How Can the Pats Stop the Ravens?

• Ravens 8.7 yards per play & 200 yards on the first three drives. Complete ass kicking
• Ravens 4.7 yards per play (removing kneeldowns) the remainder of the game without a gain over 20 yards

patsinthesnow said:

I rewatched the game on game pass. Some encouraging some not as much:

• Ravens 8.7 yards per play & 200 yards on the first three drives. Complete ass kicking
• Ravens 4.7 yards per play (removing kneeldowns) the remainder of the game without a gain over 20 yards

There were also some 50 50 plays the Ravens just executed well - 3rd and long Jackson evade of Hightower & completes to a diving Brown over Gilmore, 3rd and long contested catch by Andrews & a 4th down pick play.

It comes down to were the pats spooked in the first quarter & adjusted or is Roman’s opening script too tough to contain. That could determine a proj rematch

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TB_Helmet said:

Aaron Rodgers would have made him walk to the back of the plane.

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patfanken said:

When I posted back on page 4 of this thread, I hoped it would ignite a discussion of ACTUAL ways that the Pats could attack the very effective Ravens offense. Instead it ignited a 15 pages of how the Pats are hated, disrespected, or spoken ill of on sports radio. What the F*CK. Who cares what people thing before Thanksgiving. Last year at this time we had 3 losses (all to mediocre teams) and had 2 more coming (also against mediocre teams).....and how did our season end up.

So lets stop whining and start talking football, which was why this thread was started.

So me start again with answering the question of why don't we simply beat the sh!t out of the QB every time he runs an option play. It seems like the logical thing to do. It was what I recommended many times myself when we talked about how to defend the RPO offenses that are popping up all over the place.

Back when option offenses like the triple option or Veer option were prevalent it was a lot easier to punish the QB because the mesh happened close to the LOS, while here it's happening 5-7 yds behind the LOS and usually the QB decision happens before the defense can attack him.

Then we come to the problem of numbers - We'd usually assign 2 men the run option, and one guy for the QB, and another for the pitch. There has been much talk about the way to solve the Ravens' offense is simply to be really disciplined. But here's the problem with that at the NFL level. The athletic ability of your athlete might not be equal, and when it isn't, you can be as disciplined as you want, and STILL not be able to stop this offense.

It's not like any of the coaching staffs of the teams the Ravens have beaten by 30 points in their run didn't know enough about football to defend what the Ravens were doing ON PAPER. Remember they know a LOT more about what exactly the Ravens are doing than we do and they have all reached the pinnacle of their professions. So they are well versed in X's and O's. Yet they STILL lost by 30+. So it isn't going to be as simple as "Bill will find a way"

I would love if the PP2 or others of the more internet savvy guys would put together as series of clips that showcase the Ravens offense so we (or at least I) could get a better sense of what they are doing and help me participate in this thread better.

But from what I HAVE seen, I think we are going to need to get bigger up front. So I wouldn't be surprised to see some sort of 8 man front alignments. And you can morph into a 6man front from an odd alignment by slanting your DL in one direction or another at the snap.

The key to doing that is finding an actual formation or motion key in their offense. Slanting the DL is not something you see much these days in the NFL and could be just the kind of thing a guy like BB came up with much like the 6-1 he unvieled in the Superbowl.

BTW- there are 2 ways you can move your DL You can have them move from the man they are over to the next one in a flatter move, or you can move them from their man they are over to the next gap. The latter way would be used to create penetration as well as a direction advantage. Slants often confuse blocking assignments and free up LB's. Problems occur when runner cuts back and LB over pursue. or if the play is going opposite of your slant.

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luuked said:

If you go to /r/nfl it is your own fault. It is an unreadable garbage echo chamber full of fantasy level understanding creating a all encompassing Dunning-Kruger effect. Spending 5min there will make you want to tear your hair out because of the lack of actual insightful comments.


Also, if you get in fist fights over it you should maybe consider just stop wearing football gear or learn to brush off provocations. The whole thing is supposed to be entertainment and not some misguided way of life or focal point of identification. It is definitely not worth getting into fights over something so laughable like fandom of sport (or any kind).

Which brings me back to my original thesis. Even if Patriots hate is real and I believe you it is. Who cares ? Chuckle or just move on from arguments.

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farn said:

*Wow, from Manning to Luck : Indy is going to keep winning forever
*How will we stop Mahomes & KC ?
*McVay is the new wave..... WATCH OUT FOR HIM

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TB_Helmet said:

Aaron Rodgers would have made him walk to the back of the plane.

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PatsDeb said:

Brady pissed.

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farn said:

*Wow, from Manning to Luck : Indy is going to keep winning forever
*How will we stop Mahomes & KC ?
*McVay is the new wave..... WATCH OUT FOR HIM

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robertweathers said:

If the game ends at 430pm, they'll be on their charter back to CA by 7pm. Figure a 5h flight -3h for timezone and they are home by 9pm. If it's a 430pm game, they'll get home at 1230am on Monday.

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50-yard-line said:

Oh, and PS, the total yards in that game were close - +30 to Baltimore. THe Pats couldn't run the ball at all.

That game really was a matter of New England'


1pm EST game is rough on west coast teams. I travel back and forth from Boston to LA all the time. Coming back to Boston is much rougher (and the flight TO LA is more like 6 hours, and more than 6 hours this time of the year, dodging storms and fighting winds).

A Sunday night game (and why the hell isn't that match-up the Sunday night game? Might be the best game of the year) would even the playing field a lot more.

Meanwhile, the Pats after a late Sunday game, go to Houston to play their 4th team in 5 game who have had more than 10 days to prepare.

Coincidence, I'm sure.

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PatsDeb said:

It's funny how these things play out year after year. I was out grocery shopping last night so I listened to EEI for a a few minutes. Whomever was subbing for Mutt at Night was waxing poetic about how, "the Pats are 10-1, but they are nowhere near as good as their record." and the old tried and true, "they have benefited year after year from being in the worst division in football," and "having the 2nd easiest schedule." He even said the NFC East is way better than the AFC East (meanwhile, haven't we beat every team from the NFC East already this year?). "Buffalo is a fraud." "The Pats aren't the favorites to win the Superbowl any more." On and on. Ha. I'd say the stars are still lining up for the line this year to be, "Here comes the new boss, same as the old boss."

Pats down and out. A new darling at the top of the NFL heap. Brady pissed. We'll see, NFL. We'll see...

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Bill Belichick said Tuesday that being part of the blue-ribbon panel to select the NFL 100 All-Time Team has not only made him a better coach but also motivated him during his 45th season.

"I learned a lot. I watched a lot of film of players in the '30s, '40s, '50s and the '60s -- quite a bit of that over the summer and last spring, and it was very enlightening in studying the great players in different eras and how the game was played," he said, taking a rare break from his usually laser-focused approach on the New England Patriots' next opponent to elaborate on what he called a "great experience."

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robertweathers said:

Agree. WC to EC sucks.

I did hear the main reason why SF/BAL was 1pm was b/c FOX and CBS alternate 430 games as the "national" game. That might be the actual reason.

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kennyb said:

One thing jackson doesn't do well is deep throws? I could see single man coverage with safeties playing a short zone. Most of his throws are shallow crosses. Put enough bodies on the line to penetrate but without opening gaps. Don't necessarily sack but make him be a pocket passer.

Just my 2 cents.

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