Ravens road woes on offense should be blamed on Harbaugh

**TL24x7** · 11-24-2012, 07:16 AM

During his annual visit to the Ravens Rap in Ocean City, Maryland I asked Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti what the organization has done differently since the arrival of John Harbaugh that has kept the window of opportunity open for the club with a league leading four consecutive playoff appearances.

Is it the coaching? The personnel? The front office? All of the above?

Bisciotti’s answer: “Joe Flacco.”

Here’s more on Bisciotti’s response.

Yet more than half way through his fifth season the Ravens still don’t know what they have with Joe Flacco.

Is he the kind of quarterback that can carry a team into the Super Bowl?

No!

If you want evidence, just look at the game against the Steelers in Pittsburgh last Sunday when facing a third and 2 with two minutes to play the Ravens asked Flacco to play it safe and only throw if there was a 100% chance of success – otherwise take the sack.

Despite having a wide-open Ed Dickson standing alone in the middle of the field for an easy first down, Flacco, perhaps driven by fear of failure, took the sack to keep the clock moving.
He played it safe.

Would Messrs. Brady, Manning, Manning, Rivers, Brees, Rodgers or Roethlisberger play it safe? Would Messrs. Ryan, Dalton, Luck, Griffin, Palmer, Cutler, Stafford or Bradford even play it safe?

The call was about playing afraid – playing not to lose.

This is what you want from your franchise quarterback?

Isn’t this the kind of play calling you might expect for a rookie quarterback?

Continue reading HERE

**leachisabeast** · 11-24-2012, 07:21 AM

The gameplan worked, we won the game, Flacco made the right decision there as the score board ended as 13-10 and has given us a two game lead on the AFCN. I also find it hard to believe that most of those QB's you mentioned would have thrown it there, I mean Andy Dalton... Philip Rivers?? lol.

**Quackjack** · 11-24-2012, 07:24 AM

Oh my ****ing god, even Ravens fans don't like Flacco. For gods sake he's been to the playoffs every year!

**leachisabeast** · 11-24-2012, 07:26 AM

Originally Posted by Quackjack

Oh my ****ing god, even Ravens fans don't like Flacco. For gods sake he's been to the playoffs every year!

Yes but Steeler fans don't like Tomlin lol?

**phacts** · 11-24-2012, 07:27 AM

Ravens fans love Flacco, unless they are trying to drum up hits to their website.

Dickson can never be counted on as a "100%" completion. He's the least reliable receiver on this team.

**Quackjack** · 11-24-2012, 07:29 AM

Originally Posted by leachisabeast

Yes but Steeler fans don't like Tomlin lol?

Only the dumb ones who really don't have any teeth and hopped on the bandwagon after '09. *Cough*BungleStainRatbirdKilla*Cough*

**Mr OC** · 11-24-2012, 07:31 AM

Originally Posted by phacts

Ravens fans love Flacco, unless they are trying to drum up hits to their website.

Dickson can never be counted on as a "100%" completion. He's the least reliable receiver on this team.

I agree. I don't think you want to do anything that could possibly stop the clock. The Ravens obviously Had a conservative gameplan to force Lefty to beat them. That gameplan didn't change in the waning minutes.

**arnie_uk** · 11-24-2012, 07:32 AM

Web your told to play safe, you play safe. If he wasn't told that extra bit of info, he makes that throw I that situation every time.

That's a joke claim you've just made. Lost a bit of respect in my eyes with it

**leachisabeast** · 11-24-2012, 07:33 AM

I honestly don't understand how you can complain with what Flacco did though. The conservative call would actually be trying to run it. We won the damn game!

**TL24x7** · 11-24-2012, 07:52 AM

Originally Posted by arnie_uk

Web your told to play safe, you play safe. If he wasn't told that extra bit of info, he makes that throw I that situation every time.

That's a joke claim you've just made. Lost a bit of respect in my eyes with it

"Joke claim?" No, just an opinion. I thought that's what forums are for...exchanging them.

We'll see how far playing not to lose takes the Ravens.

**TL24x7** · 11-24-2012, 07:54 AM

Originally Posted by phacts

Ravens fans love Flacco, unless they are trying to drum up hits to their website.

Dickson can never be counted on as a "100%" completion. He's the least reliable receiver on this team.

Going forward we'll try and post content that no one reads.

**leachisabeast** · 11-24-2012, 08:15 AM

Originally Posted by TL24x7

"Joke claim?" No, just an opinion. I thought that's what forums are for...exchanging them.

We'll see how far playing not to lose takes the Ravens.

Don't understand all this "play not to lose" thing, we have won our last 3 vs the Steelers, and in many of those games we were not playing to lose.

**footballfan** · 11-24-2012, 08:20 AM

I've got to watch a few regional televised games of the Ravens this year. 2 at M&T and 2 away. While the Ravens offense looks like juggernauts at home, that same offense looks confused, inept and unsure when playing away. To their credit the team has pulled out the close games on the road with wins. If the Ravens manage to get home field through out in the playoffs they will be a pain in the ass to beat at the vault. If they have to go on the road to Houston, Denver or New England I seem them getting bounced out on their ass.

The coaching staff does not seem to have a lot of confidence in Flacco at times, especially on the road.

**lobachevsky** · 11-24-2012, 08:25 AM

Originally Posted by TL24x7

Going forward we'll try and post content that no one reads.

I'll be holding you to that...

Seriously, Tony, everyone's page views--even the best Crow forum in existence--go down between the Great American Pig-Out & Jesus' Birthday (Observed). It's a function of too frakkin' much to do & it affects every entertainment venue that ain't dressed in a Sanity Clause suit & shaking jangle bells. Stay classy, suck it up for the duration & eschew clickwhoring, why doncha? Yule

be better off in the long run...

**TL24x7** · 11-24-2012, 08:27 AM

Originally Posted by footballfan

I've got to watch a few regional televised games of the Ravens this year. 2 at M&T and 2 away. While the Ravens offense looks like juggernauts at home, that same offense looks confused, inept and unsure when playing away. To their credit the team has pulled out the close games on the road with wins. If the Ravens manage to get home field through out in the playoffs they will be a pain in the ass to beat at the vault. If they have to go on the road to Houston, Denver or New England I seem them getting bounced out on their ass.

The coaching staff does not seem to have a lot of confidence in Flacco at times, especially on the road.

That's the way it appears and you have to wonder why.

My point in the column is along these lines...

Let's say you own a store and you are aware that the manager you've hired doesn't exactly share the same customer focus that helped build your store.

Yet he keeps on doing it and you do nothing about it.

The lack of action on your part suggests that you endorse the behavior of your manager.

The same in my opinion, check that, my "joke claim" is true of Harbaugh and the Ravens offense on the road.

**TL24x7** · 11-24-2012, 08:29 AM

Originally Posted by lobachevsky

I'll be holding you to that...

Seriously, Tony, everyone's page views--even the best Crow forum in existence--go down between the Great American Pig-Out & Jesus' Birthday (Observed). It's a function of too frakkin' much to do & it affects every entertainment venue that ain't dressed in a Sanity Clause suit & shaking jangle bells. Stay classy, suck it up for the duration & eschew clickwhoring, why doncha? Yule

be better off in the long run...

So I shouldn't post my opinions in blogs anymore?

**Ravens75** · 11-24-2012, 08:50 AM

Originally Posted by TL24x7

That's the way it appears and you have to wonder why.

My point in the column is along these lines...

Let's say you own a store and you are aware that the manager you've hired doesn't exactly share the same customer focus that helped build your store.

Yet he keeps on doing it and you do nothing about it.

The lack of action on your part suggests that you endorse the behavior of your manager.

The same in my opinion, check that, my "joke claim" is true of Harbaugh and the Ravens offense on the road.

I've been saying this for 2 years. Harbaugh is really risking his credibilty. Either trust Joe or get somebody that you do.

**redmike34** · 11-24-2012, 08:54 AM

Posted this on another thread--seems appropriate here as well. Flacco's career passer rating at home and on road:

2008 rating at home: 66.8 2008 rating on road: 91.7 Overall rating for year: 80.0.
2009 rating at home: 101.5 2009 rating on road: 75.8 Overall rating for year: 88.9
2010 rating at home: 104.2 2010 rating on road: 84.7 Overall rating for year: 93.5.
2011 rating at home: 84.2 2011 rating on road: 78.2 Overall rating for year: 81.0.
2012 rating at home: 108.2 2012 rating on road: 65.2 Overall rating for year: 87.2.
Career at home: 93.0 Career on road: 79.9 Career overall: 86.1

I don't know why the above numbers are the way they are, but it's inarguable that the passing offense for four years running has been extremely inconsistent on the road. More to the point, it isn't getting better.

So, I can see using the above as a pretty good excuse for playing not to lose on the road. The Steelers game is a good example, and the last playoff game the Ravens lost at Heinz field can be taken as example of why you should occasionally play to not lose.

The fact that the road passing offense isn't getting better is extremely concerning going forward, though. It indicates (to me, at least) that there's a systemic problem somewhere. While I'm not as quick to blame Cameron as many here are, I wish the Ravens had made a change last year just to see how Flacco did with a different coordinator, so that we could prove or eliminate the OC as the problem.

Bottom line is, there isn't another passing offense in the league with such an enormous disparity in home vs road performance. I don't know what the problem is, but I doubt it's a one-step fix.

**wickedsolo** · 11-24-2012, 08:58 AM

Originally Posted by phacts

Ravens fans love Flacco, unless they are trying to drum up hits to their website.

Dickson can never be counted on as a "100%" completion. He's the least reliable receiver on this team.

Thanks for posting this.

Dickson is not a 100% guarantee.

Tony - if it were Pitta or Boldin, he may have thrown it.

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**wickedsolo** · 11-24-2012, 09:00 AM

Originally Posted by TL24x7

That's the way it appears and you have to wonder why.

My point in the column is along these lines...

Let's say you own a store and you are aware that the manager you've hired doesn't exactly share the same customer focus that helped build your store.

Yet he keeps on doing it and you do nothing about it.

The lack of action on your part suggests that you endorse the behavior of your manager.

The same in my opinion, check that, my "joke claim" is true of Harbaugh and the Ravens offense on the road.

They sure seemed to trust him last year in the road...in Pittaburgh...on a last minute drive ...

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