The Baltimore Ravens have been stuck in a rut for over a month now. And while there’s plenty of blame to go around, one individual who has caught a lot of heat for the team’s struggles has been offensive coordinator Greg Roman.
Roman, who is in his third year as the offensive coordinator of the Ravens, has been credited in the past with crafting and engineering one of the most dynamic rushing offenses in recent NFL history.
But could his own shortcomings and failures to adapt be holding back Lamar Jackson and the entire Ravens offense? That’s the argument Steven Ruiz of The Ringer made in a compelling article detailing the issues with Baltimore’s offense.
The article itself is a must-read for Ravens fans so I’ll only summarize the crux of Ruiz’s argument using excepts. Essentially, Ruiz claims that Roman’s failure to adapt is the very thing preventing the Ravens offense from finding success right now.
And, in the same vein, it’s holding back Jackson. Ruiz states the following.
"“Roman still has no answers for these overly aggressive defenses. One solution could be a fully fleshed-out passing game. But as we covered earlier, that would require Roman to strip down his expansive run game, which would be like asking Nic Cage to stop overacting. It’s literally the only thing he’s good for at this point.”"
Greg Roman could be holding back Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense
The point Ruiz is making here relates to personnel usage and how it impacts how defenses stack the box against the Ravens. Roman loves to utilize multiple running backs, multiple tight ends, and a fullback in his offensive schemes.
The Ravens rank a lowly 30th in terms of 11 personnel usage. And even with their wide receivers, the players Roman is hoping will keep the defense honest, the Ravens oftentimes will have them or others in jet sweep motion limiting their vertical presence.
"“Roman’s scheme is what allows defenses to play like this. He’s forcing Lamar, who is one of the most dangerous space players we have ever seen, to operate in a phone booth and then inviting the defense to load up that phone booth without any real risk for doing so. That strategy worked in 2019 because the Ravens had an elite offensive line that was capable of winning against loaded boxes. But that is no longer the case.”"
Essentially, the Ravens are asking teams to stack the box against them. And rather than attempt to spread defenses out, Roman continues to employ the same heavy personnel allowing his opponents to blitz the Ravens into submission.
That, in a nutshell, is the biggest issue with the Ravens’ offense right now. They have no answer for aggressive, blitz-happy defenses that stack the box. And they have no answer because their offensive coordinator fails to adapt.
Roman’s play-calling isn’t the issue, as much as some might try to make it seem. It’s his personnel usage. It’s the fact that he’s getting out-schemed every week by a similar gameplan.
Again, Ruiz breaks this down in much greater detail in his article which I heavily employ all of you to read. It truly is a superb analysis of the Ravens’ offensive issues.
Right now, Greg Roman is holding the Ravens back. And the only solutions are for him to adapt or for the Ravens to send him packing.