The Random Thought Thread

[rossihunter2]

I saw a video the other day that was posted about Jesse Minter and how Minter is employing what will likely be the next wave of how to call a defense.

Traditionally, defenses are called in a way that the responsibilities are the same for the play. And what I mean is- if the DC calls Under Strike Cloud Zero, you're going to know the responsibilities of every single player.

Contrast this to a Sean Payton play call of:

Green right nasty, Z peel fake 37 slash plus your bluff, naked right ex post white mite.

That single play call is telling each individual skill player their route, telling the QB to run a naked boot, and telling the offensive line to block. But here's the kicker- it's fluid in how it can be called. Sean Payton can call several variations of that call with small and subtle wrinkles because he's telling each individual group what to do on each play.

What Jesse Minter is doing is calling each defensive unit like this. He's not calling a set play; on every play, he is giving the defensive line, the linebackers, the corners and safeties responsibilities as a positional group. This means that Minter can have ambiguous appearing play calls with unique wrinkles. It makes the defense very hard to predict and digest.

The thing is... Mike MacDonald was doing that in Baltimore before Minter in LA. Couple that with MacDonald having a feel for when to blitz (the Ravens ranked like 20th in blitz%) and the Ravens had an absurdly potent defense.

I don't know if Orr is continuing this trend or has gone to more traditional defensive play calls, but there was always going to be a sizable drop off and it was always going to be a very tall ask for Orr to step in for MacDonald given MacDonald seems to be a defensive prodigy in the way McVay is for offense.

With all that said- if Zach Orr costs the Ravens a Super Bowl this year, I will be beyond shattered for very personal reasons. The Ravens need to get their defense figured out before wasting Lamar's phenomenal season.

when people were really studying mike macdonald at the end of the year, the playcalling was obviously a big part of it, but the way he taught the defence to allow them to get into different plays from the same looks or the same plays from different looks no matter who was lined up where was his real super power

i doubt the ravens just threw all of that away, especially if minter's doing it as well

 

[29BmoreBird22]

when people were really studying mike macdonald at the end of the year, the playcalling was obviously a big part of it, but the way he taught the defence to allow them to get into different plays from the same looks or the same plays from different looks no matter who was lined up where was his real super power

i doubt the ravens just threw all of that away, especially if minter's doing it as well

I've used this example before, but Trestman was supposed to run a very similar system to Kubiak and was supposed to largely keep the offense the same. Yeah, that didn't really work out.

I'd rather not force Orr into a position he's not comfortable with for the sake of continuity.

 

[redrum52]

so many of our problems are execution based
i dont like the number of high leverage cover zero calls, he's clearly influenced by his tenure under wink in that way which is fine, he doesnt have to be exactly like mike mac

the concern i have is why are we having so many communication breakdowns on the backend when that was a strength of our DB room last year

i think id prefer us to run more cover 2, more sim pressures with stunts upfront and less dime but there's nothing fundamentally "wrong" with the plays he's calling and designing, just how they're being run

and again, mike mac's defence didnt really start to sing until much later in that 1st year after they brought in roquan too, there's time and patience for Orr to get better and fix this - while im not happy with how it's going right now, i do think it's rash to not even let him get to the bye before making concrete judgements

Team is usually pretty good after the bye... bad or good news is it's a late bye. Seem to do well with self scouting

 

[Sandtown]

I still ask why you think that anyone is pouting? Talking about the reality of things in a matter of fact way doesn't make you depressed.

This was another very ugly win. If our defense doesn't get it together, we probably can't win a SB. If we can't win a SB, that means choking to someone in the playoffs. That means we wasted another one of Lamar's prime years where he is legitimately the best player and QB in football. And then people will continue to call Lamar James Harden or Russell Westbrook for the rest of time.

No one isn't happy about the win. It's a luxury to have Lamar. He's more entertaining than any player in the league. I think it's ok to want the team to show up for him. He deserves it.

Honestly the real reality of things is that we only little over week 7 in October but yet we already feeling discouraged or have a outlook on what may happen in January which isnt positive by the way . If that's just being realistic about things then cool but in all reality alot can change from now and when the playoffs comes around in January. There's stilly plenty of football left to play and alot of growth this team has go through from now to then but at the same time I don't believe in counting my chickens before they hatch.

Football and in life is as all about taking things one day or one week at a time. Im not gonna be allowing what happened on last Sunday to make me feel a certain way on how the team may perform in January especially since January isn't here yet. Also I love Lamar as a player but I'm never going to put myself through the emotional rollercoaster of being concerned of what others may think of him if he doesn't win a super bowl this year or next . I don't get paid or benefit from any of that at all . Maybe the players feel differently cause they are more emotionally involved for obvious reasons when it comes to Lamar and their profession . Regardless if Lamar Jackson wins a super bowl or not people still going to talk. It's endless cycle honestly.

I get fans passion for their team and everyone has their own right to their opinion regarding how the team may look and more but sometimes I think we got to relax but then again some cant relax which is totally fine. My previous post isn't to make others feel bad for their different opinion or feelings towards the team than mines.

 

[UPennChem]

Honestly the real reality of things is that we only little over week 7 in October but yet we already feeling discouraged or have a outlook on what may happen in January which isnt positive by the way . If that's just being realistic about things then cool but in all reality alot can change from now and when the playoffs comes around in January. There's stilly plenty of football left to play and alot of growth this team has go through from now to then but at the same time I don't believe in counting my chickens before they hatch.

Football and in life is as all about taking things one day or one week at a time. Im not gonna be allowing what happened on last Sunday to make me feel a certain way on how the team may perform in January especially since January isn't here yet. Also I love Lamar as a player but I'm never going to put myself through the emotional rollercoaster of being concerned of what others may think of him if he doesn't win a super bowl this year or next . I don't get paid or benefit from any of that at all . Maybe the players feel differently cause they are more emotionally involved for obvious reasons when it comes to Lamar and their profession . Regardless if Lamar Jackson wins a super bowl or not people still going to talk. It's endless cycle honestly.

I get fans passion for their team and everyone has their own right to their opinion regarding how the team may look and more but sometimes I think we got to relax but then again some cant relax which is totally fine. My previous post isn't to make others feel bad for their different opinion or feelings towards the team than mines.

You do you my guy. Fortunately, I don't think anyone is actually pouting. Some of us just forcast further than others

 

[RavensMania]

well I’m definitely not a pees fan. I hated that bbdb D of his. Too many times it was a “bend but don’t win” D. He does have a lot of experience and knowledge he can share though, and hopefully it will be a positive experiment for Orr.

atleast it's don't break. That's an improvement

 

[RavensMania]

so many of our problems are execution based
i dont like the number of high leverage cover zero calls, he's clearly influenced by his tenure under wink in that way which is fine, he doesnt have to be exactly like mike mac

the concern i have is why are we having so many communication breakdowns on the backend when that was a strength of our DB room last year

i think id prefer us to run more cover 2, more sim pressures with stunts upfront and less dime but there's nothing fundamentally "wrong" with the plays he's calling and designing, just how they're being run

and again, mike mac's defence didnt really start to sing until much later in that 1st year after they brought in roquan too, there's time and patience for Orr to get better and fix this - while im not happy with how it's going right now, i do think it's rash to not even let him get to the bye before making concrete judgements

This is what I was afraid of. Way too much pressure and too many receivers running wide open. Of course we were in man a lot more under wink than we are with Orr. That being said, we were the best defense in the league the last year and a half. Not sure why he doesn't take more from that. Of course we did lose a lot of brain power from that defense.

 

[JoeyFlex5]

so many of our problems are execution based
i dont like the number of high leverage cover zero calls, he's clearly influenced by his tenure under wink in that way which is fine, he doesnt have to be exactly like mike mac

the concern i have is why are we having so many communication breakdowns on the backend when that was a strength of our DB room last year

i think id prefer us to run more cover 2, more sim pressures with stunts upfront and less dime but there's nothing fundamentally "wrong" with the plays he's calling and designing, just how they're being run

and again, mike mac's defence didnt really start to sing until much later in that 1st year after they brought in roquan too, there's time and patience for Orr to get better and fix this - while im not happy with how it's going right now, i do think it's rash to not even let him get to the bye before making concrete judgements

The communication is on the dbs, but the blitz packages he calls is on him, and the blitz packages are god awful, and with the way the secondary is playing you just can’t call those plays and leave them exposed like that.

 

[UPennChem]

The communication is on the dbs, but the blitz packages he calls is on him, and the blitz packages are god awful, and with the way the secondary is playing you just can’t call those plays and leave them exposed like that.

Also if they're communicating poorly it's still on him. Its the same players as the last few years. After 4 games with MM that didn't happen anymore. And that was those guys 1st year here. These are now Ravens vets

 

[Nurps]

I swear, that play early in the game where we were all out of place on D, they showed a shot of Oor and he was going "ummmmmmm" then looked at his play sheet and they snapped the ball.

 

[Sandtown]

Also if they're communicating poorly it's still on him. Its the same players as the last few years. After 4 games with MM that didn't happen anymore. And that was those guys 1st year here. These are now Ravens vets

If you talking about Mike MacDonald first year as the DC then that week 12 game in 2022 definitely might hello cause there was miscommunication in that game too

 

[Tank]

Honestly the real reality of things is that we only little over week 7 in October but yet we already feeling discouraged or have a outlook on what may happen in January which isnt positive by the way . If that's just being realistic about things then cool but in all reality alot can change from now and when the playoffs comes around in January. There's stilly plenty of football left to play and alot of growth this team has go through from now to then but at the same time I don't believe in counting my chickens before they hatch.

Football and in life is as all about taking things one day or one week at a time. Im not gonna be allowing what happened on last Sunday to make me feel a certain way on how the team may perform in January especially since January isn't here yet. Also I love Lamar as a player but I'm never going to put myself through the emotional rollercoaster of being concerned of what others may think of him if he doesn't win a super bowl this year or next . I don't get paid or benefit from any of that at all . Maybe the players feel differently cause they are more emotionally involved for obvious reasons when it comes to Lamar and their profession . Regardless if Lamar Jackson wins a super bowl or not people still going to talk. It's endless cycle honestly.

I get fans passion for their team and everyone has their own right to their opinion regarding how the team may look and more but sometimes I think we got to relax but then again some cant relax which is totally fine. My previous post isn't to make others feel bad for their different opinion or feelings towards the team than mines.

Poignant and thoughtful post.

 

[Deebo813]

Honestly the real reality of things is that we only little over week 7 in October but yet we already feeling discouraged or have a outlook on what may happen in January which isnt positive by the way . If that's just being realistic about things then cool but in all reality alot can change from now and when the playoffs comes around in January. There's stilly plenty of football left to play and alot of growth this team has go through from now to then but at the same time I don't believe in counting my chickens before they hatch.

Football and in life is as all about taking things one day or one week at a time. Im not gonna be allowing what happened on last Sunday to make me feel a certain way on how the team may perform in January especially since January isn't here yet. Also I love Lamar as a player but I'm never going to put myself through the emotional rollercoaster of being concerned of what others may think of him if he doesn't win a super bowl this year or next . I don't get paid or benefit from any of that at all . Maybe the players feel differently cause they are more emotionally involved for obvious reasons when it comes to Lamar and their profession . Regardless if Lamar Jackson wins a super bowl or not people still going to talk. It's endless cycle honestly.

I get fans passion for their team and everyone has their own right to their opinion regarding how the team may look and more but sometimes I think we got to relax but then again some cant relax which is totally fine. My previous post isn't to make others feel bad for their different opinion or feelings towards the team than mines.

Tbh, its not really about what others think for me because outside of this forum i dnt even discuss sports with others that much.. its more so that they have no idea what theyre talking about lol. I miss the days where we would watch games then next day people form their real opinions on what they saw… now, entertainment has taken over and they are never accurate because facts and accuracy is boring so they say whatever to bring in ratings and the fans who watch instgram and twitter sports take it and run with it…. Now you got 90% of nfl fans going around saying the same wild as shit.. honestly, its not just sports, its the whole entertainment industry and even politics, which has also turned into entertainment

 

[Michael M.]

So, does anyone think Roquan used a hip-drop on Godwin?

 

[RavensMania]

So, does anyone think Roquan used a hip-drop on Godwin?

it absolutely was. He will definitely get fined

 

[JO_75]

Not sure if this was posted, but Dean Blandino clarified the Onside Kick rule. It's just really odd how Google's AI thing says there is a limit of 2 which is where the confusion comes from.

 

[JoeyFlex5]

So, does anyone think Roquan used a hip-drop on Godwin?

Yep. Godwin fell more forward so it doesn’t look like the typical hip drop, but Roquan wrapped the waist, and deadweighted his lower body into godwins, and it left his foot 90 degrees outta whack.

Pretty good example to put on film for players I’d say. There’s a lot of tackles that look like hip drops but aren’t because they’re not cannon balling into their legs, this one looks different from most but definitely illustrates what you’re trying to prevent by outlawing the hip drop.

I think he should get fined for it.

 

[Tank]

Yep. Godwin fell more forward so it doesn’t look like the typical hip drop, but Roquan wrapped the waist, and deadweighted his lower body into godwins, and it left his foot 90 degrees outta whack.

Pretty good example to put on film for players I’d say. There’s a lot of tackles that look like hip drops but aren’t because they’re not cannon balling into their legs, this one looks different from most but definitely illustrates what you’re trying to prevent by outlawing the hip drop.

I think he should get fined for it.

I wonder if there would be a suspension for repeat offenses.

 

[redrum52]

Think chiefs making a move for Hopkins.

Titans some hoes for real. Wouldn't send Hnery last year but will move Hopkins.

 

[ravenslord]

Deandre Hopkins going to the Chiefs. Ugh.