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BJ: It seems like the Ravens want to change their identity and become a pass-first offense. Clearly the passing game has been a weak point over the years, and improvement was critical to the team's success last year. Do you think that opening up the field the way the Ravens did against the Kansas City Chiefs will help put them over the hump against teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers? Or do you think a more conservative, smash-mouth offense is still the way to go given the Ravens' personnel?
Mike Preston: All coaches strive for balance, but the Ravens definitely needed to upgrade their passing attack. It was nice seeing the Ravens score touchdowns inside the red zone Sunday, and not just settle for field goals. It was also nice seeing them being able to answer a team with scoring drives of their own in the fourth quarter.
My only concern is that the Ravens might rely too much on quarterback Joe Flacco, who is only in his second year. The Ravens' identity should be that of a running team because they have three good runners. We all know that if a team can run, and stop the run, they have a good chance for success, especially in the winter when the weather changes.
Matthew: I think the Ravens made a huge mistake by not re-signing Jim Leonhard and signing Chris Carr to replace him. In your opinion, will there be a kick/punt returner change in the horizon?
Mike Preston: It's only been one game, so they should give Carr a chance. The Ravens need to tell him to run north and south, not east and west. You don't outrun many players in the NFL. Leonhard was successful because he caught the ball and ran hard and straight. Once you through that initial wave, you have a chance of breaking one.
But let's be honest. Leonhard was no Gale Sayers when it came to returning punts. His status seems to have taken on a life of its own in Baltimore.
Steve: I know it was an ugly win, but it was a win. I was shocked, though, when Ed Reed went back to receive a punt in the first half. Will we see more of that or was this a special circumstance?
Mike Preston: According to Reed, it was a quick change for the defense and punt return unit, so he just stayed on the field.
If you want to believe that, fine. Me? I think the Ravens had a lot of communication problems Sunday in the defensive backfield and on special teams. It has to get better. You don't want Reed, already suffering from a neck injury, returning punts. It was stupid, and hopefully it won't happen again.
Al: Hi, Mike. How was offensive tackle Michael Oher's play on Sunday? It seemed like Flacco had all kinds of time to throw, though it was against KC's anemic pass rush.
Mike Preston: Oher is a stud, and has some of the quickest feet I've ever seen from an offensive lineman. If Jared Gaither continues to struggle, I would not be surprised if Oher eventually moves to left tackle. Oher has a great body and a great attitude. The Ravens ran right a lot Sunday, behind Oher and right guard Chris Chester.
In other words, the young lad kicked some serious hind parts.
Ken: Since the Ravens are using four receivers to do the work of six, do you think the receivers are going to get physically burnt-out before the end of the season? Should the Ravens pursue a free-agent receiver or is this group good enough to get the job done?
Mike Preston: The Ravens have to find another receiver. Ken, you're asking if this group can make it through the regular season healthy ... geez, they didn't even make it through the preseason healthy.
Bill: Did you think it was odd that the Ravens went for a touchdown instead of kicking a field goal when leading by seven at the end of the game? The safe thing would have been to kick a field goal on fourth down and still be up by two scores.
Mike Preston: Sorry, I would have done exactly what coach John Harbaugh did, but I would have given the ball to Le'Ron McClain instead of Willis McGahee. If the field-goal attempt gets blocked, there is a better chance of a Chief returning it for a touchdown than of Kansas City going 99.5 yards for a touchdown in about 20 to 30 seconds.
Plus, I took the Ravens, and that last touchdown covered the spread. Cha-ching.
Just joking ...
Tony: The Ravens under Brian Billick had a poor offense and now under Harbaugh play special teams poorly. Being that these were supposed to be their respective specialties, what should I make of this?
Mike Preston: Tony, if you ever become an owner, hire the water boy. You might get thirsty, but you're going to play well in all three phases of the game.
Bryan: The Ravens' defense didn't force any turnovers against a young quarterback and makeshift offensive line. Do you think this is due to new defensive coordinator Greg Mattison's conservative play-calling?
Mike Preston: Nope, I think it's due to Kansas City playing very conservative offense. I think the Ravens could have brought more pressure in the fourth quarter, but overall, it was a strong defensive showing. Mattison wants to get more of a pass rush from his front four and play more base defense compared to a year ago, but I think he might have to reconsider that strategy. Pressure, pressure, pressure. You don't have to bring it all of the time, but a lot of it.
Yianis: Why does Flacco struggle to make short-to-medium passes to short players? Is it that because his passes have so much velocity that he struggles to use proper touch? Should the Ravens just find taller wide receivers? He was near perfect on most of his other passes.
Mike Preston: Taller receivers? Yao Ming couldn't catch some of Flacco's passes Sunday. I wouldn't be too concerned. Flacco is usually pretty accurate. I think he might have been pressing a little too much against Kansas City because the Ravens gave him a license to heave the ball all over the place.
Staci: Please rate how the "new-and-improved" secondary played against the Chiefs and are they good enough to stay with top teams in the AFC? Also, am I the only one that thinks the Ravens could use another second-tier cornerback to add depth and possibly assist the two starters?
Mike Preston: Staci, you are not the only one. If Samari Rolle can play this season, it would be a big help. Overall, the secondary played well, but they had some communication problems that need to be cleared up.
Cal: Do you think Chris McAlister will play in the NFL this year?
Mike Preston: He might, but I know one team he won't be playing for and that's the Ravens.
Mike Preston: All coaches strive for balance, but the Ravens definitely needed to upgrade their passing attack. It was nice seeing the Ravens score touchdowns inside the red zone Sunday, and not just settle for field goals. It was also nice seeing them being able to answer a team with scoring drives of their own in the fourth quarter.
My only concern is that the Ravens might rely too much on quarterback Joe Flacco, who is only in his second year. The Ravens' identity should be that of a running team because they have three good runners. We all know that if a team can run, and stop the run, they have a good chance for success, especially in the winter when the weather changes.
Matthew: I think the Ravens made a huge mistake by not re-signing Jim Leonhard and signing Chris Carr to replace him. In your opinion, will there be a kick/punt returner change in the horizon?
Mike Preston: It's only been one game, so they should give Carr a chance. The Ravens need to tell him to run north and south, not east and west. You don't outrun many players in the NFL. Leonhard was successful because he caught the ball and ran hard and straight. Once you through that initial wave, you have a chance of breaking one.
But let's be honest. Leonhard was no Gale Sayers when it came to returning punts. His status seems to have taken on a life of its own in Baltimore.
Steve: I know it was an ugly win, but it was a win. I was shocked, though, when Ed Reed went back to receive a punt in the first half. Will we see more of that or was this a special circumstance?
Mike Preston: According to Reed, it was a quick change for the defense and punt return unit, so he just stayed on the field.
If you want to believe that, fine. Me? I think the Ravens had a lot of communication problems Sunday in the defensive backfield and on special teams. It has to get better. You don't want Reed, already suffering from a neck injury, returning punts. It was stupid, and hopefully it won't happen again.
Al: Hi, Mike. How was offensive tackle Michael Oher's play on Sunday? It seemed like Flacco had all kinds of time to throw, though it was against KC's anemic pass rush.
Mike Preston: Oher is a stud, and has some of the quickest feet I've ever seen from an offensive lineman. If Jared Gaither continues to struggle, I would not be surprised if Oher eventually moves to left tackle. Oher has a great body and a great attitude. The Ravens ran right a lot Sunday, behind Oher and right guard Chris Chester.
In other words, the young lad kicked some serious hind parts.
Ken: Since the Ravens are using four receivers to do the work of six, do you think the receivers are going to get physically burnt-out before the end of the season? Should the Ravens pursue a free-agent receiver or is this group good enough to get the job done?
Mike Preston: The Ravens have to find another receiver. Ken, you're asking if this group can make it through the regular season healthy ... geez, they didn't even make it through the preseason healthy.
Bill: Did you think it was odd that the Ravens went for a touchdown instead of kicking a field goal when leading by seven at the end of the game? The safe thing would have been to kick a field goal on fourth down and still be up by two scores.
Mike Preston: Sorry, I would have done exactly what coach John Harbaugh did, but I would have given the ball to Le'Ron McClain instead of Willis McGahee. If the field-goal attempt gets blocked, there is a better chance of a Chief returning it for a touchdown than of Kansas City going 99.5 yards for a touchdown in about 20 to 30 seconds.
Plus, I took the Ravens, and that last touchdown covered the spread. Cha-ching.
Just joking ...
Tony: The Ravens under Brian Billick had a poor offense and now under Harbaugh play special teams poorly. Being that these were supposed to be their respective specialties, what should I make of this?
Mike Preston: Tony, if you ever become an owner, hire the water boy. You might get thirsty, but you're going to play well in all three phases of the game.
Bryan: The Ravens' defense didn't force any turnovers against a young quarterback and makeshift offensive line. Do you think this is due to new defensive coordinator Greg Mattison's conservative play-calling?
Mike Preston: Nope, I think it's due to Kansas City playing very conservative offense. I think the Ravens could have brought more pressure in the fourth quarter, but overall, it was a strong defensive showing. Mattison wants to get more of a pass rush from his front four and play more base defense compared to a year ago, but I think he might have to reconsider that strategy. Pressure, pressure, pressure. You don't have to bring it all of the time, but a lot of it.
Yianis: Why does Flacco struggle to make short-to-medium passes to short players? Is it that because his passes have so much velocity that he struggles to use proper touch? Should the Ravens just find taller wide receivers? He was near perfect on most of his other passes.
Mike Preston: Taller receivers? Yao Ming couldn't catch some of Flacco's passes Sunday. I wouldn't be too concerned. Flacco is usually pretty accurate. I think he might have been pressing a little too much against Kansas City because the Ravens gave him a license to heave the ball all over the place.
Staci: Please rate how the "new-and-improved" secondary played against the Chiefs and are they good enough to stay with top teams in the AFC? Also, am I the only one that thinks the Ravens could use another second-tier cornerback to add depth and possibly assist the two starters?
Mike Preston: Staci, you are not the only one. If Samari Rolle can play this season, it would be a big help. Overall, the secondary played well, but they had some communication problems that need to be cleared up.
Cal: Do you think Chris McAlister will play in the NFL this year?
Mike Preston: He might, but I know one team he won't be playing for and that's the Ravens.
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Mike,
What happened to our defense ? Our presence Looked like a Collage strategy, even though we didn't play too bad, we gave up more Yds. and Pts. then it seemed we would have last year.
There was no moving around to create any Offensive confusion what so ever, we stood in stance still like Chess pieces, and I believe that enabled KC to manipulate the Ravens "Frozen Stance" Defense a lot easier. In fact the NY Jets Defense Looked exactly like the Ravens used to as well as did Pittsburgh's D.
Do you think this is a new area and style of Defense brought about by our new Defensive coordinator ? If so, we surely won't make the top 10 this year !
smg1205 (09/15/2009, 4:00 PM )