pressure to sack conversion rate

not sure he is or isn't. I'll be honest with you, I've gone back and forth with signing him long term. That being said he is extremely inconsistent and disappears a lot. He's very streaky and unfortunately was mia on saturday night, when we needed him most. Would I like him back on the team? I'd say yes because I feel he would be better with another true pass rusher on the opposite end. However if it was either him, Barrett or Clowney, I'd say let him walk or franchise him if you still can.

Another thing to consider are the amount of sacks that Judon's had that were coverage induced and we blitzed 50% of the time this season. The 62 pressures are nice and all, but it would be better if he could finish more often.

 

[JoeyFlex5]

I see a lot of talk of drops and Lamar’s misses, but that’s not the biggest thing to me.

The most striking change I saw from Lamar was the hesitation, he wasn’t seeing the field the same, he wasn’t trusting his eyes, he wasn’t firing on his reads. He completely lost trust in himself and in his receivers and the problems compounded all night. Overthrows to deep seams have been a problem all year and damn near all of his picks have come from that pass being inches high and turning into a contested ball in a dangerous spot, and then the shallow out breaking routes have been a problem as well, idk what it is about that throw but Lamar seems to miss the defender breaking from top down, he did it against Pitt as well.

the more I think about this game the more I think it comes down to 3 major things: 1. Greg Roman was unprepared because he would rather coach the browns than win a super bowl, that was so fucking obvious. 2. Lamar got rusty, lost rhythm, and in turn lost confidence rather quickly. And 3. The receivers and TEs were even more rusty than Lamar.

I almost feel like Roman should be given a world of shit and harbaugh/edc need to tighten the fuck up on their coaching policies, don’t let your guys interview when they’re prepping for a goddamn super bowl run, act like their superior and tell them they need to focus on the task at hand for Christ’s sake. Part of me wonders if Roman tried to show the coaching world that he could dial up a passing game.

 

[gtalk12]

I see a lot of talk of drops and Lamar’s misses, but that’s not the biggest thing to me.

The most striking change I saw from Lamar was the hesitation, he wasn’t seeing the field the same, he wasn’t trusting his eyes, he wasn’t firing on his reads. He completely lost trust in himself and in his receivers and the problems compounded all night. Overthrows to deep seams have been a problem all year and damn near all of his picks have come from that pass being inches high and turning into a contested ball in a dangerous spot, and then the shallow out breaking routes have been a problem as well, idk what it is about that throw but Lamar seems to miss the defender breaking from top down, he did it against Pitt as well.

the more I think about this game the more I think it comes down to 3 major things: 1. Greg Roman was unprepared because he would rather coach the browns than win a super bowl, that was so fucking obvious. 2. Lamar got rusty, lost rhythm, and in turn lost confidence rather quickly. And 3. The receivers and TEs were even more rusty than Lamar.

I almost feel like Roman should be given a world of shit and harbaugh/edc need to tighten the fuck up on their coaching policies, don’t let your guys interview when they’re prepping for a goddamn super bowl run, act like their superior and tell them they need to focus on the task at hand for Christ’s sake. Part of me wonders if Roman tried to show the coaching world that he could dial up a passing game.

They did not run the ball with Gus. It's not like they completed stopped us from running at all. Dude was averaging 6 a carry. not sure why we did not keep running with him and found a rhythm.

 

[Willbacker]

not sure he is or isn't. I'll be honest with you, I've gone back and forth with signing him long term. That being said he is extremely inconsistent and disappears a lot. He's very streaky and unfortunately was mia on saturday night, when we needed him most. Would I like him back on the team? I'd say yes because I feel he would be better with another true pass rusher on the opposite end. However if it was either him, Barrett or Clowney, I'd say let him walk or franchise him if you still can.

Another thing to consider are the amount of sacks that Judon's had that were coverage induced and we blitzed 50% of the time this season. The 62 pressures are nice and all, but it would be better if he could finish more often.

If we have enough cap room the best bet might be to tag him. Keep him for another prove it year plus it gives you a longer option to guage the market and also operate under a new cba.

 

[JAAM]

If we have enough cap room the best bet might be to tag him. Keep him for another prove it year plus it gives you a longer option to guage the market and also operate under a new cba.

After the missed tackle from Judon when he was in front of Henry, plus the inconsistency and inability to finish sacks this year, I don’t want him back. Let someone overpay for him. And most definitely do not want to tag him either.

 

[Willbacker]

I see a lot of talk of drops and Lamar’s misses, but that’s not the biggest thing to me.

The most striking change I saw from Lamar was the hesitation, he wasn’t seeing the field the same, he wasn’t trusting his eyes, he wasn’t firing on his reads. He completely lost trust in himself and in his receivers and the problems compounded all night. Overthrows to deep seams have been a problem all year and damn near all of his picks have come from that pass being inches high and turning into a contested ball in a dangerous spot, and then the shallow out breaking routes have been a problem as well, idk what it is about that throw but Lamar seems to miss the defender breaking from top down, he did it against Pitt as well.

the more I think about this game the more I think it comes down to 3 major things: 1. Greg Roman was unprepared because he would rather coach the browns than win a super bowl, that was so fucking obvious. 2. Lamar got rusty, lost rhythm, and in turn lost confidence rather quickly. And 3. The receivers and TEs were even more rusty than Lamar.

I almost feel like Roman should be given a world of shit and harbaugh/edc need to tighten the fuck up on their coaching policies, don’t let your guys interview when they’re prepping for a goddamn super bowl run, act like their superior and tell them they need to focus on the task at hand for Christ’s sake. Part of me wonders if Roman tried to show the coaching world that he could dial up a passing game.

Cant disagree with any of this and never ever do I want to see 2 weeks of rest. Completely took them off their rhythm while their ears were being filled with how great they was. Also don't live and die on analytics. Analytics don't judge the ebb and flow of emotion. Cool to use them but use your head moreso.

 

[Willbacker]

After the missed tackle from Judon when he was in front of Henry, plus the inconsistency and inability to finish sacks this year, I don’t want him back. Let someone overpay for him. And most definitely do not want to tag him either.

Yeah I know we all feeling a little sour after that missed tackle and I cant judge on one play lol. Team effort all the way around but yes a lot of coverage sacks and I'm not gonna say he's the best edgesetter. A tag still may be worth it tho since the tag can be removed and you only locked in a year.

 

[RavensMania]

If we have enough cap room the best bet might be to tag him. Keep him for another prove it year plus it gives you a longer option to guage the market and also operate under a new cba.

I think that would be the right call.

 

[RavensMania]

Ravens signed 9 players to Futures contracts

https://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/ravens-sign-nine-players-to-reserve-future-contracts

 

[rossihunter2]

Another difference between this team and our SB winning teams?

Special teams.

This one was pathetic in Punt and Kick off Return.

tbf we lost a lot of guys through the year who were impact guys on special teams on the cover units (both our kicks and their kicks) - someone like deshon elliott was a huge loss on special teams - but we also cut bethel for the comp pick, we lost trawick for multiple weeks, our returners were awful, chris moore was often doubled as a gunner on punt coverage, levine's older etc. etc.

and on top of all that we lost jerry rosburg

all that being said, we didnt lose to the titans because of special teams - the special teams didnt help us win but they didnt lose us that game either

 

[rossihunter2]

id really like lamar to work with hurst extensivly in the off season

his hands are unbelievable. They need to get their timing on point so he's used as much as andrews is

Andrews gets open better and has a bigger catch radius

but hursts hands are rather special

he's also got crazy speed for a tight end - its bizarre that he's not a bona fide weapon already tbh with the tools he has combined with his ability as a blocker

slightly off-topic but if it wasnt already clear how valuable all 3 of our tight ends are in their respective roles after the titans game then it never will be - when andrews went down, boyle just couldnt do the same damage running those routes that andrews would normally run, likewise when boyle went down, the running game on the outside also disappeared - in fact andrews got called for holding on like the first or 2nd play after boyle went down

 

[rossihunter2]

Knowing Lamar's work ethic he'll probably take 1 to 2 weeks off and then start to work out again. I'm pretty sure he and Hollywood will be somewhere in Florida together

last year coach joshua harris had to literally persuade him to take some time off to allow the loss to settle before they got into it - i hope for lamar's own mental health that he sits down with him and forces him to do the same again - if he goes straight back to work and lets that loss fester in his mind it'll eat away at him in an unhealthy way

coach harris has been an absolute gem for lamar's development and i hope they work together again this offseason - but only after lamar's taken some time with his family to reset his perspective

 

[redrum52]

I would call Washington to see what they want for that pick. We have cap and doesn't mean we need to spend it. Picks are cheaper and if we let guys walk we will be compensated next year. We need game-changers. Having to rely on this kind of blitzing will kill us in the end. Guys need to be able to win 1-1. This is the perfect time with money coming off the books. I would rather give up draft capital now for a top tier player than a huge cap hit. I'd also speak to Green about a one year deal. Think he would be great for Boykin development and put another vet we could trust(when healthy) on that side of the ball. Also be a very tough to keep a safety to Browns side. Hell, I'd even look at Robby Anderson depending on what he wanted. He owes us for that signed jersey.

 

[rossihunter2]

Really curious to see how this offense looks next season. Wonder if we’ll go the more traditional route but still remain run-heavy. I want to see Lamar under Center more. Wouldn’t mind at all trading for a big-time WR to put on the outside alongside Boykin opposite with Hollywood in the slot. We can’t expect a lot from Snead and Seth moving forward. Doubt the latter is here next season. Snead would be a fine 4. Add our three headed monster at TE and our offense looks incredible. I hope EDC makes a trade for a WR like we did for Boldin

i honestly think we'll do the opposite of what you've suggested - the scheme we ran this year was incredibly successful and there's no need for it to completely disappear but i think it'll be adjusted to whatever talent we have on the team and if that means accommodating another wr then it will

what i expect is that we remain with our similar run scheme but expand the passing concepts and utilise the passing game more - its great that we can win games when lamar passes 20 times - id like to see us built so that we can also win games when he passes 35+ times - the more multi-faceted this offence is the better we will be