Villanueva Signed

[sp6488]

54 minutes ago, SalvadorsDeli said:

Guessing he meant Cleveland at LG, not LT. 

I'm sort of out of my element a little bit when it comes to some of the intricacies of OLine play but does this projected lineup suggest we're going to see some tweaks in the running scheme? Cleveland and Villanueva both seem to be more of 'strength' vs. 'mobility' linemen. I'm unsure of what Zeitler's exact skillset is. Bozeman was our primary pulling linemen last year too so maybe it's just a matter of building the scheme around having the center on the move. But the complexity in Roman's running game seems largely to come down to moving blockers around after the snap to create unique holes. Do we expect any significant differences in terms of overall skillset/scheme if the above ends up being the starting line? 

Not sure I fully agree with either classification. Cleveland has plenty good mobility numbers (better than Bozeman) from a measurables standpoint. Could be that he was such an overpowering guard in college, there was no reason to put him on the move as opposed to having him just obliterate the man in front of him. My understanding is that Villanueva is more of a finesse and length blocker (some of the longest arms in NFL history) than a traditional RT road grader. 

What could happen is that the Ravens run game could actually become a bit more "ambidextrous" rather than "right-handed" as it's been the last few years. Both Cleveland and Zeitler seem to be guys who could be the main guy at the pivot (something Yanda was phenomenal at) with Stanley and Villanueva having the mobility and length to get into level two and open holes, both as the second man on the pivot (again, think Yanda and OBJ) AND from the backside (something Stanley has been amazing at when we run right-handed).

[sp6488]

2 hours ago, baltimoreRebel said:

I don't mind the signing. 

Still hoping we can sign Houston or someone like Kerrigan. 

Same, would love to see something like $15M / 3 years for Houston or similar 

[DreamKid]

24 minutes ago, SalvadorsDeli said:

Do we expect any significant differences in terms of overall skillset/scheme if the above ends up being the starting line? 

I think the main difference is that Alejandro won't be used the same way Orlando was. A lot of Raven fans mistakenly believe that Brown was this dominating and versatile run blocker, which he wasn't. He was actually much stronger as a pass blocker, with how he used his immense natural size and length to consistently keep pass rushers held in check. In the run game we used Orlando primarily in a specialized fashion as an anchor/hinge to wrap pullers around. Here's an example-

Note how Orlando(along with Yanda initially) seals up the backside while Stanley and Skura pull on the play.(The fake from Boyle is awesome too. If there's one thing that chubby bastard Roman can do, it's scheme up some run plays. 😁) This is how Roman liked to use Brown in our system. OBJ wasn't a driving or plus run blocker even in college. He's bigger than he is strong, it's hard to maintain leverage at his size(especially when moving), and he lacks the mobility to really be a multi faceted run blocking force. This what he was he was good at though, sealing up space and letting other blockers flow around him. Which is an area I don't see Villanueva being nearly as good in. While tall and long himself, he just doesn't share the same sheer mass to anchor down like that. 

So that's a bigger change I'm anticipating. 

52 minutes ago, SalvadorsDeli said:

Bozeman was our primary pulling linemen last year too so maybe it's just a matter of building the scheme around having the center on the move.

Roman has always loved pulling the LG regardless of who has manned the spot. Mobility is actually not one of Boze's strengths either. He's improved since he's been here but it's more a case of him fitting into the role than it was Roman making use of his specific skillset. Roman did love making use of Jensen's mobility when he was here at Center though. There were definitely more unique blocking concepts for him installed compared to Skura and Mekari. So it'll be interesting to see how this all comes together.

[DreamKid]

Here are some great videos on Ben Cleveland for those interested-

Mobility isn't his calling card despite some impressive testing numbers, but he's not bad as a puller in these clips.

 

 

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

@DreamKidMan, that gif really just shows that our boy Justice Hill would've had a walk-in TD with how quick Clowney was giving up that edge lol

[DreamKid]

2 minutes ago, AFlaccoSeagulls said:

@DreamKidMan, that gif really just shows that our boy Justice Hill would've had a walk-in TD with how quick Clowney was giving up that edge lol

 Hill should finally get some touches this year. I'm really excited about him as a STer too. He was a demon on kick coverage last season.

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

3 minutes ago, DreamKid said:

 Hill should finally get some touches this year. I'm really excited about him as a STer too. He was a demon on kick coverage last season.

I'm really excited to see what he brings in the passing game for us, but really a lot of teams don't play man coverage so he doesn't get the opportunities to get LB's 1v1 like he should.

[sp6488]

22 minutes ago, DreamKid said:

 

Note how Orlando(along with Yanda initially) seals up the backside while Stanley and Skura pull on the play.(The fake from Boyle is awesome too. If there's one thing that chubby bastard Roman can do, it's scheme up some run plays. 😁) This is how Roman liked to use Brown in our system. OBJ wasn't a driving or plus run blocker even in college. He's bigger than he is strong, it's hard to maintain leverage at his size(especially when moving), and he lacks the mobility to really be a multi faceted run blocking force. This what he was he was good at though, sealing up space and letting other blockers flow around him. Which is an area I don't see Villanueva being nearly as good in. While tall and long himself, he just doesn't share the same sheer mass to anchor down like that. 

This is a good illustration of what I mean about the right-handedness of the Ravens run game and the "pivot" that Yanda was so good at. It actually wasn't executed perfectly here, but it shows it well. Typically, Yanda would attempt to turn the defender's right shoulder away from the play and swing the gate open with his butt to the running lane. OBJ would then continue up into level two and wall off a LB (likely the guy you see Yanda go after and Ronnie hit on what is an incredibly athletic pull). As you can see it's a bit backwards in execution. Had OBJ continued up into level two, he walls off that LB who is pursuing, Stanley ends the life of the DB who whiffs on Lamar (but causes him to cut outside), and Lamar walks into the end zone unscathed.

Edited May 4, 2021 by sp6488

[DreamKid]

2 minutes ago, AFlaccoSeagulls said:

I'm really excited to see what he brings in the passing game for us, but really a lot of teams don't play man coverage so he doesn't get the opportunities to get LB's 1v1 like he should.

He could do some real damage against teams that totally vacate the flats against us. A dump off pass to Hill will hurt a lot more than one to Ricard. This Preseason will be huge for Justice in terms of proving himself to the coaches.

[DreamKid]

1 minute ago, sp6488 said:

This is a good illustration of what I mean about the right-handedness of the Ravens run game and the "pivot" that Yanda was so good at. It actually wasn't executed perfectly here, but it shows it well. Typically, Yanda would attempt to turn the defender's right shoulder away from the play and swing the gate open with his butt to the running lane. OBJ would then continue up into level two and wall off a LB (likely the guy you see Yanda go after and Ronnie hit on what is an incredibly athletic pull). As you can see it's a but backwards. Had OBJ continued up into level two, he walls off that LB who is pursuing, Stanley ends the life of the DB who whiffs on Lamar (but causes him to cut outside), and Lamar walks into the end zone unscathed.

It's been that way with every RT during Roman's tenure too. Austin Howard, James Hurst, and then Orlando. When Yanda went down in 2017 it stayed the same. It's just how Greg likes to run it. The opposing team knows it too, yet the majority of the time is totally unable to stop it.

I've said it before but there's really only 3-5 teams in this league we can't just solely run the ball against. 😁 And that's why we had to draft a Rashod Bateman, to help us make the passing game work against that handful of teams who don't just get demolished by us or run over by us.

Also I almost hate posting any GIFs/Clips containing Yanda, because it just makes us all miss him so much 😔.

[AngusMcFife]

2 hours ago, SalvadorsDeli said:

 

It seems premature to assume this will be the starting lineup.

We don't know if Cleveland is ready to start. 

We don't know if Bozeman can transition to C. With all the snapping problems Skura and Mekari had last year, I can't just assume Bozeman will be good there. 

I wouldn't be shocked if we ran back:

LT Stanley
LG Bozeman
C Mekari
RT Zeitler
LT Villanueva

[Letsch80]

5 minutes ago, AngusMcFife said:

It seems premature to assume this will be the starting lineup.

We don't know if Cleveland is ready to start. 

We don't know if Bozeman can transition to C. With all the snapping problems Skura and Mekari had last year, I can't just assume Bozeman will be good there. 

I wouldn't be shocked if we ran back:

LT Stanley
LG Bozeman
C Mekari
RT Zeitler
LT Villanueva

I just do not see a way that they keep Cleveland and his massive frame out of the lineup. Unless he is extremely deficient in a lot of areas he will be in there mauling people!

[DreamKid]

5 minutes ago, AngusMcFife said:

We don't know if Bozeman can transition to C. With all the snapping problems Skura and Mekari had last year, I can't just assume Bozeman will be good there. 

Boze was originally a Center.

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

20 minutes ago, AngusMcFife said:

It seems premature to assume this will be the starting lineup.

We don't know if Cleveland is ready to start. 

We don't know if Bozeman can transition to C. With all the snapping problems Skura and Mekari had last year, I can't just assume Bozeman will be good there. 

I wouldn't be shocked if we ran back:

LT Stanley
LG Bozeman
C Mekari
RT Zeitler
LT Villanueva

We seem to have some relatively massive holes at RT and RT with this lineup

[DreamKid]