OTL: Are Problems on Offense Correctable?

Hello everyone, and a happy Wednesday to you all. I hope you have tried to enjoy your week without talking about that disaster that happened on Sunday, but a new week is upon us, and we have to move on.

The Ravens must overcome this loss and their list of season-long problems, and soon. This division isn’t getting any more manageable, and now once “easy” games, like those against the Steelers, are looking much harder. The Ravens probably will still win the division, but this team has said they want to go somewhere greater, so I am holding them accountable to their word.

So where do they start? Let’s look at the offense.

For many reasons, Greg Roman has returned to being public enemy number one in the Ravens fanbase.

First, the play clock issue: we all know this is a problem, yet nothing changes.

John needs to either address this with Greg in as clear (loud and direct) a manner as possible, or just move on from him at this point. It completely kills several drives a game at times, and an uncomfortable conversation needs to be had one way or another. https://t.co/tLQh0czRuO

— Jake (@jakelouque) November 28, 2022

John Harbaugh seriously needs to look in the mirror and ask if he is doing right by this team and what he believes. These flaws affect the Ravens every week, yet continue. Harbaugh needs to put his big boy pants on and make Roman change, or it will cost him big time.

For those who say that the clock isn’t that big of an issue, look at this:

In light of recent events, I looked at how often teams snap the ball with 3 seconds or fewer on the play clock.

Guess which bar is the Ravens’ bar. https://t.co/wWKbuel6vE pic.twitter.com/K1k2rTj9Kl

— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) November 29, 2022

This is a huge problem, the way the Ravens do it. When talking about snapping the ball near zero on the play clock, context matters. Look at #2 on the list behind Baltimore: Green Bay. Watch a Packers game, and you see that the reason for it is that Aaron Rodgers is surveying the defense, changing the play, the protection, etc., then calling for the ball. Watch a Ravens game, and this obviously isn’t what’s happening. Perhaps once or twice per game does Lamar Jackson have time to do any of that. Instead, what happens is that guys are jogging out of the huddle, pre-snap motion takes place, then Jackson is clapping wildly asking for the ball prior to a delay of game penalty. In short, chaos.

What will probably happen is that nothing will change though, because John apparently doesn’t like holding Roman accountable.

Unfortunately, Ravens fans, Harbs seems to have gotten to a position where he thinks nothing is wrong with the Offense. He has said things like this to the media, yet the same issues persist. It sucks, but this is probably the reality of the situation.

In addition to the issues getting the plays in, another thing that needs to improve is red zone efficiency. I want to bring up two plays and show that the defensive meltdown doesn’t happen (or doesn’t matter) if these are touchdowns.

The first:

3rd-and-goal from the 5: Lamar sacked pic.twitter.com/4XlrL0shVJ

— Ryan Mink (@ryanmink) November 29, 2022

Greg Roman, what in the world is this? Who is the hot read here? Where is Lamar supposed to go? If your answer is Justice Hill, he probably gets stopped short of the end zone. If Demarcus Robinson is the answer, well, he is covered like a blanket.

Jackson looks like he wants to go to Mark Andrews, who doesn’t seem to be running a route so much as looking for a soft spot in the zone. Any chance Jacksonville knew that was coming?

This is on third down as well, so this is a pivotal moment, and this is what he throws out. Unacceptable.

Then there is this:

3rd-and-4 from the 12: Lamar incomplete to Demarcus Robinson pic.twitter.com/flqXOoxh01

— Ryan Mink (@ryanmink) November 29, 2022

What is Robinson doing? Why are you diving at this ball? Just keep running, and the ball is right there. I get Lamar overthrew him earlier, which everyone can’t stop talking about, but give me a break, man.

If these two plays are touchdowns, this game is over.

The Ravens have an offense problem. They can’t get set until the play clock is dwindling, they’re old school and stuck in their ways, and have receivers who can’t stop dropping the ball.

Something has to change, man.

Let’s hope they beat the Broncos, who want to kick Russ to the street.

Baltimore has to right the ship fast, or this could get worse before it gets better.

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