This team hasn't peaked yet...

[FadeToBlack]

If the Ravens learn how to run the football, watch out.

That is the one big missing piece I notice from this team. I think the inability to run has put more pressure on McNair's shoulders than he should be expected to support. Same is true for the defense. A good running game will also neutralize the opponent's pass rush, allowing playaction to delay the front 7 more with the threat of the ground attack.

I give McNair a ton of credit for not turning the ball over under these circumstances. This looms very large for our playoff hopes because it shows under adversity, he isn't making the mistakes that lose you football games.

I'm happy this team hasn't peaked yet. There's no sense in hitting your stride in the first quarter of the season. Hopefully it will be like one big crescendo at the very end.

[SykesvilleRavensFan]

God, I hope this team hasn't peaked yet. If they did, our season would be all downhill from here.

[FHRaven]

If the Ravens learn how to run the football, watch out.

That is the one big missing piece I notice from this team. I think the inability to run has put more pressure on McNair's shoulders than he should be expected to support. Same is true for the defense. A good running game will also neutralize the opponent's pass rush, allowing playaction to delay the front 7 more with the threat of the ground attack.

I give McNair a ton of credit for not turning the ball over under these circumstances. This looms very large for our playoff hopes because it shows under adversity, he isn't making the mistakes that lose you football games.

I'm happy this team hasn't peaked yet. There's no sense in hitting your stride in the first quarter of the season. Hopefully it will be like one big crescendo at the very end.

Peaked? Not only haven't they peaked, I hope they have a lot higher to go before they do!!

The question isn't really, have they peaked? The question is, where is their peak? Based on what we have seen so far I wouldn't venture that it's very high.

And I have to completely disagree with your giving credit to McNair for not turning the ball over. He did little the entire game against a weak opponent. Without the wind and poor playcalling by the Browns we are all complaining about losing.

How is this offense going to fair against the better teams in the league? They need to get A LOT better before we start worrying about playoff matchups.

FHRaven

[Mista T]

I sure hope that we haven't peaked! I cannot see the Defense carrying the load for the rest of the season to get us into the playoffs.

This offense has to improve if we are to be competitive with San Diego, Denver, Cincinatti. It starts with the running game, which is still unimaginative (except for dumbass reverses called at the wrong time) and yet to get on track, i.e. pounding the ball for time-consuming long drives. And I would love to see four quarters of an effective passing game.

:mrt:

[deuce]

We are far from where we can be, offensively anyway. The D should be consistent all year. ST look stronger than last year. Once Jamal gets going and McNair starts hitting his throws we will be very tough to beat. Lets just hope the O-line protects him, it was scary seeing him on his back at the end of the game yesterday.

[FadeToBlack]

Part of the reason McNair is on his back is because you're much easier to defend when you can't run the football. Running. is. Everything.

If this team can run, it can throw. But not vice versa. That's one of the interesting realities of football at any level.

Having said that, my offensive line is my only concern on the O. There is no excuse for not converting that 4th and short. The OL knows the snap count and just has to be brutish for 3 seconds to get those yards. If the OL can play worth a damn, it's smooth sailing for our Ravens for the rest of the season. That's a big "if" but I feel it's the truth. McNair doesn't worry me, Jamal doesn't worry me, even having Billick on our sidelines doesn't worry me really.

[RavensNTerps]

I sure hope that we haven't peaked! I cannot see the Defense carrying the load for the rest of the season to get us into the playoffs.

This offense has to improve if we are to be competitive with San Diego, Denver, Cincinatti. It starts with the running game, which is still unimaginative (except for dumbass reverses called at the wrong time) and yet to get on track, i.e. pounding the ball for time-consumig long drives. And I would love to see four quarters of an effective passing game.

:mrt:

DENVER??? DENVER!?!?! With Jake friggin Plummer at QB? They are more than significantly worse than we are. That's a game we really should not lose.

[FadeToBlack]

Denver dominated the Patriots last night. The Denver you saw Weeks 1 and 2 wasn't the Denver you saw last night. Nobody should ever expect to roll through Invesco with an easy win.

[RavensNTerps]

Denver dominated the Patriots last night. The Denver you saw Weeks 1 and 2 wasn't the Denver you saw last night. Nobody should ever expect to roll through Invesco with an easy win.

Yes it was. The Patriots ALSO suck. Anything that happened in the past is not relevant. THe Pats were lucky to have beaten the Jets and Bills...the Broncos just aren't a great team.

This year is THIS year...this year teams like the Ravens and Chargers are going to take playoff spots away from teams like the Broncos and Patriots.

[FadeToBlack]

Or so we think.

"This year is this year" is right. The Broncos just discovered a weapon on their team last night, you may have heard of him: Javon Walker? And it may surprise you to learn their defense isn't too far from ours at all.

The Broncos have the raw materials to be a Super Bowl team (except maybe Jake, but he could be a Dilfer Plus for them and probably still win one). They've played shitty in the early going but their defense will always keep them in games. Did you see their opener vs. the Rams? That defense was defending short fields all day and looked incredible.

[Ravens0587]

but the pass sets up the run.

you can't run when they are stacking the box against the run.

to get them out of that you have to stretch the defense out.

If you don't do that you can't run. If you can't run it makes it harder to throw. If you can't throw it's hard to run..........

It's a viscious cycle

[52decleetzu]

If the Oline could make a hole,Jamal would hit it.When you only can run to one side of the field and the other team knows it,that could be a factor as well.

[FadeToBlack]

I don't think the pass sets up the run at all. It can enhance the production of the running game, but the impact of the pass on the run isn't anywhere near the impact the run has in setting up the pass, since the pass comes at you much faster and in much bigger chuncks. The impact the pass has on the run isn't as lethal.

[FHRaven]

I don't think the pass sets up the run at all. It can enhance the production of the running game, but the impact of the pass on the run isn't anywhere near the impact the run has in setting up the pass, since the pass comes at you much faster and in much bigger chuncks. The impact the pass has on the run isn't as lethal.

The ability to pass surely has a HUGE impact on your ability to run. And not just pass, but to be able to go deep. The more a team sees you can't pass and especially to pass deep, the more they can nudge up safeties in run support.

Wasn't this one of the main points used to critize Boller? But now that it's McNair the pass no longer impacts the run? :confused: Will McNair be altering the laws of physics next?

FHRaven

[FadeToBlack]

Did I say the pass doesn't impact the run?

The pass doesn't impact the run as much as the run can impact the pass. That's what I'm saying. McNair threw very well in the 4th quarter but we weren't busting off 10 and 15 yard runs were we?

[52decleetzu]

The run and pass both compliment each other,and vice versa.It's called a balanced offense.

[FadeToBlack]

Of course they compliment each other. That isn't the question.

[AZRAVEN]

I can't understand how anyone can be thinking playoffs with what we've seen so far. We have beaten three teams that have yet to win a game and we basically squeaked by two of those games. Sorry, that doesn't impress me a bit. This team is miles away from where it needs to be to be seriously considered a playoff contender and they don't have a hell of a lot of time to get their act together because the only games I would consider gimmies left on the schedule are Tennessee and Buffalo.

[FHRaven]

Did I say the pass doesn't impact the run?

The pass doesn't impact the run as much as the run can impact the pass. That's what I'm saying. McNair threw very well in the 4th quarter but we weren't busting off 10 and 15 yard runs were we?

You certainly minimized it to the point of irrelvance.

The ability pass is a significant factor in being able to run. They complement each other and to minimize that is flawed. Again, hasn't everyone been screaming for 2 years that we can't run the ball because Boller can't pass?

I would also caution against drawing conclusions based on 1 quarter's performance.

FHRaven

[FadeToBlack]

Fair enough FH.

As for the point of Boller/not running well, we ran fine Boller's rookie year, even throughout the half season he was starting. The true reason we couldn't run is because we couldn't block. You can run against 8 man fronts if the line is good enough. I'm not sure they could run against 7 man fronts these last several years. In '04 the blocking took a major nose dive and hasn't really recovered since.

[StingerNLG]

but the pass sets up the run.

you can't run when they are stacking the box against the run.


But the passing still has to be there. The passing right now isn't there. And I think teams are keying in on it. Yesterday we saw the very thing that we were told we'd never see again. 8 men in the box. They sat back and dared the Ravens to run or pass. And once they realized they really couldn't do either, they started coming more. And a lot of that was on more poor protection and errant passes.

[highwater]

I don't think the pass sets up the run at all.

LOL at the idea that the pass doesn't set up the run at all. The 49ers made it an art form under Bill Walsh. Ask Jamal about that theory -- wasn't he the one bitching last year that the passing game wasn't setting up the running game?

And after the game we had yesterday, I certainly hope this team hasn't peaked yet. We looked bad for most of the game against a team we should have handled without a lot of drama. I actually think the passing game needs to improve more than the running game, and I think it will, if the OL gives McNair a little time (a big if, admittedly).

[Greg]

I think we were running the ball fine, we just got away with it when we fell behind 14-3. We kind of panicked. McNair was missing a ton of passes, we would have been better off at that point continuing to run. We were getting 3-4 yards a shot. Continuing would have given us a bigger edge in the 4th quarter. We didn't abandon the run in the 2nd quarter but we got away from it a bit.