Linemen will Need to Lead Baltimore to Super Bowl - Not Flacco
by kyleoland on Jan 18, 2012 3:36 PM EST
Email
Print
All the hype in the media the past three days has been about how Joe Flacco's performance on Sunday against the Patriots will dictate whether or not the Ravens make it to the Super Bowl.
Flacco's play will help Baltimore win or lose, but he will not be the deciding factor. On Sunday, the often overlooked linemen will ultimately decide the outcome.
Over the past couple days, Flacco has taken a lot of heat for his play. The media does not seem to appreciate his numbers (20 TD 12 INT 3610 YDS 57.6 CMP%), which for in today's pass happy league are pedestrian. However, with the way Baltimore's offense is centered around Ray Rice, Flacco does not have to put up numbers similar to the Rodgers and Brees of the NFL. The Baltimore offense runs through Rice, just like the New England offense runs through Brady.
With that being said, if Baltimore is to beat New England, Baltimore's lineman will be a huge reason why.
Looking at the offensive line, the crew of Mckinnie, Grubbs, Birk, Yanda and Oher need work together as one unit. Going into a hostile environment, they will need to be disciplined and focused. Yes, that means you Oher! The interior lineman will have their hands full with the hefty Patriots DT Vince WIlfork clogging up the middle of the field.
This group I believe has the most pressure on them, even though the media is not bringing any attention to the lineman. In order for Baltimore to beat Tom Brady and the Patriots, they will have to keep Brady off the field.
How do you do that?
You run the ball! You don't only run the ball, but you run the ball effectively. Because of this, the offensive line needs to bring their A-game Sunday.
Subsequently, Flacco will have to make key third down conversions through the air on Sunday - it's inevitable. When these third downs occur, the offensive line will again have to play their best. As we have seen all year, Flacco is at his best when given time and does not have to move around in the pocket.
In the Texans game we saw that Flacco does not handle pressure well. When pressure was brought, he was either sacked, made a poor throw or made the wrong read. This was not all on Flacco though. The offensive line can receive much of the blame. They were unable to pick up stunts or blitzes, leaving the immobile Flacco out to dry.
If the line gives Flacco protection Sunday, Flacco and the receivers are good enough to beat the Patriots secondary.
On Sunday Flacco does not have to be outstanding for the Ravens to win, but the offensive line does.
The opinions posted here are those of the administrator of this blog and his loyal readers. They are in no way official comments from the team, and should not be misconstued as such, even though he thinks he could do just as well or even a better job!
16 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Nice post and agree that the lines on both sides of the ball will be huge factors of deciding the game. When our line plays well we typically play well on O. Rice gets going which allows an effective play action and Flacco to get comfortable back there. If our D line can generate pressure it will make things that much harder on Brady. We don’t have to shut down Brady because that’s too difficult, but we just need to slow him down. I feel if we can keep them under 25 we have a real good shot at this game.
On Ed Reed:
"I’ve told him to his face many times, ‘You’re the greatest safety ever to play the game,’"
"We all learn from each other, but we all learn most from him."
- Troy Polamalu
damn…another voice of reason. nice post. you are sooo right. our line couldn’t get a few feet a few times. oher is turning into a bum. burk needs to gets some push out of that old body.
Instead of turning into a bum, I think Oher is getting a bum wrap.
Give the guy a break! He has had to relearn his position every year since he’s been drafted. He played LT at Ole Miss, was switched to RT his rookie year, LT tackle last year and back to RT this year (without training camp to work on relearning the position). When he finally gets to play the same position at least two years in a row, he might have the opportunity to show how good he can be.
Michael Oher is so fast off the ball that he only appears to be off-sides.
by Raveness on Jan 19, 2012 7:39 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I’m sorry but we’re in week 20 of the season now, and Oher looks only marginally better than he did at the beginning. He may improve to be a serviceable RT but I sincerely doubt he ever lives up to his 1st round draft expectations.
I love it knowing that there are a handful of Ravens fans in this area who despise the fact that Joe will be our QB for the next 10 years. --Mr. MaLoR
by jackmca on Jan 20, 2012 7:15 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
You may be right in the end . . . but,
I still think it’s too early to call him a complete disappointment.
Michael Oher is so fast off the ball that he only appears to be off-sides.
Yeah Filmstudy scored Oher with the 2nd lowest grade he has ever given. The only worst one was Oniel Cousins against Pitt getting manhandled by woodley. Really bad game Oher just played.
On Ed Reed:
"I’ve told him to his face many times, ‘You’re the greatest safety ever to play the game,’"
"We all learn from each other, but we all learn most from him."
- Troy Polamalu
Just means
Sunday can’t be worse.
Right?
You come at the king, you best not miss.
by organizedchaos52 on Jan 20, 2012 3:17 PM EST up reply actions
Agreed, but
aren’t pretty much every game won in the trenches? Win the battle inside, win the game. As you said, if the o-line plays lights out, Joe will be good enough to win. Otherwise, we’ll need to rely on the intangibles (turnovers, Special Teams, etc.), which makes it a LOT harder to win on the road.
aka 'Rexx'
Which Texans game were you watching when you say...
we saw that Flacco does not handle pressure well? The one where he threw no INTs despite getting pounded on? Or the one where he threw 2 TDs? I agree with your general point that the O-line needs to play well, but I think you sell Flacco short. He is the best Ravens quarterback ever and plays a pretty good game when you give him options and have reasonable play calling and protection.
I like what Flacco has done. I agree with you that he is the best QB the Ravens have had. However, watch the game. Whenever he has pressure in his face he does not move his feet in the pocket to avoid the pressure. His pocket awareness really needs to improve. Many of the elite QB’s in the league can avoid that pressure and make the throw consistently – see Rodgers, Brees and Manning. Flacco right now is not capable of succeeding when pressure is his face consistently. He is at is best when give adequate time.
Flacco has made huge improvements at moving within the pocket—when there is one or when there is room in it. Against HOU Flacco frequently had no room to step up because Yanda and Birk were getting pushed back. Also, its a lot easier to roll right, but with Oher getting beaten like a mule, Flacco was forced to try to squeeze left between McKinnie and Grubbs. That’s never going to end well.
Obviously the line needs to dig deep and come up big here, but I disagree about Flacco. There are some plays where there’s simply no play for him to make.
I love it knowing that there are a handful of Ravens fans in this area who despise the fact that Joe will be our QB for the next 10 years. --Mr. MaLoR
by jackmca on Jan 20, 2012 7:12 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Baltimore Beat Down
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
SBNation.com Recent Stories
In Association With
Shutdown Corner - NFL - Yahoo! Sports
- Former high-school star Brian Banks does serious time on trumped-up charge, now hopes for an NFL shot
- Former ‘idiot kicker’ Mike Vanderjagt in trouble after accosting junior-high heckler
- Adrian Peterson blows teammates away in footraces; appears to be on the mend
- UPDATE: Charlie Sheen didn’t buy Lawrence Taylor’s Super Bowl ring
- Alex Smith gets blown up by Jon Beason over Cam Newton comments
