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ExtremeRavens: The Sanctuary

So, yeah, about the defense


Guest BallTMore

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Guest BallTMore

I'll be the first to admit that I didn't think losing Rex Ryan would be much of a problem, but after watching the Jets and our D the past two weeks it seems clear that the loss of Rex was important.

 

I know Rex had some trouble his first season as a DC, so I'm hoping that Mattison is just figuring out what he wants to do, and that's the reason we look, well, human on that side of the ball. I can't remember when I've been this scared of only being up by 3-7 points . You just get the feeling now that the defense won't hold the lead. I don't like it.

 

Don't get me wrong, a win is a win, I'm happy about that, but we have been waiting years for the offense to help the defense, and now that it seems like we have that balance, the defense appears to have lost a step. If we truly want to be an elite team, Mattison and the defense must fix their problems.

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I feel the exact same way. Someone find me Chris McAlister. I think Landry is playing like a 4th round pick again, unlike before his injury as well. We should have put more of an effort into signing Leonard.

 

However, its funny how, when you win the game, all the commentators gloss over the fact that you allowed 436 passing yards. On NBC, it was Lewis is amazing and Flacco is a force :P

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Rex got clobbered last time his D played the Chargers.

 

It was just big, great playmakers making plays on our smaller guys....and a great QB throwing to them...sort of like the Colts in their heyday and Rex couldn't stop them.

 

Yesa...there are holes...the secondary got exposed and teams will attack them there...time to get better.

 

When it counted...in the redzone... the D forced 3's and that enabled the team to win on the road where few visiting teams do.

 

So, yeah BallT...Mattison has some work to do.

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I agree with max. It is not like this is not anything we cannot fix. Remember, we have a new DC and three new CBs in Webb, Carr, and Foxworth, and one guy coming off of a season-ending injury in Landry. Communication was definitely lacking yesterday, that should be correctable. There is just nothing you can do when you have a 6'5" 240-pound receiver with 4.4 speed blazing down the sideline jumping tall buildings in a single bound.

 

Oh yeah, BIG PROPS to Frank Walker filling-in in the fourth quarter and breaking up that TD pass on the jump ball, that play saved the game. For all the plays we gave up as a team, our DBs made some great individual plays that could have made the day even worse.

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It worries me, but if the offense can keep it up I think the team will be fine.

 

I just hope they can take care of the Browns in a more convincing fashion.

 

 

I dont need a convincing win. A win is just fine with me. They don't give you extra credit at the end of the year for looking good when you win.

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One thing that isn't Mattison's fault is the fact that Fox and Fabian haven't been great at playing the ball when they are matched up in single coverage and the ball's coming their way. I'm talking about the plays where they are running step for step with a wideout and can't knock the ball down. Fabian got burned for a 50 yarder in this situation last week, and Fox and Fab both got hit with big plays this week. Fox did come back and made some nice plays on Jackson right before Rivers threw that pick at the end of the game, but overall this is something that shouldnt be too difficult to turn around (they are already doing the hard part in staying with the wideout) and it should make a big difference in the pass D.

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Today was troubling and frustrating at times defensively. Last week, I thought the defense played well - not perfect but very good. The Chargers are a good team offensively and the Ravens won so I'll be happy enough for now. Hopefully it was just a bad week for the pass defense.

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Last week it was our STs, who now played a solid game for the most part.. one sproles return however that was it, Carr did much better yesterday with his returns, Koch was perfect, Hauschka did a solid game too.

 

Now its time for our pass d to improve, Ayanbadeyo is killing me, Fox and Fab oh well.. I think it is also Rivers we have to credit for playing an outstanding match.. And Cams QBs is one and two after week two and likely to be one and two after week 17.

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In a nutshell

 

Yes our D bent, but look at their 2 TD's, one was a busted coverage (that needs to addressed) the other was a hell mary, that I know that if Reed was back there would have been picked.

 

The Bolts were 0-4 in the Red Zone, thats why I wasnt suprised that they tried to run the ball on 4th down at the end of the game. Sproiles had some success against us, and Rivers in the red zone did not.

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Did Reed play yesterday?

 

I think you may be able to credit that to Rivers... who was clearly throwing away from Reed all game long. Whichever way Reed went, Rivers was happy to turn and take the single match-up on the other side.

 

 

I will also agree with the sentiment that the problem is probably a conglomeration of things. Rex Ryan's pass defenses were not superb either, remember. Look at the way we let Pitt drive downfield in the final moments in many games last year. And Rex was also in charge of the sub-par 2007 effort. So it's not all Mattison, but I'm sure we can see he has some work cut out for him.

 

I worry about our pass rush a bit, and Fox and Fabian. Fox and Fabian were supposed to be fast enough to keep the coverage tight for a few seconds - just long enough to get the pass rush in there. Rivers was able to beat our rush - how many times was Suggs swatting just as Rivers released? And the coverage (for the most part) was fairly tight. But Fox and Fabian need to remember that running close to your man is only part one, part two is making the play. Rivers showed that some well placed passes can slice any solid coverage - especially if the corners aren't going to look for the ball.

 

And again, as I mentioned in the game balls - I think two of the biggest plays in the first half were mis-reads by Landry, who was clearly a bigger force in the second half and found his feet. But we've got to get everyone on the same page.

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Fabian and Foxworth made me sick yesterday, that was the first game in my life that I was on the edge during the final minutes..

 

Crav... I don't know if you're off your meds, or were never on them, or need to change what you're on... but seriously?

 

First game EVER that had you worried? What about the ones where the Ravens actually LOST in the final minutes, like several Pitt meetings last year - among others.

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The pass D (or lack thereof) continues to be function of two things we have seen for at least the past 2-3 years: lack of strong corners and a declining pass rush. Most NFL insiders and scouts have zoned in on this deficiency. Its obvious.

 

How do we fix it ? Short of trading or drafting, nothing.

 

I dont know what happens but unless our CBs make signicant improvements, Suggs gets better conditioned, and Pryce and/or JJ pick up their "sack" game, we can resign ourselves to holding our collective breaths every 4th quarter the rest of the season.

 

It will be interesting to see how Harbs and Mattison correct these weaknesses.

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How do we fix it ? Short of trading or drafting, nothing.

 

I dont know what happens but unless our CBs make signicant improvements, Suggs gets better conditioned, and Pryce and/or JJ pick up their "sack" game, we can resign ourselves to holding our collective breaths every 4th quarter the rest of the season.

 

It will be interesting to see how Harbs and Mattison correct these weaknesses.

 

I do not believe this. I believe this problem is very correctable. First, we have three new corners in the secondary with Webb, Carr, and Foxworth, and Landry is coming off of an injury. As we saw yesterday, communication was a big issue (the Sproles TD). The rest of the time you had a 6'5", 240-pound receiver with 4.4 speed just out-muscling and out-jumping out corners. There you are right, nothing we can do. Big receivers will give us trouble. But the positive side of it, the Chargers are the best we are going to see when it comes to big receivers (Gates, Jackson, Floyd, they have a lot of big, fast guys). When it comes to match-ups, the Chargers are probably one of the toughest match-ups we will have all year.

 

Guys, remember THIS WAS A GREAT TEAM we just beat. The Chargers are arguably the most talented team in the league. Philip Rivers is a Pro-Bowl QB who passed for 4,000 yards last season and 32 TDs with a 105.5 QB rating! This is not a scrub who passed all over us, this is one of the best QBs in the league with very dangerous weapons on the outside and in the backfield.

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First game EVER that had you worried? What about the ones where the Ravens actually LOST in the final minutes, like several Pitt meetings last year - among others.

 

I'll never admit to this but the Steelers game I had already chalked up as a loss, I dont like doing that neither, this year will be different..And after the way Pitytsburgh played yesterday? Huh you might get a special message from me.

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First game EVER that had you worried? What about the ones where the Ravens actually LOST in the final minutes, like several Pitt meetings last year - among others.

 

I'll never admit to this but the Steelers game I had already chalked up as a loss, I dont like doing that neither, this year will be different..And after the way Pitytsburgh played yesterday? Huh you might get a special message from me.

 

Shame on you!

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Looking at the standings just a moment ago, we have scored the 2nd most points in the league with 69 points in 2 games! Our defense though has allowed 50 points putting us in the middle of the pack for points allowed. The only team better than us overall is the NO Saints, who lead the league in points and have allowed 49 points. We all together have one of the best teams in the league with an emerging offense, but I'm guessing something had to drop off, and it's our pass D. Do you think we can go head to head like we have been, or do we upgrade our corners/ or pass rush? Thoughts?

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Do you think we can go head to head like we have been, or do we upgrade our corners/ or pass rush? Thoughts?

 

 

Other than Moss, we wont face another team with WR's that make our DB's look like midgets. But the more I think about it, we should make a pitch for C-Mac, he may have gotten burnt on occasions, but he made his plays also..

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Everyone is overreacting to the way our pass defense played yesterday. Phillip Rivers is one of the best QB's in the league, and he proved that yesterday. Our corners had GREAT coverage all day (sans the Sproles TD) and Rivers was able to put perfect passes in to his huge WR's. I'm still happy with our defensive personnel as I don't see another team that poses similar problems matchup-wise. I will say that I wasn't a fan of Mattisons game plan. He didn't bring the blitz as much as I would've liked since we got absolutely no pressure with a 4 man rush. Great job by the D to step up in the red zone when the Chargers couldn't take advantage of Rivers' arm and their big WR's.

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