How good is this Ravens Defense?

[footbull3196]

9 hours ago, Jakuvious said:

I said I don't think a defense can carry them to the superbowl. If the offense is scoring 30 in order to get there, that is not the defense carrying them.

Yup, that's the equivalent of when that one dude said that the Eagles won the Super Bowl last year because of their defensive play in that game.  Just because they forced a turnover at the end to win it doesnt undo the 500+ passing yards and 33 points they gave up in the first place

[game3525]

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We all saw last year how an elite defense (Jacksonville) can carry you deep into the playoffs. I think our defense is just as good as that Jacksonville unit last year, but our offense is much better than theirs - particularly because of playoff Joe Flacco and our WR's. What our defense is doing right now is historically good - not just 2018 good, and we're doing it with basically the same players that Dean Pees had last yea

Last year was a down year in terms of offenses though. I don't think you can expect an elite defense to carry a team like the Jags defense did last year. The Ravens success in the playoffs rest on their offense, if they can maintain being an above average offense then they have a chance to make a deep run. But if they are a below average offense, I don't think they will go anywhere this year. 

[Hunter2_1]

44 minutes ago, AFlaccoSeagulls said:

Yeah this basically echoes what I said - although I'll have to see where our edge rushers finish in terms of pressures/sacks but so far Suggs, Z. Smith and Tim Williams I would at least say are on the same level last year as Campbell, Yannick and Fowler. Compeltely possible that these guys fizzle out as the season goes on, though.. You guys absolutely are better at interior rush AND better talent wise on the outside, I just think we're deeper at CB overall and our talent outside is still pretty darn good with Jimmy Smith back.

Sorry, but that does not echo what you said. You categorically said "our edge rushers are better" and that "the only thing they have on us is interior rushers". So is it that, or are you changing to "they're at least on the same level" in terms of edge rushing? 

 

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

40 minutes ago, CP3MVP said:

Did That defense really “carry them deep in the playoffs” though?

The first game was against Tyrod Taylor who is awful and they BARELY scrapped by. The second game the defense got torched by the Steelers offense and the jags offense put up 35 points. 

Yeah, it carried them past the Bills and Tyrod and despite how they looked this year, that wasn't a bad offense by any stretch. They just dominated them.

38 minutes ago, CP3MVP said:

I don’t think you’ll ever see a 2000 Ravens 2002 Bucs 2013 Hawks Or even 15 Broncos type defensive playoff run again. 

But you're already listing defenses from 3 years ago. You won't see that ever again? Really?

12 minutes ago, game3525 said:

Last year was a down year in terms of offenses though. I don't think you can expect an elite defense to carry a team like the Jags defense did last year. The Ravens success in the playoffs rest on their offense, if they can maintain being an above average offense then they have a chance to make a deep run. But if they are a below average offense, I don't think they will go anywhere this year. 

We'll see. Everything depends on if Flacco transforms come December.

4 minutes ago, Hunter2_1 said:

Sorry, but that does not echo what you said. You categorically said "our edge rushers are better" and that "the only thing they have on us is interior rushers". So is it that, or are you changing to "they're at least on the same level" in terms of edge rushing? 

That's why I used "basically". They definitely have the edge with interior rushers, and I believe we have the edge with edge rushers. Though, the jury is still out because the season is still progressing so anything can still happen.

[Xenos]

Does the Ravens defense provide a blueprint for combating these crazy offenses?

https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/10/17/ravens-titans-amoeba-defense

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NFL offensive production is at an all-time high, and a natural market correction does not seem imminent. The league is flush with quality young quarterbacks and wide receivers. Perhaps more importantly, there’s a flock of innovative young offensive head coaches and coordinators. For the “market” to change, defenses must change.

For a blueprint on how, look no further than the Baltimore Ravens, who are coming off an 11-sack performance at Tennessee and rank first in points and yards allowed. When Marcus Mariota approached the line of scrimmage last Sunday, he’d see Ravens defenders roaming around, defensive backs and linebackers in pass rush positions or one side of the formation overloaded with extra defenders. Rarely did Mariota see defenders in traditional set positions; it was mostly undefined, amoeba looks.

Many of these looks involved Baltimore’s safeties—of which, by the way, there were three: Eric Weddle, Tony Jefferson and Anthony Levine, who often subbed in for a linebacker. Having three safeties gave the Ravens defense more speed and coverage versatility.

More NFL teams are employing extra safeties and presenting undefined defensive looks, but not with the frequency of Baltimore. And you could argue that the Ravens themselves need to do it more. (They won’t face an offense with a banged-up QB and limited receivers like Tennessee’s every week.) As it stands, these undefined, hybrid defensive looks are mostly reserved for third downs. But what if defenses started doing them on first and second down? It’s a radical—and maybe even overly extreme—notion, but with offensive production soaring, defenses must think radically.

First and second down are where today’s cutting-edge passing offenses generate big plays. Defensive coaches don’t like three-safety packages and amoeba fronts on early downs because it can leave a defense unsound against the run. This is where thinking must evolve. For decades, coaches were taught that sturdy defense began with stopping the run. But once upon time, society believed that efficient transportation began with having a healthy horse. Things change. If the NFL really is a passing league—which everyone agrees it is—your defense must begin with stopping the pass.

What makes innovative offensive schemes like Sean McVay’s Rams, Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers and Andy Reid’s Chiefs lethal is that they design passes that punish defenders for correctly playing their run responsibilities.

Yes, if defenders lined up in pass rushing looks on early downs, they might get gashed on a quick-hitting run play. But defenses already run that risk against the quick-strike passing game. A receiver who catches a slant in stride or a stick throw outside is often one broken tackle away from reaching the open field. Besides, can we be sure that offensive play-callers will continue to run the ball even if the run looks are favorable? The passing game is so much sexier. After the Rams’ narrow victory at Denver, even McVay had to criticize himself for not sticking enough with the run. He got away from it despite having Todd Gurley and facing what’s now the league’s 32nd-ranked rush defense. In private conversations, I’ve heard some top offensive coaches flat-out say they don’t like running the ball.

They might like running the ball even less if the defense is in an unpredictable pass-rushing look. For a run play to work, a quarterback, running back, five offensive linemen and often a tight end must all see a defensive front the same way. That’s how they sort blocking assignments and identify possible running lanes. Against traditional defensive fronts, it’s easy—especially since those are the fronts that running plays are built specifically to exploit. But if the defensive front becomes malleable and unpredictable? It might have weak spots, sure, but there’s also a much greater chance that one of the offensive linemen or ball-handlers will see it differently than everyone else does. This leads to running game breakdowns or, more likely, quarterbacks simply checking out of run plays and into the short passing plays that the amoeba front is designed to combat. At the very least, the offense feels a twinge of hesitancy when snapping the ball. Hesitancy has a way of quickly building into outright doubt and confusion. That’s what the Ravens did to Mariota and the Titans.

Doubt and confusion can manifest themselves when the defense starts changing its looks not just before the snap, but after it. That’s the other beauty of an amoeba front: It’s more conducive to disguising your coverages, especially underneath. From those fronts, a defense can always threaten a heavy blitz, easily rush five or just as easily rush only three, flooding the coverage with eight defenders. Quarterbacks must be prepared either to play fast or, if it’s a three-man rush, to suddenly play slow. In this delicate balance, it’s easy to start playing off-schedule.

Of course, it’s also easy to theorize about all the things a defense should do; executing those things can be a different story. Last Sunday against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, New England employed many of the tactics described above. The Pats coaxed Mahomes into a few early incompletions and turnovers but ultimately gave up 40 points. But maybe that 40 points would have been 50 if Mahomes had faced predictable, static run-stopping fronts early in the game. And maybe 40 points would have been only 30 if Mahomes had seen New England’s disguised passing-down fronts on more first and second downs.

 

[wackywabbit]

Why does anything after week 6 need to be evaluated in the context of can it carry a team to a super bowl? Way too soon to predict the playoff outlook for any team. The Ravens are going to be in a dogfight just to make the playoffs. It's very unlikely that 3 AFC North teams make the playoffs given how tough their schedules are (each other x2, AFC West and NFC South). 

Because of that, this Ravens defense can and should only be compared to others this year. Way too early to compare it to the top defenses from other years.

It's been really fun to watch them though. So many players can step up and flash, but there isn't really a mega-superstar that opposing offenses have to scheme around either. 

[DontTazeMeBro]

Probably the best or top 2 in the league. And if we play KC, NE, and maybe Pittsburgh in the playoffs we’re still probably going to give up 30. Like all the best defenses did last year. Best defense doesn’t mean **** anymore. Best you can hope for is to make the big play towards the end of a shootout 

[3rivers]

On 2018-10-17 at 1:18 PM, RavensDefense3 said:

we're truly going to find out this week vs saints. aside from half a game on the road on short week against cincy it's looked dominant every game. i said before this season it's going to be a top 3 defense, but the way these other defenses are playing it looks like the top 1. on paper there aren't any flaws either beside interior pass rush.

This will be a good test. Stats are from who you play and the saints have had an easy schedule so far according to some. I am looking forward to this game, probably the one that I will watch . They destroyed the titans, but the titans OL went from one of the best to maybe near bottom 10. It might be injuries or maybe OL coach , scheme or it could have been the Ravens, it was such a mismatch .

I still think D and a good rushing attack can win,  but not many teams are built like that anymore. It would be nice to see a dominant D win, but the nfl wants high scoring games which I find boring but most newer viewers prefer.

It comes down to matchups, and for the Ravens, they will have to match up well vs pats and chiefs in the acf to get there. I am not sold on the steelers being a thorn in their side still, and in the NFC I would say the saints would be their challenge due to the passing attack .  

Right now it looks to me like the Ravens have the top D, the jags have lost a bit from last year.

[JaguarCrazy2832]

Good enough to have a chance to win every game, if the offense can score just a little more they could be a dark horse for the AFC