Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens Deep Ball Resurrection

2013 was not a good year for Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens’ offense. 2014 was. We know the ground game was resurrected last season, but the resurrection of the Ravens’ deep ball went relatively undiscussed last year. What changed in the course of the season, and what can the Ravens learn from it going forward?

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Let’s start with the raw data, which is absolutely startling (stats from Pro Football Focus):

	Atts	Comps	Yards	TD:Interception ratio	Accuracy Percentage ((comps+drops)/atts)
2013	88	17	730	1:8	26.1
2014	56	21	663	11:2	50.0

An improved ground game, and thus more effective play-action passes, certainly helped. Taking fewer shots also probably helped the efficiency, as defenses were less ready for it.The change in numbers is incredible. Flacco nearly doubled his accuracy percentage, went from a 1:8 touchdown-to-interception ratio to an 11:2, and nearly had as many yards on 32 fewer attempts. Simply adding one receiver, Steve Smith, can’t possibly tell the whole story. 

Is it possible, though, that the Ravens made changes that will truly be lasting? My guess is yes. For most of his career, Flacco has been middle-of-the-pack in deep ball accuracy, until 2013, when Flacco was at the bottom. This year, Flacco was among the best in the league, setting a career high in that stat. 

The reason? The Ravens turned the deep ball into a science, to the point that when including pass interference Baltimore was probably the most effective deep passing team in the league.

I can think of two developments that helped make this happen.

One is Flacco’s growing penchant for slightly underthrowing the deep ball. Whether or not this is intentional is unclear, but Flacco has started to under throw the ball more and more over the years. Remember Jacoby Jones’ touchdown catch in the 2013 Super Bowl? Jones had so much separation that Flacco could afford to play it safe and slightly underthrow the receiver. Accordingly, Jones had to slow up a bit, but it guaranteed a catch. 

That happened even more this year, which resulted in more opportunities for the Ravens to make a catch and more pass interference penalties. Torrey Smith drew 12 pass interferences for 261 yards this year according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN, most in the league. It even became a running joke that the Ravens were reliant on pass interference penalties.

Quite frankly, the Ravens appeared to be gaming the system. Torrey Smith turned drawing pass interferences into an art form, lulling defensive backs into a false sense of security, then turning on the jets. Between that and the underthrown deep ball, the Ravens made penalties a legitimate source of production. Whether Torrey developed a subconscious ability or was actually coached into that skill, I think he can maintain the ability to draw penalties.

The second development was more about the playbook and play calling: The development of the red zone deep ball. 

Though it was from the 24-yard line, this touchdown to Torrey Smith against the Carolina Panthers illustrates what I’m talking about.

Joe Flacco saw one-on-one coverage on Torrey Smith, running a go route, and made a decision pretty much immediately. Torrey got in front of his defender with a nice stutter step at the beginning of his route, then released to the outside. The result was perfect positioning, as seen in the next picture.

 

The ball wasn’t perfectly thrown, as Torrey had to slow up a little. But with perfect positioning, Torrey was able to slow down a bit, box out the defender, then extend and make an effortless catch for a touchdown. Despite his struggles this season, Torrey really developed in this regard, catching many of his career-high 11 touchdowns on plays just like this. That alone is a skill that should get Torrey paid.

Steve Smith wasn’t bad in this regard either. He wasn’t quite as good at boxing out, but he was incredible at tracking the ball, which made up for his lack of size.

No other receiver on the Ravens has really flashed this skill yet. If Torrey moves on, the Ravens need to prioritize finding a guy who can make up for that loss on those red zone deep balls.

In sum, 2014 was a breakout season for Joe Flacco and the Ravens deep passing game. Gary Kubiak had a huge impact on the team that will be felt for years to come, regardless of who coaches them in the future. So even without Kubiak, and possibly without Torrey as well, the Ravens should continue to make some fireworks through the air.