The Ravens provided Jackson Ample Time and Space (ATS) on 6 of 23 drop backs (26%). That’s low, but Jackson did well given his opportunities.
Despite the absence of Chase, Young, the 2nd overall pick in the 2020 draft and DT Matt Ioannidis, the Redskins still fielded a young and talented group of defenders that include DE Montez Sweat (2019, #26 overall), DT Daron Payne (2018, #13), DT Tim Settle (2018 #163), DE/DT Jonathan Allen (2017, #17), DE Ryan Anderson (2017, #49), and DE Ryan Kerrigan (2011, #16, all-time Washington sack leader).
The Ravens ran only 53 scored snaps (excludes accepted penalties which result in no play, kneels, spikes, and special teams plays that result in a run or pass).
Brown: Orlando filled in for Ronnie Stanley at LT and had a top-shelf game of pass protection. He did not allow a single pass rush event and missed just 1 point in pass blocking for the game (he moved to level 2 to make an illegal block as Jackson shoveled the ball forward, Q1, 5:56). He was too slow to block DE Ryan Anderson which led to Lamar being taken down for a loss of 11 (Q4, 6:49). He allowed a second penetration when he failed to block DE Smith-Williams (Q4, 4:24). His false start penalty (Q1, 5:11) stalled the first Ravens drive. He missed 5 blocks, only 2 of which were losses at the LoS. He made 1 block in level 2, delivered 1 pancake, and missed his only pulling assignment. I did not score any of his blocks as highlights.
Scoring: 53 plays, 46 blocks, 5 missed, 2 penetrations, 1 false start, 39 points (.74 per play). That’s a B- with adjustment. The tackle play (on both sides) was the pleasant surprise of this game with the positional shifts required for Stanley’s absence. Brown and Fluker would each have graded out as an A had the game ended after 3 quarters.
Bozeman: Bradley had a poor game in a short outing. He was bulled by DT Jonathan Allen to flush Jackson for a QH by Sweat (full charge, Q2, 3:15). He surrendered another full pressure by bull to Allen (Q3, 10:10) on Lamar’s 18-yard completion to Brown. Of his 9 misses, 6 were losses at the LoS, primarily to Allen. He had 4 blocks in level 2 and pulled successfully on 5 of 5 assignments. On his highlight pull on Jackson’s 50-yard run (Q2, 10:05), he maintained his feet and took S Troy Apke out of the play 8 yards downfield. That allowed Jackson to slip by off his right hip.
Scoring: 47 plays, 36 blocks, 9 missed, 1 pressure, 1 QH, 31 points (.66 per play). That’s a D after adjustment.
Skura: Matt had another solid game. He did not have a negative pass blocking event. His only negative charge was a false start which stalled the last drive of Q3. Among 5 missed blocks, 3 were losses at the LoS. He had 3 blocks in level 2 and connected on 1 of his 2 pulls. His highlight was a combination on DT Allen then ILB Kevin Pierre-Louis in level 2 to lead Edwards’ 8-yard run (Q1, 8:13).
Scoring: 53 plays, 48 blocks, 5 missed, 1 false start, 45 points (.85 per play). That’s a B after adjustment.
Phillips: Tyre regressed in a game where he regularly faced off with DT Daron Payne. He was beaten inside for a QH by Payne which resulted in a floater that became Fuller’s 2nd interception (Q4, 3:37). He was pinballed into Jackson when pulling by DE Ryan Anderson (Q1, 5:56). He missed 6 blocks, 4 of which were losses to Payne at the LoS (shed, whiffed, beaten inside, beaten outside). He made 1 of 3 blocks in level 2. On 5 pulling assignments, he made 4 blocks and allowed the aforementioned pressure. He did not have a pancake or highlight.
Scoring: 49 plays, 40 blocks, 6 missed, 1.5 pressures, 1 QH, 34 points (.69 per play). That’s a D with or without adjustment.
Fluker: DJ played well for most of the day at RT while facing veteran Ryan Kerrigan on the plurality of snaps. Kerrigan beat him for 1 full pressure by bull rush (Q3, 6:32). Fluker shared another pressure with Phillips. His grade was impacted by 2 late holding calls, each of which may not have met minimum flagrancy standards observed so far in 2020. He made 1 block in level 2 and delivered 1 pancake. He found a target on all 3 of his pulls.
He had 2 highlights in the span of 3 plays which indicated more about his ability to play guard than simply contributing to a fine tackle performance:
- (Q2, 11:26): He reached far to his right then pivoted Ryan Anderson 180 degrees as he sealed him for Ingram’s 5-yard run right so that he was between Anderson and Ingram for the entire run. This is precisely the most common RG responsibility in a power run to the right, except the reach is not as difficult.
- (Q2, 10:05): He made a gorgeous combination to tee up DT Settle for Phillips then maintained a block in level 2 for 15 yards on ILB Pierre-Louis. Jackson ran 50 yards for the TD.
Both of those blocks belong on his “show the grandkids” video collection.
Scoring: 53 plays, 48 blocks, 3 missed, 1.5 pressures, 2 offensive holding, 33 points (.62 per play). That’s a D with or without adjustment. I don’t think the D is representative of DJ’s play, certainly if weighted by importance of each block. He had an A through 3 quarters when the game was decided and an A if the 2 holding calls are removed. In any case, the performance was a qualitative win for his ability to play either guard or RT.
Mekari: Patrick had 7 snaps and made 5 of his blocks. He played 2 snaps as a jumbo TE and another 5 as a late-game replacement for Bozeman at LG. He connected on 2 of 2 pulls.
Powers: Ben made all 4 of his blocks when he replaced Phillips at RG for the last 4 snaps. Those included a pancake of DT Daron Payne (Q4, 2:04) and a pull to lead the 4th and 1 conversion by Edwards on the last scored offensive play (Q4, 1:33).
Bredeson: Ben had 2 snaps, both as an eligible receiver in jumbo sets. He made 1 of 2 blocks but was shed on his first NFL snap by DE Ryan Anderson.
If you’re interested in seeing scoring trends for the players this season, those charts will be posted in the Gallery section and updated weekly.
If you could give these starters a grade for their performance that was completely subjective and just based on your feelings moving forward, that would be great. I personally think we should be giving Mekari a chance at Center, and I haven’t been terribly impressed by where Phillips’ ceiling appears to be. Thoughts? Could iOL be an area the Ravens look to strengthen in free agency or via draft next offseason?
Ken,
Really enjoyed this weeks podcasts on offense. If you look at the 2020 Ravens in the context of Greg Roman’s career as an OC, the team is performing much like Greg Roman led offenses have performed historically. In eight of eight seasons, his offenses have been in the top 10 for rushing attempts and yards gained and in six of eight years, his rushing offense has been in the top 4 for yards per attempt. His passing offenses have never ranked higher than 29th on pass attempts or 23rd on passing yards. The 2020 Ravens are currently sitting at 31st for both pass attempts and passing yards. HIs current tenure with the Ravens has produced a break from past trend on passing TD’s with the 2019 rank of 1st in the NFL.
While 2020 has fallen off to 15th, there are a lot of changes to offensive personnel and there should be steady improvement as the season progresses. From 2019 to 2020 the Ravens offense has fallen from 10th in net yards per pass attempt to 20th after four games. Partly this is due to the poor performance against the Chiefs but it is also a result of more short passes as a result of QB pressure and, to some degree, the mix of play design this season. In Lamar Jackson, Greg Roman has the most talented QB he has ever worked with. I don’t expect that Lamar will lead the league in TD’s again in 2020 because defenses have a year of film in hand to game plan against him. I do think the offense will continue to improve and hopefully arrive at the post-season ready to play at their peak.