Opinions Archives – Page 6 of 18 – A Marketplace for Ideas

Ravens Post Cardinals: Inconsistency Persists

In the end all that matters is that you win the game so we should be happy with the Ravens win over Arizona. Yet their performance was uneven (to say the least). Inconsistency is still stamped all over the Ravens. Let’s take a look at a few reasons why the consistency just wasn’t there.

Defending the Run Trouble – A (One Game?) Reversion By Patrick Queen

Forget tackle numbers, as they rarely tell the whole story. Patrick Queen played arguably the worst game I’ve seen since Roquan Smith joined the team. Continue reading “Ravens Post Cardinals: Inconsistency Persists”

Ravens Into Week Eight: Elation After the Lions Game

There are good reasons for a healthy dose of elation following the Ravens’ destruction of the Lions. On offense, it started in the trenches and didn’t end there. There are still lingering concerns, which can’t be ignored, and I touch on that. On defense, besides the obvious we saw continued evidence of more than one emerging star. Both Mike Macdonald (whose praises I’ve been singing since last year) and Todd Monken are masterfully exploiting the talents of their individual players. Let’s get into this weeks’ comments from the couch. Continue reading “Ravens Into Week Eight: Elation After the Lions Game”

Ravens After Game Six: The Real Problem, and More

The Ravens victory over Tennessee just wasn’t satisfying. It was another game where they should have blown out the opponent but allowed them to hang around. Let’s face it, the 4-2 Ravens should be 6-0, and they had a tighter margin in Cincinnati than they should have. So what’s preventing the Ravens from becoming a dominant team? Let’s identify the real problem on the Ravens.

The Problem Isn’t Lamar

The $250 million quarterback is the punching bag for most Ravens fans. Let’s look at the major defects in Lamar’s game. For one, he has had serious fumble problems, commented on in prior blogs. Lack of ball protection is unacceptable. But we have to examine why the fumbles have occurred, which I touch on below. Nevertheless, the fumble challenge has not been the principal problem on the offense. Continue reading “Ravens After Game Six: The Real Problem, and More”

Ravens After Week Five: Unacceptable!

The Colts stink. The Steelers are bad. The Ravens are . . . ? There are no mincing words after the Ravens’ outrageous performance in Pittsburgh. A team that just keeps throwing away games isn’t a very good team. Every time the Ravens play Pittsburgh, whether with or without Lamar, they blow it. Losing six out of seven over the last four years just doesn’t cut it, especially when the Ravens dominate most of the play.

I don’t need to rehash all of what we saw against the Steelers. Pittsburgh should not have been on the field with the Ravens in the fourth quarter. I’ll get back to them after I’m laying back on my sofa. Nevertheless, here’s this week’s comments from the couch. Continue reading “Ravens After Week Five: Unacceptable!”

Ravens: Browns Review and More – Comments from the Couch

It sure helped that DeShaun Watson missed the Browns game last week. Perils for any “contender” whose backup quarterback is a rookie. The Browns were doomed before the first snap. Let’s jump into this week’s comments from the couch.

Todd Monken to the Rescue

The Browns’ defense stymied the Ravens in the first quarter. It swarmed to the ball and dominated the play. Power runs were not working, nor was Lamar getting any time to fully drop back. Monken had to make a dramatic switch, and he did. Continue reading “Ravens: Browns Review and More – Comments from the Couch”

Ravens – Comments From the Colts Fiasco

What a rotten day for the Ravens. Injuries notwithstanding, this was an unacceptable performance at every level. There were plenty of mental and physical mistakes. Here are a couple of comments from the couch.

Harbaugh and the Fair Catch

Coach Harbaugh has been captaining this ship into his 16^th season. How can it be that there is an on-field scenario for which he and his staff are unprepared? Frankly, it’s shocking how games are lost on his watch for the zaniest of reasons. Continue reading “Ravens – Comments From the Colts Fiasco”

Ravens Insights From the Bengals’ Game

Part of my goal in penning these little pieces is to offer a few insights that might not be obvious as we watch live games. Any success in this endeavor depends on the reader. Dare I say a little bit of what follows is this week’s attempt to add a little spice to your Ravens’ thoughts going into the Colts game.

Todd Monken’s Game Plan and Play Selection

Monken likely entered the Bengals game expecting his patchwork offensive line to have challenges in pass protection. He focused on a quick throw passing attack, to great effect, as Lamar consistently released the ball faster than any game I could recall. The enhanced receiving corps did an excellent job across the board, and Lamar’s accuracy might have reached a high point. Continue reading “Ravens Insights From the Bengals’ Game”

The Ravens After Week One: A Bit of Analysis

The old aphorism certainly applies: a win is a win. But the Texans game highlighted some problems with the week one Ravens that we didn’t anticipate, and others that lurk large. Let’s start with some pleasant surprises and hopes going forward before I get to the warning lights.

The Outstanding – Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen

Mike Macdonald is solving for the Ravens’ arguable lack of pass rushing ability on the outside by bringing Smith and/or Queen in various blitz packages. They both bring explosion and speed with the versatility to be used in different schemes to get to the quarterback. There should be a lot more coming. Continue reading “The Ravens After Week One: A Bit of Analysis”

Ravens 2023: The New Season is Here!

The blog has awakened now that the new season is here! Let’s jump right in with some quick Ravens thoughts.

David Ojabo and the Pass Rush

Yikes! I can’t mince any words here. Ojabo looked awful. Not only was there no explosion, I don’t think there was any evidence of lift-off. If you want to see textbook examples of a player who could not get off of a block just rewind any pass rush attempt by Ojabo in the pre-season. His spin move – which he demonstrated frequently and to great effect at Michigan – disappeared. A powerful punch and extension? Nope. Hand fighting? Maybe there was a bit of thumb wrestling that I missed. This was all massively disappointing. It was so bad that Ojabo was on the field for a play or two in the fourth quarter of last night’s game. He was no better in the running game. Continue reading “Ravens 2023: The New Season is Here!”

Ravens Post Draft – Free Agents To Pluck and More

This should be relatively easy. Post draft, the Ravens still need a starting cornerback, veteran help at the edge rusher position, and arguably a little more help in the defensive line.

Outside Cornerback

At the outside cornerback spot, there are two obvious free agent targets. The 30 year old Marcus Peters and the 26 year old Rock Ya-Sin. Ya-Sin’s second year in the league was poor, but he played well over the past two seasons. For what it’s worth, Pro Football Focus gave him the 27^th best coverage grade lined up wide, and the 23rd best grade when playing man press coverage. His yards per coverage snap was ranked fifth. Overall, he graded out as their 50^th best corner last year (out of 118) and the 29^th best in 2021 (out of 116). Continue reading “Ravens Post Draft – Free Agents To Pluck and More”