To be effective in a west coast offense a wide receiver needs to possess good change of direction skills and a solid understanding of defenses. Both of these attributes enable a receiver in the WCO to read and react, thus creating separation in short spaces.
These abilities provide quarterbacks with options when they’re being forced to make quick decisions.
A receiver with decent size also helps because the WCO can be more physically demanding on receivers who can take hits on crossing routes. Size also helps receivers break tackles and produce yards after the catch (“YAC”), an important component of productive west coast offenses.
Departed WR Torrey Smith wasn’t effective in Gary Kubiak’s west coast offense. Some will point to his 11 touchdowns and argue that he had a productive 2014 campaign. But let’s give Joe Flacco credit for those scores too. It wasn’t as though Torrey Smith was spotted wide open on a regular basis.
Flacco regularly placed the ball where it needed to be not only on the scores but during plays resulting in pass interference. It’s safe to say that Flacco’s big arm has something to do with putting the ball in position to force defenders into those infractions.
Smith was a better fit for Cam Cameron’s offense. That said his departure does leave the Ravens in search of a replacement and they’ll likely find a replacement in the draft. But in the WCO even a very good collegiate wide receiver doesn’t immediately become productive at the NFL level.
Even Jerry Rice, the greatest receiver of all time, was not an instant success in the WCO. During his first 13 games of his rookie campaign Rice had just 28 catches and 2 TD’s.
So to help a rookie through the learning curve the Ravens could mine the available free agents for a west coast fit – someone who could provide short-term value. That someone may be Stevie Johnson.
Despite a struggling Colin Kaepernick, Johnson was ranked 22nd among NFL receivers per Pro Football Focus. Johnson has been described as a, “Do it all receiver that doesn’t have one thing he specifically excels at, but a very good football player …he’s another weapon and a highly productive one at that.”
Between 2010 to 2012 the 6’2”, 207-pound Johnson averaged 79 catches, 1,041 yards and 8 TD’s.
He’s not the end-all-be-all but he is a gift route runner with the ability to catch balls in traffic.
And he very well could fit Ozzie Newsome’s tried and true “right player, right price” equation.
As a fan of Haloti Ngata it’s tough to swallow the way things went down. The Ndamukong Suh deal persuaded Ngata’s representatives to play hardball and ask for more than what the Ravens were willing to give.
[Related Link: Suh Blues in Baltimore]
In the end, Ngata’s exit from Baltimore was a sad one on many levels. As Eric DeCosta describes in this video, the loss of Haloti was sickening because he was like family.
That said Ngata does come off as a bit of a villain. Many will view him as greedy and unwillingly to see the value in being a life-long Raven like his good friend Terrell Suggs. And then there’s the label of “selfish” stemming from the PED violation that put the Ravens 2014 season at risk.
Time heals wounds and one day Ngata will return and accept his induction into the Ravens Ring of Honor. And we’ll all smile again for Haloti.
But that’s unlikely to happen for a few years and until then, there’s a stain attached to No. 92.
Thank you Ravens Nation! pic.twitter.com/yhMwrpg22c
— Haloti Ngata (@Haloti_Ngata92) March 12, 2015
A photo posted by Torrey Smith (@torreysmithwr) on Mar 11, 2015 at 3:53pm PDT
