Anybody else tired of this yet?
The absolute LEAST the Ravens could do for the fans is break up the heart-attack loses with regular losses or…here’s a thought: WINS in between.
Alas, we take our 3rd consecutive loss in a row riddled by injuries, stupid penalties (yes, there is such a thing as a non-stupid penalty), and completing the trifecta? Extremely questionable coaching decisions.
It’s honestly laughable at this point. I don’t think a single Ravens fan saw the Terrance West touchdown with 2:04 left in the game and thought “Yes! Triumph, here we come!”
Actually, I’d be willing to bet the most commonly uttered phrase was “how will we screw it up this time?” Or maybe “If you listen carefully, you’ll hear the other shoe drop.”
UGH. Grades.
Offense
Quarterback: C+
Joe Flacco took more downfield shots in this game so, yanno, yay! But ultimately, it was what Joe didn’t do that blew his grade up… or down, I suppose.
26 of 48- YES 48 PASS ATTEMPTS AFTER TALKING ABOUT RUNNING MORE & PASSING LESS- for 307 yards.
0 touchdowns.
Joe had a chance to hit paydirt on several attempts, yet never managed to hit his guy. And actually, he seemed to miss badly a few times in this game.
The worst issue though reared it’s head on a 3rd-and-9 in the 2nd quarter when the Giants rushed EIGHT, and Joe didn’t pick up on it. That is a play where a good QB – not even great – should see the pressure coming, audible out or find the hot route and release quickly. Instead Joe appeared to run the play called, went through the drop back motions and got crushed into the dirt by what appeared to be 11 men at once. That’s common sense, and unless we’re back to the Cam Cameron days of ‘Joe doesn’t audible,’ then there’s flat out no excuse.
We miss you 2012 playoff Joe Flacco. Come back soon.
Offensive Line: D
Did anybody catch consecutive plays where Joe wasn’t under duress, or hit, or had to throw early to avoid getting crushed?
Yea, me either.
I fully understand the Ravens line with without three of five starters (Ronnie Stanley, Marshall Yanda & Rick Wagner), then lost Jeremy Zuttah for a hot second in the game as well, but we need to grade what was on the field without stipulations or asterisks.
And what we saw on that field today was nothing shy of a sieve. With a hole cut in it.
Add in two Alex Lewis penalties & a John Urschel penalty? And there you have it.
Running Backs: C
3.8 ypc is borderline acceptable for me, which is what Terrance West averaged on his 23 carries for 87 yards.
BUT. West had a 33 yard scamper stuck in there, which skews those numbers. Take away with one run and the average drops to a measly 2.45 ypc.
Awful.
I will give West credit for his 2 scores, especially the first touchdown, which took some serious effort to cross the line, but ultimately, the consistency remains to be seen once again.
Wide Receivers: C+
Mike Wallace had a beauty of a catch on his 70-yard 3rd quarter reception (TD saved by a facemask penalty on Janoris Jenkins/Marty Mornihnweg calling a QB sneak on 2nd down behind a makeshift O-Line that thinks ‘holding the line’ means actually holding the line) but other than that catch, not much to marvel at this week.
Breshad Perriman had three catches for 48 yards (one catch for 41, the other two for a whopping seven yards), Kamar Aiken showed up with four for 64 yards, but ultimately, more drops among the group killed them.
Then again, maybe if their quarterback could throw it in their proximity more often than their feet, we wouldn’t be having this conversation…
Tight Ends: B-?
I mean, Dennis Pitta reeled in six catches for a ‘meh’ 36 yards on a team high 10 targets, but once again, Crockett Gillmore spent the day blocking, not catching balls (a single target all day), and where was Darren Waller? He’s supposed to be my dark horse but he didn’t even register a target in the game…
Defense
Defensive Line: D
Three sacks.
No, that’s not today. Or in the past two weeks. That’s THREE WEEKS OF SACKS TOTAL FOR THE RAVENS.
Of course there’s more than sacks for the defensive fronts… but they failed across the board.
Eli Manning had enough time back in the pocket to crochet each and every flag the officials threw at the Ravens today. Again, this comes back to coaching for me – vanilla defense shows their hand, opposing team adjusts, and lack of results for the defense are bound to follow. But on an individual one-on-one scenario for the defense, there’s NO reason the pressure isn’t getting their quicker.
Or at all.
Linebackers: C
So Terrell Suggs – after two TFL’s & a sack – goes down with a torn bicep on the only sack of the game (take a shot), the C.J. Mosley-less inside group struggled in coverage, and injuries (including Elvis Dumervil) took their toll yet again.
Secondary: C
This is such a confusing, bipolar unit.
Will Davis & rookie Tavon Young each recorded a pick in the game, but both got burned badly by Odell Beckham Jr. in the wake of Jimmy Smith‘s concussion.
And speaking oSmith, he had OBJ locked down for the most part he Smith left with a concussion (take a shot) in the 2nd quarter. Once he was out, Beckham went OFF on the Ravens secondary, and I’m not re-hashing those numbers because it’s just too painful. Just say plenty of yards for multiple scores, and leave it at that.
Joining Jimmy Smith on the trainer’s table was Shareece Wright (take a shot), which left the Ravens down to Davis, rookie Young & half eaten, stale bag of chips.
Special Teams: B-
Look… in a loss where the team didn’t do anything special, but also didn’t give up any big gains as they have been doing for weeks? You give them the benefit of a doubt.
But the penalties are killing them (shocking! redundant! shockingly redundant!)
Four special teams penalties for 43 yards this week, adding insult to already really bad insults being tossed their way.
At least there’s always Justin Tucker as their saving grace…
Coaching: C
Marty Mornhinweg called a decent game for his first as the Ravens Offensive Coordinator, as he mixed in a handful of deep shots, but there was still a 48-26 pass-run ratio in this game, and unless MM’s defense is “hey, our O-Line sucks and we can’t run behind them” I’m not sure why the ratio was so skewed.Marc
But the other guys deserve more flack, and maybe they start feeling the heat now with Trestman long gone.
John Harbaugh going for 4th-&-goal from the 1 I didn’t agree with as (deep breath) YOU ALWAYS TAKE THE POINTS. I’ve seen a few people defend it, but given the toss play they tried to run (had Kyle Jusczyzk not missed the block on his man, West have been in) and knowing this was a brand new OC for your team? I don’t see how you can take that risk.
Oh, and you were losing.
Oh, and your offensive line is chock full of backups who can’t block.
Oh, and you just wasted a down on perhaps the worst QB sneak ever run.
Then there’s Dean Pees. And no, I can’t blame Pees for injuries or lackluster talent, but back to the three sacks in three weeks note? Pees MUST be less transparent with what he’s doing, dial up pressure beyond four guys once in a while, and take some chances out there. You saw the Giants do it on a 3rd & 9, blitzing Flacco with seven guys and getting there. Pees simply doesn’t do that. Ever.
Team Grade: C-
I can literally copy & paste from last week here. Or the week before. Or bits & pieces of Weeks 1 through 3.
Double digit penalties (15) for triple digit yards (111), both for the second time this year. Embarrassing coaching decisions costing the team points in a one-score game. Oh, and the injuries. Those too. ALL of those things, with plenty of backups in the game (nine starters out of the lineup by the 4th quarter) all lead to a disaster once again.
But some things can be fixed – not likely by next Sunday, but with a bye week following, I have a new found hope by Week 8 for the Ravens (or technically Week 9 of the season, but whatevs).
Mornihnweg can save this offense once the offensive line returns to health. Steve Smith Sr. should return in due time to add options for Joe, and Darren Waller’s role WILL grow, and Joe will eventually turn things around.
On defense, Jimmy Smith’s concussion shouldn’t be a long term thing, nor should injuries to Shareece Wright’s, Elvis Dumervil, or C.J. Mosley. But if Dean Pees continues to call this vanilla defense and can’t generate pressure? The defense won’t survive the thick of the schedule post-bye week.
As for special teams? Ah, who the heck knows…
So if the unhealthy players get healthy, the coordinators get their act together, and John Harbaugh STARTS TO TAKE THE GOD FORSAKEN POINTS WHEN HE CAN TAKE THEM INSTEAD OF TRYING TO MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN WHEN IT’S NOT THERE?
Sure, things can turn around. I guess.
(next time somebody sees me, check if my nose grew at all. You can find it under my purple tinted glasses and above my purple kool aid mustache).
