Random Ravens Thoughts: New Forum Edition

[ThatJaxxenGuy]

16 hours ago, berlin calling said:

gotta love the offseason. Dudes getting heat for living their best life. 

Who the F am i to care about a SB winning, multiple pro bowl NFL professional private life.

 

Tom Brady dumped his pregnant girlfriend to marry his current wife. Patriots probably should have cut him, eh....

The Ravens only cut Earl if they can upgrade the position or find a similar level of play for a cheaper price. If NFL teams start cutting players for sneaking out on their best gal well rosters around the league filled with young millionaire hotshots are about to get rather thin. 

Edited May 10, 2020 by ThatJaxxenGuy

[naptownskinsfan]

On 5/8/2020 at 8:07 PM, drd23 said:

It's always trippy seeing these OL guys who slim down so quickly after they retire.  IDK about you guys, but I rarely ever think about how much some of them so to gain weight to play at 300+lbs

Just had this discussion in the Redskins forum about this.  I mentioned how different Joe Thomas and Jordan Gross looked, and someone also posted a story about one of our players actually gaining weight to play DL.  Crazy stuff 

https://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/redskins-lineman-trent-murphy-struggles-to-gain-weight-i-hate-eating-082516

[naptownskinsfan]

On 5/9/2020 at 5:42 AM, drd23 said:

On the topic of some OL guys having to eat heaps just to make weight when playing and then losing a fair bit soon after retiring, The Ringer happened to have a pretty good article on it just a few days ago

https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2020/5/5/21246544/offensive-linemen-diet-weight-loss-gain-eating

Wow, this is crazy.  I wonder how many years this takes off their life, even though some of them eventually lose it.  I know Tre Johnson has serious issues from concussions (he is a teacher and has to be in a dimly lit classroom) but how much else is going to affect him later in life from eating all of that food?  

[coordinator0]

Yeah, Yanda not wanting to risk another injury and rehab offseason is really driven home after reading some of this stuff. I can't imagine what it does to your lifestyle trying to keep that weight on and rehab an injury at the same time. 

[Ray Reed]

If you guys want some entertaining offseason fodder, go into the Browns "2020 Opponents Thread" in their forum and check out page 10

It has that Bleed The Clock guy - who infamously GUARANTEED Lamar would be a bust and staked his reputation on it - throwing out big brain quotes (when talking about Lamar) like: 

Quote

 Flush him left and watch the kid crumble.

Quote

You have to force him to make tight window throws against man coverage. He's not capable of that.

Quote

Im sending 6 every time against empty. Play 0 and tell that joke QB he has 1 second to throw the ball. 

This man really has some hate in his heart for Lamar making him look like the charlatan wannabe "football guy" he is 

Edited May 11, 2020 by Ray Reed

[sp6488]

26 minutes ago, Ray Reed said:

If you guys want some entertaining offseason fodder, go into the Browns "2020 Opponents Thread" in their forum and check out page 10

It has that Bleed The Clock guy - who infamously GUARANTEED Lamar would be a bust and staked his reputation on it - throwing out big brain quotes (when talking about Lamar) like: 

This man really has some hate in his heart for Lamar making him look like the charlatan wannabe "football guy" he is 

Yes, definitely send the house with no containment rush and have all secondary with their backs to the QB in strict man-to-man. Great plan.

Very much looking forward to Lamar's 20 ypc

Edited May 11, 2020 by sp6488

[Danand]

I can't come up with a different explanation, that people like that guy who calls Lamar that kind of stuff, has some severe hatred towards the guy based on some draft bias. For some reason, fans/media/experts had strong opinions about Lamars ability (or lack of it) to succeed, and now that he makes them look bad, they hate him for it.

If not for some draft bias, I can't figure out why people react towards him like that. Besides the episode last season in his car and the way he talks, which rubs some the wrong way, he has done nothing that warrant people disliking him.

He has exceeded all expectations already, he has no off field stuff, he is popular with players, really sympathetic, humble, does and say the right things, interact with fans and seem genuinely interested in kids and his teammates success on the field.

He is also wildly entertaining.

Now, he has to prove consistency. Browns fans saw last year their QB fall off a cliff in a year he should have elevated his game. Lamar has to avoid the same scenario and he has to do it in a year, where teams have more tape of what he can do. That bleed the clock guy do have some points, although that Vee Rex guy also put him on the spot with regard to some false statements.

We and our coaching staff and Lamar knows, that he doesn't throw as well to the outside as to the middle of the field. So my bet is as well as the Browns guys, that teams will come out and try to clog that middle of the defense, play man on the outside receivers and a lot of zone in the middle. I think the way to beat the Ravens is to make Lamar run, so on those read options plays, I think we will see more defenders crash hard on the RB and then try to force Lamar to run to the inside where he can get hit.

All that, "blitz him, play cover 0, make him throw", is just BS to support that draft bias that Lamar would not be a good passer. We saw last year that it was a very bad idea to blitz him and to be overly aggressive.

And as with all other offenses, the way to beat the Ravens is to make them one dimensional, which often means to win at the LOS. That is no secret

[SalvadorsDeli]

Lamar crumbles if you take away every running and passing option the moment the ball is snapped, why isn't this more obvious to people? All you have to do to shut down that joke of a QB Lamar is to both get immediate pressure and also get tight man coverage in the secondary where the defenders simultaneously keep their eyes on their receivers and the QB and making sure there's no escape valve for him to run out into space through. I don't know why more teams haven't thought of using my 'play perfect defense' system, they just must not be as smart as me. 

 

Edited May 11, 2020 by BaltimoreTerp

[M.10.E]

I just view these types of Lamar critics as immature/unreasonable. Some people just can't admit they're wrong. So excited for this year.

Edited May 11, 2020 by M.10.E

[SalvadorsDeli]

4 hours ago, Danand said:

We and our coaching staff and Lamar knows, that he doesn't throw as well to the outside as to the middle of the field. So my bet is as well as the Browns guys, that teams will come out and try to clog that middle of the defense, play man on the outside receivers and a lot of zone in the middle.

It's not like there isn't logic in that thinking - if you're shutting down the middle of the field just from a personnel standpoint it means you're likely succeeding at shutting down Mark Andrews who was our #1 receiver last year. But even then, plenty of teams took that approach  last year and Lamar punished teams that did. This whole idea that he can't really throw outside has been exaggerated just like every other potential flaw in his game, at least in terms of how people talk about how it's some foolproof strategy for shutting him down (not saying that's what you're saying; moreso talking about the new 'thinking NFL fan' take out there re: how to end Lamar). 

Just look at his passing chart from last year:

D

 

Deep left - where he would have generally been throwing to a rookie Miles Boykin or Seth Roberts most of the year - was the only area where he had remotely concerning production. 

But to me those intermediate throws to - 10-20 yards outside the hashes - are potentially a better reflection of his general ability as a passer moreso the throws you're going to have to make on a more consistent basis when teams try to force him to throw outside, and he's already shown his strengths there. 

Year 2 with a healthy and full-speed Hollywood and a hopefully more developed Boykin running those outside routes will make the passing game on the outside a lot more dynamic to begin with. 

None of this is to say that Lamar's perfect - nobody is - but the fact that people are still out there trying to come up with this 'one neat trick' to shut down Lamar are just grasping at straws. That ship has already sailed. You beat him the same way you beat any great QB, you win in the trenches, stay disciplined, and hope for some breaks. To the extent there's a blueprint, that's what the Titans pulled off but it's not like it's some blueprint that can just get replicated every game moving forward. You gotta be good and you also have to be lucky. 

As a sidenote I feel like that chart also shows how much room there is to grow for us in the screen game. 

Edited May 11, 2020 by BaltimoreTerp

[M.10.E]

To be fair, he said "as well" as the middle of the field, which I think most people will agree with. Agreed on the screen game. Our short passing needs some work.

Edited May 11, 2020 by M.10.E

[SalvadorsDeli]

4 minutes ago, M.10.E said:

To be fair, he said "as well" as the middle of the field, which I think most people will agree with. 

Yeah don't get me wrong I don't think think there's really anything wrong in what @Danand was saying. Moreso talking about the anti-Lamar hive that have taken something that's true (Lamar likes his TE's and is good at throwing to the middle of the field) and basically taken it to its extreme (if Lamar likes throwing over the middle it also means Lamar can't throw outside) which is clearly not true. 

[AngusMcFife]

I noticed this in a Harbaugh interview four days ago:

"There are certain throws that we need to make - the way people started defending us at the end of the year - that we need to get great at, that we're working on right now" (at 1:02)

 

I think that is pretty strong evidence that those deep outside throws could be improved. 

[Danand]

9 hours ago, BaltimoreTerp said:

Yeah don't get me wrong I don't think think there's really anything wrong in what @Danand was saying. Moreso talking about the anti-Lamar hive that have taken something that's true (Lamar likes his TE's and is good at throwing to the middle of the field) and basically taken it to its extreme (if Lamar likes throwing over the middle it also means Lamar can't throw outside) which is clearly not true. 

Agree, Lamar made every throw last year and my emphasis on his ability to throw to the outside is more of a reflection of what he has said himself and what the coaching staff has said, as mentioned in the video below.

We never have had a decent screen game, but that could change this year - we have the right tools. The deep outs and comebacks - the Derrick Mason route, those are the ones I think about when thinking about an area where Lamar can improve. I think most of it has to do with him being comfortable with throwing those routes, not that he can't do it.

Especially tight ends and Snead caught those routes to the outside throws from Lamar

Edit: Those who critize Lamar for "only" throwing to tight ends and in the middle of the field, those are the same people that knock other QB's for not daring to make throws accross the middle in traffic. Its a lose lose situation with those people.

Edited May 12, 2020 by Danand

[RavensfanRD]

17 hours ago, Ray Reed said:

If you guys want some entertaining offseason fodder, go into the Browns "2020 Opponents Thread" in their forum and check out page 10

It has that Bleed The Clock guy - who infamously GUARANTEED Lamar would be a bust and staked his reputation on it - throwing out big brain quotes (when talking about Lamar) like: 

This man really has some hate in his heart for Lamar making him look like the charlatan wannabe "football guy" he is 

All I need you to do is say "Take care trash" again, please. 

I'm always down to watch Browns misery.