The Good (?), the Bad and the Ugly: Week 4 Edition

[arnie_uk]

Np, the break-down helped a lot. One thing I wanted to see in the GIF was his Howard was losing the maintain on his block and if Joe rushed the throw.

The pass was horrid, no one has said otherwise

 

[OURavensFan]

As long as QB doesn't want to throw the ball to him or he can't because of the inept play calling, Perriman has a pass based on some really good plays he made last season.

Freaking Geronimo Allison drops it clean, then the next play is TD pass to G. Allison. None of our young guys have that luxury - on offense and defense alike.

Exactly, guys like Cooper and D. Thomas have their fair share of drops, you just gotta keep feeding them to get em warmed up. And Watson needs to teach BP how to catch. That man has freaking vice grips for hands lol

This offense as a whole can't get their shit together for whatever reason.

I agree with all of this, I know I complained about him not having a game with 10 catches 150 yards, etc, but we rarely seem to target him, and the whole offense is down so far this year. I really hope to be wrong because he did show flashes last year. Whatever needs to happen , him get in MM's ear, shame towards him, I hope it does, I want to see him break out

 

[TheCity5]

The pass was horrid, no one has said otherwise

Yeah I know but I was checking to see if he might have rushed it.

 

[RavensMania]

It's similar to the comments echoed about a non-catch against the Steelers from the year before. Granted in this instance, I was significantly off the mark about how far he was from the boundary; I couldn't find a replay prior to making my initial comment, spit-balled it from memory, and was underestimated the distance. That said, in reviewing the play, the notion that the reception wasn't just feasible but was also expected appears to either gloss over the inner workings of movement and momentum or disregard them entirely. Going through the breakdown, conceptually speaking, the play call and the initial execution were essentially perfect.

We line up in a trips right, with Ben Watson technically as the inside slot WR, Breshad Perriman as the outside slot WR, and Mike Wallace as the Z on the outside. Michael Campanaro is the X receiver on the opposite side, and Jeremy Maclin is technically at RB (Link). The Steelers deploy a Cover 3 from their base 3-4 defense with off-coverage on the outside, and we counter with a flood concept route combination that was a Cover 3 killer. Wallace runs a fade toward the back of the end zone to occupy Joe Haden, who is covering that respective third. Ben Watson runs a 5 yard hitch, drawing Vince Williams, who's covering the hook zone. Camapanaro immediately looks back and shuffles his way forward signifying his designation as a space-eater; he's covered by T.J. Watt in the flat route with Arnie Burns standing idly overhead. Here's where the development gets interesting. Maclin runs a flat route with Perriman running the out-and-up. Bud Dupree initially sticks to Perriman, who head-fakes the out route, compelling Dupree to crash down on the open Maclin. Dupree does this because the entire shell is rolled to the trips side prior to the play, and Sean Davis is intended to cover the curl zone where Perriman is running his route; however, he's duped by the head-fake and doubles on Watson's hitch route, allowing Perriman to cut upfield and sprint at an angle favoring the pylon. The ball is thrown as Perriman is sprinting forward, which is thrown towards short towards his outside shoulder, and there lies the problem.

He's on the last stage of the out-and-up, meaning he will innately look for the ball by turning to his inside shoulder. His momentum is carrying him upfield angled towards the sideline in the direction that he's sprinting. In order to adjust for the throw, he's limited to an immediate two-step process of having to slow his momentum with just his trailing leg while beginning the shuffle, and attempting to leap and drastically change direction using only his lead leg, which is moving upfield, to generate enough torque to adjust for a throw that requires both a 270° turn and a jump angled in that same direction prior to the turn. For those playing at home, that's when you can wipe away your scoreboard. Realistically speaking, that goes from improbable to borderline impossible. Jordy Nelson had a similar situation in 2011 wherein he came down with the ridiculous grab, and even in his scenario, it was a much more expected back-shoulder throw on an upright vertical fade and he had enough time to slow his momentum with both his trailing and leading legs, switch to a shuffle, and then launch himself afterwards with both legs to propel himself into the direction of the throw. And that reception was so mind-blowing, it was featured on SportsScience, and it remains memorable a half-decade later. Personally, I was almost surprised that it even touched Perriman's left hand when it happened live. I've been as disappointed as anyone with the underwhelming performance to begin the year, but the suggestions of this being a routine grab portrays an almost disheartening disregard for how our bodies are able to move and operate. Even if you're sticking to that contentious notion, Perriman was free of any defender by a literal radius of 6 yards. It's hard to argue that making that throw is more difficult than making that catch, so the general focus seems to be partially displaced.

Thank you for your research. This should be sent to Dan Fouts.

 

[Truth]

This is a very thorough breakdown, appreciate the time you took to review it and give your opinion. I do have to say though that when pausing the video I see BP turned and facing Flacco with the ball still 10 or 15 yards away. It seems he could have jumped at least enough to make the catch, rather than dragging his feet, would only have needed a few inches. Granted, not enough time or body position for a giant leap, but not impossible or improbable for at least a small jump. Definitely an athletic move, but hey, he's an athlete. That said, after watching the damn thing way too many times I think it was a much tougher catch than I first thought, but not quite as improbable as you stated. I think we see guys like Green, Brown, Sanu, etc. make this catch. Just my view and opinion.

And this disclaimer isn't meant for you....... Please boys and girls we all know it was a terrible throw and this post is not in defense of Flacco or his performance. lol

Thank you kindly. Pardon the late response. I didn't see this until just recently. I'm glad that we're closer in our opinion than we were initially. That said, the notion I presented is in contention with one involving jumping. After accelerating from the nine yard line, he sprinted upfield before taking his first and only decelerating step with his trailing leg at the five. With the ball being placed on the outside shoulder, coming in at a different angle than the direction of the initial sprint, jumping would've almost certainly carried him more upfield past the catch point than it would have towards the sideline, which would've been counterintuitive. The idea of him jumping without gathering his legs or changing his footing and completely resisting being carried upfield hinges on the concept of his jump defying the momentum his body generated prior to liftoff. Additionally, given that his body was leaning forward during the pivot, it's questionable if not doubtful whether jumping would've merited the same conversion from linear momentum to angular to twist the full 270°. That's just my best educated opinion. We'll likely have to agree to disagree, which I'm sure than we both can live with. Fair point on the disclaimer and I appreciate the clarification.

 

[K-Dog]

can we lock this one up?

Along with every memory of this game ?