I agree, it’s not invalid.
-
Welcome to PurpleFlock! Sign up here so that you can chat with your fellow Ravens fans.
Lamar Jackson
- Thread starter Ice Bowl
- Start date
3-4ravdef509
Practice Squad
I’m optimistic that he can become a better passer, he’s already shown improvement. But we have to build a system around him, which we failed to do with Flacco. Hopefully Decosta is different
Dom McRaven
Hall of Famer
Heck, I'm just as excited about the offseason because I'm looking forward to see how much cap space we can make/save. I believe this would be DeCosta's first offseason as the GM, correct?
Yes that is correct
RavensFan419
Pro Bowler
And we have some money to spend
He quite clearly expected us to get found out by LA - it’s an interesting video of X’s and O’s but while he analyses what he refers to as our main package he completely forgets some important context (despite being big on that word) and it’s why our inside running game has been strong - it’s not just about that edge guy crashing inside - it’s about the split attention of those defending inside - that creates arm tackles which gus runs through or it creates a moment of hesitation in the LB (especially as the passing game develops) which allows offensive players time to find their blocks
The other thing he ignores mostly is the zone-read because he asserts that our base package is actually pre-designed qb runs or gives which I’d suggest isn’t entirely an accurate representation of this offence and what we do to prevent the crashing down inside by the edge guy is we often get 2 blockers on that 1 guy with a tackle/pulling lineman and a tight end
That edge defender is key but what’s different about us and other former zone-read concepts is that we don’t always leave that guy unblocked like a traditional zone-read scheme would
He’s right though that we are mostly winning with scheme over execution but forgets to mention that we do have some x-factor players in the running game - and on going back to the tape I can’t emphasise enough how great nick Boyle has been in this system and he’s part of the reason why teams can’t just execute better and nullify our ground game
And with a couple of obvious departures we can end up with even more - gives us the opportunity to re-sign whoever we want purely based on performance and value rather than just picking eg 1 of 3 because we can only afford 1
Cville-Raven
MVP
Went back and watched some LJ highlights from his jr year. In the Syracuse game he basically threw the exact same pass to Jaylen Smith that he threw to Andrews for a TD.
Oldfaithful
Hall of Famer
Lamar: Oh hai Mark...
Cville-Raven
MVP
I hear that safety got stiff armed so bad he ended up in a hospital on Guerrero street
Oldfaithful
Hall of Famer
@OriolesMagicPlease: Haha, what a story Mark
3-4ravdef509
Practice Squad
I don’t think we’re going to get exposed and fall completely apart. But I just hope the FO doesn’t use the success of this style we are playing as reason to ignore the short comings of the team that helped result in the prior 4-5 record
I don’t think they will ignore the shortcomings. There is going to be plenty of cap space. Without cutting anyone, including Joe Flacco we have 36m in cap due to about 9m in rollover cap. If we cut Jimmy (9.5m) and Joe (10.5m) we now have 56m in cap space. We will be players in free agency this year. It’s going to be a fun offseason.
RavensFan419
Pro Bowler
Just curious what's the WR FA market look like I wonder if we resign John Brown I like him a lot if LJ can get better as a passer him and Joe seemed to have a connection but obviously he is Joe's type of WR lol
RaineV1
Ravens Ring of Honor
There's a handful of decent WR3s on the market but not many I could see becoming our #2 if we lose Brown or cut Crabtree. Adam Humphries, Jamison Crowder, Chris Hogan, and Quincy Enunwa could be guys we can bring in. For older vets that we tend to grab, there's Randal Cobb and Golden Tate. After those guys, it's pretty slim pickings. For grabbing guys that fit Lamar, I wouldn't mind letting Brown walk, cutting Crabtree, and then signing Tate and Enunwa.
Last edited:
JoeyFlex5
Hall of Famer
I would love enunwa here for lamar.
Maybe... shit idk what works best for lamar yet, big radius guy or just a quick route runner, easy target or open target, dunno yet. I know that Snead has been a combo of both by getting just open enough and making tough catches in traffic. So we need some of those, just great traffic catchers
RaineV1
Ravens Ring of Honor
I think there are two types that fit Lamar well. Big guys that adjust to the ball, and anyone that can abuse coverage over the middle (whether it's guys that just know how to find soft spots like Snead or Tate, or a speedy slot guy like Crowder or Cobb).
JoeyFlex5
Hall of Famer
Well Snead also catches very well in tight traffic. Corners on his back, at his front, blocked vision, all these super tight window throws he seems to haul them in. That’s a trait I think we gotta look for heavily.
Not sure we re-sign brown because I think he gets a bigger deal somewhere else - I know Indy will be interested for example
https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/all/wide-receiver/
That’s the free agent tracker for wrs this off-season obviously it’s incomplete and doesn’t include potential cap casualties at the position
There’s some interesting complementary options but not sure there’s a consistent playmaker in there outside of a guy like golden tate - I’d like us to get someone like Donte moncrief but not sure that’s realistic
Edit: Ryan grants a free agent lol
A guy who can win early in a route will be a huge boon - crowder is a good example of that
I think more than the guys adjusting to the ball it’s about those guys who can leverage themselves open vs tighter coverage - Andrews has been really good at that as a rookie as has Snead - they both use their bodies to get themselves open but Snead also is able to win early or settle into the soft spot in the zone