Was the difference Caldwell vs. Cameron?

[West Chester Raven]

O-Line is playing great right now. Flacco was only sacked 1 time I believe.

I think moving Oher to RT and McKinnine to LT has been the single biggest impact. Sure Caldwell may call a better game, but that O-Line shuffle is huge.

The moves confirm what we as fans and the local media suspected in terms of having our best O-Line guys out there. You really do have to wonder why it took so long for the team to make the switch. Perhaps calculated?

[CajunRaven]

That did get kind of ridiculous - but there's a reality here that is being overlooked. The playcalling is much, much better.
Under Cam, the wideouts were blanketed. It seemed as if Flacco were throwing into double and triple coverage on every down.
The playcalling under Caldwell has given the receivers space to work. Even when they are covered, they normally have the spacing to make plays. How many times before Cam did we see a receiver go up over two guys to make a catch? How many times have we seen this over the last 5 weeks?

How many times did we see Joe roll out to buy more time when Cam was here? The play calling is better and Joe seems more confident now.

[Peej7245]

I think moving Oher to RT and McKinnine to LT has been the single biggest impact. Sure Caldwell may call a better game, but that O-Line shuffle is huge.

The moves confirm what we as fans and the local media suspected in terms of having our best O-Line guys out there. You really do have to wonder why it took so long for the team to make the switch. Perhaps calculated?

It was reported that McKinnie asked Harbs for more playing time...and Harbs responded "Practice better!".

Perhaps it took as long as it did for McKinnie to get with the program --- and PRACTICE BETTER!

[CajunRaven]

O-Line is playing great right now. Flacco was only sacked 1 time I believe.

Correct, and it was a coverage sack.

[CajunRaven]

It was reported that McKinnie asked Harbs for more playing time...and Harbs responded "Practice better!".

Perhaps it took as long as it did for McKinnie to get with the program --- and PRACTICE BETTER!

Correct here as well. McKinnie practiced his way back into the lineup, just in time.

[Far from home]

How many times did we see Joe roll out to buy more time when Cam was here? The play calling is better and Joe seems more confident now.

Yep...I don't know if it was apparent that I was trying to make that type of point in the post, but that's what I'm talking about.

Jim is letting them play.

[CajunRaven]

Yep...I don't know if it was apparent that I was trying to make that type of point in the post, but that's what I'm talking about.

Jim is letting them play.

We're on the same page.

I don't know what the insubordination thing was that got Cam fired, but whatever Cam did to bring it on, it was the best move Cam ever made while he was here.

[bmore_ken]

I think the difference is the revamped O Line that should have been in place from week 1

[OriginalColtsFan]

I think the difference is the revamped O Line that should have been in place from week 1

That's only 1 part of a much bigger picture.

[Pickle20]

Getting Joe moving out of the pocket is the biggest thing I see.

There's a lot more passing being done in the middle of the field as well.

Beyond that and the improved OL play I don't see much of a difference. The execution is better, too.

[Ravens2006]

I posted this back after the first Broncos game, but if you really watched the O-line play in week 15 against the Broncos... and I mean REALLY watched all 5 guys on each snap... it was beyond atrocious in the first half. Honestly, one of the worst performances I've ever seen from a Ravens offensive line. Osemele on the edge and the two guards... HORRIFIC. Birk, mediocre. Oher that day, I wouldn't go with the "horrific" label, but not good at all. Joe's 1st half ending INT was a bad throw (and a bit of a nice play by the CB jumping the route) at the worst possible time, but his line had basically sold him and the offense out up to that point.

I won't say I expected them to play AS well as they have (I honestly expected McKinnie to be an upgrade over Osemele, but not a huge one), but I also think anybody expecting that the rematch would inherently be like the first game (or worse) wasn't paying attention to the personnel changes. As it's played out, McKinnie seems to upgrade a bit over Oher (on the left side), Oher upgrades a bit over Osemele (on the right side), and Osemele and Yanda at the guard spots are both upgrades over Williams and Reid.

Caldwell also seems to be getting Flacco moving a little bit earlier in games. I think that's good. Seems to give him a better feel for moving around in the pocket as the game goes on when pressure comes.

[afan]

Joe is moving the pocket now. He is rolling both left and right, something he rarely did with Cam. It also seems strange the OL has gotten better with Mc being taken out of the Harbs dog house. They are much bigger and this kid at l g is a monster.

[JasonM]

Joe is moving the pocket now. He is rolling both left and right, something he rarely did with Cam. It also seems strange the OL has gotten better with Mc being taken out of the Harbs dog house. They are much bigger and this kid at l g is a monster.

I'm beginning to wonder if Caldwell didn't have something to do with McKinnie getting back into the lineup. Yes, I heard the story about "practice" better, but it wouldn't surprise me if the new OC had advocated for putting the best possible OL on the field.

[TDL]

I think moving Oher to RT and McKinnine to LT has been the single biggest impact. Sure Caldwell may call a better game, but that O-Line shuffle is huge.

The moves confirm what we as fans and the local media suspected in terms of having our best O-Line guys out there. You really do have to wonder why it took so long for the team to make the switch. Perhaps calculated?

Exactly right.

Even though I wanted Cam gone two seasons back if Flacco was still getting the same protection from the OL I doubt the results would have been all that different than when Cam was still their coach.

[OriginalColtsFan]

Exactly right.

Even though I wanted Cam gone two seasons back if Flacco was still getting the same protection from the OL I doubt the results would have been all that different than when Cam was still their coach.

Yes, the results WOULD have been different. Cameron rarely called 4 full quarters of good football, even when the line had Gaither, Grubbs, Brown, Yanda, and Big Willie Anderson. It was still inconsistent, because Cameron himself was inconsistent in his play calling and his lack of in game adjustments. He rarely knew who had the hot hand in close games, and still played prevent offense which resulted in unnecessary losses. One thing really has nothing to do with the other. A good O-line is NOT going to magically turn Cam Cameron into a great coach. He was what he was; he cost the Ravens dearly; and it's a tremendous bonus that he's gone.

[TDL]

Yes, the results WOULD have been different. Cameron rarely called 4 full quarters of good football, even when the line had Gaither, Grubbs, Brown, Yanda, and Big Willie Anderson. It was still inconsistent, because Cameron himself was inconsistent in his play calling and his lack of in game adjustments. He rarely knew who had the hot hand in close games, and still played prevent offense which resulted in unnecessary losses. One thing really has nothing to do with the other. A good O-line is NOT going to magically turn Cam Cameron into a great coach. He was what he was; he cost the Ravens dearly; and it's a tremendous bonus that he's gone.

Agree.

I also think that if Flacco had been under as much pressure as he was the first time the Ravens and Broncos met and without the improvement of the running game the team wouldn't have been nearly as effective on offense as they were last Saturday.The second half of the game versus the Colts Caldwell was pretty much run,run pass and there was nothing spectacular about the playcalling.Much easier to overlook the deficiencies when the team is winning.

[OriginalColtsFan]

Agree.

I also think that if Flacco had been under as much pressure as he was the first time the Ravens and Broncos met and without the improvement of the running game the team wouldn't have been nearly as effective on offense as they were last Saturday.The second half of the game versus the Colts Caldwell was pretty much run,run pass and there was nothing spectacular about the playcalling.Much easier to overlook the deficiencies when the team is winning.

1. The O-line in the first game was not even an NFL caliber O-line. It was a disaster, so from that perspective, the O-line made a big difference. (Hell...it was barely a high school caliber O-line.)

2. While there were a LOT of running plays, especially on first down, there were at least some instances in which Caldwell chose to throw on 2nd down, and at least one instance when he chose to throw on 1st down (even though it was incomplete).

3. One has to remember that this is still basically Cameron's offense, with some important tweaks (i.e. rolling the pocket, using Ray Rice more appropriately, running some slants, draws, etc). There's only so much Caldwell can do at this late stage of the game. But even with that, I give him credit for the game against the Colts and against the Broncos. I do NOT see the Ravens winning both of those games with Cam Cameron at the helm.

[SugarRay52]

1. The O-line in the first game was not even an NFL caliber O-line. It was a disaster, so from that perspective, the O-line made a big difference. (Hell...it was barely a high school caliber O-line.)

2. While there were a LOT of running plays, especially on first down, there were at least some instances in which Caldwell chose to throw on 2nd down, and at least one instance when he chose to throw on 1st down (even though it was incomplete).

3. One has to remember that this is still basically Cameron's offense, with some important tweaks (i.e. rolling the pocket, using Ray Rice more appropriately, running some slants, draws, etc). There's only so much Caldwell can do at this late stage of the game. But even with that, I give him credit for the game against the Colts and against the Broncos. I do NOT see the Ravens winning both of those games with Cam Cameron at the helm.

Preach brother Preach, Aaron Wilson was on the Vinny and Rob show this morning and he was talking about how much Joe loves Caldwell and how Caldwell isn't close to being the dictator that Cam was (yes he said Cam was a dictator lol).

By the way the Broncos fired their DB coach, scapegoat LOL.

[85Knight]

Exactly right.

Even though I wanted Cam gone two seasons back if Flacco was still getting the same protection from the OL I doubt the results would have been all that different than when Cam was still their coach.

I think both changes have improved the offense greatly and maybe even equally. I'm just glad both changes have been made because we now have confidence that we can go toe to toe with New England if it becomes a shootout.

[OriginalColtsFan]

I think both changes have improved the offense greatly and maybe even equally. I'm just glad both changes have been made because we now have confidence that we can go toe to toe with New England if it becomes a shootout.

That's the way I see it also.