The gauntlet begins this Sunday with the Rams potentially presenting the first of several interesting challenges for Mike Macdonald and his defense. Although the Rams offense lacks the complete talent of the Dolphins and 49ers, there’s enough in both the run and pass games to stress the Ravens cover-two defensive approach. Let’s take a look at some Ravens observations and lessons from the Chargers game. Continue reading “Ravens Observations Heading into The Rams Game”
Ravens Early Comments Before the Rams Game
I hope to have a subsequent post this week drawing comments from the Chargers game and towards the Rams game. Below are a few idle thoughts coming out of the bye week.
Kyle Hamilton
Readers are aware of my view that Hamilton is really two different players. I’ve argued that when he’s aligned in the slot or in the box (i.e., when he is at the line and coming forward) he is outstanding. Hamilton has made a plethora of impact plays from that positioning; sacks, tackles for loss, beating blockers and disrupting plays, etc. But when Hamilton is aligned on the back end as one of the Ravens’ two deep safeties in cover two, he’s just ordinary. Continue reading “Ravens Early Comments Before the Rams Game”
Ravens Thoughts Post-Bengals Heading into L.A.
After a solid drubbing of the poor-old Bengals, it’s time to share some Ravens thoughts heading into the Chargers game. The loss of Mark Andrews was the only thing that went wrong against Cincinnati. As great as Andrews is – and he is – the Ravens have enough remaining offense to continue piling up the points. Let’s get into last week a bit, and extrapolate from there.
Give Me More and More Keaton Mitchell, Please
The Ravens didn’t highlight Mitchell much more than they had against Cleveland. But Mitchell’s reps against the Bengals jumped so far off the tape that I’m more excited for his (and the Ravens offense) upside than before. I’m focused on Mitchell’s third quarter effort. Continue reading “Ravens Thoughts Post-Bengals Heading into L.A.”
Ravens Cleveland Fiasco – What Does it Mean?
It takes a village to make a successful team, and no more was that evident than in the Ravens fiasco against Cleveland. We must not forget that a lot went right in this game. The natural response is to focus on what went wrong and why. I’ll take a crack at that first.
A Tale of Two Games
The Ravens dominated the first quarter of the game, played to a rough push in the second quarter, and were outplayed in the second half. There’s a bunch of bad in the second half, but on my game review much of that was isolated to poor play by a handful of players. So, what did I see? Continue reading “Ravens Cleveland Fiasco – What Does it Mean?”
Ravens Crush Seattle: A Deeper Dive Into the Ravens Defense
After a win such as the Ravens drubbing of Seattle, there’s often little to criticize. This was a defensive blitzkrieg, and it’s time to take a deeper dive into what Mike Macdonald is achieving and how he does it. But I’d be remiss (and an empty vessel) if I let readers march happily into the night without showing them a goblin or two. I’ll start there, and then move into the sunlight.
It’s Not Getting Better – Ronnie Stanley is a Major Problem
I know Halloween is behind us, but it’s scary watching Stanley in pass protect. He’s going to get Lamar killed. I’m not saying we are full Alejandro Villanueva yet, but Stanley’s a lot closer to that than he is to Jonathan Ogden. There’s no need to fully rehash Ronnie’s lower body instability. It’s not getting better, nor should we expect it to at this point. Continue reading “Ravens Crush Seattle: A Deeper Dive Into the Ravens Defense”
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”