The defense is a continual source of frustration for me.
They allowed the Steelers to have the ball for 13 minutes in the first three quarters (the Ravens had a 32:13 advantage) and somehow the Steelers just gashed the Ravens over and over. It's not an issue of a poor offensive play; it was just piss poor defensive play. I just have no faith in Wink, honestly. I feel like the Ravens defense was carried by an absurd abundance of defensive talent and Wink just benefitted from the Ravens drafting consistently high defensive players, making trades for defensive players a priority, and spending out the ass for defense. This year, the Ravens have had some set backs and the defense has crumpled and doesn't resemble a "Ravens defense."
Offensively, I truly think Lamar doesn't trust the offensive line or Greg Roman.
Some of this falls onto Lamar because I think he tries to play hero ball a lot and takes some sacks he could throw away, but he's the most sacked quarterback in the league. I'd imagine he's close to the most pressured, too. The offensive line is just garbage.
And then there's Roman... he might know how to design a run game, but holy hell he does not know how to design a passing game. Someone elsewhere pointed this out, but we routinely see opposing offenses cause confusion and busts in coverage against the Ravens. When have the Ravens shown they can do that to an opposing team? And the thing is- this is something Bills/49ers fans warned about. They all talked about how Roman was great for the run game and great for a year, but he would hinder the growth of the quarterback he's working with due to archaic passing schemes.
That's not to say I think Lamar is excused and obsolved of blame, but the Ravens have been consistently shown strong offensive play in the hurry up when Lamar seems to have more control. When they huddle, the offense just seems confused or baffled. Like, did anyone else notice when the offense got the huddle broke at 10 seconds because the play wasn't coming in? This has been a consistent issue all year- the Ravens seem to flirt with the play clock on most snaps.
What's wrong with Lamar? I think Lamar is simply playing behind a garbage offensive line with poorly designed passing plays. I think he's lost faith and confidence. The mechanics are reverting to what they were early when they were a problem and he's just making terrible decisions he wouldn't have in years past, like that back throw interception. I truly think Lamar feels like it's Lamar or bust, and really, he's right. The run game is garbage and the offensive line is a sieve. If the offense didn't have Lamar all year? They'd be one of the worst in the NFL. I truly believe that.
I actually think it's a miracle the Ravens are 8-4. With the injuries and poor play around Lamar, the Ravens should be 4-8, not 8-4. Again, Lamar isn't playing great, but he's still showing some Lamar magic, like the touchdown to Andrews against the Browns, the 99 yard drive, and the touchdown on the final drive. The issue is, how do the Ravens get that Lamar magic to come out consistently? I don't think Roman will figure out how to do that, honestly.
I don't think all is lost. I am a bit bemused, though, because I remember 2013 was a rough year for the Ravens offensively with some poor line play and it resulted in Joe's worst season and all the Joe stans made sure to give him a pass. Lamar has an even weaker line and a way worse running game, but the Joe stans won't give him a pass. It's just a bit funny to me.
Basically, at the end of the day, I think it's a miracle the Ravens are 8-4 and leading the AFCN. Based on how they played the rest of the season, I expected now to be around the time the Ravens started to fall off the map. The team is simply not good and I don't think Lamar even cracks the top 5 areas of biggest concern.