One Question Creates Many

[vmax]

Can the 2021 Ravens have a productive and effective passing game?

The 2020 Ravens were last in passing yards and last in attempts. They were middle of the pack for passing touchdowns. Forget about co-vid and injuries, all teams had to deal with that. 

With teams stacking the box in an attempt to stop the best rushing attack of 2020, the ravens passing attack failed to take advantage of this great opportunity. Their 7.2 average yards per pass was middle of the pack of 32 teams. 27 passing TDs was also middle of the pack. These numbers and rankings are deceiving when you consider they had a league low 406 passing attempts. Yet most fans will agree they left a lot of points on the field and missed opportunities as a passing offense.

The original question raises several questions that need to be answered in the affirmative if the Ravens are to have a productive and effective passing game in 2021.

Can this new and rebuilt offense of line protect Lamar and give him adequate time to throw? How long will it take for them to gel?
Will a new wide receiving core of Watkins, Bateman, and Brown be a significant upgrade over last year's group? Last year, all defenses had to do was defend Andrews in the middle of the field and Marquise Brown. That lowered the odds of the passing attack doing any damage. Can they build a better mouse trap this year?

Will Wallace and Duverney provide solid depth?
How long will it take Lamar to gel with them? Is this the year that Lamar improves his mechanics, like Josh Allen did in 2020, and be a dangerous passer to all points on the field?

This last one, and it's a big one, is a cloud that hangs over Greg Romans head. He's shown he can scheme epic rushing attacks, yet he's failed to create very good passing attacks.

He's got James Urban, Bobby Ingram, Chris Hewitt and Tee Martin. All good Coaches.
All the pieces seem to be in place.

Can Roman and his coaches develop the players and the schemes that will raise the level of effectiveness of the Ravens passing attack to that of a team that can go deep into the playoffs with a possible Super Bowl appearance? 

Really, I think that's most fans expectations. We see too much talent and opportunity on this team. So many weapons.

This team will run "at will' over everybody. Yet that is a time-consuming process. The Ravens are going to face a lot a very good offenses this year and they're going to have to put up a lot of points to win. The Ravens were number seven in scoring in 2020 and number one in 2019. Improvement in the passing attack would be a nightmare for the rest of the NFL.

Can this be the year?

 

[vmax]

Media thoughts on Roman...........

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"Greg Roman has managed to put together dominant running attacks as an offensive coordinator," Karpovich wrote. "However, he has struggled to get the passing game rolling over his career. In eight years as an offensive coordinator for San Francisco (four years), Buffalo (two years) and the Ravens (two years), Roman never had a passing attack ranked higher than 23rd for yards."

In Roman's defense, passing yards are not the greatest measurement to define a team's passing attack. Judging solely off passing yards lacks context. While the Ravens were last in passing yards in 2020, they were first in rushing yards. That said, it sparks concern when the Ravens were the NFL's only team to not eclipse 3,000 yards passing last season.....Late for Work 7/13: NFL Executives Have Wide Range of Opinions on Lamar Jackson (baltimoreravens.com)

 

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According to Fowler's ESPN survey above, the lack of success in the passing game may be due to the lack of talent supplied to Jackson. 

"An AFC scout said Baltimore had failed in the past to surround Jackson with the same arsenal that in-his-prime Colin Kaepernick got in San Francisco," Fowler wrote. "That mobile quarterback who was also coached by coordinator Greg Roman had Michael Crabtree, Anquan Boldin, Delanie Walker and Vernon Davis."

Karpovich believes it's about finding balance and incorporating the new additions brought in over the offseason.

"The Ravens need to establish more balance with the offense to perhaps make a deeper run in the playoffs," Karpovich wrote. "Baltimore had the league's 32nd-ranked passing attack last season and made several offseason moves to improve that performance."

 

[oldno82]

I think it's more Greg Roman than talent supply. The guy is a run game genius but I'm not sure how much he cares about being ranked so low in the passing statistics.

[tsylvester]

It's all of the above as we've said here, discussed here, been disgusted by, for the past few years.

Yes, play design, play calling, are to blame.

Yes, player talent at the wide out position.

Yes, Lamar's inability to throw consistently, accurately out side the numbers and down field.

It all plays together. Maybe because Lamar hasn't been able to make those throws in practice has lead to the play calling/ design.

Maybe the receivers can't run those routes properly/timely in practice, so Lamar doesn't throw them in a game when they are called.

Maybe, maybe, may be baby he will be true-u, maybe baby they will come through-u,

Maybe baby the passing game dreams will come true-u....

 

 

[papasmurfbell]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/former-first-round-pick-named-035859744.html

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Former first-round pick named roster bubble candidate for Ravens by Bleacher Report

The Baltimore Ravens have a massive amount of offensive line depth after addressing the position tirelessly during the 2021 offseason. They added plenty of key pieces, including Kevin Zeitler, Alejandro Villanueva, and Ben Cleveland. Those three and more should make sure that the line is much more stable than it was in 2020, when it seemed like there was a revolving door at multiple spots.

When listing out eight veterans who could find themselves on the roster bubble during training camp, Chris Roling of Bleacher Report identified Baltimore tackle Andre Smith as one of his choices.

Smith signed with the Ravens late in the 2019 season, and then re-signed with the team in February of 2020. However, he opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19, and this offseason seems to be at a disadvantage early.

“Smith skipped voluntary OTAs this offseason “and looked like he was playing catch-up at minicamp,” according to Jonas Shaffer of the Baltimore Sun. Over his 254 snaps with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2019, he got called for four penalties and allowed three sacks, which resulted in a miserable 51.0 PFF grade.”

The tackle is a former first-round pick, getting selected at No. 6 in the 2009 draft. He’s had a few good seasons in the NFL, but has mightily struggled in others, including recent years.

With Baltimore having so much quality offensive line depth heading into 2021 training camp, Smith faces an uphill battle to make the final 53-man roster. He has the capability to improve his stock during training camp and the preseason, but when it’s all said and done, Smith might be on the outside looking in once it’s time to narrow rosters down for the regular season.

Former Ravens running back Mark Ingram, now of the Houston Texans, also appeared on the list by Roling.

 

[oldno82]

Here's a deep dive into Lamar's passing stats. I thought he did well but there is room for improvement as we  all know. The data has some video clips too in way of explanation:

https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-ravens-film-study-lamar-jackson-throws-20210722-kn7j22gfpzearph4vfbtsxkga4-story.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Baltimore Ravens Insider&utm_content=1971626974424&smtrctid=#nws=true

 

 

[vmax]

16 hours ago, oldno82 said:

Here's a deep dive into Lamar's passing stats. I thought he did well but there is room for improvement as we  all know. The data has some video clips too in way of explanation:

https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-ravens-film-study-lamar-jackson-throws-20210722-kn7j22gfpzearph4vfbtsxkga4-story.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Baltimore Ravens Insider&utm_content=1971626974424&smtrctid=#nws=true

 

 

 

That was good. Also good is that Lamar showed up at camp yesterday. Way ahead of when he needs to report. I've got Ravens fever...also good! 

[oldno82]

Yup...one thing we don't have to worry about is Lamar's motivation and leadership.