NFL 2014-2015 Season: Super Bowl Champion Patriots

[Lord Raven]

He wasn't completing passes because Steve Smith, Torrey Smith, and Jacoby Jones combined for 7 drops in the first half. Fucking ridiculous. He hit them right in the hands, and to Jacoby he threw a beautiful touch pass that went into his hands and bounced out. He threw to Pitta once, who didn't track the ball in the air and go for it, even though he was in wide open space. We also started Pierce, but he shit the bed and when Forsett took over he shredded the Bengals in the second half (though we still made Flacco throw 62 times which was ridiculous). Second half is where it started clicking, but they blew a coverage on AJ Green (because Lardarius Webb was out - he'll be back against the Steelers).

They hit the redzone 4 times against the Bengals and came out with a TD and a field goal, because two of their redzone trips were at the end of a half (and one was an overload blitz that ended a drive on fourth down, whereas the other was the end of the half). Receivers stopped dropping the ball in the second half.

Did you watch or hear about the 2013 Super Bowl? I just can't believe that you missed that. They're brothers.

yeah lol they've been making a huge deal of that a lot. Why do you think the niners played in Baltimore preseason? Niners/Ravens held joint practices.

Mostly agree with Cynthia btw except I'd switch Philly and Indy (I think Indy will take it in a shootout, Philly defense is not good) and Minnesota/New England (New England's defense looks like crap against the run).

Edited September 10, 2014 by Lord Raven

[Anacybele]

And tipped/dropped balls are how a lot of interceptions happen. lol

[Lord Raven]

That's only true if the ball is tipped. These balls were dropped. Stuff that goes to your gut only gets tipped if Eli Manning is your QB or if you're Ed Dickson.

As it stands 2-3 of these were deep drops so they were dropped in front of a receiver out of reach of a DB, and Smiths drops went straight down. Even then Smith remedied his drops in the second half; Steve Smith has really good hands so I wouldn't count on it happening often and this is an aberration. Still it's not on the QB especially since the QB only threw 1 pick on 62 attempts.

[Anacybele]

Ah yes, you have a point there. And I did see that play where he caught a deep ball. I hope the Steelers make sure to cover him well. Polamalu might be a good choice since he's Troy freaking Polamalu.

[Lord Raven]

Steve smith caught a deep ball, Jacoby Jones dropped one.

Smith would burn Polamalu all day so I hope he's covered by Polamalu too.

[Anacybele]

Polamalu has picked off deep balls. And he can run. If anything, Smith would be equally matched.

Edited September 10, 2014 by Anacybele

[Lord Raven]

Smith is elusive and a good route runner; polamalu is basically a linebacker these data. As in he literally plays the linevacker position because he's older and much slower. Smith is old too but you deserve some credit if you burn the entire Bengals secondary.

[Anacybele]

Polamalu no longer plays the linebacker position. Shazier now fills the role that he was filling last season (and does a hell of a job at it too!). Polamalu is back to his regular role. Also, he's hardly slow. He was back to his old self last season and making all kinds of plays. He was described as "running around like he's 21 again." He's not the fastest defender ever, sure, but he's far from slow.

Also, it appears the Steelers at least know what caused their defensive problems in the second half of the Browns game. Communication issues were a big part of it and they're working on rectifying that. And I've got faith in a guy like Dick LeBeau to sort that out! The offense just needs to figure out their side of what was going on. GO STEELERS!! COOK US UP SOME ROAST RAVEN TOMORROW! :D

Edited September 10, 2014 by Anacybele

[Lord Raven]

Communication issues happen all the time due to a no-huddle offense. That's the point of a no-huddle offense. The best way to get rid of no-huddle offenses were zone blitzes in the 90s (largely due to Lebeau) but zone blitzes are more vulnerable these days compared to the 90s. You can't substitute and if the offense finds a favorable matchup (given the state of your secondary whether or not Polamalu is playing safety we have significantly more weapons to throw to this season) and exploits it continuously. That is very hard to counter, and communication will always get messy once it happens.

Browns also came back from 24 points behind.. even though Jordan Cameron and Ben Tate were their only viable weapons in that game. We have better receivers than the Browns do right now.

[Anacybele]

Your receivers are better? lol they dropped passes while the Browns' receivers didn't. In fact, they got more points than your Ravens did.

The Browns also shut down our offense for awhile, which is pretty much always no-huddle these days. There are ways to shut down a no-huddle offense.

Edited September 10, 2014 by Anacybele

[Lord Raven]

Yeah let the first pass be incomplete or stuff the first run lol that's how you shut it down, they're hard to take out and if the Steelers struggled last week then it's gonna take a little bit for communication issues to get fixed. A good first play with disguised coverages tricks the offense I would think, but the issue is that defenses have to play in their base if the offense goes no huddle. The only way to really shut the no huddle down is force the other team to play conservative (Browns did by falling behind ironically), shut down the YAC, and good execution (the latter two are how the Seahawks won the super bowl).

Our receivers are better than Browns receivers. Drops were a strange thing; Torrey and Steve Smith normally have good to great hands so last Sunday was all the more egregious and clearly an aberration. Jones' hands aren't that great, comparable to Browns receivers' hands. Pitta normally has good hands, and he didn't drop a single ball last game. Jucyczyk had good hands in preseason against first teamers, and Forsett didn't drop the ball at all last game (normally has decent hands too).

Browns receivers are like Miles Austin and some other scrub (I just looked this other guy up and forgot his name instantly - he was basically a practice squad or fourth string guy on every team he's ever been on). Miles Austin didn't even have a good game last Sunday, and those are their starters. They also didn't throw the ball 62 times; we did because we were falling behind and we decided to run with Pierce around 6 times (for like 14 yards) before we put in Forsett, who ran like 12 times for 72ish yards (around 6 ypc) and a TD. Ben Tate did a lot of the heavy lifting for the Browns offense as it was, it's just that we didn't elect to run the ball as much as the Browns did in the second half; we still made the comeback we needed (before the defense blew it) because our offense scored 16 points in the second half because receivers were actually making catches and etc. For reference, Hoyer had less attempts than Flacco had completions.

Gameplan's going to be a lot different against the Steelers vs the Bengals, and I imagine we'll be running the ball down their throats a lot more. If the Browns picked up 183 on the ground we should be able to get like 140 (which is enough so long as our QB isn't throwing 62 times in one game).

Edited September 10, 2014 by Lord Raven

[-Cynthia-]

The Ravens had better hope to win this one though, 0-2 at home in the division would make the rest of the season an uphill battle(like requiring wins at Pittsburgh and at Cincinnati which seems unlikely).

[Anacybele]

The Steelers OWNED in that first half though. Unlike the Ravens who could never play well throughout almost the whole game, pretty much. The Steelers are going to change their gameplan for the Ravens too. This is an old rivalry we're talking here. Neither team is going to show mercy. They pretty much always end up as close games too.

Also, your Ravens will have Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell to deal with, who couldn't be stopped by even the Browns' best defender, Joe Haden. And I quote the announcers, "Roethlisberger is a magician!"

The Bengals seemed to have no trouble getting past your defense and Andy Dalton is no Big Ben. His only weapon is AJ Green, pretty much.

Edited September 10, 2014 by Anacybele

[Lord Raven]

Browns also ONLY have Joe Haden (and maybe Donte Whitner) in that secondary. One defensive back covering one part of the field or one receiver basically takes that DB away from the rest of the defense so your less competent corners are covering the other receivers. A break down in their coverage, which is a lot more likely, leads to more receptions against that particular corner. One cornerback doesn't do much of anything against a defense. I bet Brown was matched up against their rookie corner - and rookie corners are almost always bad.

Our FS is competent enough (either Brooks or Darian Stewart - not bad, not great) considering our two corners (Webb and Smith) are very good. Webb is also an upgrade from Webb last year who was recovering from an ACL injury, and Matt Elam is our SS and he had a good showing on Sunday too. We held the Bengals to five field goals in the first half as well, btw, and that was because they marched 30-40 yards down the field to get the field goals. They had all of one big scoring play all game and couldn't get much done past the 20 or 30 yard line, whereas we actually scored two touchdowns and a field goal against them (with two additional redzone trips) meaning we actually hit the red zone more often than them. And they have a better set of receivers than the Steelers do. If our offense didn't drop the ball a few times then we would've easily been in a position to outscore them - and considering how the receivers got it completely together in the second half I wouldn't doubt that receiver corps is what's going to go up against the Steelers, and not the guys with the drops in the first half.

Webb can cover Brown pretty effectively too because Webb is just as elusive in open space as Antonio Brown is. Jimmy Smith has beaten on receivers better than Antonio Brown (and the reason AJ Green got that TD last game was because Chykie Brown covered him - and that resulted from not having Webb).

And for reference last time Brown played in Baltimore he got 5 catches for 59 yards - he could barely do anything all game.

Edited September 10, 2014 by Lord Raven

[Anacybele]

And Brown seems to be even BETTER this season than last. Same with Ben and Bell. Ben actually made franchise records in JUST that first half of the game. The Steelers were kind of shit last year and seem to have revamped just about everything. Even the o-line is a little better.

Bengals don't have as good an offense as the Steelers. The Ravens won't find it as easy to hold them to FGs. But as I said, these teams have generally always been evenly matched and their games are often close. In fact, I believe they said that there hasn't been a game between these two that wasn't decided by three points in a long time.

We'll just have to see what happens tomorrow. And keep in mind, the Steelers have beaten the Ravens on their own turf before. And in one instance, they didn't even have Ben (he was hurt).

Also, Brown was actually matched up with Joe Haden most of the time.

Edited September 10, 2014 by Anacybele

[Lord Raven]

Bengals have a better offense than the Steelers lol

[Anacybele]

No, no they don't. They have a better one than the Ravens do though. The Browns have a better one as well. I was amazed at how they completely shut us down for almost the whole second half of the game.

Edited September 10, 2014 by Anacybele

[Lord Raven]

How do you think the Bengals have a worse offense than the Steelers? Even dating back to last year, where they've really kept their offense largely the same (and Steelers improved it a little bit with aging veterans like Lance Moore, but don't hold your breath), they still have one of the best receivers in the game and a far more elusive running back. Their #2 and slot receivers are solid and their Tight Ends are much younger, faster, and healthier than Heath Evans. It takes a complete lack of understanding of football to think the Bengals offense is worse than the Steelers offense.

As for the Browns offense, I still don't know what to think of them because Hoyer had one good game and one very mediocre game last year, and he had a good game recently (where he wasn't asked to throw much and didn't spread the ball around that much - also they leaned on their run game which is not surprising because the Steelers Run D had issues last year and this year). I have little idea what to think of the Browns, but their receivers are generally pretty shit.

[Anacybele]

The Steelers have a better QB who has a big range of great options (Ben can throw to Miller, Brown, or Wheaton and get stuff done or he can hand the ball off to Archer, Bell, or Blount to get stuff done). Our offense also has more speed. Brown, Bell, Archer, and Wheaton are all speed demons. Brown is pretty much the best receiver we've had in a long time. He can run, make sick catches, AND break tackles. Hell, he outran the whole Bills secondary in the preseason. Lance Moore? He didn't even play against the Browns because he sat out due to a groin injury. If he's coming back to play vs the Ravens, that only gives Ben yet ANOTHER great option.

The Bengals may have one of the best receivers in the league, but that's ALL they have. Andy Dalton is quite inferior to Ben as a QB as well. In fact, Ben is the best QB in the AFC North, followed by Flacco, imo.

Edited September 10, 2014 by Anacybele

[Anacybele]

So, in other news, Cam Newton's gonna be back Sunday, aw yeah. ^^ I just hope this decision isn't going to come back to bite the Panthers in the butt. A cracked rib will take longer than a couple weeks to fully heal.

Also, the Ray Rice scenario just gets weirder and weirder.

Edited September 10, 2014 by Anacybele

[Lord Raven]

Dalton's still not a bad QB at all, overrated by some but he can get the ball to places. He also has a better offensive line, and his second/third options are way better than the Steelers'. On top of that, Bernard is way more elusive and way better a receiver then Le'Veon Bell, and their depth is about as good if not better.

I'm also of the opinion LeGarrette Blount is not a good RB, I didn't even think so with the Patriots, he actually has very little burst and acceleration. The Colts' Run D made him look a lot better than he actually was.

[Anacybele]

Bell isn't a receiver. He's an RB. And an amazing one at that. xP And Dalton's o-line being better is what makes him look decent. Ben doesn't have as much protection, yet he can still get the ball somewhere REALLY well. And he's beast on 3rd down.

Blount's not supposed to be bursting or fast. He's supposed to function more like Miller and shove his way through people. He's a big dude, not tiny like Brown or Archer. And he exhibited this by plowing through the Browns' D for a TD.

Edited September 11, 2014 by Anacybele

[Lord Raven]

Bernard's a running back and he's a good dual-threat for running and receiving.

And Dalton's o-line being better is what makes him look decent.

So... What does this have to do with the Steelers offense being better?

He's supposed to function more like Miller and shove his way through people.

You need burst and power to do that. Blount doesn't have either of that, and I'm surprised to hear he plowed through the Browns DL because he had trouble doing that against any team with a semi-competent DL last year. Doesn't matter if he's a big dude; Trent Richardson's a really big guy but his best quality is his vision in a zone blocking scheme and his elusiveness in open space.

[Anacybele]

It shows that the Steelers can put up a lot of points with a worse o-line, but the Bengals can't even with a good o-line.

I've seen Bell catch plenty of balls.

Well, if you're surprised, then Blount must be better than you thought.

[Lord Raven]

Or it shows the Browns secondary really blows outside of Joe Haden? It also shows that the Steelers run D is atrocious. Ravens' entire defensive strategy has been to keep the field shorter, go for a turnover, and hold the drive to 3 points at most. A field goal is a win most of the time, and an interception is an even greater win. It does not surprise me the Bengals scored 5 times on them, but it also does not surprise me the Bengals scored so few points; this was our strong suit last year, and this was what we were good at two years ago. In fact our Super Bowl team, niners were so afraid of our run D and our red zone defense that they thought a 1 on 1 matchup Crabtree-on-Jimmy Smith was the best way to score (little did they know that Jimmy Smith was about to break out) when that's not what happened.

Brown also hasn't come anywhere close to shredding the Ravens D in recent memory, and this secondary's the best it's been since 2008 or 2011 or so.

I've seen Bell catch plenty of balls.

Watch Bernard play. Dude is a monster in space, even more fearsome than Bell; like 120 of Dalton's passing yards were screens to Giovanni Bernard.

Well, if you're surprised, then Blount must be better than you thought.

Nope, he's had 3 years to prove things; the only way Blount gets anything done is if a hole is wide open. Maybe it was for that one play, but Blount has very little power and acceleration, and is better in open space than between the tackles but he's not particularly good at all. There is a very good reason the Patriots let him go despite a 4-5 TD game against the Colts, and barely any teams wanted to sign him - even those that needed a starter like the Ravens, Browns, Jaguars, etc. Edited September 11, 2014 by Lord Raven