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The Running Game, The Mess and The Greg Roman

gtalk12 said:
EDC is going to address the receivers one way or another.

I am not worried about that. Going into this draft he said he spoke with Lamar and he told EDC that he wanted an O-line. He got it. Now we need to bring some tough mfs in at the receiver position.

And take the mic away from John when asked about receivers coming here. He's not selling it home lmfao
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Emphasis on tough.
 
Greg Roman is to blame for sure but I don't know what Chad is on but our receiving core is definitely not adequate....

 
JO_75 said:
Greg Roman is to blame for sure but I don't know what Chad is on but our receiving core is definitely not adequate....

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Tf? Ocho must not know we haven’t had Bateman in weeks
 
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.
 
Davesta said:
“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
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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.
 
JAAM said:
I don’t even want him back as the 3. I want to completely overhaul the group in the off-season and just keep Bateman. I’m done with everyone else
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You can't let Duvernay go. He is a keeper just to return punts and kicks. As a special team ace. As for the rest, banish them from the earth.
 
Ellicottraven said:
You can't let Duvernay go. He is a keeper just to return punts and kicks. As a special team ace. As for the rest, banish them from the earth.
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But I mean he’s been fucking up lately even with that lol. I really like Duv but his returns have been awful lately
 
JoeyFlex5 said:
So you’re okay with spending well over market value for an ILB, but not okay with spending a 2nd and avoiding the inevitable bidding war?

We wouldn’t have landed Ro on the open market, if we did we would have had to massively overpay. Keeping a first time FA out of the process and getting negotiating rights can save you many millions a year
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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.
 
JO_75 said:
Greg Roman is to blame for sure but I don't know what Chad is on but our receiving core is definitely not adequate....
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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.
 
gtalk12 said:
EDC is going to address the receivers one way or another.

I am not worried about that. Going into this draft he said he spoke with Lamar and he told EDC that he wanted an O-line. He got it. Now we need to bring some tough mfs in at the receiver position.

And take the mic away from John when asked about receivers coming here. He's not selling it home lmfao
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The Raven's receivers have always been subpar and mediocre to me, in comparison to some of the other top-flight teams (Bengals, Chiefs, Bills, and Dolphins, etc.). Winning games (especially those ugly ones) mask a whole lot of the deficiencies of the team. The offense has been playing poorly, lethargic, inept, and anemic for weeks now. Weeks! So, the handwriting for that piss-poor offensive performance last night against the Browns had already been on the wall. To me, I'd like to see the Ravens obtain 1-2 "big-bodied" receivers with height, strength, and some breakaway speed with the ability to block in the running game. I want some dawgs that can run routes, and fight for the ball if need be. Draft them, trade for them, or sign them from another team's practice squad, etc. Do what you gotta do but get them in here.
 
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