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:

How the Ravens Protection Let Them Down

The Ravens lost in frustrating fashion to the Texans 25-13 and with it, lost control of their destiny fate.  It was clear from early on that the Texans defense was going to be aggressive and look to bring interior pressure in the pass game.  The Ravens offensive line played admirably in one-on-one protection situations but the protection scheme let them down. 

Situation: 2Q 9:57, First and 10 on the Ravens' 8 yardline

With the Ravens backed up to their own 8 yardline, the offense came out on first down throwing.  They use their 12 personnel package to attack the Texans Quarters coverage look.  In order to account for seven potential rushers, the Ravens use "half slide" protection where the 5 OL + 1 RB are responsible for 6 rushers.  If seven rushers come, the seventh is on Flacco.  This is how it played out:

Both TEs (Gillmore and Daniels) are running short stick patterns to the middle of the field.  The outside linebackers follow them in "match" coverage while the two interior linebackers "cross blitz" (also referred to as "Fire X").  This causes havoc for the interior of the protection because they've opened up a lane for the blitzers to penetrate.  The protection scheme was built to withstand six rushers, but due to the Texans superior game-plan, they only needed to bring five to hurry Flacco into an errant throw.

This is football, though.  You get out-schemed on one play, you adjust, and move on.

However, the very next play:

Situation: 2Q 9:53, Second and 10 on the Ravens' 8 yardline

The Ravens show the same protection scheme against the same Texans front.

This time, the first rusher of the stunting linebackers (often know as the penetrator) times the snap and gets to Flacco before Forsett can step up.  The result is intentional grounding and almost lead to a safety.

In a vacuum I would rarely criticize this individual series of plays.  However, the Ravens have experience against heavy A-gap pressure teams.  The Steelers, Bengals, and (to a lesser extent) the Browns all show interior pressure versus the Ravens twice a year. 

Additionally, it wasn't until the 10th(!) pass play that the Ravens changed their 6-man protection call to account for A-gap pressure.  Specifically, "full slide" protection needed to be used to at least account for the interior gaps and allow Flacco to more easily throw "hot" off of edge defenders.  Full slide protection gives you the luxury of using play-action to lead the running-back to his eventual blocking assignment rather than away from it.

The pass protection, at least prior to the injuries, was a problem early in the game but they certainly can't shoulder all the blame.  Receivers dropped open routes in the first two quarters and the run game suffered from interior penetration as well.  Sprinkle in receivers slipping, tipped passes, and specific coverage beaters that Flacco simply missed, and you get a disappointing loss to a (slightly) inferior team.

Why Defenses Need to "Contain" to have Success

Containment is a concept forced onto football players from the very beginning. How else would 8-year-olds stop those sweeps that are so common at the Peewee level?

Yet, that very concept confounds players at every level. From the high school game I covered for my day job last week, in which a physically dominant team continued to give up big outside runs and thus allowed the lesser opponent to stay in the game, to the Baltimore Ravens big win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, containment is a crucial concept that too often goes ignored.

The Steelers ran several end-arounds in the game last week, some of which were well defended and others less so. Let's take a look at these plays to get an idea about the critical concept of containment.

How the Ravens Brought Pressure Against Big Ben

In week one against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Ravens defense was barely able to get pressure on quarterback Andy Dalton. According to Pro Football Focus, the defense recorded zero sacks, one quarterback hit, and four quarterback hurries on 43 pass attempts.

Before the game was even over, fans were calling for Dean Pees' head and pining for the days of the "aggressive" Ravens defense under Rex Ryan.

But then the Steelers came to town, and the Ravens' pass rush was born again. The defense recorded 11 sacks, hits, or hurries on 41 pass attempts against the Steelers, highlighted by Upshaw's huge hit on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger early in the first quarter.

Much of the difference can be attributed to offensive scheme, of course. Cincy brought a smart, efficient game plan to Baltimore in week one, and they used it to negate the Ravens front seven. And even though Pittsburgh used a lot of the same strategies in week two - screens, reverses, and quick-hitting pass plays - the Ravens also countered with some new wrinkles of their own.

Let's take a look at what Baltimore did to get pressure on the Steelers last Thursday.

How to Attack the Browns Defense

The Browns' defense has been up-and-down so far this season.

They completely shut down the prolific Saints offense (10 first-half points due to a late touchdown), but they also let the Steelers gash them for 27 first-half points. Statistically, their lean periods have left them near the bottom of the league in team defense (27th in Defensive DVOA and 31st in yards per play), but the Browns' defense should not be taken lightly.

The Browns run a very complicated defense designed to disguise pressures and confuse the quarterback into throwing ill-advised passes.  This compliments an aggressive run defense focused on creating negative plays by penetrating with second level players.

The Ravens offense will have their hands full on Sunday.  The team will need a cohesive, communicative effort from their offensive personnel as the Browns tend to play a bit unconventionally in order to capitalize on undisciplined play.