Post-Game Thread Ravens 21, Titans 0

this is just not true... TD pass to beat eegles was into coverage... off the top of my head. But he was 'open' that is true

MM8 will throw into tight windows... has plenty and beyond the LBs into tight windows.

why some of his more awful picks have come this way - LOL

 

How are you seeing this? Half the replays you can’t even see the recievers downfield.

Also on a couple of those “recievers open” there is actually a man in zone either ready to jump the underneath route or ready to drill the receiver as soon as he gets the ball.

 

sometimes there is not a 'passing lane' to an open target... just sayin'

 

This is honestly one of those scenarios where so much is wrong with the offense that you can't tell where one problem starts and the other begins. In no particular order:

The receivers don't get separation consistently, point blank. Without Delanie Walker there isn't a single offensive player the opposing defense needs to care about in the slightest. Some of these guys might be OK situational players on a team like the Pats, but as #1-3 WRs for a team without a historically great QB and OC it's just... not good. This is mainly a talent/ability issue IMO, a better QB could get somewhat more out of them, but if your solution is "WHY NOT QB LIKE GREATEST EVER" then uh that's not a serious solution.

Guys getting "open" long after the pocket implodes don't count. Guys getting "open" late enough that there is a 6'6" DE in your face don't count. There is always a guy open when it's too late to do any good, that's the hallmark of mediocre receivers.

The run game is radioactively bad. 3.3 and 3.1 yards per attempt by the backs is just atrocious. Handing the ball off is a throwaway play. This undermines everything they hope to do on offense because the defense can essentially do no work on half the snaps now. Since all the running backs simultaneously turned to junk I'm going to tend to blame the OL for that more than anything else. Sunday was a meltdown game, but the run blocking has been really soft all year.

11 sacks in a game is just... insane. It's fair to say that the QB has considerable responsibility for not getting sacked, but at some point it gets absurd. Mariota, even when not playing great, has never really been a crazy sack magnet outside some moments his rookie season. His 2016 and 2017 sack rates were 4.9% and 5.6%, which are very normal (Brady's career average is 4.9%, for reference.) This season is a massive outlier for him, which makes me tend to put more blame on the OL than usual because... it's the same dude. Nobody just suddenly eats 11 sacks out of nowhere, that's not a real thing.

This leaves Mariota himself, who hasn't played great by any stretch. Part of it seems like hesitation in general, which you could partly chalk up to a new offensive scheme. My worry is that it goes deeper though, that every option on many snaps simply seems like a dead end, and it's making him doubt the entire offensive scheme in general. He's not trusting his reads because the plays fail so often even when the read is accurate.

If man coverage erases your receivers on short routes, handoffs are a wasted play and the line gets dunked on if you hold the ball hoping something develops deep... what's left? The only answer seems to be to bail on the scheme and just run it himself, which is more productive than handing the ball of this year but also a great way to eat a season-ending kill shot that everyone is desperate for him to avoid.

 

Not to sound like a homer but it also depends on where those open guys are on the progressions. Not to mention they were in his face immediately so there wasn't exactly time to really get a good look down field.

 

Yeah, some idiot crapped on me on Reddit for saying that was a losers mentality play. I stand by that. That draw play was so gutless and pathetic. They had 3 TO's so they still stopped the clock and got the ball back with a chance to score.

Instead of trying to be aggressive and fighting back, we just rolled over and took it. That set the tone for the rest of the day.

 

When the defense literally knows they will get quick pressure on the QB, they can play the hot routes and dominate the passing game completely. That's what happened yesterday.

 

Good QB's get rid of the ball quickly when the D sends blitzes. Marcus was not getting rid of the ball at all. His eyes came down and he was scared.

The OL wasn't great, but he has to get rid of the ball. If I'm Vrabel, I tell Marcus that I want to see him throw at least 10 balls into contested coverage next week, and I don't give a damn if he throws 10 picks, otherwise I'm sitting him.

I'm pretty worried that he's just been ruined and is circling the toilet if he doesn't get his head on straight.

 

Funny so many are blaming the QB. Let's be real, he didn't all a sudden forget how to play or throw the ball into tight windows. There's just a lot going on here. Ravens D was stout and locked down our wrs, dominated our line and gave no time for much. Just give them credit. They are a way better team; offense, defense and coaching.

 

maybe the "will"s arent the best people to have look over this stuff lol