The Running Game, The Mess and The Greg Roman

[JO_75]

It isn't, but it's probably closer to adequate than Roman is making it look. They're bad, but 31 other OCs would have them performing better.

I'm fully convinced watching these other games today that coaching is our biggest problem.

 

[ravenslord]

Biggest disappointments this year (not in order)
1)Oweh- i guess he finally has a sack
2) Proche-waste of space,scared to see him on the field
3)Peters -lost more than a step
4)Boyle -injuries have ended his career
5) Stout -yeah i thought he'd be better but not terrible
6)Duvernay -particularly at punt and kickoff return,unless he's hurt?
6) Faellele -can't block anybody

 

[RaineV1]

Since this has basically turned into a FO thread, and semi reasonably so when discussing Roman, I just wanted to add on some thoughts.

I'm actually really concerned about the Ravens upcoming offseason and how they'll look to address the holes on the roster.

Defensively, I look at OLB/pass rush and cornerback as two concerning positions. The pass rush is concerning to me on three fronts. 1. It's aging and how long could the Ravens reasonably expect Houston and JPP to play at a high level for? Father time is undefeated, especially at physically demanding positions. 2. The Ravens are converting a very high amount of pressures into sacks. Despite being 26th in total pressures, the Ravens rank eighth in sacks. That's not sustainable year to year. 3. The Ravens really have question marks with the young guys. Where does Ojabo stand? I'm thrilled he's back this year because history hasn't been kind to players who miss their entire rookie season, but he played one snap. And Oweh is turning invisible this season as a pass rusher. He's being asked to do it all and he's playing okay as a run defender, but the Ravens need him to take the next step as a pass rusher. Oh, and Campbell is almost assuredly retiring, so that's nice.

At corner, I'd hardly expect Peters back at this point. Declining play and potentially another injury? At that point, you're relying on Humphrey, Pepe, Stephens, and JAD, who was just awful. I personally have little faith in that unit as a whole past Humphrey.

Additionally with defense, I think the trade for Roquan was a mistake. Is Roquan good? Absolutely. Is he the missing piece to put the Ravens over the top? Absolutely not. I think the Ravens have benefitted from playing piss poor offenses since he got here to bloat the stats, but defensively, I haven't thought the Ravens looked night and day or anything, and that makes sense to me. An inside linebacker will rarely be the missing piece to take you over the top. And the sad thing to me is- Queen was playing stellar prior to the arrival of Smith. Sure, now you have arguably the best starting duo in the NFL, but that's not going to make the Ravens contenders. I'd probably feel better about the trade if Queen weren't here and it was everyone behind Queen, but that's not the reality. Now, the Ravens will have to pay $20M+ to keep Roquan (which puts you at the 12th highest AAV for a receiver) and have a decision to make on Queen. Can the Ravens really spend $31M on two linebackers if they pick up Queen's fifth year option? Almost assuredly not. So, Queen is likely gone. But I'd rather have had two more years of Queen and make a decision in year 6 and keep that second round pick rather than pay Roquan $20M now.

Offensively, I'm tired of the Ravens neglecting receiver. Last year was the first year the Ravens had a good receiver group and they traded away Hollywood with no contingency. I'm frustrated because this makes Duv your two, Proche your three, etc. It wasn't just losing Hollywood- it was now the receivers with 67/688/2 had to be receivers two and three. But hey, at least the Ravens picked up that bargain bin guy the Chiefs didn't even want AFTER trading Tyreek Hill! To be fair, Robinson has stepped up more than I could have reasonably expected, but it feels like 2015 Kamar Aiken or 2013 Marlon Brown where it's just there's so few quality mouths to feed that they're getting production purely for being available.

And as a whole, I'm tired of the Ravens relying on bloated contracts for players who have major injuries. It's like the Ravens think they're ahead of the curve by signing players off major injury to decent, but not record setting contracts.

The first frustrating one for me was Dennis Pitta, which I'd thought would have been a warning, but then there was signing Juwuan James and seriously relying on him as your starter, signing Nick Boyle AFTER the knee blowout, and then drafting Ojabo. The word is still out on Ojabo, obviously, but history isn't kind.

I'm also just really tired of the Ravens zigging when everyone else is zagging. Drafting Hamilton with Clark on the roster instead of being aggressive for a receiver was frustrating. I think Hamilton is a great player and will be for years, but the Ravens just signed Marcus Williams and Chuck is adequate enough to win with, especially with Williams behind him. Dedicating this much in resources to ILB instead of wide receiver. Passing the ball 33 times with a backup quarterback when the run game is getting over 8.0 YPC between two running backs.

TL;DR- I think roster construction for next year will be tough because CB, OLB/pass rush, and WR look like big concerns that will be very largely impacted by Lamar's negotiations. I think trading for Roquan was a mistake, even if he is a great player. I think standing pat and not being more aggressive for a receiver was a mistake, even if Hamilton is a great player. I want to see less zigging and more zagging from the Ravens.

I expect this will be a very busy offseason and I'm anxious to see it unfold.

Just copying others alone won't make us better and Hamilton was by far the best player available. Without Hamilton and Smith out defense was shit.

And can we stop pretending that Clark was an adequate starter? Stone is a backup level S and he has outplayed Clark.

 

[UPennChem]

Biggest disappointments this year (not in order)
1)Oweh- i guess he finally has a sack
2) Proche-waste of space,scared to see him on the field
3)Peters -lost more than a step
4)Boyle -injuries have ended his career
5) Stout -yeah i thought he'd be better but not terrible
6)Duvernay -particularly at punt and kickoff return,unless he's hurt?
6) Faellele -can't block anybody

All this except Faalele. He should have a bright future.

 

[ravenslord]

Just copying others alone won't make us better and Hamilton was by far the best player available. Without Hamilton and Smith out defense was shit.

And can we stop pretending that Clark was an adequate starter? Stone is a backup level S and he has outplayed Clark.

Yeah Clark is completely overrated.

 

[Dom McRaven]

Biggest disappointments this year (not in order)
1)Oweh- i guess he finally has a sack
2) Proche-waste of space,scared to see him on the field
3)Peters -lost more than a step
4)Boyle -injuries have ended his career
5) Stout -yeah i thought he'd be better but not terrible
6)Duvernay -particularly at punt and kickoff return,unless he's hurt?
6) Faellele -can't block anybody

All this except Faalele. He should have a bright future.

Yeah I'm with UPC on this. The list is good, but I'm a bit more lenient towards rookies. Our OL coach has done a decent job of making our OL serviceable.

 

[rossihunter2]

How many reasons did he get to stick around yesterday? Probably wishing he was back in Chicago.

lol how reactionary is that?
literally a whole article earlier in the week about how he was settling in, felt like baltimore was home and that there were concerted efforts from the ravens FO to get him signed before the end of the season

 

[drjohnnyfever]

“With such a great running attack, they would never suspect us passing to our rank 32 passing group. Sure, browns may be ranked near the bottom of rushing defense, but that what makes it even more unsuspecting! Element of surprise.” -GRo

And, that was one of the most asinine things that I heard. You run the ball UNTIL they prove to you that they can stop it! Sure, mix in a few passes, a couple of play-actions, here and there to keep the defense honest but you don't stop pounding the rock when you see that they can't stop it! Dumbass GRo.

DUDES! This is what I've been saying for months - years! He's the smartest guy in the room and he's outsmarting NO ONE but himself with his weak ass slickanery! If we all see the BS as dumbass fans - the opposition must too! This is why you fire coaches before players!

 

[QtR Nevermore]

lol how reactionary is that?
literally a whole article earlier in the week about how he was settling in, felt like baltimore was home and that there were concerted efforts from the ravens FO to get him signed before the end of the season

I know. Just being glib and despairing about everything Ravens related.

I bet the Ravens FO do want to sign him before he hits the market, and if they can get him at a reasonable price, it will be a successful trade. I just have my doubts that they'll get him for anything lower than full price.

 

[drjohnnyfever]

...Also, I'm glad Davesta made bail. I'm a little short on funds, but would have used the cc to put a couple dollars toward getting him released.

 

[airconteka]

I have been thinking for quite a while that for GRo to get fired we'd need to have a game like yesterday. Well we've had that game, time to do your job Harbs.

 

[rossihunter2]

I have been thinking for quite a while that for GRo to get fired we'd need to have a game like yesterday. Well we've had that game, time to do your job Harbs.

it's not gonna happen til the end of the season - but i think this game had to seal that it will definitely happen

 

[QtR Nevermore]

It might happen sooner than that. For as long as Roman survives, Harbaugh is the human shield taking some of the bullets aimed at Roman. If sticking with Roman is going to hurt his reputation, and maybe, eventually, his job security, Harbaugh will fire him sooner.

 

[Florida Raven Fan]

Damn seeing these other trash ass teams move the ball like nothing while our inept offense struggles week after week is sickening.

I hate rooting for Brady.

 

[drjohnnyfever]

I know. Just being glib and despairing about everything Ravens related.

I bet the Ravens FO do want to sign him before he hits the market, and if they can get him at a reasonable price, it will be a successful trade. I just have my doubts that they'll get him for anything lower than full price.

If nothing else, they have realized with his acquisition how utterly essential the ILB position is in their team philosophy. I think they knew it all along, but needed to allocate resources to other areas. But for us it is a cornerstone position on DEF. You have to have at least one guy who excels there. It's been three years since Mosley left and it has shown. Drafting on "upside" pass rush didn't help when we needed a body there, but I get it.

 

[Tank]

I hate rooting for Brady.

Today may be the only time I’ve ever done it and I don’t feel to good about it. lol

 

[Tank]

If nothing else, they have realized with his acquisition how utterly essential the ILB position is in their team philosophy. I think they knew it all along, but needed to allocate resources to other areas. But for us it is a cornerstone position on DEF. You have to have at least one guy who excels there. It's been three years since Mosley left and it has shown. Drafting on "upside" pass rush didn't help when we needed a body there, but I get it.

Roquan is the guy they hoped Queen would be.

 

[Militant X 1]

Today may be the only time I’ve ever done it and I don’t feel to good about it. lol

It's definitely sickening but a necessary evil.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." ~ Sun Tzu

 

[JoeyFlex5]

No, I'm not OK with spending over market value for an ILB. (I think $20M is going to be Roquan's market value. ) I wouldn't chose to spend big money on ILB at all. (Even though Roquan's been great and, if any ILB's worth it, he is.)

I was speaking hypothetically - if we really wanted him, we could have had him, probably at the same salary, and kept our 2nd rounder.

How have we avoided a bidding war? Is Roquan under contract for next season?

To me, if we really had to have Roquan, the choice was between paying full market value or trading a 2nd for 9 games and still paying full market value. I suppose we'll see when he gets a contract.

You’re missing the point entirely. If you consider 20m to be roquans asking price, then that would be the STARTING price for teams offering him a deal in FA, bad teams with tons of cap space to burn, he wouldve been wined and dined and offered way more than what we’re likely to retain him for.

What a player gets paid to stay is way different from what that player gets offered on the open market. If you’re a team tight on cap space you aren’t gonna get the leagues elite when they hit open FA.

And sure you can choose to have poor ILB play because you don’t consider it a value position, but you won’t compete with the likes of KC, cinci, and Buffalo if you don’t have quality LB play, teams that use the screen game and TEs to lethal efficiency to move chains are the best teams in the conference right now.

What I’m saying is, and where I keep losing you, is that we have zero chance at getting roquan smith on the 2023 open market. If we extend roquan for 20m a year, you can bet there are at least 2-3 teams out there who wouldn’t hesitate to offer a good bit more, then we’re stuck deciding whether to extend queen or not because if he leaves we don’t have ANY ILBs. We give up a 2 and avoid that entirely and grab possibly the leagues LB1 long term. There is absolutely a benefit to getting a player in your building and integrated into the team before he hits the open market.

We’ve had a lot of failures in roster management and use of capital, trading for roquan smith was not one of them(unless he leaves in FA)

 

[JoeyFlex5]

Damn seeing these other trash ass teams move the ball like nothing while our inept offense struggles week after week is sickening.

I hate rooting for Brady.

Shit I been rooting for Brady since he went to Tampa