Oldfaithful
Hall of Famer
The 2018 Baltimore Ravens season was viewed as a success as this marked our first playoff appearance since 2014. However, this year is a year to look at the failures. Why did the team falter? What went wrong? Well, I took a comprehensive review and have come to a definitive conclusion, one that many of you will likely disagree with but I think holds some merit.
After examining the tape the answer is quite simple. The Ravens season is a tale of two halves, and there are two main culprits in the downfall, both in which played a role in the playoff loss against the Chargers. The first half of the season the biggest culprit was the offensive line, and the second half of the season the biggest culprit was the offensive coordinator. There was a commonality between these two offenses: both of the offenses were both one dimensional, but in different ways.
The first half of the season, before Lamar came in is more of the fault of John Harbaugh and Ozzie Newsome than any of the players. Our lineup of Ronnie Stanley-Alex Lewis- Matt Skura- Marshal Yanda-James Hurst. Ronnie Stanley has pulled his weight thus far, and has earned the label of a franchise LT. He's not an elite player by any means, but I'd argue that he's a pro bowl caliber tackle and has a long career ahead of him, and that he was worth that top 10 pick we spent on him. Marshal Yanda is making his case as a first ballot hall of famer. Stanley and Yanda are among the better offensive linemen in the league and are good at just about everything. You can count on both to provide good run blocking and be realiable in pass protection, hell they're both good in pass protection, sometimes great.
However, the other three starters for the first half of the season were not. Matt Skura, Alex Lewis, and James Hurst are decent in pass protection but are one dimmensional as starters. None of the three are anywhere close to being competent as run blockers(even Hurst is massively overrated as a puller) and that kills a team. In the case of Skura he cannot anchor to save his life, making him the worst offender as a liability in the run game. In fact, due to this deficiency I doubt his abilities in zone scheme. The tape supports it. He should not be starting at the NFL level, straight up.
James Hurst at RT was probably the worst decision Harbaugh has made in a long time. He had no business being there as his footwork is not well equipped to go against more explosive edge rushers, and he lacks the power to take on power rushers like Joey Bosa and TJ Watt. It's flat out inexcusable when you have Orlando Brown as a backup who has as much potential as he does body fat. Especially with the benefit of hindsight where Brown played extremely well. Hurst is a massive liability in the run game, especially when our back to start the season off was Alex Collins who heavily depends on a RT for his style of running. When Hurst was at guard, at least you could mask his deficiency by pulling, but the caveat here is that if we fans notice, other teams do as well. Good defensive coordinators will counter that and in 2017 when he was "servicable" at guard we played a plethora of weaker defenses(sans Jacksonville), and he was sandwiched in between Stanley, a good LT, and Jensen who was motivated to get a big contract. Alex Lewis is actually very good in pass protection but is a huge liability in the run game, though not as bad as Hurst or Skura.
Here was the main problem with the team in the first half of the year, and frankly it's not debatable. We could not run the ball, and that made the offense one dimensional. It's no fault really of our ball carriers. Alex Collins is a good RB but he depends heavily on a good RT and for the first half of the year he actually got a downgrade going from Howard to Hurst. Dixon was injured, Buck Allen was remarkably mediocre as per usual, and Edwards did not enter the scene until later in the year, as did Montgomery(who was barely used anyways). When a team has three liabilities in run blocking, even the most mediocre of front sevens will adapt and kill you.
It doesn't help that because of this deficiency that Flacco had to pass the ball an absurd amount at times, which is a recipie for failure for any team, but especially ours. Flacco has always needed a running game to thrive. Now there were games, particuarly the Panthers and Steelers round two where he was bad, but let's not pretend like he was the majority of the problem either. He was being protected well, but there wasn't a run game at all, and unlike in the Ray Rice days we don't have a back on this team that can take over a game regardless of the offensive line play. Flacco in 2018 was vintage Flacco in a lot of ways. He dominated some games, and he was terrible in others. The difference is, in games where he played poorly in the 2010-2012 we could put the game in the hands of Ray Rice and he could carry us to victory.
This alone killed us far more than Marty's incompetence possibly could. Simply put, we were easy to prepare for and if you are easy to prepare for AND you have an incompetent offensive coordinator it is not going to matter who the quarterback is. And sure, Flacco had to absolutely play better at times, but the deck was stacked against him from the beginning. On top of this, this puts our defense on the field more, and makes it more likely to tire them out. So in a lot of ways, this lineup was a true detriment to the team, far bigger than anyone could have realized.
Then we come to the second half of the season, where Joe Flacco got injured and we put the ball in the hands of our future QB in Lamar Jackson. Even if I am optimistic about Jackson's future with the team, it is undeniable that he is raw and he needs time to adjust. With regards to the gameplanning, Greg Roman and Marty decided to simplify the playbook and rely heavily on the run and we were going to trust our defense. Given that Jackson is a rookie, I am okay with what we did. However, the offense was unsustainable.
If you had taken the time to watch Brett Kollman's video you would come to understand that scheme, plus Lamar's ability to run was a bigger factor than any personnel. Orlando Brown Jr. Was finally starting(and thriving might I add), but we had a rotating door at left guard, and Skura remained an utter liability. However, running the read option with Jackson, plus Greg Roman's scheme was able to mask the deficiencies. So why am I mentioning this at all?
The problem with this scheme is that it is easy to figure out, and it's not sustainable in the long term. Which is understandable, we wanted to simplify things as much as possible to help Lamar along, I understand that. But you also have to give Lamar Jackson more chances in the passing game. Sure ,the run was able to wear teams down and allow the defense to stay fresh. That's what won us games, nothing more and nothing less. This was not a sustainable gameplan, and it was also one dimensional, ironically in an opposite facet to how the season started. Lamar has his moments as a passer but he's nowhere close to being there yet or being anointed as a franchise quarterback even. His rookie season was a success, but he has a long way to go in his development, even if he has come far. Incompetence by the coaching staff, and lack of creativity, and an unwillingness to open the playbook did no favors to both the team, and Lamar's development. A good coach would have corrected this a long time ago, and would have been more intelligent. This was a solid strategy in the regular season during our weaker, sans two games, portion of the schedule.
Even then, Marty's incompetence did show itself at certain points. Against the Chiefs towards the end of the game as a notable example. A couple of plays against the Chargers round one is another. The Browns game we should have adapted better. We ultimately won most of these games because of the defense. In the second half against the Chargers game round one, they effectively shut down the offense. Same agains the Browns. We were simply better those games on the defensive side of the ball. Sure, the winning record is impressive, but look at who we played. Chargers and Chiefs were good, but the Bengals were falling apart, the Raiders were in full on tank mode, the Falcons are basically a hospital ward, and the Buccaneers were an utter joke. And it would be utterly foolish to suggest that our offense had no problems during this run. We won games, but the strategy implimented was unsustainable, even in the short term.
And when you hit the postseason, and every team you face is a good one, you cannot take any chances. Our inability to adjust killed the team close to instantly. The defensive coordinator for the Chargers, Gus Bradley, happens to be one of the best defensive minds in the game, and he had the personnel to take advantage of a weaker offensive line, thus making it far easier to exploit our deficiencies. It would have been up to the coaching staff to adjust the gameplan. And we did nothing at the half. Our defense kept us in the game, but both problems came to light. Our scheme was too simple, Bradley adjusted, and Ingram and Bosa continuously attacked and rag-dolled our two liabilities on the line at the time. Even Orlando Brown Jr. Struggled at times, but he played well during the season overall.
Marty's problems have been obvious since 2016. His situational football is horrible, and he does not know how to properly manage the personnel that he is given, and this season is more proof of that. But he's only partially to blame.
The number one culprit of blame for the shortcomings of the 2018 Baltimore Ravens season is simple. The first half of the season was plagued with horrible personnel decisions on the offensive line and by the front office. No team is going to have success when you have this personnel unless you have an elite running back talent like Saquon Barkley. This led to a one dimmensional offense, and even with the best of quarterbacks, this is not a recipie for success for a football team. There was no balance. The second half the playbook was too limited, even for a rookie quarterback as raw as Lamar Jackson. We won games, but this did cost us the postseason and if we continue to run this scheme we are not going to be able to move the ball effectively moving forwards. Both of these led to a one dimensionality that made us easy to prepare for on one side of the ball, and both in the short and long term this is not a sustainable strategy moving forwards.
In order to move on, the Baltimore Ravens must bolster the trenches on the offensive line, and they must expand the playbook for Lamar Jackson. We need to see what Jackson is capable of with a full playbook, and need to start running a sustainable offense. I am not asking for an elite juggernaut, that would be an unfair request, but I do believe that running a non-gimmick offense with stronger personel is doable. You don't have to change too much. To preserve both the team, and Lamar Jackson, this team must acquire the offensive linemen to ensure sustainable so we don't have to rely on a gimmick. Otherwise, the Baltimore Ravens will end the decade the same way we started: being a defensive powerhouse, but a one note offense that is behind on the times.
After examining the tape the answer is quite simple. The Ravens season is a tale of two halves, and there are two main culprits in the downfall, both in which played a role in the playoff loss against the Chargers. The first half of the season the biggest culprit was the offensive line, and the second half of the season the biggest culprit was the offensive coordinator. There was a commonality between these two offenses: both of the offenses were both one dimensional, but in different ways.
The first half of the season, before Lamar came in is more of the fault of John Harbaugh and Ozzie Newsome than any of the players. Our lineup of Ronnie Stanley-Alex Lewis- Matt Skura- Marshal Yanda-James Hurst. Ronnie Stanley has pulled his weight thus far, and has earned the label of a franchise LT. He's not an elite player by any means, but I'd argue that he's a pro bowl caliber tackle and has a long career ahead of him, and that he was worth that top 10 pick we spent on him. Marshal Yanda is making his case as a first ballot hall of famer. Stanley and Yanda are among the better offensive linemen in the league and are good at just about everything. You can count on both to provide good run blocking and be realiable in pass protection, hell they're both good in pass protection, sometimes great.
However, the other three starters for the first half of the season were not. Matt Skura, Alex Lewis, and James Hurst are decent in pass protection but are one dimmensional as starters. None of the three are anywhere close to being competent as run blockers(even Hurst is massively overrated as a puller) and that kills a team. In the case of Skura he cannot anchor to save his life, making him the worst offender as a liability in the run game. In fact, due to this deficiency I doubt his abilities in zone scheme. The tape supports it. He should not be starting at the NFL level, straight up.
James Hurst at RT was probably the worst decision Harbaugh has made in a long time. He had no business being there as his footwork is not well equipped to go against more explosive edge rushers, and he lacks the power to take on power rushers like Joey Bosa and TJ Watt. It's flat out inexcusable when you have Orlando Brown as a backup who has as much potential as he does body fat. Especially with the benefit of hindsight where Brown played extremely well. Hurst is a massive liability in the run game, especially when our back to start the season off was Alex Collins who heavily depends on a RT for his style of running. When Hurst was at guard, at least you could mask his deficiency by pulling, but the caveat here is that if we fans notice, other teams do as well. Good defensive coordinators will counter that and in 2017 when he was "servicable" at guard we played a plethora of weaker defenses(sans Jacksonville), and he was sandwiched in between Stanley, a good LT, and Jensen who was motivated to get a big contract. Alex Lewis is actually very good in pass protection but is a huge liability in the run game, though not as bad as Hurst or Skura.
Here was the main problem with the team in the first half of the year, and frankly it's not debatable. We could not run the ball, and that made the offense one dimensional. It's no fault really of our ball carriers. Alex Collins is a good RB but he depends heavily on a good RT and for the first half of the year he actually got a downgrade going from Howard to Hurst. Dixon was injured, Buck Allen was remarkably mediocre as per usual, and Edwards did not enter the scene until later in the year, as did Montgomery(who was barely used anyways). When a team has three liabilities in run blocking, even the most mediocre of front sevens will adapt and kill you.
It doesn't help that because of this deficiency that Flacco had to pass the ball an absurd amount at times, which is a recipie for failure for any team, but especially ours. Flacco has always needed a running game to thrive. Now there were games, particuarly the Panthers and Steelers round two where he was bad, but let's not pretend like he was the majority of the problem either. He was being protected well, but there wasn't a run game at all, and unlike in the Ray Rice days we don't have a back on this team that can take over a game regardless of the offensive line play. Flacco in 2018 was vintage Flacco in a lot of ways. He dominated some games, and he was terrible in others. The difference is, in games where he played poorly in the 2010-2012 we could put the game in the hands of Ray Rice and he could carry us to victory.
This alone killed us far more than Marty's incompetence possibly could. Simply put, we were easy to prepare for and if you are easy to prepare for AND you have an incompetent offensive coordinator it is not going to matter who the quarterback is. And sure, Flacco had to absolutely play better at times, but the deck was stacked against him from the beginning. On top of this, this puts our defense on the field more, and makes it more likely to tire them out. So in a lot of ways, this lineup was a true detriment to the team, far bigger than anyone could have realized.
Then we come to the second half of the season, where Joe Flacco got injured and we put the ball in the hands of our future QB in Lamar Jackson. Even if I am optimistic about Jackson's future with the team, it is undeniable that he is raw and he needs time to adjust. With regards to the gameplanning, Greg Roman and Marty decided to simplify the playbook and rely heavily on the run and we were going to trust our defense. Given that Jackson is a rookie, I am okay with what we did. However, the offense was unsustainable.
If you had taken the time to watch Brett Kollman's video you would come to understand that scheme, plus Lamar's ability to run was a bigger factor than any personnel. Orlando Brown Jr. Was finally starting(and thriving might I add), but we had a rotating door at left guard, and Skura remained an utter liability. However, running the read option with Jackson, plus Greg Roman's scheme was able to mask the deficiencies. So why am I mentioning this at all?
The problem with this scheme is that it is easy to figure out, and it's not sustainable in the long term. Which is understandable, we wanted to simplify things as much as possible to help Lamar along, I understand that. But you also have to give Lamar Jackson more chances in the passing game. Sure ,the run was able to wear teams down and allow the defense to stay fresh. That's what won us games, nothing more and nothing less. This was not a sustainable gameplan, and it was also one dimensional, ironically in an opposite facet to how the season started. Lamar has his moments as a passer but he's nowhere close to being there yet or being anointed as a franchise quarterback even. His rookie season was a success, but he has a long way to go in his development, even if he has come far. Incompetence by the coaching staff, and lack of creativity, and an unwillingness to open the playbook did no favors to both the team, and Lamar's development. A good coach would have corrected this a long time ago, and would have been more intelligent. This was a solid strategy in the regular season during our weaker, sans two games, portion of the schedule.
Even then, Marty's incompetence did show itself at certain points. Against the Chiefs towards the end of the game as a notable example. A couple of plays against the Chargers round one is another. The Browns game we should have adapted better. We ultimately won most of these games because of the defense. In the second half against the Chargers game round one, they effectively shut down the offense. Same agains the Browns. We were simply better those games on the defensive side of the ball. Sure, the winning record is impressive, but look at who we played. Chargers and Chiefs were good, but the Bengals were falling apart, the Raiders were in full on tank mode, the Falcons are basically a hospital ward, and the Buccaneers were an utter joke. And it would be utterly foolish to suggest that our offense had no problems during this run. We won games, but the strategy implimented was unsustainable, even in the short term.
And when you hit the postseason, and every team you face is a good one, you cannot take any chances. Our inability to adjust killed the team close to instantly. The defensive coordinator for the Chargers, Gus Bradley, happens to be one of the best defensive minds in the game, and he had the personnel to take advantage of a weaker offensive line, thus making it far easier to exploit our deficiencies. It would have been up to the coaching staff to adjust the gameplan. And we did nothing at the half. Our defense kept us in the game, but both problems came to light. Our scheme was too simple, Bradley adjusted, and Ingram and Bosa continuously attacked and rag-dolled our two liabilities on the line at the time. Even Orlando Brown Jr. Struggled at times, but he played well during the season overall.
Marty's problems have been obvious since 2016. His situational football is horrible, and he does not know how to properly manage the personnel that he is given, and this season is more proof of that. But he's only partially to blame.
The number one culprit of blame for the shortcomings of the 2018 Baltimore Ravens season is simple. The first half of the season was plagued with horrible personnel decisions on the offensive line and by the front office. No team is going to have success when you have this personnel unless you have an elite running back talent like Saquon Barkley. This led to a one dimmensional offense, and even with the best of quarterbacks, this is not a recipie for success for a football team. There was no balance. The second half the playbook was too limited, even for a rookie quarterback as raw as Lamar Jackson. We won games, but this did cost us the postseason and if we continue to run this scheme we are not going to be able to move the ball effectively moving forwards. Both of these led to a one dimensionality that made us easy to prepare for on one side of the ball, and both in the short and long term this is not a sustainable strategy moving forwards.
In order to move on, the Baltimore Ravens must bolster the trenches on the offensive line, and they must expand the playbook for Lamar Jackson. We need to see what Jackson is capable of with a full playbook, and need to start running a sustainable offense. I am not asking for an elite juggernaut, that would be an unfair request, but I do believe that running a non-gimmick offense with stronger personel is doable. You don't have to change too much. To preserve both the team, and Lamar Jackson, this team must acquire the offensive linemen to ensure sustainable so we don't have to rely on a gimmick. Otherwise, the Baltimore Ravens will end the decade the same way we started: being a defensive powerhouse, but a one note offense that is behind on the times.
