Ravens Flock: "RETURN OF THE OFFENSE" 2019 edition

Missed the game again today, will watch a replay later. But it sounded on the radio post-game show like the injuries have really caught up to them. They were giving Flacco a hard time, but repeatedly pointing out that he was getting hit all day. Losing Yanda probably the anvil that broke the camel's back.
 
Refocused: Pittsburgh Steelers 26, Baltimore Ravens 9
BY PFF ANALYSIS TEAM • OCT 1, 2017
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BALTIMORE, MD - OCTOBER 01: Running back Le'Veon Bell #26 of the Pittsburgh Steelers carries the ball against the Baltimore Ravens in the first quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on October 1, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
The first half was all Steelers as they opened with two Chris Boswell field goals, and later added a Le’Veon Bell touchdown rush and a touchdown pass from QB Ben Roethlisberger to WR JuJu Smith-Schuster to go into halftime up 19-0.

The Ravens would get on the scoreboard in the third quarter, scoring nine points on a field goal and a QB Joe Flacco touchdown pass to WR Mike Wallace with a failed 2-point conversion. However, that would be all the points they could notch, and the Steelers would go on to 26-9 victory. With that, we give you our PFF exclusive takeaways from the contest for each team.





TOP 5 GRADES:
DI Cameron Heyward, 88.4 overall grade

LB Ryan Shazier, 84.4 overall grade

HB Le’Veon Bell, 83.3 overall grade

FB Roosevelt Nix, 83.2 overall grade

G David DeCastro, 80.7 overall grade

PERFORMANCES OF NOTE:
HB LE’VEON BELL, 83.3 OVERALL GRADE

Bell’s patience and burst were on display on against the Ravens. The Steelers handed him the ball a whopping 35 times, and he gained 144 yards with nearly half of that coming after first contact. 104 of his rushing yards game on runs where he hit a gap outside the tackles, as he averaged 6.1 yards per carry on those runs, compared to just 2.2 yards per carry between the tackles. Bell also forced six missed tackles as a runner, equaling his total in the first three games of the season combined.

WR ANTONIO BROWN, 39.3 OVERALL GRADE
Brown was kept relatively quiet on the day with just four catches for 34 yards. He also had the odd play where he couldn’t hold on to the ball all the way to the ground that ended up as an interception. Brown’s longest catch went for 14 yards, the first time he did not have a catch of at least 15 yards since Week 7 of the 2013 season, also against the Ravens. His receiver rating of 30.4 was by far his lowest of the season.

DI CAMERON HEYWARD, 88.4 OVERALL GRADE
Heyward’s pass-rushing stats immediately pop (two sacks and two QB hurries), but it was his dominant run play that truly set him apart today. His 91.1 run-defense grade was the best for either squad on the day, as he consistently dominated the line of scrimmage.

LB RYAN SHAZIER, 84.4 OVERALL GRADE
Shazier was a frequent target in coverage today, and more than held his own. While he gave up nine receptions on 12 throws into his coverage, he did not give up a completion longer than 11 yards. He also broke up one Flacco pass and intercepted another, and for the game had 10 solo tackles and two defensive stops.





TOP 5 GRADES:
DI Michael Pierce, 84.6 overall grade

LB Patrick Onwuasor, 84.4 overall grade

DI Willie Henry, 84.0 overall grade

T Ronnie Stanley, 83.8 overall grade

TE Benjamin Watson, 80.3 overall grade

PERFORMANCES OF NOTE:
QB JOE FLACCO, 52.1 OVERALL GRADE

Flacco’s receivers didn’t help him very much (they dropped five passes), but he struggled throughout the game with his timing and rhythm. The Steelers’ rush gave him fits, as he took four sacks and had a passer rating of just 35.8 on 14 drop-backs on which he saw pressure.

G MATT SKURA (33.6) AND G JERMAINE ELUEMUNOR (38.4)
Skura took 52 reps at right guard and Eluemunor had the other 17, and both had massive struggles. Both posted overall grades under 40.0, in large part because they combined to give up two sacks, two hits and three hurries in pass protection.

DI MICHAEL PIERCE, 84.6 OVERALL GRADE
Pierce was a monster in run defense with a game-high six defensive stops, matching his total through the first three weeks combined. He also had a hit and a hurry on Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, and has had at least two quarterback disruptions in every game this year from his nose tackle position.

DI WILLIE HENRY, 84.0 OVERALL GRADE
After seeing his first career snaps last week, Henry put together a better performance in his second outing. Henry rushed the passer 16 times, and hit Roethlisberger twice, pressured him once, and batted down two passes, with the second coming on third down to force a punt. The only bad play he really had in the game was jumping offsides and getting called for a neutral zone infraction on third and short to give Pittsburgh a first down.

PFF GAME BALL: CAMERON HEYWARD, DI
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https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-refocused-pittsburgh-steelers-26-baltimore-ravens-9
 
Missed the game again today, will watch a replay later. But it sounded on the radio post-game show like the injuries have really caught up to them. They were giving Flacco a hard time, but repeatedly pointing out that he was getting hit all day. Losing Yanda probably the anvil that broke the camel's back.

Joe has been abnormally off to start this year, and I expect that to change, but he needs protection, long-term, if he's gonna be successful.

The offense has to figure out their play-calling. I don't even know where to start. There are a lot of problems. This season is probably fucked with our whole interior line gone (LG- Lewis, C- Urschel, RG- Yanda -- all gone). We'll see.

Dean Pees looked nervous on the sidelines and HE SHOULD BE. I think he needs to go. I mean, we'll see, and maybe LBell is just transcendent, but the first half looked an awful lot like the first half against Jacksonville for the defense. The scheme needs to change. Play man, we have the corners for it. As soon as Jaylen Hill is healthy, GET LARDARIUS WEBB OFF THE FIELD!!! Those injuries to Tavon Young, Hill, and Maurice Canady are killing us bc we needed that slot corner that Webb is playing and he can't play it. He has to play so far off of his man, he gives up first downs to prevent the big play and that kills our defense at key moments throughout the game.


The injuries can't be overstated, I think, but somehow the combination of Marty and Greg Roman is not working. I thought the offense at the end of last year started to look in sync and to start this year it's been WORSE than it was under Trestman last year, so IDK.
 
As I've been saying about Lardarius Webb... we desperately need him off the field:

https://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/2...ackson-will-work-out-for-the-ravens-on-monday


pulling in the injured players not even in the league to try to make it happen. I love Webb as a Raven, for the career he's had, and as a player-coach, but he's given up big plays on 3rd down several times that have just killed the defense. He cannot be starting and Canady isn't coming back until at least week 8 and who knows when Jaylen Hill will play. I thought it would be by now, maybe not.
 
There is a lot of concerns right now.. the safeties are playing BAD and that was supposed to be a super strong point of the team, but

Eric Weddle - 48.8 for the season
Tony Jefferson - 47.1 for the season

compared to Lardarius Webb, who I am saying is the biggest weakness on the team: 44.0


Let's just go over the Defensive grades right now:

CB
JSmith - 81.7
BCarr - 69.1
MHumphrey - 81.3
LWebb - 44.0

S-
Eric Weddle - 48.8
Tony Jefferson - 47.1

Chuck Clark - 71.2
Anthony Levine Sr. - 77.6
(2 starters/stars sucking ass)

LB-
CMosley - 77.3
Peanut Onwuasor - 71.1
KCorrea - 47.1 - Awful, but him and Peanut trade snaps so he can be replaced.

Interior Defenders-
MPierce - 85.8
Carl Davis - 78.2
Willie Henry - 74.7
BKaufusi - 72.7
BWilliams - 85.4
(So, these guys are holding up well w/ Williams out, same grades as Urban had pretty much)

Edge Defenders-
TSuggs - 79.1
ZSmith - 72.1
MJudon - 47.6 - were counting on him, awful. Rookies aren't replacing his snaps yet
TBowser - 62.4
TWilliams - 76.6

Offense
Tackles-
AHoward - 81.0
RStanley - 76.3

Center-
Ryan Jensen - 78.3

Guards-
James Hurst - 44.4
Matt Skura - 42.4
Jermaine Eluemunor - 37.4
(HOLY FUCK THIS IS AWFUL)

TEs-
BWatson - 83.5
NBoyle - 71.2
Maxx Williams - 75.9

FB -
Patrick Ricard - 57.8

RB-
TWest - 44.4
Buck Allen - 43.2
Alex Collins - 46.5
(AWFUL)

WR-
Jeremy Maclin - 70.8
Mike Wallace - 44.2
Breshad Perriman - 39.1
Chris Matthews - 61.4
Michael Campanaro - 46.4
Chris Moore - 55.0
(AWFUL)


QB-
Joe Flacco - 55.5
(AWFUL)


I feel like Joe Flacco has gotten worse. He's never been known to work on his fundamentals and I think this has finally caught up to him, or it has the last several years. I've been expecting him to get better, the whole offense to get better, but it just isn't happening and I have to put most of the blame on Flacco because when plays are available, he is missing throws like crazy. I think he can get better as the season goes on bc he missed training camp and I saw him fighting hard in the Steelers game, but it's gonna take that kind of determination every game with improved execution.

Overall, the low grades on the defense surprise me outside of Webb. I can't believe Weddle and Jefferson grade so poorly.
 
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Flacco is who he is, though he's clearly off his game right now. He needs a complete offense around him. He doesn't need to be carried by superstars, but he needs a decent line, a decent run game and decent receivers. When he has all that, he's an extremely competent NFL starting QB. Remove them (and he has none of them right now) and there is no chance he's carrying an offense on his own.
 
I love the alert I just got. Something to the effect of 'Ravens will have logged enough miles in 2 weeks to travel halfway around the world. Lol
 
Jimmy Smith popping up on the injury report again... he was who I was most worried about bc in the past, missing him would kill our defense, but lately he's been playing great and we've been getting run on and giving up plays elsewhere. At this point I want to see Chuck Clark play for Lardarius Webb, lol.

If Jimmy Smith is out, I'm not worried because Marlon Humphrey has looked great, but I would obv prefer JSmith to play than not.
 
MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED!!

THE RAVENS NEED SO MUCH HELP, I'M FREAKING OUT ABOUT AN UNDRAFTED ROOKIE WHO HAS NEVER STARTED A GAME COMING BACK TO PRACTICE!

YES!!!


JAYLEN HILL, WELCOME. PLEASE REPLACE WEBB ASAP.


(ok I didn't really pray about it but I've been anticipating this for a long time, I hope harbaugh gives him playing time, they've been limiting the rookies a lot)

 
I honestly believe this team can turn it around. IDK what the fuck is wrong with Eric Weddle and Tony Jefferson, but we know they're great players, so... they can get it together and if Jaylen Hill gets on the field and gets Lardarius Webb OFF the field... I feel like the defense gets WAY BETTER.

Why does one player make such a big difference? Because if one area is fucking open all the time, it can just be exploited again and again. Webb hasn't scored above a 50 all season long I don't think. He's been abused in coverage every game and his lapses were serious against the Steelers. Vs. the Jags the whole team just sucked from the start, put it on the london trip.

There are weaknesses in the edge run stopping scheme, that can be corrected, there is a huge weakness in the secondary w/ Webb on the field, hopefully that will be corrected and other people stay healthy. Not to mention Hill coming back, but Maurice Canady comes back week 8, hopefully.

Offensively, it looks a little darker but Flacco has had terrible games before, he won't get any worse, he'll play his way out of it. They'll figure it out.
 
See, this is why I'm like 'wtf'



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The last couple years the secondary has been fucking us on defense and now this year the corners are better, like I anticipated, but the defense is playing worse? I don't get why the safeties suck now.


Losing Brandon Williams is obviously huge.
 



Agree ^^ Humphrey has more than shown his worth as a first round draft pick. He's already completely smothering guys, playing as physical and as tight as any corner in the league and he's only getting 1/4 of the snap per game barely. He'll only improve from here. He's going to be dominant for years. EXCELLENT draft choice.
 
I kind of wanted Humphrey to have to play all game, TBH, but I'm glad Jimmy Smith isn't seriously hurt and it'll be good to have actual corners for every Raider receiver this year.

"Ravens tight end Ben Watson (calf) and cornerback Jimmy Smith (Achilles) are both practicing Friday after missing the past two days. Tight end Maxx Williams (ankle) did some light work before team drills began. Only two players not practicing: DT Brandon Williams (foot) and LB Terrell Suggs (vet day off)." - Jamison Hensley
 
Final injury report:

DLeqKZnUEAAATjU.jpg:large


Only downside is that Jaylen Hill probably won't play. I knew it was a little optimistic for me to hope he was back fully this game.

I'm almost hoping Jimmy Smith is out to give Humphrey a full game of coverage and I want to protect him. He gets injured so often, I hope he just heals up.


TBH, I hope Derek Carr plays. I feel like the defense will play the same whether it's vs. Carr or Manuel and I can't handle a loss to EJ Manuel, they just need to get it the fuck together and like T-Sizzle said, "stop playing like idiots" and they can win this game.


Oh wait, more news on Jimmy Smith






Well, can't hurt to have your best cb in the game and if this is something he's been playing with, he's been playing GREAT, so, whatever. I just wanted to get Humphrey more snaps and protect him, but, whatever.
 
I honestly think Brandon Williams is that important. I was horrified when people were suggesting they let him walk. He's a monster and a ridiculous freak athlete for that size. He changes the entire complexion of the front 7.
 
I honestly think Brandon Williams is that important. I was horrified when people were suggesting they let him walk. He's a monster and a ridiculous freak athlete for that size. He changes the entire complexion of the front 7.

Hoping the secondary gets it together, the linebackers start making better reads, and the whole defense starts making plays again this weekend in spite of his absence :(
 
Chris Wormley debuts in place of Bronson Kaufusi, but Jaylen Hill is still inactive this week (which I was hoping against, but figured would happen).

Hoping Wormley goes beast mode but I didn't hear too many good things about him in training camp/preseason. He comes from Michigan so, Jim had to have good things to say about his future in the NFL. I was honestly expecting him to be good for that reason, but we'll see.
 
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