vmax Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 I have to give the Ravens an A-. I really didn't know how they could possibly overcome and battle through 20 injured players during this stretch. They did that and more as the new players and back ups are filling in, getting the job done and developing communication and chemistry. This will help them compete over the next quarter. In short, they remain in the Hunt when football logic says they should be 2-2 or 1-3 due to the adversity that has hit this team. There really is grit in this team. The A- is more a testament to their next man up, never doubt or quit mentality, when so many things were not going their way. With all kinds of holes and weaknesses showing up, they keep fighting to address them and improve. With all the weaknesses and ways them can lose, they really fought to the finish in all their games and found ways to win. You have to admit that we have seen some very exciting Ravens football. Sloppy at times??? Ugly??? Yea...that's the Ravens. Fighters and scrappers. AFC North after four weeks … Ravens (3-1) Bengals (3-1) Browns (3-1) Steelers (1-3).. Two Thumbs Up Tucker....absolutely amazing. Lamar has 1077 yards passing and 279 rushing for QBR of 59.2. On pace for 4,577.25 yards passing, a league leading 14.2 ypp, and 1,185.75 yards rushing. WOW! Brown has 326 yards receiving. 17.2 ypc, and 3 TD's. Offense has scored 105 points. Defense has surrendered 92 points...23 per game avg. They rank #5 in yards at 420 yards per game and #9 at 26.3 points per game. Average yards per catch: Watkins 16.1 Andrews 14.1, Proche 17.2, Duverney 9.2 and Williams 9.0. Imprortantly the Ravens are now up to #13 in passing yards per game at 255.5 ypg. They were last in 2021 at 171.2. Progress!!! The D has 10 sacks. 22 TFL. 3 INT's. Only 1 forced fumble. They are giving up 85.8 yards per game rushing and 273 yards passing. -1 turnover differential. All things considered: Yes there is room for improvement. You can see that in the stats and the games. I say that this is really good news. Have a cold beverage on dee........ REC 19 TD 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsylvester Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 3-1 could have been maybe even should have been 4-0, or even 1-3. Just like last year, this team cost or almost cost them selves the game, they were not truly beaten. Also like last year, they had a myriad of players miss games, leaving no depth where depth was needed and yet, overcame. It's hard not to give them an A for the first 4 games, is it really a quarter when there are now 17 games? Lamar threw for over 300 yards for only his 3rd time, it was needed to some extent, since the Ravens refused to try to establish the run, given Denver had 9, 10 men box sets, wow. We seen this dog & piny show appear then disappear for games on end; no time, no one open, Lamar unable to throw accurately/timely, then boom, like magic, it all works. Much like the Denver game, 50% with no time to throw in the first half, 70% with a mix of all day to throw.. Is that a forcast for snow? It's hard to grade a running game with 3, 4 new runningbacks all signed off of the street hours before the season started, but we see glimpses of hope. All we can do is follow the cliche, one game at a time, win ugly like Detroit if need be this year. Wait, didn't we say that last year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldno82 Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 With all the crap that has hit this team on injuries, I fully expected them to be 1-3 not 3-1. They have found a way to win each game and almost beat the undefeated Raiders. Lamar has grown as a quarterback. I think he's starting to think pass first, run second. That'll be good for his longevity. Still, though, he's taken too many hits and that has to be much reduced. All in all a great opening quarter to the season! I have really enjoyed watching this team. Oh, also, kudos to the coaching! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmax Posted October 5, 2021 Author Share Posted October 5, 2021 ESPN 1st Quarter rankings has the Ravens at #7. Quote 7. Baltimore Ravens (3-1) Previous ranking: 7 Biggest surprise: Lamar Jackson ranking in the top half of the NFL in passing yards Why it's a surprise: It was expected that Jackson would take a step forward as a passer, especially after the Ravens lost their two top backs (J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards) before the start of the regular season. But this has been a big step forward. Baltimore ranked last in the NFL in passing last season, and Jackson finished 22nd in passing yards in each of the past two years. This season, Jackson has really stretched the field. His 19 completions of 20-plus yards rank third in the NFL, trailing only Tom Brady (23) and Derek Carr (21). -- Jamison Hensley....NFL Power Rankings Week 5: 1-32 poll, plus the biggest surprise for every team (espn.com) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldno82 Posted October 5, 2021 Share Posted October 5, 2021 Lets see what Preston has to say: " Even more impressive was that Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson delivered passes deep and outside the numbers, racking up more than 300 yards for only the second time during his four-year career. Jackson completed passes to five receivers and rushed for 28 yards on seven carries. It was a glimpse of the vision the Ravens had four years ago when they selected Jackson in the first round and then followed up with draft picks like Bateman, Dobbins, receivers Devin Duvernay, Marquise Brown and James Proche II and tight end Mark Andrews. The Ravens wanted to complement their top-ranked running game with an upgraded passing game that finished last in the league last season. They are on course." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmax Posted October 6, 2021 Author Share Posted October 6, 2021 (edited) Yes they are "on course." How well??? We will see over the next 4 weeks against the Colts, Chargers, Bengals and Vikings. What's very exciting for me is that the Ravens finally burned the stacked box to the ground and now know they can do it. Good Read.....Consistently inconsistent Ravens are emerging as clear threat in AFC (msn.com) Edited October 6, 2021 by vmax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papasmurfbell Posted October 6, 2021 Share Posted October 6, 2021 Of the next 4 only Cincy and LA are threats. I didnt expect Cincy to be this far along already. The chargers are just plain really good. Of the 4 that I see as a loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmax Posted October 7, 2021 Author Share Posted October 7, 2021 (edited) Interesting stat...some good on the O line....little more solid than I thought....... Notes from ESPN blocking rates/rankings through 4 weeks: Patrick Mekari is No. 2 among tackles with a 96% pass block win rate. Bradley Bozeman is No. 1 among centers with a 100% pass block win rate and No. 8 among centers with a 71% run block win rate. Edited October 7, 2021 by vmax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papasmurfbell Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsylvester Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 There aren some major issuee with this defense. Tackling ornlack therr of is a huge issue. It is just mind boggling that professional football players, especially Ravens, cant tackle. Missed in the win celebration is Tayvon Young 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty in the last minute that should have cost this team the game. But this weekend, field goals were hard to make.... It speaks to the team discipline, lack there of... The linebackers, no matter who they put in, Queen, Board, Harrison, are always out of position, rarely making the stop when they should. They can't cover, can't tackle, can't make proper reads. The secondary just can't cover, none of them. I know, injuries at safety have people out of position, but covering man to man should not be affected; they can't. Not even alll world Humphries! .. The offensive line is in shambles, they can't even get out Lamar's way when he runs. I know it's still early in the season, they have time to gell, to maybe get healthy, but the Colts should not have shut this runnimg game down, though the play calling also helped keep it down, then the score did.... They need to fix this lack of tackling or this team is not going to win many more games Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmax Posted October 12, 2021 Author Share Posted October 12, 2021 I know...I know...you're right. Winning like this is not sustainable...It's Purple Tuesday for me. I'll worry about that stuff and reality tomorrow. And besides...you can't have one heart stressing win after another without that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cravnravn Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 Patrick Queen...Come on man I know they taught tackling in pop Warner. He either needs to go to OL or special teams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsylvester Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 24 minutes ago, cravnravn said: Patrick Queen...Come on man I know they taught tackling in pop Warner. He either needs to go to OL or special teams He had the same issues in college; poor cover skills, cant get off blocks so he runs around them. His speed helped in college but is mitigated in the NFL; he is a bust Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmax Posted October 12, 2021 Author Share Posted October 12, 2021 He looks like at bust at the moment. when do they start...gulp...Josh Bynes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrubberRaven Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 Yeah, its sad to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
varaven45 Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 Pick up a vet LB from "seller" before trading deadline ? Anyone out there, EDC ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmax Posted October 12, 2021 Author Share Posted October 12, 2021 This is definitely 1st quarter material.... Quote To say the Ravens have defied the odds doesn’t do Baltimore’s comebacks justice unless you exactly point out the disheartening odds. The Chiefs had a 91.6% win probability after the Ravens punted the ball trailing 35-24 with 3:14 left in the third quarter. Baltimore ended up winning 36-35. The Lions had a 99.9% win probability when the Ravens faced a fourth-and-16 and a 17-16 deficit with 26 seconds remaining. Baltimore ended up winning, 19-17. The Colts had a 98.4% win probability after the Ravens fell behind 25-9 with 12 minutes left in the game. Baltimore ended up winning. And Baltimore's level of difficulty in these wins has been magnified by its injuries.Ravens believe unreal finishes are the start of something special - Baltimore Ravens- ESPN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldno82 Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 OK, OK this team has problems. They really do. Queen looks lost and I'm close to giving up on him. I don't know what is wrong with Humphrey unless it's the fact that Marcus Peters is out and H. is trying to do too much. The offensive line is a shambles. Somehow (and that somehow has the initials L.J.) they win and that's with all the injuries and let's not forget about the 17 guys on IR. Preston had a good article on all this today. Jackson is carrying this team right now. They won't win every game by a longshot and the Chargers are going to kill them and their poor tackling/missed assignments this Sunday. But as long as they have Lamar, they have a chance to win. One last thing: the receivers have been playing great. Andrews, Brown and Duvernay and Proche are NOT lost. They know what they are doing and when to do it. Kudos to them too. Now with Watkins hurt is the ideal time for Bateman to get in there and make a splash. If only (hoping against hope here) Ronnie Stanley can get back in and play at a high level. SMH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papasmurfbell Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 Leave the receivers as they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsylvester Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 1 hour ago, varaven45 said: Pick up a vet LB from "seller" before trading deadline ? Anyone out there, EDC ? I don't think they have the cap room to sign anyone else. Even then, how much better would a free agent now help? The defense did pretty much shut the colts down in the 2nd half, granted missed field goals (one blocked) helped. Factor in the way they played in spurts threw these games, it shows that focus is the driving force behind their getting gutted in parts of each game. Thus, a player or two added is not likely to help, coaching can do so much, more time spent on tackling if it is allowed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmax Posted October 12, 2021 Author Share Posted October 12, 2021 Update: Clevelands injury not serious. He should be back in 3-4 weeks. Colon and Powers are available. Tyree Phillips is still rehabbing so maybe he's back by Thanksgiving??? The Ravens have Smith, David Sharpe; and Jaryd Jones-Smith on PS. Ealy suspended substance abuse. Cup not completely bare. Amazing how they are finding ways to win. It feels like they find 1 more way to win than lose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsylvester Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 I wonder what is going on with Wallace? No playing time at all, maybe with Watkins going down he will make an appearance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papasmurfbell Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 I wonder how long Watkins will be down for. I like Brown Proche and Duv right now. Add in Bateman and I like what the passing game can do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrubberRaven Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 Louis Reddick on twitter keeps insisting Queen is fine. Still some growing pains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsylvester Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 25 minutes ago, GrubberRaven said: Louis Reddick on twitter keeps insisting Queen is fine. Still some growing pains. He's an idiot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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