Pondering The Plank

[vmax]

Is it time for Roman to take the walk? 

Hey! That looks like him a little bit! 

YES...I'm long winded...

My first major concern with Roman was his press conferences from when he got the job to all the way up until last year. He was a terrible, stumbling communicator. I wondered if he came off like that with the players. He has become better in that area. Then the Ravens had the #1 or #2 rushing attack for the last 2 years, #1 scoring offense in 2019 (never imagined a Raven team could do that) and #7 last year. I thought, like most fans this is good and exciting. Actually, for the 1st time since the Ravens came here it was a fun offense to watch. Then came the in-your-face glaring weakness: Last in Passing. The Ravens could not come from behind. This had to change ASAP. EDC got the receivers. Martin, Hewett and Urban got on board. The pieces were in place although the O line was once again in transition and not built to protect the QB. Yet...the much-needed pieces are there. Currently the Ravens are #11 in passing. Up from an abysmal 32nd ranked 2020 passing attack. I'll over generalize a bit here. training camp comes, Lamar gets covid and misses a ton of very valuable time practicing. Time that was essential for his development as a passer and for the chemistry with his receivers. Time that was lost and cannot be gotten back until camp next year. Fact

More pages.... So the passing O got hamstrung out of the gate and we see mixed results. Then the Rushing attack was obliterated and a bunch of slow over the hill runners were brought in. Runners no DC had to worry about. Getting Villanueva was a big mistake by EDC. Not athletic enough to defend against the speed and athleticism of todays edge rushes. Then Stanley does not pan out....and here we go...a very suspect weak O line. Then Covid. Then Lamar regresses after the Vikings game and later gets injured. Any Ravens QB or OC has no respectable running game to assist them. That sets up a "FAIL" for any passing attack unless you have Brady or Rodgers. This is why I held back on joining the "Fire Roman" contingent of fans and had to be "Devil's Advocate."  The #1 reason that I have been holding back on "Fire Roman" cry is due to the lack of definitive evidence that he has failed to evolve as a "Complete OC." Meaning he has failed to find a way to incorporate an effective passing attack into his excellent rushing play book and has failed to evolve into an OC who can call the chain moving/box 8 killer/ point scoring air attack during games. It can be done.  Roman has to evolve too as an OC after 2 stints with the 49'ers and Bills. That remains the knock on him. I doubt any OC could get the passing attack that the fans want and get this 2021 team to the next level with what has happened to the Ravens offensive personnel this season. 2 more games left to inventory his performance on the job.

Can Greg evolve as a pass play caller with a healthy roster and off season and avoid the "Walk?"

Who replaces him? Where are they? Will firing him set this Ravens offense back a year or 2?

Lot of questions and little time to get answers. What are your thoughts? 

[varaven45]

Max, after an “incomplete” 2021 campaign, I don’t know if anyone else could have done better with our Swiss cheese OL (btw - letting Brown walk was a huge mistake) and obliterated backfield.  
 

In my opinion, they have to give Roman one more year and while at it Lamar needs a year of “good” health, a 100 % return of Gus/JK in the backfield, and a fortified OL, esp the LT and RT positions.  Afterwards, Roman has either figured it out or not.  We’ll know then for sure. 

[papasmurfbell]

I'm neither here or there with Romans.   That said I do not pay the blame of the offense having issues at his feet.  Over the last 3 games that variable was eliminated.  Same oc.   Same plays.  Same supporting cast.  Different qbs.  Johnson on 10 looked competent.  Huntley looked capable and pretty good with a week of practice.  Lamar looks like a steaming pile of sewage.  Lamar has regressed to being the worst he has ever been.   It's not injury.  It's not ability.   It's in his head.  Either he doesn't understand how the offense should work or he can't go through his progressions to find targets.  Also he can't read defenses properly.  

Also on the eliminated variable issue.  Did anyone notice a substantial increase in production for Andrews the last 3 weeks?  Again the only variable is who the qb is.  

 

5 minutes ago, varaven45 said:

Max, after an “incomplete” 2021 campaign, I don’t know if anyone else could have done better with our Swiss cheese OL (btw - letting Brown walk was a huge mistake) and obligated backfield.  
 

In my opinion, they have to give Roman one last year and while at it Lamar needs a year of “good” health, a 100 % return of Gus/JK in the backfield, and a fortified OL, esp the LT and RT positions.  Afterwards, Roman has figured it out or not.  We’ll know then for sure. 

Sure the better backs will help but is that just masking the real issue?