The Ravens Run Game is Heating Back Up

The Ravens under Gary Kubiak are built on running the ball.  Successful running allows for less risky "shot" plays in the pass game due to down/distance and dictates coverage concepts on the back end.  The run game hadn't been as effective going into Sunday's game versus the Browns as they managed only 93 yards and 33 yards against the Jaguars and Texans, respectively.  On Sunday, to the Ravens credit, they eschewed the former coordinator's tendency to stray from the run game and continued to pound the ball even after only minimal success.  As can be seen in the chart below that marks the yards on each attempt this past Sunday chronologically, the big gains came toward the end of the game:

With the Ravens offensive line being shuffled, it came as no surprise that a rushing attack based on communication and rapport was limited at times.  In the play below, John Urschel, who has played only ~25% of the teams' snaps really screwed his neighboring tackle (Yanda) and allowed the 4-technique defensive tackle to hunt down a play that would have been a big gain:

Urschel is lined up across the 4-technique Winn.  Urschel's job is the clip Winn's playside shoulder and scoop to the second level to cut-off the flowing linebacker.  Urschel needs to clip Winn on his way because Yanda has a long way to go to reach Winn if he doesn't get help.  On the playside, the Ravens have 4 blockers accounting for 4 defenders.  If they can shore up the backside Forsett will likely run for a touchdown (ball on the 15). 

Urschel fails to move Billy Winn off the snap.  Urschel flies to the second level without any regard for the tackle who is playing down the line of scrimmage.  Yanda is now in pursuit but has almost no chance to block Winn, even with a cut-block.  As can be seen, the playside hole is huge with no additional safety support coming from out of screen.

Winn pursues Forsett from behind and makes the play in at the line of scrimmage.

GIF of the above play

Urschel (#64) makes a tactical error that doomed what could have been an explosive play.  This is a communication breakdown on the offensive line that exploits the weakness of the zone scheme, backside pursuit.

When all the moving parts are working in unison (i.e. good blocking, savvy RB reads, timing, etc), big gains are there for the Ravens run game:

Out of the Ravens 21 personnel, the Ravens align in Weak I formation.  They'll run Outside Zone to the strong side and ask FB Kyle Juszczyk to fit up on the weakside inside 'backer.

The playside of the offensive line are doing a great job fitting up on the Browns' defensive line.  LT James Hurst (#74) has clipped the defensive tackle on his way to attack the linebacker at the second level.  On the backside, Juszczyk's initial assignment has slanted the wrong direction and Juszczyk can now fit up on the incoming safety.

Unfortunately for the ball carrier (Forsett), TE Owen Daniels has allowed OLB Barkevious Mingo (#51) to penetrate into Forsett's rushing lane.  Forsett changes his trajectory entirely and cuts back into the A-gap to avoid Mingo.  It's a thing of beauty and probably Forsett's most impressive run of the season.

GIF of the above play

Ultimately the Ravens rushing attack blocked adequately throughout the game.  The Ravens ran into a lot of heavy boxes early-on which accounts for the some of the negative rushes in the chart above.  A bit on each player:

• LT Hurst
• Offensive tackles have a tough job in the zone blocking scheme.  Not only are the tackles usually bigger/stouter players themselves, they are generally tasked with attacking more athletic DEs/OLBs.  On playside runs, Hurst played tentatively, rarely initiating contact, and “catching” defenders rather than driving them outwards or reaching and pinning them to the inside.  This becomes a problem in the outside zone concepts when the outside defender is often times the running back’s first read.  If the tackle doesn't force the defender one way or another, the reads get muddied and the timing of the play is disrupted.
• Hurst is a slightly below average run blocker at this stage of his career.  Even though Monroe is the least consistent Ravens O-lineman this year, I think fans should be hoping he returns for Saturday in Pittsburgh.
• LG Osemele
• Osemele is a monster in the zone blocking scheme.  He contorts his body and reaches inside defenders as well as any guard in the league.  He is also excellent at dealing with slants/twists that are designed to derail the zone blocking attack by distorting the initially called blocking assignments.  He struggled in the past with backside cut-blocks but has improved in this realm too.
• Outside of a mental mistake from time-to-time, Osemele is well on his way to being a better guard than Yanda.
• C Zuttah
• Zuttah has been a massive step-up from Gino Gradkowski.  However, Zuttah is merely slightly-above-average in run blocking.  His biggest asset is the mental part of the zone blocking game.  He blocks well in combination with other guards and tends to make the correct line calls.  In one-on-one blocking, he can get over-powered stemming from his upright stance.
• RG Urschel
• Urschel is light-footed and explosive from his stance in the run-game.  He moves his hips flexibly but doesn't have the experience to stay engaged for extended periods.  This is a non-issue often times due to the timing of the scheme but it can hurt the runner if there is unsuspected penetration that throws off his timing.
• When Urschel works in combination correctly, he is an effective back-up.
• RT Yanda
• Yanda was unsurprisingly solid in run-blocking.  He is a dominant run-blocker with excellent technique.  When he isn't attempting to compensate for a neighbor's mistakes, he executes his job better than most in the league.