In my opinion, the issue with the bigger question starts with the organizational philosophy. They continue to want to be a run-oriented team, where the passing game is a mere passenger. Several years, they even treated it like the unwanted stepchild that they had to tolerate. You're asking your QB to make all of this improvement as a passer, in an organization that doesn't want to win with the passing game. KC fully backed Andy Reid's desire to win with the passing game. From the moment Mahomes was drafted, they made it their top priority to maximize his potential as a passer. He had Tyreek Hill until he developed to the point that he no longer needed him. While they still continued to be a passing team. Our approach to Lamar's passing was woeful. Firstly, we took him from a more advanced Passing scheme at Louisville and, within a year, tossed him into the worst passing scheme in the league. Keeping him there for five years. Our Head Coach essentially told WRs that if they cared too much about the most basic function of their position, don't bother coming here. Which led to us forcing picks in the draft, because honestly it was the only way for us to keep WRs under contract here. But two of them, we drafted into the Greg Roman offense. That doesn't say, we drafted these guys to have a high quality passing game. That doesn't say, Lamar's growth as a passer is top priority. As a result, Lamar continues to have to play nearly perfect, as we continue banking on bargain options at WR, most of whom have inconsistent hands, in a low volume passing offense where mistakes hurt us more than most teams who throw the ball more and give themselves more opportunities to make up for those mistakes. Lamar, literally, had to be his own biggest advocate for the passing game. And Zay Flowers our first real hit at WR in the 1st or second round unless you want to count Torrey, and the Zay pick was heavily influenced by Lamar. Bringing in Henry is not the issue. It's a great move. The issue is that it's taken 7 years for our Quarterback to be in a position where he may not be our leading rusher, because that's just how little we've cared about the passing game, compared to the running game.
Perfectly said. The Ravens(mostly Harbaugh) seem like they take pride in refusing to evolve, like they should receive a badge of honor for their commitment to completely avoid learning from their mistakes and shortcomings.
To answer your question, no I wanted them to focus on defense. We didn’t pass the ball enough last year to allocate significant draft capital in another wide receiver and we have enough mouths to feed with Zay, Bateman, Andrews, and likely. They could’ve hit o line harder but I’m fine with moving forward with vorhees and Cleveland at guard.
The offensive line is critical. If we aren’t sure we definitely need to fortify the line with free agents. I like what we’ve done on the defensive side of the ball. I think Trenton Simpson will be a great. I think we need to run the football, that is why we got Henry and that is why we didn’t go to the Super Bowl
So we get all these weapons , & bate, zay , Nelson, Tez,Andrews , likely , along with Henry & when Mitchell come back , what’s the point if we already have ton of weapons and bate need to get his targets to prove his not a bust (which he’s not ) but we are fine on offense
Henry, Zay, Andrews, Likely and Bateman are a nice starting 5 but i wouldn't mind adding a veteran for cheap. I think the front office respect Agholor too much to sign another wr, but im afraid we are betting on health to be on our side
It's not about weapons. It's about finding THE weapon, an unstoppable difference maker that the defense has to game plan around, like Travis Kelce (The only TE that qualifies), Jamar Chase, Debo Samuel, AJ Brown, or a young Derrick Henry. Or at least about building an offensive line that allows you to dictate to the defense. The Chiefs, Niners, Bengals, and Eagles for example have elite difference makers on offense that can make you right even when you're wrong as a quarterback. Those perennial contenders aggressively pursue those weapons, often via trade. The Ravens are unwilling to be aggressive to make themselves overwhelming and give them a larger margin of error. The Chiefs won a super bowl where Patrick Mahomes threw two interceptions and had a 78 QBR. When we play the Bengals Joe Burrow can play three bad quarters, but we're fighting tooth and nail to keep a lid on those weapons that always give them a chance to come back if we make any errors. I understand fans' frustration with The Ravens unwillingness to ever invest in pursuing those type of weapons if it will limit future flexibility.
I wish they would have been more aggressive in the second round and traded up for one of the more complete receivers. Cause if Bateman and Walker dont pan out we're going to be right back looking for a WR in the first round next year. And thats when Stanley's contract is up and we're really going to need a 1st round tackle
I think we play with more 2 tight ends this year. Likely and Andrews (Kolar too) will keep defenses on their heals this. The tackle we drafted can play left and right. We also have Derrick Henry. Bateman Nelly Zay Tez walker and Tyan Wallace. Not house hold names, but we have never been a pass first team.
That's what I was hoping for, some combination of 4th + 6th to move back into the 3rd Round. Somewhere in the 75-85 range is what I thought might have been available.
I was thinking about using the 2025 capital, seeing we will have 11 picks next year... An aggressive move to get another 2nd could of got another blue chipper😢
@@kiviwoods6643Probably gonna use those to trade up next year now that this draft is over. Probably should have this year but oh well. Highly doubt we make 11 picks next year as of now
The engine that drives the ‘unstoppable offense’ is the O line. And we’re relying on a lot of finger crossing & wishful thinking where they’re concerned.
I agree but smart linemen can get schemed and coached up. As far as pass blocking, Lamar gots ta get rid of the ball or git out of there....or like Payton Manning used to do just give himself up and live for the next play.
O line doesn’t matter anymore especially for Lamar Jackson a qb that can buy 10 seconds with his scrambling ability and still not have a receiver get open or find one
@@Reality_oo o line definitely matters for every QB. That's like saying u cld build a house without setting the foundation as long as you got good materials. Just not gonna last.
@@morganfeemster1416 you could have the best o line with 5 pro bowlers and tj watt and Myles garret are still gonna sack your qb on top of that QBs are either good at scrambling like Lamar or get the ball out quick like mahomes. Kc just won the Super Bowl with one of the worst o lines because great QBs running backs and receivers don’t need a great o line to make plays…that’s what makes them great. I get the you can’t build a house with out a solid foundation thing but u got it backwards skill players are the foundation and you build a o line on top of that because it’s completely useless to have a good o line if Lamar’s gonna hold the ball 10 seconds anyways when they key in on zay and nobody else can get open consistently
I think the league is definitely sleeping on what Henry adds to this offense, but the Ravens brass' reluctance to stockpile as much offensive talent as possible is somewhat maddening. I would have definitely preferred trading up for a more coveted receiver/OL, although I'm excited about what Walker can add to this offense. This offense will definitely be formidable again next season, but I worry that we continually downplay the importance of lessening our margin for error on that side of the ball.
Coach. Definitely not. You can't have question marks in the trenches. I need three fully healthy running backs with ball security. We just keep giving Lamar late-round selections and hoping they pan out.
King Henry is gonna help us a lot this season by wearing down the defense and get our WRs 1on1s more often , I just hope our o-line can hold up against these edge guys cause I'm not feeling good right now about our o-line
The ravens doing enough for Lamar would be to get a proven big name WR still in their prime no matter the cost but this is the same ravens who took over half a decade to start getting Lamar something other than the rusty knives he's been given when his rivals have had machine guns their entire careers
My biggest issue with this draft was the 5th (6th*) round pick of a QB. Another WR or OL would have been better imo. The picking where there are top players still available makes sense to me. So don't hate getting top talent when it is there instead of reaching. but by 5th round u looking to get talent to develop and WR is a bigger need to me than backup QB.
I agree, I was surprised by that pick. I think it was in the 6th Round, but either way your point stands, it seems like a throwaway pick. I have not watched film of him yet though, so maybe there is more than just high level arm talent there.
Just run the ball when the playoffs starts ravens needs to stick to what works no team really can beat the Ravens unless they shoot there self in the foot that's exactly why we lost 4 games
I think once Bateman works out with Lamar, they will be on the same page. BATEMAN said that because he missed training camp. and working out , they weren't on the same page all season, and Monken had to adjust the game plan once he came back last season.i feel like the ravens could have moved up and got a better polished receiver or even linemen . Thanks coach . Its frustrating the way the ravens approach the defense vs the offense.
Lamar makes o lines better. Derrick Henry makes o lines better. We should be just fine there. Plus Ravens usually draft for an upcoming need. They drafted Trenton Simpson knowing Patrick Queen may be gone. Now they drafted Nate knowing Brandon Stephen's may be out our range.
I wanted the Ravens to trade up for Brian Thomas Jr personally. I felt he was underrated and will be an elite NFL WR in short order. Someone with the size and speed that would’ve been perfect for Lamar… though my confidence in Bateman isn’t particularly high at this point, so I assumed we might attempt to trade him for draft capital. So if Bateman can develop a chemistry with Lamar then I feel as though we’ve done “enough” by adding Walker. Though Roman Wilson feels like he would’ve been the superior addition. As Wilson was amazing on scramble drills with getting open and making plays. He also separated himself at the senior bowl and he’s more advanced at this stage to make an immediate impact over Walker. Though the opportunity cost would be Wilson vs Walker & Isaac. Cooper Beebe was the OL I most felt we missed out on, I felt he had an elite anchor inside. Though adding another OL to the current crop wouldn’t have guaranteed they would’ve made an immediate impact. Beebe was graded a 6.22 by Lance Zierlein as a prospect. Vorhees was graded a 6.24 as a prospect by Zierlein. Now watching Beebe on tape, I thought he had legit pro bowl potential whereas I don’t recall seeing that with Vorhees tape. However Vorhees looked like a quality starter, a similar caliber of option to what John Simpson provided, if not a little better. Saala with a year in the weight room could be a factor in the LG competition as well since he apparently pushed Simpson for the role in camp. Thus another OL would’ve been nice, but we have enough OL bodies and talent to put together a strong competition at both LG and RT. We also have the kind of IDL talent to provide a strong test to all parties involved. Beyond that we’ve got the kind of depth at OL needed as well. We lost two veterans but Linderbaum, Mekari, and Stanley are all veterans in the league at this point. Cleveland has legit starting experience as well. LG is the only spot with a true unknown, which is no different than where we stood entering last offseason. Only LT with Stanley was more of a concern, now he’s at least on a prove it deal with an entire offseason not focused on rehab, but on getting stronger and getting back to elite form.
I was surprised at how often Walker was available and the throw was off-target. There were times that the QB was dealing with pressure, and so things weren't necessarily Maye's "fault". But there were plenty of instances in the games I watched of Walker getting open deep and not getting a chance to make a play.
Couple of notes I think the ravens skill positions is gonna be about the same if not better considering the Henry/gus upgrade and the obj/walker difference, plus hopefully improvements out of players like Bateman, flowers, and likely. I think the question is to be had is definitely how this new young o line is gonna gel and play out (expecting a rocky start maybe) Second I’m curious if there is a little pride tied to Oweh and Bateman when it comes to why or how much EDC wants to put on them to show that they weren’t bad picks.
I don't know what the opposition is going to be able to do to slow this down. It's easy to forget how effective the offense was based on the last game, but it averaged 30 ppg before that stinker. JK was missing all year. Wrs were in and out with injuries. They were rotating tackles all year, but ended up number 1 in rushing, wins and scoring if you eliminated the game Lamar sat. This season should be much better than last for many reasons, starting with the King. He is a problem that cannot be solved without extra help. One guy is going to catch that stiff arm into the shadow realm more often than not. The guy is going from the worst yards before contact offense, to the best. I expect a big difference, even more than CMC to SF, based on the backs he is replacing. No disrespect to Gus, but I haven't seen him breaking a lot of tackles or running away from corners.
Coach, in your opinion are our failures in the playoffs due to questionable or poor coaching decisions, or a lack of "weapons"? I only ask because I thought the talent we had last season was more than capable of winning a SB. I see most of our additions (draft picks) as role players or guys to fill or back fill, our off season personnel losses not necessarily needle movers.
I think he has plenty. Mahomes only had Kelce after losing cheetah. Its not for a lack of trying we have drafted 8 wrs since LJ been here. I dont think it really matters anyway because if we have a healthy LJ we have a legit shot every year. In all honesty we were a Zay fumble away from going to the chip
Lamar has enough I believe in the guys. We will have to see about the line but the skill position group overall is dangerous. And people don’t think about it but Likely was one of the best TE in the league last year. And Bate had to get confident in his foot but he is not a go ball receiver he is an expert route runner
I think what your not saying is the ravens have drafted 1st round wr's in 4 of the last 6 drafts.hoe many times are the ravens supposed to use a first round pick on wr before fans can be happy.
It is negative to me. We can’t look at drafts that way. We drafted a wr first round last year did a lot of the other teams do that. There’s are so many weapons you can use.
Whelp you thinking the ravens should have moved up tells me you haven't really been a ravens fan that long because the ravens very rarely ever trade up it's never really been in our dna as a team
On the deep shots topic, I would expect the adjustment to be taking something off and allowing for more jump ball action than dropping it in the bucket in stride every time attempts, especially with Likely, Bateman and the rookie.
Agree. Great way to put it. Allow guys to make plays. I felt like he did that with OBJ more than other guys. Hope things are going well man. Can't wait to see how these new guys help the team, even just in minicamp situations.
I’m an optimistic realist! (Hope for the best and prepare for the worst!) And I tend to think the Ravens front office works the same way and they certainly know more about football than I do! With that said… I saw the offense get better with the picks (and Free Agents) added but also by the removal of a few players! Zeitler, Moses and OBJ immediately come to mind. Vorhees and Rosengarten bring youth and versatility! Plus Cleveland, Samac and Mr. Versatility himself Patrick Mekari! The offensive line will be good not just based on personnel but also scheme! At WR they’re better! An underproductive OBJ is out… Agholor, Harty, Walker in. It’s like people forget how good the Ravens are at scouting and coaching… especially at O-Line! Let’s not forget this will be Lamar’s second season with Todd Monken and now they can get into the nuances of this offense and manipulate defenses even more. That alone is an addition to the offense!
Ravens have straddled being perennial division champion versus a SB run. Their focus was split 70-30 between present versus future needs. They're also putting some onus on Lamar to better utilize assets he's been given. Monken also transitioning the offense on an aggregate basis of pure attack balance. My personal impression is they're reweighting importance to cohesion, o-line, wrs etc. We'll soon find out if they were right or wrong
Not to make an excuse but to say there are some deficiencies that are greater than other teams. The ravens need to do a better job of addressing these deficiencies
This is by Far my Favorite Ravens Channel. Lamar is My 2nd All time favorite Player Behind the Great ED Reed#20. But Lamar played Bad against the chiefs in the AFC championship. I'm sorry But we have a Large portion of Ravens fans that Is in Idoiltry When it comes to Lamar. Your right All they Say is Weapons,Weapons Weapons. I've watched Phill Simms, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahoomes Win Superbowls with C- Receivers. My point Lamar and Monkin has to be just a little better if we get chance at AFC title game. Keep up the Great content Bro .
I definitely understand but some of the concern is legitimate. Since 2019 the Ravens organization has stripped different offensive pieces and neglected to replace them when they could've and opted for more defense. Ex. Yanda. Orlando. Could've acquired Joe Thuney. Prioritized Calais, drafting Queen, and franchising Judon. In 2021, they brought in Watkins but unreliable, Bateman but wasn't a top 4 WR in that draft. The organization has done something, but they could've done a lot more. With those defensive acquisitions now gone and oline and WR are still talking points. It's fair to question this organization.
Ravens doubled down on defense got a 2 lockdown corners and some pass rushers even the Undrafted pass rusher Joe Evans in particular .. we addressed everything need for real. The fact we got Tez in the 4th is crazy … we going to have a really really good season as long as we are healthy.
The draft was great! EDC is cooking. But from a personel perspective, this offence is worse than last year. But lets see, some players may take a jump.
I think we'll have to throttle down the offense to stay under 50 lol. The players are the only ones that can limit this offense as long as Lamar is the centerpiece. The effectiveness of the o line will have to come thru scheme and coaching
I think what you’re not capturing fully in a salary capped league like the NFL is the challenge of building a roster when you’re really paying your QB. You got to put some faith in the youngsters you’ve drafted because you can’t have $10 m a year players everywhere and probably not on the line anymore. Part of why you’re paying Lamar like this is because you think he can win you games without having rockstars everywhere like Patrick Mahomes does. $60 m a year QBs are supposed to do a lot themselves as Lamar does. I wanted Lamar paid but there’s no crying for him either. He wanted the money and it means other spots need to get cheaper and younger. Btw, a shut down defense helps Lamar on the only stat that matters- wins.
@@Diggs-nw5iz The two positions are important, but what I was saying is AFC teams having good wide receivers emphasizes the need to have good corners more. I think the ravens have at least 2 good receivers already. Hopefully more emerge.
@@ThresherMatt249 I agree. The AFC is loaded with WR talent. The Ravens like to be contrary but they could leap from the league if the incorporated both strategies. DK Metcalf would fit well.
@@Diggs-nw5iz in a salary cap league you have to choose your battles. I’d rather keep cap clear for our guys that are getting ready to be paid (ex. Kyle Hamilton)
@@ThresherMatt249 the battle has never been won at WR, it’s been won many times over at Safety, LB, and dline. Plus Hamilton has 3 years left on his rookie deal. Grabbing Metcalf for 2-3 years doesn’t hurt Hamilton
I understand the feeling that we could use more capital spent on quality OL and WR because you really can't have too many and it's basically an arms race right now. But I keep feeling like it's not a horrible move to try to add to the pass rush and corner positions. Can't have too many there either, and somebody has to cover these offensive weapons that others are adding. I think it really all depends on how the picks pan out over time with development. I think if we pick the right guys they'll slide right in regardless of position.
I think this draft was very positive and beneficial from the standpoint of we addressed our major off-season concerns which were offensive line and defensive secondary. It helps that we were able to add to our WR core with a pick that I believe to be a steal for when we got him. Only time will tell how our defense as a whole preforms under new management but I believe that they will still be effective going into the upcoming season. Hopefully our offense will address the consistency issue.
I think the first 5 picks were executed perfectly, all the first rd tackles were gone and Wiggins was considered by many top 3 in the corner class. RRG in the second was a scheme fit the ravens like versatile linemen, they preach getting the best 5 on the field. Assiac is a depth/rotation piece and Tampa and walker were steals at the value they provide. Tampa is a luxury but it’s low risk high reward and walker is a wr3 which is what we needed. Zay is a no1 and bate has the capability to be the number 2. The way the offense is structured around lamars skill set we don’t need two number 1 to be electric we need a top rb and role players at wr which is the opposite of the league.
This isn't the draft that I wanted, we barely missed out on the group of tackles that I liked in the first round, but Rosengarten is someone that I had not considered and he looks like he has the potential to be pretty good. As far as WRs go, I think Walker is a steal and has exactly what the offense needs, the NCAA holding him out for the beginning of the season is the only reason he was available when we drafted. In answer to the question " have the Ravens done enough to help Jackson thrive?" With regard to the skill positions I think the answer is yes. 1. Andrews can go be a dominant pass catcher at times. 2. Zay can go be a dominant pass catcher at times 3. Likely can go be a dominant pass catcher at times 4. Agholar can make some big plays. 5. Henry can take over the run game Lamar needs to be a better point guard and distribute the ball among them. My only real question is if the young guys on the offensive line are ready.
They didn’t fix the issue that harbs brought up in the interview when they face the teams that can beat them they play press man and stack the box and as we seen Zay was the only guy that could get open in under 3 seconds. even tho that’s why they lost they didn’t address the issue and when we play teams like Pittsburgh and kc so we will see hopefully Henry can still run in loaded boxes
@@coreyjones1440 I don't think that was a lack of talent issue as much as a playcalling issue, Harbaugh said they didn't want to counter the stacked box with bigger personnel(no explanation given) . The Chiefs were not the first team to try to stack the box and press, but the Ravens forgot what had been working all year.
I believe this is the best offense Lamar could and will have in his career. Got rid of Odell so no more forced balls to him, resigned Bateman with a full healthy offseason, got king Henry on top of Keaton Mitchell, Two star tight ends , zay flowers, promising tez walker, cant get much better only thing holding him back is himself or terrible play calls.
