A lot of us have been talking about how easy it will be to dismantle the Ravens D with our pass attack. I don't think it's that simple.
On our record setting offense this year, Bell accounted for 2215 of those yards, both running and receiving and added 11 TDs to boot. Second only to AB's 13. It isn't a simple plug and play when you lose a player like this. Not only did we lose our top running back, but we lost our #2 receiver in both receptions and yardage. That's essentially losing 2 players at the same time. Another running back can come in and run the ball, and even may even be able to catch balls out of the backfield, but not like Bell.
Bell is a legitimate receiving threat. He does run circle routes, swings, screens, and is a release valve to check down to at times, but that is what most RBs are capable of. Bell's passing tree is comprehensive for his position. He actually runs flys, posts, stop and gos, and 20yd ins (which is the route he was hurt on). Think about that for a moment, how many RBs have you ever seen run a 20yd in? When he lines up as a WR or sometimes directly from the backfield, Bell will be running his route tree, most of the time with a LB on him, and it is a mismatch for any team to defend. This is why he gained 2200+ yardage this season. He is not an easy player to replace, and there is he is the reason why our offense is so prolific, that is why he earned our team MVP honor.
Losing Bell is HUGE for this offense, but there are things that our offense can do to still be productive this week. If we line up in a running set, we will get run blitzed all day by that D. It is the quickest way to shut down our running game and limit our down and distance advantages. We have to be set to run hot routes from the first play of the game. They will try and over commit and force us into a mistake, but that also makes them vulnerable to big plays by our fleet receivers one on one. Archer can be a weapon if he lines up in the backfield on a running set, then splits wide as a WR. He has the speed to separate and could make some plays if he hangs on to the ball. I am not relying on him to run the ball or block at all. If we need a blocker, it has to be Will Johnson. At the very least, if there are no blitzes to pickup, he has the ability to be the safety valve and get us some positive plays with his hands.
Hopefully, we learned from our inability to defend the spread in the early 2000s by enacting the same strategy against the ravens. A majority of our plays should be 4-5WR sets. The Ravens secondary is depleted. Injuries and turnover has created the perfect blend of inefficiency and lack of experience. While they may have 2 serviceable corners, they do not have 4-5. If they are running the dime all game, we have them in a position where inexperienced players will be going up against a very experienced and explosive receiving corp. By carrying more players in dime sets, they have to leave some LBs off the field, which is their strength, just as it was our strength in the early 2000s.
The blueprint is there for Ben to carry this team to victory, it will take the proper game planning by the coaches to make it work. Hopefully it will work just enough to get Bell back the following week so we can restart the engine that makes our offense so diverse.
On our record setting offense this year, Bell accounted for 2215 of those yards, both running and receiving and added 11 TDs to boot. Second only to AB's 13. It isn't a simple plug and play when you lose a player like this. Not only did we lose our top running back, but we lost our #2 receiver in both receptions and yardage. That's essentially losing 2 players at the same time. Another running back can come in and run the ball, and even may even be able to catch balls out of the backfield, but not like Bell.
Bell is a legitimate receiving threat. He does run circle routes, swings, screens, and is a release valve to check down to at times, but that is what most RBs are capable of. Bell's passing tree is comprehensive for his position. He actually runs flys, posts, stop and gos, and 20yd ins (which is the route he was hurt on). Think about that for a moment, how many RBs have you ever seen run a 20yd in? When he lines up as a WR or sometimes directly from the backfield, Bell will be running his route tree, most of the time with a LB on him, and it is a mismatch for any team to defend. This is why he gained 2200+ yardage this season. He is not an easy player to replace, and there is he is the reason why our offense is so prolific, that is why he earned our team MVP honor.
Losing Bell is HUGE for this offense, but there are things that our offense can do to still be productive this week. If we line up in a running set, we will get run blitzed all day by that D. It is the quickest way to shut down our running game and limit our down and distance advantages. We have to be set to run hot routes from the first play of the game. They will try and over commit and force us into a mistake, but that also makes them vulnerable to big plays by our fleet receivers one on one. Archer can be a weapon if he lines up in the backfield on a running set, then splits wide as a WR. He has the speed to separate and could make some plays if he hangs on to the ball. I am not relying on him to run the ball or block at all. If we need a blocker, it has to be Will Johnson. At the very least, if there are no blitzes to pickup, he has the ability to be the safety valve and get us some positive plays with his hands.
Hopefully, we learned from our inability to defend the spread in the early 2000s by enacting the same strategy against the ravens. A majority of our plays should be 4-5WR sets. The Ravens secondary is depleted. Injuries and turnover has created the perfect blend of inefficiency and lack of experience. While they may have 2 serviceable corners, they do not have 4-5. If they are running the dime all game, we have them in a position where inexperienced players will be going up against a very experienced and explosive receiving corp. By carrying more players in dime sets, they have to leave some LBs off the field, which is their strength, just as it was our strength in the early 2000s.
The blueprint is there for Ben to carry this team to victory, it will take the proper game planning by the coaches to make it work. Hopefully it will work just enough to get Bell back the following week so we can restart the engine that makes our offense so diverse.
