OWINGS MILLS – Joe Flacco stood several yards behind center Matt Birk, calling out his cadence and catching the snap crisply before delivering accurate spirals to his targets downfield.
The shotgun formation and the no-huddle offense provided a strong boost to the Baltimore Ravens’ languishing offense, resurrecting a dormant attack during a 30-27 comeback victory Sunday over the Arizona Cardinals.
Using the shotgun formation almost exclusively after falling behind by three touchdowns, the Ravens’ three longest offensive plays against the Cardinals were all out of the shotgun.
That included a 37-yard throw to wide receiver Anquan Boldin in the no-huddle and shotgun that led to a Ray Rice touchdown run, a 36-yard completion to wide receiver Torrey Smith out of the shotgun that set up a game-winning field goal by Pro Bowl kicker Billy Cundiff as well as a 27-yarder to Boldin out of the no-huddle and shotgun before Rice’s second touchdown run.
“We’ve been in the shotgun a ton,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “Will we do more of it? I think it depends on the situation. Yeah, if it gives us the best chance to move the ball.”
The Ravens were definitely more effective running the shotgun after halftime than they were in the first half operating primarily with Flacco under center in an I-formation. They ran the shotgun formation for nearly 50 of their 80 offensive plays.
The Ravens finished with 405 yards of total offense on 80 plays, gaining 156 yards on 40 plays in the first half and 249 yards in the second half when they scored 24 points.
And Flacco passed for 62 yards out of the shotgun to lead a drive capped by a field goal to end the first half, passing for 238 yards in the second half while running the shotgun nearly every time.
In the first half, Flacco completed only 12 of 23 throws for 98 yards with just 27 yards on four drives not running the shotgun.
The combination of not huddling to keep the defense off-guard and not able to substitute as well as the shotgun buying him time to go through is progressions increased Flacco’s effectiveness.
“I think we react well to the hurry-up,” Flacco said. “I think it can put a defense on their heels a little bit. I think it can wear them out a little bit. It’s tough to rush the passer, really be able to hold up in there and continue to get that good pass rush. I think that was a big part of it, and obviously, within that, guys have to make catches, make some plays.”
The Ravens allowed two of their three sacks by halftime, but the extra time built through the shotgun gave the offensive line a little longer to set up their pass protection.
And Boldin caught a game-high seven passes for 145 yards, doing most of his damage in the second half with five receptions for 117 yards and a pair of pass interference penalties drawn that led to Rice touchdown runs.
“Just a move,” Boldin said of the change in strategy. “Sometimes, you just have to show a little energy out there, and I think going no-huddle, up-tempo offense gave us a shot at that.”
That isn’t to say that the Ravens should always run the shotgun even though Flacco appears to be much more comfortable in that set in terms of timing and chemistry. Plus, he ran it the majority of the time while attending the University of Delaware.
According to the Ravens, Flacco has completed only 50.9 percent of his throws in 109 passing attempts out of the shotgun, which has also produced four interceptions, two touchdowns and nine sacks for a 62.8 quarterback rating.
And the Ravens want to continue to emphasize a running game spearheaded by Rice and All-Pro fullback Vonta Leach.
“You’ve got to have him under the center, too,” Harbaugh said. “There are certain formations that he’s going to be under center. There are certain concepts that run better from under center, but we like him in the gun. We like him under center, too. He’s been effective in the shotgun, that’s true.”
