The obvious next man up to cover the loss of Dennis Pitta would be Owen Daniels.
But, not so fast, as Lee Corso likes to say.
Daniels himself has had durability issues going back to last season, when his season ended on a broken leg. The team still needs to monitor his snap count to keep him fresh throughout the year. He can’t necessarily jump back into a situation in which he’s logging 50+ snaps.
That means we should see plenty of rookie Crockett Gilmore to either sub Daniels in certain formations or play along with Daniels in the team’s “Ace” packages.
Now, anyone that read my camp reports knows that I think highly of Gilmore’s potential, especially as a blocker. From that standpoint, Gilmore will add to the Ravens’ ability to run the ball, especially in their bigger power formations.
However, Gilmore is a raw pass catcher that is stiff in his route running and has inconsistent ball skills. He may become a factor on routes here and there, but he’s not there yet.
Along with Gilmore getting more PT, I also expect to see more four-wide looks from Kubiak. This would be a new look for the offense, as at least one tight end (Pitta or Daniels) has been on the field in most downs, even in the empty formations. But the team decided to keep seven receivers (now six), and they should put that depth to good use.
In fact, using Marlon Brown out of the slot as a pseudo tight end would be an intriguing way to get him involved with the offense. Brown has the size, frame, and toughness to make catches over the middle.
Lastly, there is fullback Kyle Juszczyk. He always figured into a bigger role on offense. He was set to be the move guy in base formations, but he’s been blocking a lot more this season.
However, once Pitta went down, the Ravens called his number. They even lined him up on the line.
The screen play to Juszczyk is a good example of being able to run the same types of plays pegged for Pitta in which the TE sells a block, only to chip and release behind pulling blockers. This is a staple play in Kubiak’s offense and it won’t go away with Pitta’s absence.
No question, the loss of Pitta is a blow. But it’s not crippling because the offense has depth unlike a year ago…
One last note on the Ravens/Browns game: The Ravens must clean up their edge pursuit against the run. It’s gotten out of hand. Teams have been having a field day against them off-tackle since the preseason, and it continued with the Cleveland backs on Sunday.
Between the outside backers not setting the edge consistently (or in the case of Courtney Upshaw, over-setting the edge), the linemen having a hard time moving laterally, and the inside backers struggling to shed blocks, it’s been a mess.
Fortunately, the Panthers may not have any backs left to even hit the perimeter on Sunday…
Is it just me or did Peyton Manning pull a Joe Flacco (how many times will you ever see that in a sentence) against the Seahawks? That final Denver drive to send the game into OT was very reminiscent of the Flacco Mile High Miracle.
In fact, the 40-yard throw Manning made to receiver Emmanuel Sanders (what a pickup he’s been) was the big pass completion that stood out. Manning bought time and stepped up outside of the pocket to crack open the Seattle zone defense downfield.
On that note, quarterbacks looking to make plays against zone are moving in and out of the pocket more often to get defenders to react, shift out of their stances, and give their receivers a chance to change their routes on the fly.
I’ve never seen Manning throw on the move as much as he did against the Seahawks. Hopefully Papa had a few pizzas ready for him at the end of the game. He earned them.
