The Ravens suffered a heartbreaking 24-23 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 7. Despite their offense going two-for-six on third downs in the second half, Baltimore still battled back to almost tie the game. In a matchup where every possession counted, Baltimore’s offense failed to capitalize on several opportunities.

Joe Flacco had an inconsistent day but rallied the team on their final drive. Flacco was six-for-six for 66 yards and a touchdown on that last series. He was accurate and made good decisions with the football. Flacco took what the defense gave him, instead of trying to force anything.

Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg dialed up a better game plan this week, but his playing was still questionable at times.

The key to their success the offensive line. Despite having two new starters — Bradley Bozeman and Orlando Brown Jr. — Baltimore only allowed one sack. They also were much improved in run-blocking as well.

One of the staples of Baltimore’s running game is the split zone concept. By design, this running play is eerily similar to an inside zone, but with one distinct difference — an H-back blocks the EMOLS (end man on the line of scrimmage). This play had an interesting wrinkle to it. With John Brown moving pre-snap, he drew one of the defensive backs to follow him, which led to one less defender to block and more space for Collins to operate. Baltimore’s running game has been unsuccessful for the majority of the season, but they are not too far away from seeing significant improvements. One mistake can halt a running play, and that has been the story for the Ravens. On this play, Nick Boyle is tasked with reaching Cameron Jordan before he can climb upfield. It is a difficult block to make, and Boyle did reach him. However, his poor angle resulted in getting to Jordan’s inside shoulder. Due to his poor positioning, Jordan easily out leveraged him and tripped up Alex Collins. The positive spin is that a nine-yard gain on first-down should be considered a successful play.

This play is an RPO with Michael Crabtree running a slant. This concept is predicated on Flacco reading the linebacker to see how he reacts to the potential handoff. If the linebacker bites towards Collins, Flacco will keep it and throw it to Crabtree, who likely will have an inside release into a slant. Conversely, if the linebacker stays in his area in his zone coverage, Flacco will give it to the Collins. In this scenario, the linebacker cheated towards the line of scrimmage, which gave Flacco the keep read. However, the issue arose when Crabtree’s route took too long to develop. Marshon Lattimore jammed Crabtree at the line of scrimmage, and it ruined the timing of this play. As a result, Flacco was forced to check it down. However, his pass was batted at the line of scrimmage.

On the first two drives, Baltimore ran two jet sweeps. One went to Snead, while the other went to Chris Moore. With Cameron Jordan being a disruptive force for the Saints, Baltimore had to game plan around him. This was one of the concepts Marty Mornhinweg utilized to do so. This concept left him unblocked, but due to Snead’s speed, it did not matter. Orlando Brown Jr.’s assignment is to reach the second level and block a linebacker, which he failed to do. Among several of Brown’s issues, his lack of athleticism could be a concern for the Ravens’ complex running game.

Off of play action, Joe Flacco connected with John Brown for a 16-yard completion. The play call was brilliant as it forced the linebackers to make a decision, and they reacted incorrectly. The play action confused the linebackers, and they had a busted coverage. Against what appeared to be cover-1 man, Maxx Williams was essentially left uncovered. It appears as if Flacco looked to his side of the field but quickly went to Brown. If the pass was accurate, Williams had a chance to pick up at least 25 yards. This was a critical miss from Flacco, and Baltimore’s drive stalled out at their 49-yard line.

Alex Collins’ biggest issue is his vision, specifically in zone schemes. Outside zone concepts gives running backs multiple cutback lanes as the defense usually crashes to the play side. On this play, Collins ran into Boyle and chose the wrong lane. There are three terms to know when discussing zone concepts — bend, bang, and bounce. If Collins had chosen the first term, bend, he could have had a significant gain. Baltimore’s running game is a nightmare, but it is not solely on the offensive line.

The Ravens ran several plays utilizing this high-low concept. However, it did not fully develop on this third-and-long because New Orleans only rushed three and dropped eight. Despite only sending three rushers, the Saints still collapsed the pocket. Orlando Brown Jr. was pushed back on the bull rush as he could not get his hands underneath the defender’s armpits, while Ronnie Stanley was beaten by the bull rush for a similar reason. The difference was that Stanley recovered much more efficiently than Brown Jr. Based on the play call, Mornhinweg may have been anticipating a blitz or at least a four-man-rush.

Defensively, the Saints utilized a much different strategy than Baltimore’s previous six opponents. Most of the Ravens’ opponents ran a majority of man-coverage with some zone coverage sprinkled in the mix. They also did not run a ton of combo coverages, but New Orleans’ game plan was clear; shutdown Michael Crabtree with Marshon Lattimore and run zone coverage on Brown’s side of the field. One of the defensive strategies the Saints used was combo coverage with Lattimore playing man-coverage on Crabtree and zone on the opposite side of the field. Flacco identified the zone coverage on the right side as he quickly targeted Brown through the tight window. Flacco’s performance in this game was equally as impressive as it was frustrating.

On a power concept, Hayden Hurst missed his block on Kurt Coleman (29), who was picked up by Yanda. With Yanda picking up Coleman, A.J. Klein (53) was left unblocked, and he forced Collins to slow down and cut back inside. Hayden Hurst was not in an ideal alignment to block Coleman, but it is a block that he surely has to make.

The Saints ran a variation of cover-2 — Tampa-2. The distinct difference between a traditionally cover-2 and Tampa-2 is the depth of the linebacker. In Tampa-2, the linebacker will almost be even with the two-deep defensive backs but five to seven yards closer to the line of scrimmage. One of the weaknesses of this coverage is the area between the shallow outside defenders and the deep safeties. Flacco correctly identified that weakness and targeted Crabtree in that area, but the pass was inaccurate. However, the safety closed the gap in a short amount of time. The once open area of the defense was quickly covered, and an incompletion might have been the best case scenario with all things considered.

On fourth down, the Ravens elected to go for it. The Saints showed a heavy blitz pre-snap, but they only sent five rushers. They played cover-1 robber, and Brown ran a fantastic curl route. He ran nearly seven yards in front of the sticks to bait the defender of a deep route to get him on his toes. Brown then quickly cut back to find the ball and pick up the first down. This route was all about timing, and Flacco seems to always be on the same page as Brown.

In the red zone, the Saints ran a cover-2. The weaknesses of these coverages are the seams and the outside intermediate parts of the field. In theory, Baltimore’s play design should work against this coverage. They have Brown luring the linebackers over the middle, while Chris Moore should get Lattimore’s attention on the fake screen, and Snead’s slot fade should be open. However, Mornhinweg never set this play up. The Ravens did not run any wide receiver screens prior to this play, and Lattimore did not bite on the fake pass to Moore. With no receivers on the right side of the field other than Snead, Lattimore could distort his shallow coverage and follow Snead downfield. If Baltimore would have shown Lattimore a wide receiver screen earlier in the game, he may have bought the screen play and tried to jump it.

The Saints are running a combo coverage as they are in man coverage on the left side of the field and zone on the right side. Mornhinweg dialed up a similar concept to the one they ran on third-down on the first drive that did not work. This is a high-low play, and Snead’s shallow route drew the defender, which allowed Brown to have the middle of the field to himself. Mark Andrews’ route led him to be close to Brown, but he was there to block Brown’s defender and set up a huge play.

Many have called this play a zone-read. However, it appears to be a ‘Bash concept.’ This concept is used in several different ways, but it is essentially a backside run. This particular play is a bash quarterback counter. Alex Collins was used as a decoy for a counter run, but it was designed for Jackson to keep it and run in the same direction as the pulling guard and tackle. The play design was beautiful as it took away three defenders and created a favorable blocking matchup for Baltimore.

Baltimore’s running game flashed throughout this game, and on this play, the trap concept worked well. Maxx Williams blocked the three-tech, while Stanley sealed the edge. Bradley Bozeman pulled on the opposite side, while Matt Skura attacked a linebacker.

Against press-coverage, Michael Crabtree broke to the sidelines and was forced towards the sidelines. However, his ability to use his body to create separation and box the defender out, led to Flacco having a window to throw him the ball. Along the offensive line, Ronnie Stanley was beaten by a club-rip move, which nearly led to a sack. Stanley’s play has improved throughout the season, but he still struggles from time to time.

This was a questionable third-down play call because Brown Jr. will likely never reach that linebacker. The biggest knocks on Brown Jr. are his athleticism and ability to get to the second level. This play is a microcosm of how those issues can hurt an offense. If he reached the linebacker, Collins would have had a one on one matchup with a defensive back on the outside. Collins would have easily gotten the first down even if the defensive back won that matchup.

Against zone coverage, Mornhinweg dialed up another high-low concept. This play worked well against the Saints as their linebackers tend to be overly aggressive on shallow routes. Instead of sticking with Snead, the linebacker jumped the tight end’s route, which opened up the entire middle of the field. Unfortunately for Baltimore, Snead had a rare drop. This play would have resulted in a significant gain, but it fell incomplete.

Brown Jr. was aided by chip blocks for much of the game, and this play was no different. Javorius Allen chipped Brown Jr.’s assignment before releasing into his route. However, Flacco was still forced to climb the pocket due to pressure from the interior. Matt Skura has struggled for much of the season with bull rushes, and he was bullied on this play. Fortunately for Baltimore, Crabtree had the awareness to break towards the sidelines and run to open space, which led to Flacco delivering a dart to him. This was one of Flacco’s better throws this game.

The Ravens used a trips formation on the right side to combat the man-coverage. With Moore’s matchup lining up nearly six yards away, he could easily get an inside release and break towards the middle of the field. This is something we rarely saw from Baltimore in the first six weeks of the season — they are scheming up plays to get their guys open instead of relying solely on isolation routes.

While running man-coverage, the Saints did not press Mark Andrews. They had Cameron Jordan chip him at the line of scrimmage but not stay with him. This forced the safety to have to recover quickly, which he was unable to do, and it led to a touchdown for Andrews. If teams are going to continue not to respect Baltimore’s tight ends, Mornhinweg should constantly exploit this flaw by utilizing concepts like these.

The Saints ran a fair amount of man coverage in the second half, and they had mixed results. However, Flacco’s inaccuracy also aided New Orleans. Crabtree was initially halted by the press coverage, but he was able to escape it and break to the inside. He had space to run in front of him, but Flacco’s pass was extremely inaccurate, and it led to an incompletion.

A club move beat Marshal Yanda, which led to Flacco having pressure almost immediately. Brown Jr. was also beaten as Cameron Jordan performed a club-rip move. Despite the incoming pressure, Flacco delivered a somewhat accurate pass to Hayden Hurst, who was wide open. However, the pass was thrown too far behind Hurst as it allowed the cornerback to swipe it out of his hands.

A club move beat Marshal Yanda, which led to Flacco having pressure almost immediately. Brown Jr. was also beaten as Cameron Jordan performed a club-rip move. Despite the incoming pressure, Flacco delivered a somewhat accurate pass to Hayden Hurst, who was wide open. However, the pass was thrown too far behind Hurst as it allowed the cornerback to swipe it out of his hands.

Against Tampa-2 coverage, Flacco correctly identified the weakness of the defense. He immediately targeted Brown once he passed the shallow defender, and the result was a touchdown for Baltimore.

Final takeaways