Let’s avoid the obvious discussion regarding the good fortune of escaping Dallas with a win. Instead, I go directly into the good and the bad and, hopefully, what it all means for the rest of the season. But first, a quick word on the competition.
Don’t Sleep on the Steelers
I had my first chance to watch the Steelers in detail against the Chargers (though no time for game tape review). The obvious: Pittsburgh has a championship level defense. T.J. Watt remains the best (in my view) overall defender in the league. His partners on the edge, whether it’s Alex Highsmith or now Nick Herbig, make it really hard to protect the quarterback. The ageless Cam Heyward – well, he’s ageless. The secondary is improved. This is a tough defense.
I always liked the talent Justin Fields possesses. He had no chance with the Bears, and I feared the Steelers stole him in the off-season. Now Fields isn’t lighting it up all over the field, but he’s been managed and weaned beautifully so far. He’s made good decisions through three games and has been more accurate. Forget Russell Wilson, Fields is the man, and he’s a threat. He’s providing a level of quarterback play the Steelers likely only hoped for.
Granted, Pittsburgh has had a light schedule. The Falcons are mediocre, the Broncos are just plain bad, and the Chargers (though they were 2-0) are headed towards mediocrity as well. It doesn’t get much harder this week, with a matchup against the Colts. Comparatively speaking, the Steelers have a straight path to the playoffs.
They have a ways to go yet with their offensive line, as their running game is far from dynamic because the holes just aren’t consistently there. And notwithstanding Calvin Austin’s big game last week, I’m still only seeing two receiving threats. So challenges still await the offense. But defense travels and the Ravens are two games behind.
Ravens the Good and the Bad: the Run Option
It’s absolutely impossible for teams to consistently defend the Ravens run option when it’s a Lamar-Henry combination. Lamar is the master par excellence in pulling back the handoff from a running back at the last instance and exploding either inside or out. The defense must respect the apparent handoff to Derrick Henry, and defensive edge defenders consistently dive inside to stop it. This should be the single most important play in the Ravens offensive repertoire for the balance of the season. If Lamar lets Henry keep the ball it’s because the hole is there. If he pulls the ball back, it’s because the edge defender has yielded the edge. Either way, double trouble for the defense.
Now imagine once this combination takes the next step. Pull the ball back, then throw it to a receiver crossing away from the action, down the field, or whatever. I don’t believe that any defense can consistently stop this scenario. And it’s the most powerful reason why the Ravens signed the King. These plays are mis-directional by definition and create huge mismatches.
The Good and the Bad – The Offensive Line
Tyler Linderbaum, with one exception against Micah Parsons, was superb on the move in the run game last week. It’s his strength and it shows. Daniel Faalele, my favorite punching bag, had some decent moments in the run game (more than he’s had all year) but remains limited in what he can do. He struggles on zone plays, still can’t bend, and has trouble at the second level. It’s hard to see that changing given his physical limitations.
Ronnie Stanley struggled a bit more versus Dallas, having his most trouble with quick first steps. But he’s more than held his own through three games. The Ravens still need more push out of Andrew Vorhees in the run game. But the Henry-Jackson combination will help any blocking group, and we should expect that to continue.
Roquan Smith
When is this going to end? This can’t be the same player inside the number zero uniform that we saw last year. Smith continues to be wildly out of place on zone coverages, again spending way too much time peering at the quarterback as opposed to just executing his assignments. If he’s been given extra freedom by Zach Orr, then the coach needs to take it away. Put simply, a lot of the Ravens issues in pass coverages are due to Smith’s very poor play in the middle of the field. Picking up his coverages too slowly, or receivers getting behind him or across him, or simply going to the wrong place. It’s very troubling. And it was on full display against the Cowboys. Teams will continue to attack Smith until his play improves.
By the way, Trenton Simpson is mentally way ahead of where Patrick Queen was at a similar career point. Simpson analyzes quickly and is decisive. And he tackles.
Zach Orr
More struggles, particularly in the fourth quarter. Readers, let me pose a question. Do you want Michael Pierce to fall into coverage? How about Tavius Robinson (Mr. Body, who can’t move laterally). Zach Orr apparently likes the idea, dropping Pierce into coverage once in the fourth quarter, and Robinson twice. On the second Robinson play, he was abused with a pass right over his head (he didn’t – or couldn’t – drop deep enough) for a huge Cowboys gain.
The game isn’t that complicated. If you were dropping into coverage a defender with high level footwork or quickness that would be one thing. But I dare suggest that when you drop back limited athletes like Pierce and Robinson, you are creating more problems for yourself than you are by “surprise” on the offense. Particularly against adept quarterbacks.
Let’s play sound fundamental football at the end of games. Task players with assignments that meet their abilities.
Nate Wiggins and Ar’Darius Washington: The Good and Bad Among Young Defensive Backs
One was terrific the other was terrible, do you know which? If you had the fun of watching the tape with me, you’d have a tear or two in your eye. Wiggins was absolutely abused out there. In fact, it was hard to find any coverage play (and he had many) where he wasn’t beaten off the snap. And he missed zone assignments too. Sure, Zach Orr asked Wiggins to defend Cee Dee Lamb alone on numerous zone combinations (many times in zone calls an outside corner is asked to ride the wideout alone). And that was a huge mistake. Wiggins was not up to the challenge on any of the plays.
He gave up inside leverage. He gave up outside leverage. Wiggins turned his head the wrong way. He missed on his punch in press coverage. He was, as they say, lost. Wiggins just wasn’t ready, and it’s hard to know when he will be. He just has to study hard, and he has to play to get better.
Ar’Darius, on the other hand, was sensational. As readers know I’ve always thought Washington was well suited in the slot. But he’s offering some real stick to-it on receivers, and he’s taken his game to another level. He wasn’t perfect. But Washington is the type of nickel/safety who you can blitz off the slot (he did, with great effect) or task with covering almost anyone. His footwork was outstanding, and he slid out of breaks quickly and with ease.
Kudos
Brandon Stephens again provided blanket coverage on almost every play where he was tasked. There was still very little ball reaction, and I don’t expect that to change. But he is allowing very little passing window for quarterbacks.
Travis Jones is so dominant in the run game. Jones makes play after play with penetration, standing up double teams, and shedding blockers to make tackles. He’s pushing the pocket too, and almost always wins in the pass rush if one man takes him. Jones was sensational again.
Pat Ricard was also dominant in the run game, pulverizing defenders and creating hole after hole. Yes, it’s hard to deal with him with Derrick Henry right behind.
The End Zone Sack
As a factual matter, there was no eligible receiver anywhere near Dak Prescott as he “threw” the ball to the ineligible receiver trying to avoid the safety. Take it to the judge or the jury, this was intentional grounding from every perspective. Two penalties should have been called on that play, not one, with the Ravens having the choice of which one to enforce. This great play by Madubuike should have been two points to the Ravens. Officiating mistakes like this must end!
The Good and the Bad – Errata
David Ojabo faded into the woodwork against Dallas. He had a decent spin or two, but to no effect at all. Ojabo needs to get better usage out of his hands, with a more consistent punch. Let’s measure Ojabo at week 12 and see where he is.
The Ravens called few passing plays last week. Rashod Bateman continued to get open, and so was Mark Andrews. Yes, there is quite a bit of talk regarding the paucity of targets to Andrews through three games. He looks fine in his routes, but Lamar isn’t looking to him as a primary receiver. As I noted last week, his absence of primary blocking assignments infers that he lacks strength in his legs given last year’s injury. Charlie Kolar receives most of the in-line demands, and this wouldn’t be the case if Andrews was 100%. Sure, Andrews denies injury, but that’s to be expected.
If (when) Andrews is fully healthy, there’s every reason to incorporate him into the flow, just like the Ravens need to further incorporate Bateman. This offense has much more upside with good health and growth. Time will tell if it reaches it’s potential. But the short pass attack to Zay Flowers, which remains prominent, should be de-emphasized if one wants a more complete offense. We saw a lot of misdirection last week. It should be a staple of the Ravens attack.
The Bills game at home is very much a must win. The Bengals follow. And yes, Ravens penalties must stop. No team leads the league in penalties and wins a Super Bowl.
Is Justin Tucker the worst kicker in the league right now? His foot seemed a slight bit inside of the ball on his missed kick last week. But in a league where 50 yard field goals are now routine, Tucker must get back to being Tucker, starting now.
