The Ravens, and Joe Flacco in particular, have a favorite offensive play we code as “ZBL-NBR” on the scoresheet.
That’s zone block left, naked boot right. The Ravens used to run it 1-3 times per game with a hard sell from the I formation. Flacco rolled left off play action as a 7-man fake stretched left. That typically left Joe with 3 receiving options at different levels on the right side of the field. It was used to create time and space for some of the long completions and pass interference flags since at least 2010.
Success of the play depends largely on fooling the edge defender opposite the play action. If he chases the fake, Flacco will have an eternity to select the best of 3 targets.
The play is so well known that Chris Simms had begun to diagram it out Sunday as the Ravens final meaningful offensive play was snapped!
Sadly, the play doesn’t tend to fool divisional opponents as frequently anymore, because they have seen it more often. The Ravens ran a related fake on that final offensive snap vs. the Browns. On 3rd-and-7 from the Browns 23 (Q4, 3:00), when a first down would have all but sealed the game. The offensive line blocked left, but Flacco turned to Forsett without overt play action. Neither LDE Meder (who rushed Flacco) or LOLB Schobert (who covered Forsett) was fooled and Flacco was forced to dump the ball off quickly.
The Ravens settled for a field goal to go up 5 and set up the drama of the Browns’ final drive.
The offensive line had a much better day versus fairly vanilla blitz schemes. They did not allow any sacks as a unit in 45 passing snaps and allowed Flacco to be knocked down just 4 times (Joe was knocked down 2 other times which were not the responsibility of the line). Flacco had ample time and space (ATS) on 25 of 45 drop backs (56%).
Here are Joe’s results against the Browns by ATS:
Offensive Line Scoring
The Ravens ran 71 scored snaps versus the Browns (excludes penalties).
Stanley: Ronnie improved on his debut. He surrendered a pressure to Ogbah (Q1, 7:08) as Flacco grounded incomplete near Juszczyk. He was beaten outside by Ogbah (Q1, 1:37) who appeared headed for a QH before he went down as he neared Flacco. He was beaten inside by Holmes on a throw Flacco completed for 19 (Q3, 14:14). Otherwise, he missed just 3 blocks. The Ravens ran an unbalanced set on the opening play (Q1, 9:37) with Stanley lined up on the far right for the 2nd consecutive week. He made his block, but the run went for just 1 yard. He was twice used to pull left and made a block each time. He also made 3 blocks in level 2.
Scoring: 71 plays, 65 blocks, 3 missed, 3 pressures, 59 points (.83 per play). With adjustment for quality of competition, that’s a B+.
Lewis: Alex effectively duplicated his performance against Buffalo, but with a different set of negative adjustments. Versus the Browns he was beaten for 3.5 QHs:
–(Q1, 6:10) Sheldon rag-dolled him backwards into Flacco to knock him down on Haden’s first interception.
–(Q2, 2:05) Paea beat him inside and hit Flacco low for a QH on the 22-yard completion to Gillmore. Paea was flagged for roughing the passer, but that doesn’t change the fact that he beat Lewis cleanly, so the QH charge stands.
–(Q3, 8:22) He was beaten outside by Ogbah for pocket-circling pressure. Simultaneously Yanda failed to pick up Davis who looped off of Zuttah and around Juszczyk’s block. It’s honestly a pretty tough charge for either, but I split it evenly.
–(Q3, 1:48) He was unable to square up versus Orchard who came underneath on the T-E twist.
Alex pulled successfully all 3 times, made 6 of 7 blocks in level 2, had 1 pancake, and made 3 highlight blocks. His best highlight was a combination block on Meder then Kirksey in level 2 (Q4, 5:01).
Scoring: 71 plays, 64 blocks, 3 missed, 3.5 QHs, 53.5 points (.75 per play). That’s a C with adjustment at guard. This game answered any remaining questions I had about his ability to handle the mobility concerns of the position. However, he still needs to learn to counter pass rushers of the size and shape he’ll face on the inside
Zuttah: Jeremy improved from the opener. He was bulled for a full pressure by Paea (Q2, 2:51) on a long incomplete thrown for Perriman. He had 2 other pressures where he was beaten individually, but another player also surrendered pressure to reduce his share to half (Q2, 7:23 and Q1, 2:12). For the second straight game, Jeremy missed exactly 7 blocks and for a variety of reasons. He made 3 blocks in level 2 including a nice combination block, which was his highlight.
Scoring: 71 plays, 61 blocks, 7 missed, 2 (1 + 2 X ½) pressures, 57 points (.80 per play). This week he gets a solid adjustment for having to face Shelton. That’s a C at center.
Yanda: Marshal had a significantly better game despite the odd chop block call. The broadcast included a great shot of him and Wagner together looking at the video board to see what happened on the play (Q3, 3:43). His frustration was obvious, but somehow he went down while he and Zuttah were double-teaming Shelton. It did not appear that he was tripped by any other player, it was just an unexpected hard shove from Shelton into Orchard. I split the charge for the penalty evenly. He made 7 blocks in level 2, connected on all 6 of his pulls, and had 4 highlight blocks. The best of his blocks was a pull to lead Forsett’s 11-yard run left (Q1, 1:33).
Scoring: 71 plays, 66 blocks, 3 missed, ½ pressure, ½ QH, ½ chop block, 59 points (.83 per play). With adjustment for highlight blocks and opposition, that’s a B+ at guard.
Wagner: Rick was the Ravens’ best lineman for the second straight week. He was not party to a single pass blocking event, something he had accomplished only once previously (at New Orleans, 2014). He made 1 block in level 2, but I did not score him with a single highlight. All 4 of his missed blocks came on cut blocks attempted on the back side of run plays (runs to the left).
Scoring: 71 plays, 67 blocks, 4 missed, ½ chop block, 62.5 points (.88 per play). That’s an A prior to adjustment.
If you’re interested in seeing scoring trends for the players this season, these charts will be updated weekly.