Street Talk

BEHIND THE NUMBERS: Tracking the Ravens’ new offensive system

by Scot Kleinfeld

October 1, 2008
4:00 am

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Behind The Numbers: Tracking the Ravens new offense

The good news is that after three games Joe Flacco finally had his first touchdown pass. The bad news is the Ravens passing game is almost the worst in the league. Seeing how the schedule doesn’t get any easier and it doesn’t look like Willis McGahee is going to be a reliable playmaker, it’s safe to say the air attack has to begin clicking soon.

The Ravens still lead the league in Time of Possession (TOP) with 36:08 per game, but that number is down almost a full minute from last week.

The Red Zone % is creeping up slightly and this will continue to be a major factor in measuring the success of the new offensive system. One thing to remember about the Red Zone is that a quality offensive team will generate more chances per game compared to a lesser team. In case you were wondering, the Ravens next opponent, the Tennessee Titans, are the best Red Zone team in the league at 76.9%.

Check back each week to see if
Cam’s new system is leading the boys in the right direction this year. Here’s where the offense stands after week 4.

Ravens offense

Statistic	2007 Rank	2007 Avg.	2008 Rank (thru week 4)	2008 Avg. (thru week 4)
Total offense (yds / gm)	22^nd	302.0	25^th	291.3
Pass yards per game	23^rd	189.7	31st	130.3
Rush yards per game	16^th	112.3	3^rd	161.0
Pts per game	24^th	17.2	17^th	21.7
3^rd down conversion %	18^th	38%	9^th	42.2%
Penalty yards per game	29^th	54.6	18^th	58.7
Penalties per game	27^th	6.7	16^th	7.3
Turnover ratio	32^nd	-17	T-11^th	+1
Red zone conversion %	27^th	42.2%	20^th	45.5%

Photo by Kevin Moore

Scot Kleinfeld

Scot is a Baltimore native, a Towson University graduate, and has followed sports since the early 1980's. Scot likes to go inside the numbers and get the real "411" on the wins and losses, hence his Behind The Numbers column. Besides being an avid sports fan, Scot has been involved with televison sports production as an Associate Producer since 1993 for WMAR, ESPN, ESPNU,ESPN2, and the former Home Team Sports network. In addition to his television work Scot has written articles for Baltimore Magazine, Lacrosse Magazine and Patuxent Publishing. These experiences make him a natural as the creator of the Media Watchdog, another of SK's fine contributions.