I think it's easy to say oh it was a few unlucky picks, but the fact is - it was more than that. There were a lot of errant passes. Brock was uncomfortable most of the game.
Disguised coverages were a hot topic the week leading up to this - and yet the passing offense seemed deer in the highlights and oblivious that Ravens have the personnel to bait and be aggressive about where they think the ball is going. A lot of it is on Kyle, but a lot of errant passes are on Brock.
The biggest takeaway for me is that in games where we are the ones being hit in the mouth, the team doesnt have answers on offense. The team isnt built to come back due to how its constructed. It can and does dish out the hurt to other NFC teams, but when it comes to tough defenses that have talent and moxy to punch hard and be aggressive... the team folds. Ironically this team was way more physical in the Jimmy era. Kyle was quicker to go to run game because he didnt trust Jimmy. With Brock and CMC the team is way more finesse, relying on anticipation, perfect blocks, etc. When it gets to playing physical football, dirty and gritty this team isnt a physical bully anymore. AFC north teams seem to have it this year. We don't.
This probably belongs in the Kyle thread, but offense never tries to take advantage or play situational football. Like abusing a certain element until the defense shows it can stop it. Or if a guy goes out try to exploit his backup. It's almost like this offense is too good for that. Did they even attempt to pass on Kyle Hamiltons replacement ?
Thankfully NFC doesnt have any of these teams, so it's not a huge deal, but this team has to find ways to grind out tough, muddy games and be more physical and "football" than finesse.
[ Edited by the_dynasty on Dec 25, 2023 at 10:27 PM ]