They Said, We Say: Ravens Talk December 10th

On Sunday, the Ravens host the Jacksonville Jaguars here in Baltimore at M&T Bank Stadium. Let’s go around the web, and see what is being said about the Ravens.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

The links:

Baltimore Sun: Signing of Antoine Cason

They Said: The Sun’s Aaron Wilson broke the news on the Ravens signing of Cason.

We Say: Prior to Cason being released by the Carolina Panthers, Pro Football Focus ranked Cason 111th out of 117 CB’s overall, and 116th in terms of coverage. Still, you are getting a former 1st round pick (2008) who has recently started games off the street. Hopefully a change of scenery helps. After losing Gorrer, and with Levine’s status (concussion) unknown; bodies were needed.

ESPN: Stock Watch: Baltimore Ravens

They Said: Big runs in the fourth quarter. The Ravens pride themselves on being the most physical team in the NFL, and it’s evident in how they wear down teams in the running game. Last Sunday, the Ravens broke three runs of 20 yards or longer in the fourth quarter against the Dolphins. For the season, the Ravens have produced 10 20-yard runs in the fourth quarter, which more than doubles every team in the league.

We Say: There was nothing more disheartening last year, then the Ravens inability to run the ball. This year, there is further commitment to the zone scheme. Monroe is not elite, but is solid. Obviously the Ravens got back Osemele. Zuttah has improved the play at Center. Yanda has been healthier, and returned to his former levels of production. Wagner has been better than Oher was. Between the extra weight and his injuries; Rice was running in quick sand last year. That was not helped with the blocking issues in-front of him. Forsett is still averaging 5.6 yards per carry, with 3 games remaining in the regular season. The o-line play and running game is definitely one of the things to be most excited about this Ravens team. It’s also important to note how the running game sets up play-action, and how being able to run the ball has helped the defense as well.

CSN Baltimore: Is Forsett a Franchise RB?

They Said: Not with Forsett being 29 years old. Forsett is having a terrific season. But he’s never had one like this. Putting too much faith in 30-year-old running backs is dangerous, and the Ravens have a promising rookie running back in Lorenzo Taliaferro. I’m sure general manager Ozzie Newsome has a number and contract length in mind for Forsett. I think Newsome will make an offer to Forsett when the season ends. If he takes it, he’ll be back. If not, he won’t.

We Say: Agreed with Clifton Brown here. (Clifton will be a guest on Ravens Rap, Saturday night.) It’s been a lot of fun watching Forsett this year. As mentioned above, his 5.6 ypc is extremely impressive. He also has 37 receptions. One thing Forsett has in his corner that most 7th year, 30 year-old RB’s don’t – is that his legs should be fresher with his general lack of former usage (115 combined carries during 2011-13). Brown nails it though, if Forsett can be back at a price that works for the Ravens, great. If not, they will move on. Either way, the scheme is designed in a manner in which the names can change, but production should continue.

Baltimore Ravens.com: Exploring how to keep Kubiak in Baltimore

They Said: Finally, the Ravens are playing high-scoring football with the rest of the league. They’ve scored 34, 33 and 28 points in their past three games, exhibiting a balanced, consistent, prolific offense as they hunt for a playoff spot. For the year, they’re ranked seventh in the league in scoring and ninth in yards.

We Say: There will be multiple openings across the league, and there only has to be one fit for Kubiak to leave. Would QB Coach (and Kubiak’s Offensive Coordinator in Houston) Rick Dennison follow him out the door, or take over the offense here in Baltimore? If you  believe Kubiak can not be replaced, and are worried about him leaving; what additional responsibilities can you give him over a typical Coordinator? At the College level you often see the Title ‘ Associate Head Coach.’ Could you use that at the NFL level? If Kubiak’s responsibilities and/or Title was increased, would that create any leadership issues with him and Harbaugh? Eisenberg made a good point in his article about the Ravens having had invested in Eric DeCosta to keep him here. Ultimately though, the Ravens were able to do that – because DeCosta wanted to stay here. Does Kubiak?

ESPN: Ravens expect Dennis Pitta in 2015

They Said: Many presumed, including Harbaugh, that it would be tough for Pitta to come back because it was another hip injury. But Harbaugh has been told that the injury is not a career-ending one.”They say it has no bearing on the future. It heals 100 percent,” Harbaugh said. “Dennis can play again. Dennis has told me that he wants to play again. Of course if he wants to play, he’ll get every opportunity to play if the medical people clear him. And I’ve been told to this point that they see no reason why it wouldn’t be clear if everything goes according to plan.”

We Say: These injuries have been unfortunate for Pitta, and the Ravens alike. Had he been on the field last year, and this season; it’s not hard to imagine Pitta having emerged as Flacco’s preferred weapon, and one of the NFL’s elite TE’s. The comments above are encouraging, but until you see Pitta be able to get back and stay on the field weekly – there is going to be doubt on his ability to do so.

Baltimore Beatdown: Marlon Brown becoming a Ravens target on 3rd down

They Said: A lot of folks were wondering why Marlon Brown hadn’t been used that much for the first two-thirds of the season. Perhaps offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak couldn’t figure out how to ease him into the new system he brought over from Houston. However, in the past two weeks, it’s clear there’s a role for Brown and one he’s done a fine job at. He’s been a third down specialist, coming through with some key plays in third down situations.

We Say: Count me as one of those who questioned the lack of usage of Brown for most of the season. He’s a big target, and gives opposing defenses another weapon to account for.

Football Outsiders:  DVOA Ratings Through Week 14

They Said: There’s also a healthy gap between our top five and the rest of the league. Like everyone else, our top five includes New England, Green Bay, Seattle, and Denver. Our fifth team that is standing above the rest of the league is Baltimore. There was a thought a few weeks ago that perhaps the Ravens were ranked too high in DVOA because the opponent adjustments for beating up on the NFC South just weren’t strong enough. However, the Ravens continue to play strong games. This week’s win over Miami had a single-game DVOA of 67.9%, Baltimore’s best game of the entire season. What’s weird about the Ravens is that their worst games have all come against division rivals. The Ravens clobbered the Steelers back in Week 2, but otherwise their four division games are their only four games with negative DVOA ratings.

We Say: Generally, the Ravens are flying under the radar. I think that has primarily been because New England and Denver have dominated the headlines in the AFC; and because each of the 5 losses have been to other Divisional / Conference foes. As Football Outsiders mentions above, the Ravens 101 point differential on the year is partly due to the weakness of the NFC; but that doesn’t state the full story. The Ravens can run the ball, has an O-line playing well, a good defensive Front 7, plus Special Teams, and a QB capable of winning important games. Those are all major factors in their favor. They also have a Secondary which was limited when their best CB (Jimmy Smith) was available, and live in a pass happy NFL. It’s not hard to envision Baltimore winning their next 3 games, claiming the 4th seed in the AFC Playoffs, and again being a post-season factor. If they reach the post-season, it’s also not hard to imagine the Secondary being exploited by Brady, Manning, Rivers, and Luck. Will the Ravens be able to match points with those teams? Will the Ravens defense be able to bring enough pressure, to disrupt their passing games, and force turnovers? All things which remain to be seen, but once again it’s December and the Ravens are playing games which matter.

They Said: (In the same Football Outsiders article.) The Lions may actually challenge the 2000 Baltimore Ravens for the title of greatest run defense in recent history. Right now, Detroit’s run defense DVOA of -34.9% is tied with the 1991 Philadelphia Eagles as the second-best we’ve ever measured. The Lions are also allowing just 2.76 Adjusted Line Yards per carry; the record is 2.75 by the 2006 Minnesota Vikings, followed by 2.78 for the 1998 Chargers and 2.82 for the 2000 Ravens.

We Say: The 2000 Ravens went up against RB’s like Jerome Bettis, Fred Taylor, Stephen Davis, Eddie George, Corey Dillon during the regular season. In the post-season they went up against strong running attacks in Denver (with Kubiak, and NFL OROY Mike Anderson), Tennessee (George again), the Raiders (who led the league in Rushing), and the Giants (the Thunder and Lighting of Ron Dayne, and Tiki Barber). The Lions might have a strong run defense based on today’s standards (even after losing Nick Fairley to injury); but my biased vote is that Detroit’s 2014 defense does not belong being mentioned with the 2000 Ravens in any capacity.  At the minimum, if you are to compare the two, there has to be some discussion of how running game usage has changed (and what running games Detroit has faced this year).