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The Turnovers, the Offense and the Running Game

Andrews makes sense because even at this stage he is still one of the 10 best TEs in the NFL. Bateman right now seems to be the number 3 WR, and if the other WRs look like they did Sunday then that spot might in jeopardy.

Lets play a fun game: how many teams would trade their number 3 WR for a 3rd? I would wager most and the ones that would not are basically only refusing because they are a rookie or 2nd year player who they want to grow into a top spot. Basically either the entire NFL drastically overvalues draft picks, possible, or Bateman is not even worth a 3rd round pick. What he is, is a very inconsistent player who has struggled for years now to be on the same page as a top 3 QB.

He had a slow start last year but I think that was due to the accident.

This year he looks like a shell of himself.
 
He had a slow start last year but I think that was due to the accident.

This year he looks like a shell of himself.
Also could just be a function of the offense. Easily the best WR core the Ravens have had maybe ever, or definitely in the last 10 years. Would prefer a balanced attack with a lot of run and play action as well. I questioned in the preseason whether the TE will be the target-heavy position it's been in prior years. So far, it doesn't appear to be. Andrews has played a ton of snaps the last two weeks, and his target volume is almost non-existent. It would be one thing if they were phasing the TE out of the offensive packages. They're not. They're just not getting volume at the moment.

Maybe that changes when Likely comes back, but maybe it doesn't. Obviously Flowers was a target machine last year and that's only continued this year, but TEs made up 30% of the passing volume last year. It's less than 10% through two weeks this year.
 
Zay is the best receiver we have ever had. You can see what a loss it was not having him in the playoffs last year .
I feel like I don’t appreciate zay as much as I should, seeing the playoffs last year vs week 1 and 2 this year, the difference is crazy. I think we might be better off with zay and no likely, instead of likely and no zay. He’s such an easy target for Lamar and so often, seems so easy for monken to dial up easy quality yards with him.
 
I feel like I don’t appreciate zay as much as I should, seeing the playoffs last year vs week 1 and 2 this year, the difference is crazy. I think we might be better off with zay and no likely, instead of likely and no zay. He’s such an easy target for Lamar and so often, seems so easy for monken to dial up easy quality yards with him.

You're looking at about 15m/yr for Likely and 25m/yr for Zay.
 
I feel like I don’t appreciate zay as much as I should, seeing the playoffs last year vs week 1 and 2 this year, the difference is crazy. I think we might be better off with zay and no likely, instead of likely and no zay. He’s such an easy target for Lamar and so often, seems so easy for monken to dial up easy quality yards with him.
You're looking at about 15m/yr for Likely and 25m/yr for Zay.
So I don't think they'll be needing to choose one or the other, but if they did, I think they'd take Zay by a massive amount over Likely. Much easier to replace, and Flowers impact on the offense is exponentially higher.

Zay will be a very good bit more than $25M/year. Assuming he's getting extended this coming offseason, it'll be $30M as the floor. Could easily get higher. McLaurin just got $32.3M, and there's no way his agent would ever tell him to sign for a penny less than that. Assuming Flowers doesn't get hurt this year, he'll have b2b thousand yard seasons, and his stats will, at a minimum, stand up to what Metcalf and Wilson have done. And they're $33M/year guys.
 
I feel like I don’t appreciate zay as much as I should, seeing the playoffs last year vs week 1 and 2 this year, the difference is crazy. I think we might be better off with zay and no likely, instead of likely and no zay. He’s such an easy target for Lamar and so often, seems so easy for monken to dial up easy quality yards with him.
Zay has become one of the best receivers in the NFL. Every catch he makes , he has a chance of going the distance
The choice is easy if you were forced to keep only one of the two : Zay .
 
I know this is the recap thread and not the signings thread... but Lamar, Zay, Linderbaum, and Likely are the priority re-sign guys they've identified. They've got some lesser names they'd like to get done at some point too. They're sticking to their mantra of signing guys they think are or can be top of the league to big deals. They'll let the guys go they think are good but will probably command contracts that indicate they're great.

Travis Jones is the one that could flop either way.
 
Andrews makes sense because even at this stage he is still one of the 10 best TEs in the NFL. Bateman right now seems to be the number 3 WR, and if the other WRs look like they did Sunday then that spot might in jeopardy.

Lets play a fun game: how many teams would trade their number 3 WR for a 3rd? I would wager most and the ones that would not are basically only refusing because they are a rookie or 2nd year player who they want to grow into a top spot. Basically either the entire NFL drastically overvalues draft picks, possible, or Bateman is not even worth a 3rd round pick. What he is, is a very inconsistent player who has struggled for years now to be on the same page as a top 3 QB.

Bate's clearly the WR2 in terms of usage and role

DHop played less than Tylan Wallace...

Very few 3rd round picks are going to have the impact of a guy like Bate, and they certainly won't be helping the team right now
 
Also could just be a function of the offense. Easily the best WR core the Ravens have had maybe ever, or definitely in the last 10 years. Would prefer a balanced attack with a lot of run and play action as well. I questioned in the preseason whether the TE will be the target-heavy position it's been in prior years. So far, it doesn't appear to be. Andrews has played a ton of snaps the last two weeks, and his target volume is almost non-existent. It would be one thing if they were phasing the TE out of the offensive packages. They're not. They're just not getting volume at the moment.

Maybe that changes when Likely comes back, but maybe it doesn't. Obviously Flowers was a target machine last year and that's only continued this year, but TEs made up 30% of the passing volume last year. It's less than 10% through two weeks this year.

Likely means more 12 personnel and more passing out of 12 personnel
On a purely probabilistic basis, we'll see a larger target share from the TEs when Likely's back because of the types of personnel groupings we'll use more
 
I know this is the recap thread and not the signings thread... but Lamar, Zay, Linderbaum, and Likely are the priority re-sign guys they've identified. They've got some lesser names they'd like to get done at some point too. They're sticking to their mantra of signing guys they think are or can be top of the league to big deals. They'll let the guys go they think are good but will probably command contracts that indicate they're great.

Travis Jones is the one that could flop either way.

i think it depends how you view travis jones and the way he's looking to get paid - depends if you have to pay him as a DT or if you can pay him as a NT

this team is so much better with him on it right now and we also have no one in the pipe to replace him (or Pierce who we didn't replace)

but i get what they're thinking, that he's a lot more replaceable (in the sense that you can find someone who can replicate some of travis jones's play/production - it's good but not special)
 
Likely means more 12 personnel and more passing out of 12 personnel
On a purely probabilistic basis, we'll see a larger target share from the TEs when Likely's back because of the types of personnel groupings we'll use more
Probably. Though Andrews is playing 78% and Kolar 60% already, so if anything, I'd expect to see similar usage with just more Likely and less Andrews. No way they want Andrews playing snap counts that high all season.
 
i think it depends how you view travis jones and the way he's looking to get paid - depends if you have to pay him as a DT or if you can pay him as a NT

this team is so much better with him on it right now and we also have no one in the pipe to replace him (or Pierce who we didn't replace)

but i get what they're thinking, that he's a lot more replaceable (in the sense that you can find someone who can replicate some of travis jones's play/production - it's good but not special)
They love Travis Jones and already made a run at him for what it's worth. He and his camp said they'd prefer to wait it out, which is probably the right choice on their side. If the salary cap wasn't a thing, they'd love to keep him. But they know there are going to be sacrifices that need to made and he's the main one they're not thrilled about but understand it may have to happen.
 
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