Street Talk

BTN:Shotgun Formation Helps Flacco Find His Rhythm

by Scot Kleinfeld

November 2, 2011
4:00 am

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Maybe statistics are overrated. If so, you won’t be worried that QB Joe Flacco has more total turnovers (10) than TD passes (8) through seven games. But finding a comfort zone in the offensive system can’t be overlooked for any NFL quarterback; and especially for Flacco who seemed to relish being in the shotgun and hurry up offense in the 30-27 win over Arizona.

After a slow start that was plagued by penalties and turnovers Cam Cameron made some adjustments and the offense grabbed victory from the jaws of defeat.

Flacco and WR Anquan Boldin looked like Aaron Rodgers and Greg Jennings when they hooked up seven times for 145 yards. The chemistry between Flacco and the TEs is also evolving as Pitta and Dickson combined for 12 catches for 90 yards. In light of the ongoing injury issues with Lee Evans, the TE is becoming the de facto No. 2 receiving option in the Ravens offense.

Category	2010 (rank)	2011 to date	2011 Ranking	Difference
Pts / Gm	22.3 (16)	26.4	7^th
Tot Pts	357 (16)	185	9^th
Yds / Gm	322.9 (22)	341.0	14^th
Rush Yds/Gm	114.4 (14)	107.0	19^th
Pass Yds/Gm	208.4 (20)	234.0	15^th
1^st downs/Gm	18.9 (18)	19.7	14^th
3rd Down Pct.	39% (T-16)	33%	24^th
4^th Down Pct.	40% (T-21)	50%	T-12^th
Penalties	90 (T-18)	52	11^th
TOP/Gm	31:20 (11)	30:08	16^th
Fumbles	22 (T-17)	13	T-5th
Fumbles Lost	10 (T-17)	7	T-3^rd
Turnovers	+7 (9)	+3	11^th
Red Zone %	49.2% (22)	42.3%	27^th
Flacco QB Rating	93.6 (7)	75.4	27^th

The next four games see the Ravens play three defenses ranked in the top four in points allowed per game (Pittsburgh- 3rd, Cincinnati-4th and San Fransisco-1st). The eye-popping stat to watch here is Red Zone scoring in away games. The Ravens currently rank 30th in the league with a conversion rate of just 28.6%.

Red Zone Conversion Rate for Teams with a Winning Record

Team	2011 Red zone %	2010 Red zone %
1. Tennessee	70.6%	58.1%
2. Buffalo	68.0%	51.4%
3. New England	65.6%	61.9%
4. Atlanta	64.0%	60.7%
5. NY Giants	63.6%	57.4%
6. NY Jets	61.1%	44.3%
7. Oakland	60.0%	52.1%
8. Green Bay	57.1%	62.7%
9. Detroit	56.0%	64.4%
10. New Orleans	55.3%	51.5%
11. Pittsburgh	50.0%	52.5%
12. Chicago	50.0%	49.1%
13. San Francisco	48.2%	47.6%
14. Cincinnati	47.6%	49.1%
15. Kansas City	47.4%	59.6%
16. Houston	46.7%	62.3%
17. San Diego	42.9%	55.9%
18. Ravens	42.3%	49.2%
19. Tampa Bay	35.0%	52.3%

BTN will track the progress here on a weekly basis. Keep in mind for some categories a decrease is positive, as in the case of Fumbles lost, and an increase is negative, in as the case of Penalties.

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.