The Baltimore Ravens learned they have problems along their offensive line after beating the Buffalo Bills 13-7 in Week 1 of the 2016 NFL season.
Baltimore wore the Bills down in a fierce defensive tussle at M&T Bank Stadium. But they had to be concerned about seeing quarterback Joe Flacco sacked four times by a suspect Buffalo defense.
At least Flacco did show he still has a rocket for an arm. The quarterback whose 2015 season was cut short by a knee injury, proved he hasn’t lost the knack for stretching coverage deep.
Flacco’s 66-yard scoring bomb to journeyman burner Mike Wallace offered a glimpse of the big-play potential in the Ravens’ passing game this season.
By contrast, Bills passer Tyrod Taylor threw for just 111 yards after being outfought and out-thought by a subtle myriad of disguised pressure. It was a welcome performance for a Ravens defense that struggled a year ago.
Here are the top three lessons from Baltimore’s season-opening win.
Problems at Center
The issues up front didn’t involve rookie left tackle Ronnie Stanley. Instead, it was veteran center Jeremy Zuttah. The ninth-year pro was beaten along the interior by a player more used to rushing off the edge.
Jerry Hughes came over center to catch Zuttah cold for his first sack. An overload blitz over the right-side A-gap had confused the 30-year-old pivot man, and Hughes was able to whip him with quickness.
The missed block came after Zuttah botched a snap in the first quarter. He hiked the ball too soon to Flacco off a silent snap count. The comedy of errors caused a fumble the Bills recovered.
A weakness at the heart of the O-line is something the Ravens can’t afford. Especially in an AFC North division loaded with dominant defensive tackles, such as Geno Atkins and Cameron Heyward.
Zuttah needs to shape up and fast.
Baltimore’s deep passing game can burn defenses
It had to make head coach John Harbaugh happy to see Flacco has lost none of his arm strength. In fact, No. 5 burned the Bills deep more than once when he was kept upright.
His first vertical strike found Breshad Perriman for 35 yards. The next time Flacco went long he connected with Mike Wallace (remember him?) for 66-yards and the game’s only touchdown.
That score also showed Wallace, once of the NFL‘s elite burners, can still take the top off a defense. It’s been a while since he did that, per NFL Research:
Mike Wallace’s 66-yard TD is his longest reception since an 82-yard TD in Week 6, 2012 when he was a member of the Steelers
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) September 11, 2016
Wallace isn’t the only jet-heeled flanker Flacco can target this season. Perriman, Steve Smith Snr. and Kamar Aiken can all get deep.
Provided coordinator Marc Trestman, a play-caller rooted in the West Coast offense, wants to, the Ravens have the weapons to regularly work the ball deep.
Creativity gets the defense back on track
Last season was an uncharacteristically down year for the Baltimore defense. But even without Elivs Dumervil, 2016’s D’ looked a formidable unit against the Bills.
Buffalo passed for only 111 yards and converted just three of 13 third-down attempts, per the league’s official site. Baltimore’s stinginess owed everything to a creative approach from coordinator Dean Pees.
He kept Taylor guessing with a lot of complicated looks on football’s money down. The Bills’ first third-down attempt set the pattern.
Taylor found himself looking at only two down linemen. Za’Darius Smith and Timmy Jernigan lined up with their hands in the dirt, with Jernigan over center. Terrell Suggs, Albert McClellan, Zach Orr and C.J. Mosley stood up behind them.
The latter three all bailed into coverage at the snap, forcing Taylor to throw underneath an eight-man coverage bracket. His screen to LeSean McCoy was quickly stuffed.
It was a prime example of the sophisticated mix of coverage and pressure Pees threw at Taylor all day.
Jernigan later got a sack from a similar look, but this time Pees sent middle linebackers Mosley and Orr on the blitz. Mosley blitzed again on a 2nd-and-2 later in the first half, with free safety Lardarius Webb coming off the edge.
The pressure forced a holding penalty while taylor tried to flee the pocket.
Pees used Jernigan to show Taylor an amoeba look on 3rd-and-8 in the fourth quarter. Everybody bar the D-tackle was standing up pre-snap, showing blitz. But those in the middle soon dropped into coverage, while Pees sent a defensive back off the corner.
A harried Taylor threw late and low to tight end Charles Clay, who couldn’t convert, and the Bills had to punt.
This is the kind of defense the Ravens have historically been known for. It was clever, unpredictable and aggressive stuff that kept a potentially dangerous offense out of sync all game.
Pees will need to design more of the same if the Ravens are going to seriously challenge the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC North crown.