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Article Primetime Shows the Ravens Are Not Ready for Playoffs

29BmoreBird22

Staff Member
Moderator
Writer
The Ravens walked out of their week 12 bout with the Houston Texans with the win and are now sitting at 6-5 with a playoff spot hand. At this point, the Ravens control their own playoff destiny if they win out. The Baltimore Ravens could be looking at their first playoff appearance in three seasons.

Given the play as of recent, though, how likely are the playoffs really? Sure, the Ravens have won two straight games to get back into playoff contention, but it was against a Brett Hundley led Green Bay Packers and Tom Savage led Houston Texans. If the Ravens face off against Aaron Rodgers or Deshaun Watson, do they win those games? Given the level that Rodgers is capable of playing at and how well Deshaun Watson played before his ACL tear, I do not personally think that the Ravens do win. Instead of sitting nice and pretty at 6-5, the Ravens would be sitting at 4-7 and looking from the outside in, wondering if they would be in a position to move up in the draft for a quarterback. This, however, has been the story of the Ravens season thus far. The Ravens have been extremely fortunate to beat up on the bad teams and take advantage of bad quarterback play and have struggled against the quality teams of the AFC and NFC. On the season, the Ravens own a 6-1 record against teams with a losing record and are 0-4 against teams with a winning record. Unfortunately for the Ravens, their next two games will be against teams with a winning record in the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Let us assume that the Ravens stay their course and do end up losing to both the Lions and Steelers, but win against the Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, and Cincinnati Bengals; that would put the Ravens at 9-7 with a very real chance at a playoff spot. The real competition to the Ravens, the Los Angeles Chargers and Buffalo Bills, both are facing incredibly tough schedules to close out the season (the Bills still have to face the New England Patriots twice and the Chargers will play division rivals in the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs). That means that even if the Ravens do drop their next two games, assuming that the Bills and Chargers each drop two of their remaining games as well, the Ravens will be in the playoffs as the sixth seed.

If the Ravens do end up making the playoffs with a record of 9-7, it will have meant that they went 0-6 against teams with a winning record. The Ravens currently own one of the worst offenses in the NFL and own arguably the worst passing game in the NFL. The defense has been far from tested against quality quarterbacks (although, they did hold up well against Ben Roethlisberger and Marcus Mariota and will get a test against Matthew Stafford and Roethlisberger once more). Does any of this actually sound like a recipe for success come playoff time? This team has way too many holes, in my opinion, to do damage come playoff time and a primetime against the Texans highlighted many of these issues.

The Ravens still have one of the worst passing games in the entire NFL and have no deep passing game to speak of. Joe Flacco completed 18 of 22 passes that were thrown under 10 yards, but completed just two of 10 passes that traveled over 10 yards. With teams realizing that Flacco cannot beat them deep, Alex Collins and the running game has become a focus for opposing defenses. Against the Texans, the Ravens yet again failed to average over 4.0 YPC with their running backs. The Ravens need more from Joe Flacco and the passing game… much more because at this point in time, the defense is beginning to show subtle cracks that will be exposed if so much pressure is continuously put on the defense.

The Texans have possibly the best wide receiver in the NFL in DeAndre Hopkins and he took the Ravens for a ride. Star cornerback Jimmy Smith had his roughest game of the season as Hopkins was able to outmuscle and out-physical Smith for completions long and short. At this point, it is completely fair to wonder if Smith’s Achilles injury is worse than advertised and if the Ravens will be able to withstand another injury to Smith. Humphrey has absolutely played well in his limited action, but Brandon Carr has slowed down as of late and with no Tavon Young, the Ravens do not exactly have an answer at slot cornerback. However, the struggles of Jimmy Smith likely would not have been as bad as they were if the pass rush had shown up.

After winning defensive player of the week honors against the Packers, Matt Judon was invisible as a pass rusher. Much hyped rookie Tim Williams was washed out of most of his pass rushing stats. Willie Henry was able to push the pocket, but was unable to generate meaningful pressure and convert pressure into sacks. Only Terrell Suggs actually showed up as a pass rusher. The lack of a pass rush will continue to be a major issue, especially against teams that feature faster paced passing attacks and have stronger offensive lines. The lack of a pass rush could prove challenging to the development of Marlon Humphrey and Smith’s injury will only be amplified if he is again left on an island against top tier receivers for extended periods of time. The pass rush was the biggest defensive concern coming into the season and that concern has hardly been quelled as the season has worn on. In fact, it has only been amplified as the defensive cracks begin to show.

As it stands now, the Ravens may have beaten the Houston Texans on primetime, but the Ravens absolutely do not look like a playoff team. Personally, I wonder if it is even worth it for the Ravens to even make the playoffs. They will likely finish the season with a losing record against winning teams and given the struggles of Joe Flacco across the entire season, it is unlikely he shows vintage January Joe play. In fact, I would expect 2008 playoff Joe. I fear that the Ravens will make the playoffs and get bounced as a one and done when they face a quality opponent.
 

Willbacker

Ravens Ring of Honor
Well lets hope January Joe shows up and we're as healthy as possible and start clicking since we've gone too far about worrying about draft order. The main key is just too get in

You've given some damning info about our passing game with 2 out of 10 on over 10 passing yds. That's just simply atrocious.

Good article Bird.
 

29BmoreBird22

Staff Member
Moderator
Writer
Well lets hope January Joe shows up and we're as healthy as possible and start clicking since we've gone too far about worrying about draft order. The main key is just too get in

You've given some damning info about our passing game with 2 out of 10 on over 10 passing yds. That's just simply atrocious.

Good article Bird.
So, there was a stat in game that in his previous five games or something, Flacco was 1 of 15 with one touchdown and two interceptions on passes over 21 yards. Combine that with Monday night and Flacco is like 1 of 19 or 20 on such passes in the last six. Know what's scary, though? The Ravens have 24 such passes at all on the season.

Flacco's average yards per attempt in the air is sitting at like 6.5 yards currently. It's atrociously bad.

I miss the old Joe. If this were like 2011, 2012 I would have faith that Joe could turn it around from a slump and do big things in the playoffs. But this year? I have no such hope.

And thank you for the compliment.
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
So, there was a stat in game that in his previous five games or something, Flacco was 1 of 15 with one touchdown and two interceptions on passes over 21 yards. Combine that with Monday night and Flacco is like 1 of 19 or 20 on such passes in the last six. Know what's scary, though? The Ravens have 24 such passes at all on the season.

Flacco's average yards per attempt in the air is sitting at like 6.5 yards currently. It's atrociously bad.

I miss the old Joe. If this were like 2011, 2012 I would have faith that Joe could turn it around from a slump and do big things in the playoffs. But this year? I have no such hope.

And thank you for the compliment.

In that same span Sam Koch has just as many completions over 21 yards then lol with a perfect passer rating
 

29BmoreBird22

Staff Member
Moderator
Writer
In that same span Sam Koch has just as many completions over 21 yards then lol with a perfect passer rating
It is truly sad that Koch showed better mechanics as a quarterback than the actual quarterback.

Read from right to left and stepped into a high lofting, tight spiraled pass.
 

CarlosBrunson

Practice Squad
The Ravens walked out of their week 12 bout with the Houston Texans with the win and are now sitting at 6-5 with a playoff spot hand. At this point, the Ravens control their own playoff destiny if they win out. The Baltimore Ravens could be looking at their first playoff appearance in three seasons.

Given the play as of recent, though, how likely are the playoffs really? Sure, the Ravens have won two straight games to get back into playoff contention, but it was against a Brett Hundley led Green Bay Packers and Tom Savage led Houston Texans. If the Ravens face off against Aaron Rodgers or Deshaun Watson, do they win those games? Given the level that Rodgers is capable of playing at and how well Deshaun Watson played before his ACL tear, I do not personally think that the Ravens do win. Instead of sitting nice and pretty at 6-5, the Ravens would be sitting at 4-7 and looking from the outside in, wondering if they would be in a position to move up in the draft for a quarterback. This, however, has been the story of the Ravens season thus far. The Ravens have been extremely fortunate to beat up on the bad teams and take advantage of bad quarterback play and have struggled against the quality teams of the AFC and NFC. On the season, the Ravens own a 6-1 record against teams with a losing record and are 0-4 against teams with a winning record. Unfortunately for the Ravens, their next two games will be against teams with a winning record in the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Let us assume that the Ravens stay their course and do end up losing to both the Lions and Steelers, but win against the Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, and Cincinnati Bengals; that would put the Ravens at 9-7 with a very real chance at a playoff spot. The real competition to the Ravens, the Los Angeles Chargers and Buffalo Bills, both are facing incredibly tough schedules to close out the season (the Bills still have to face the New England Patriots twice and the Chargers will play division rivals in the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs). That means that even if the Ravens do drop their next two games, assuming that the Bills and Chargers each drop two of their remaining games as well, the Ravens will be in the playoffs as the sixth seed.

If the Ravens do end up making the playoffs with a record of 9-7, it will have meant that they went 0-6 against teams with a winning record. The Ravens currently own one of the worst offenses in the NFL and own arguably the worst passing game in the NFL. The defense has been far from tested against quality quarterbacks (although, they did hold up well against Ben Roethlisberger and Marcus Mariota and will get a test against Matthew Stafford and Roethlisberger once more). Does any of this actually sound like a recipe for success come playoff time? This team has way too many holes, in my opinion, to do damage come playoff time and a primetime against the Texans highlighted many of these issues.

The Ravens still have one of the worst passing games in the entire NFL and have no deep passing game to speak of. Joe Flacco completed 18 of 22 passes that were thrown under 10 yards, but completed just two of 10 passes that traveled over 10 yards. With teams realizing that Flacco cannot beat them deep, Alex Collins and the running game has become a focus for opposing defenses. Against the Texans, the Ravens yet again failed to average over 4.0 YPC with their running backs. The Ravens need more from Joe Flacco and the passing game… much more because at this point in time, the defense is beginning to show subtle cracks that will be exposed if so much pressure is continuously put on the defense.

The Texans have possibly the best wide receiver in the NFL in DeAndre Hopkins and he took the Ravens for a ride. Star cornerback Jimmy Smith had his roughest game of the season as Hopkins was able to outmuscle and out-physical Smith for completions long and short. At this point, it is completely fair to wonder if Smith’s Achilles injury is worse than advertised and if the Ravens will be able to withstand another injury to Smith. Humphrey has absolutely played well in his limited action, but Brandon Carr has slowed down as of late and with no Tavon Young, the Ravens do not exactly have an answer at slot cornerback. However, the struggles of Jimmy Smith likely would not have been as bad as they were if the pass rush had shown up.

After winning defensive player of the week honors against the Packers, Matt Judon was invisible as a pass rusher. Much hyped rookie Tim Williams was washed out of most of his pass rushing stats. Willie Henry was able to push the pocket, but was unable to generate meaningful pressure and convert pressure into sacks. Only Terrell Suggs actually showed up as a pass rusher. The lack of a pass rush will continue to be a major issue, especially against teams that feature faster paced passing attacks and have stronger offensive lines. The lack of a pass rush could prove challenging to the development of Marlon Humphrey and Smith’s injury will only be amplified if he is again left on an island against top tier receivers for extended periods of time. The pass rush was the biggest defensive concern coming into the season and that concern has hardly been quelled as the season has worn on. In fact, it has only been amplified as the defensive cracks begin to show.

As it stands now, the Ravens may have beaten the Houston Texans on primetime, but the Ravens absolutely do not look like a playoff team. Personally, I wonder if it is even worth it for the Ravens to even make the playoffs. They will likely finish the season with a losing record against winning teams and given the struggles of Joe Flacco across the entire season, it is unlikely he shows vintage January Joe play. In fact, I would expect 2008 playoff Joe. I fear that the Ravens will make the playoffs and get bounced as a one and done when they face a quality opponent.
 

CarlosBrunson

Practice Squad
Until the play calling and the offensive schemes change this is what we as fans are going to get :3 & outs and dink & dong plays...Flacco is not a west coast offense style of quarterback so he is limited in running Marty style of offense...The offense needs to return to the days where we use Flacco strengths and the toughness of our WR to get separation.
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
Not sure anybody but Ravens fans noticed...lowest rated MNF game of the year...

i mean it was 2 smaller market low-octane teams with awful offences going at each other with not a great performance from either side and no real premier matchups that outside observers would care about unless they actually watch ravens football (which is unlikely given that the ravens barely ever feature on redzone given that they never get to the redzone)
 

Willbacker

Ravens Ring of Honor
i mean it was 2 smaller market low-octane teams with awful offences going at each other with not a great performance from either side and no real premier matchups that outside observers would care about unless they actually watch ravens football (which is unlikely given that the ravens barely ever feature on redzone given that they never get to the redzone)

I wouldn't call the 4th largest city in the US small market. Still it wasn't a must see for most football fans and since I had to get up early I could only catch the 1st half
 

Willbacker

Ravens Ring of Honor
I would - football markets and city size aren’t entirely correlative

Looks like you are correct. If you add surrounding areas aka tv market Houston ranks 10th and Balt believe it or not ranks 21st which is higher than I thought. Still I looked at the ratings for the game and my gosh they should never have been that low. 35% drop from last years game at same time.
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
Looks like you are correct. If you add surrounding areas aka tv market Houston ranks 10th and Balt believe it or not ranks 21st which is higher than I thought. Still I looked at the ratings for the game and my gosh they should never have been that low. 35% drop from last years game at same time.

It’s for a multitude of reasons but to distill it down it’s basically because of the lack of intrigue in this game and particularly offensive intrigue - both of these teams feature anaemic offences and its down to a lack of general interest from big markets in these teams - neither team’s result had any impact on any other big market team - steelers are too ahead in the division to care and the afc south doesn’t have an Big markets competing for the playoffs - and as a final bullet point neither team had any real star power
 

29BmoreBird22

Staff Member
Moderator
Writer
Looks like you are correct. If you add surrounding areas aka tv market Houston ranks 10th and Balt believe it or not ranks 21st which is higher than I thought. Still I looked at the ratings for the game and my gosh they should never have been that low. 35% drop from last years game at same time.

It’s for a multitude of reasons but to distill it down it’s basically because of the lack of intrigue in this game and particularly offensive intrigue - both of these teams feature anaemic offences and its down to a lack of general interest from big markets in these teams - neither team’s result had any impact on any other big market team - steelers are too ahead in the division to care and the afc south doesn’t have an Big markets competing for the playoffs - and as a final bullet point neither team had any real star power
Adam Lofkoe over at Bleacher Report said that Baltimore ranked last in his list of teams he'd like to watch because of their offense.
 
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