Ravens O-line Rated 3rd Best in NFL
by Bruce Raffel on Jun 22, 2010 9:49 AM EDT
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Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports puts the five guys in front of QB Joe Flacco as the third best group in the NFL. He cites the big change of second year LT Michael Oher switching positions with Jared Gaither as the key to this squad. While he said the Ravens were actually below average at pass blocking this past year, he still thinks that overall this group will be among the best in the league in 2010. The additions at wide receiver should make Flacco's need for additional time to find an open receiver drop down, which will make the o-line look better as they won't have to protect him for so long.
In fact, Cole likes Michael Oher so much that he says he could pass Denver's Ryan Clady and Miami's Jake Long as the best at his new left tackle position.
Coles only rates the New Orleans Saints' offensive line as the best in the league, followed by the New England Patriots. The Ravens at #3, rank just ahead of the Atlanta Falcons at #4, and the Miami Dolphins rounding out the top five. Surprisingly, he only ranks the Indianapolis Colts line at #9, due to their lack of success at short yardage situations. Happily for Ravens fans, he has our AFC North competitors Pittsburgh Steelers front line rated 24th, far behind the Cincinnati Bengals at #15 and even the Cleveland Browns at #16.
See the entire story here.
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I’m loving the offensive line right now.
This group is elite for sure, but not many people realize how much more upside this group has. They’re all young, except Birk, and only getting better as they work together. I’m really hoping that the Ravens will find a way to retain Jared Gaither. I think they may franchise him next season if they can get Ngata signed to an extension and if Gaither works hard and stays healthy. Having Oher and Gaither is a huge luxury in the modern NFL. Furthermore, having a stud like Grubbs and two road-graders like Birk and Yanda on the inside is almost unfair to the rest of the league.
Against the run, teams can’t ignore the inside or outside because Rice can take it the distance and every lineman is athletic enough to pull and pinch. Against the pass, they can’t load up the middle or the edges since the lineman are nearly impossible to stop one-on-one, and they can’t neglect any part of the line. That’s the best part. This line makes teams play them one-on-one, and the only way to beat them is to be better. There’s no simple scheme or trick that’s effective.
Yea, it is great to have such a good O-Line. The best part is that they are all so young. Our nucleus of Oher, Grubbs and Yanda is going to be together for a very long time. Add onto that Gaither for 1 more year and Birk still playing solid, no reason not to rank them in the top 5. It all starts up front and Ozzie has done a great job of keeping Joe upright and opening up mammoth holes for our RB.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
"Impossible to stop one-on-one"
I don’t follow what you are saying here. Offensive linemen in pass pro are never “stopped.” From a defensive standpoint, why not load up the middle or the edges as long as you know a pass is coming?
Is it the threat of running through the hole that the defense just left open by trying to overload a particular offensive lineman?
They say the empty can rattles the most...
Because before the snap, the defense doesn’t know whether the play will be a run or a pass. Therefore, they need to protect every gap against the run, which essential boils down to stopping the offensive linemen from getting a good push. Since the Ravens’ offensive lineman are so good, the defense cannot overextend to the edges or load up the middle because that would leave certain players on the defense solely responsible for covering entire sides of the field.
Offensive line schemes and coaches constantly refer to “isolating” the defense in certain areas, and when the offensive linemen are dominate, leaving a lineman one-on-one with a defensive player is a recipe for a big run. Furthermore, the offense will use pulls and pinches to force isolations. The entire point of run blocking is to get the ball carrier to an area where all of the defensive players are blocked or out of the play.
Gotcha
I’m sure some defenses will still try to overload one side of the Ravens’ o-line at times, especially on 3rd and long. It will be interesting to see if this unit can live up to the “hype” by handling that type of pressure. Hopefully we’ll see lots of draws to Rice converted for 1st downs!
They say the empty can rattles the most...
i thought the term was “shuttle pass”
"Cam, we're not going to have any issues because we're going to be winning."
--Joe Flacco
"Just win baby. Yeah, I stole that."
--Jon Gruden
What’s great also is that Chester and Hale make for competent backups.
by PurpleNorangeNbeer on Jun 22, 2010 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Hale is sort of an "understudy"
for Matt Birk. He is being groomed for that future position, but if the team feels he can’t fill it they will look elsewhere when the time comes.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jun 22, 2010 3:58 PM EDT up reply actions
Nobody noticing my beastly profile pic?
"All those who look down on me, I'm tearing down your balcony." -Eminem
Gotta agree
I can only contain myself so much at this point. Bring on Football season. We’re gonna have a great season for sure!!! Go Ravens!
Sort of like....
…nowhere to go but down?
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jun 22, 2010 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions
the squeelers
only have had success in years that they were not expected to do anything. in years they were favored or the defending champs, they either missed the playoffs totally or lost early on. happened to the Pats once or twice also.
I would consider our O-line great when....
we play the steelers and not give up a sack. I have seen too many times where Woodley murders the right side play in and play out.
I am not sure I agree or disagree here - so much of Oline performance is subjective
Statistically , and I don’t believe it really tells the whole story, per the official NFL stats the Bengals rank 9th, the Ravens 20th and the Steelers 27th. Do I think the Ravens Oline was better last year? Yes. Like I said so much is subjective and stats don’t paint a total picture. If pressed I would say that the average between subjectivity and statistics would be the most accurate but still untrustworthy ranking. I am not sure that isn’t true of all positions. All I know with reasonable certainty that both of our Olines have improved. As of right now I would put the Ravens a bit ahead, the Bengals just behind them but not much, and the Browns next and the Steelers last. But all have improved IMO.
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
He is still trying to see his feet, the titties are blocking his view.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
Not anymore than Cody's
Just saying…
"All those who look down on me, I'm tearing down your balcony." -Eminem
by Zachary Beard on Jun 23, 2010 3:02 PM EDT up reply actions
Yes he can pass block. His foot is healing fine.
They just aren’t taking any chances right now. He is down to around 340 from 380. He should be just fine.
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
Hold on Sir
I never said the O-line didnt improve. I would considerthem great when…….
by Raven_all_day on Jun 25, 2010 11:08 PM EDT up reply actions
What will make them great....
Teams will not be able to put 8 men the box,once one of the 3 headed monsters breaks the line of scrimmage,your facing corners and safetys,no match,also we have the receivers to make you pay if you don’t.If you blitz,same thing in reverse…great being a Ravens fan,OZ has put together one helluva team,barring injury this season should be incredible…
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