Legion of Gloom: Run Game May Improve, but Roman’s Time Still Up

In this week’s installment of the Purple Patrol, Adam explored the idea of firing Greg Roman and why he feels it’s absurd to do so right now, especially coming off of this game.

First of all, let me say that I agree with much of Adam’s piece. If the Ravens fire Roman and go with a new OC, there certainly won’t be many playbook changes. He is also correct that as the team gets Ronnie Stanley, JK Dobbins, Gus Edwards and Nick Boyle back, that things should get better with the running game. Of course, we don’t know that because we don’t know how healthy they will be and how much  “normal” they will be. Can Roman overcome that?

He is also right that it’s not just Roman’s fault that the running game isn’t good right now. The running back talent is awful. Yes, the line isn’t run blocking great right now but backs are running into blockers, missing holes, showing poor vision, and aren’t displaying much ability to break tackles or explode for big gains.

He is also correct that the passing game, where Roman has always struggled, is off to a great start. Kevin Cole, from PFF, posted a graph yesterday talking about offensive efficiency, and the Ravens and Bills have the best and most efficient passing games through two games. The Ravens are also first in offensive DVOA.

Updated offensive run and pass efficiency percentiles

– Eagles the most complete offense
– Bills and Ravens the best passing teams, not good running the ball
– Bengals struggling in both phases pic.twitter.com/awb4CIesxK

— Kevin Cole (@KevinColePFF) September 20, 2022

So, with all of this being said, why would anyone want Roman gone?

Well, first of all, as someone who would be happy to see him gone, I am not going to allow a few games to change my thoughts on him. I wanted him gone after last year. I did not feel Roman was an OC that could design the passing game needed to win in today’s NFL.

By “win,” I am talking about in the playoffs. You have to have an explosive passing game to win in January in today’s NFL. The Ravens play football like it’s 10 years ago. Some of that is John Harbaugh’s fault and just the philosophy of the organization, something I touched on a lot in the offseason. However, Roman has never been a good passing coordinator. The stats back that up over the course of his career as an OC, just as they back up that he is one of the best run game coordinators in NFL history.

Adam asked, “why are we not giving him credit for the passing game?”

My rebuttal to that is, why should we think he is the reason for it? Last year, the Ravens brought in Tee Martin and Keith Williams to help with the passing game. My thoughts would be that they have made a bigger impact on the passing game than Roman has. Is that fair? Maybe, maybe not, but seeing as Roman has struggled in the past with the passing game, I think it’s a justifiable assumption to make.

On top of that, Roman can be very predictable. The offense is also slow moving. There is no pace to it. The team is often getting to the line with just a few seconds left on the play clock (a problem that seemed to be at least partially addressed in Week 2). I also question decision making. The 3^rd and 8 play, for example, before the Justin Tucker go-ahead FG was a 35-yard pass to the end zone where Mark Andrews and another receiver were in the area. Why was that the play? Now sure, maybe Lamar Jackson missed someone underneath and made the wrong throw; however, why is Andrews going down there anyway? He should be the guy you are looking for to move the chains and keep the ball in that situation.

The offense had a huge game the other day and I agree it seems foolish to blame Roman or the offense for the loss. That said, the Ravens had six possessions in the second half that totaled less than 10 and a half minutes, including three possessions that were 1:35 or less (really four, but I am not counting the last possession). The taking the foot off the gas pedal, the predictability, and just the general vanilla play calling were a real issue, especially since you saw Miami coming back, the defense gassed and the secondary hurting (Marlon Humphrey missed 15 plays in this game and Miami scored four TDs when he was off the field).

The Ravens had 10 plays on Sunday where they needed one yard to either get a first down or a TD. They only converted on three of those plays, and two of nine times when they attempted to run it. Now, this isn’t all Roman’s fault. Execution matters and the players didn’t execute. However, Roman didn’t try to change it up either. He didn’t, for example, spread the field and try to run out of shotgun. He just kept trying to force it in between the tackles, which was a play that really wasn’t working on Sunday.

[Related: See what went wrong on all the short-yardage running plays in this video below]

Despite the success of the offense, this was a game where they just needed to do more. Is that selfish to say? Sure, but that’s the way it goes sometime. That’s why football is the ultimate team sport. We have seen the defense have to do that for years in Baltimore, but Sunday, the defense needed time and they needed help and when the offense was needed the most, it folded.

This isn’t about one game or even one season. This is about a career of struggling at what you need to win with in today’s game. This is about predictability, the lack of in-game adjustments, the lack of creativity in the passing game, the lack of a good pace (when Lamar plays well when the pace is up tempo) and the need for a new voice.

Again, this isn’t all Roman’s fault. Player execution was poor. New DC Mike MacDonald had some questionable calls and seemed to make things more difficult than necessary, especially for the young secondary. Communication needs to be better and that starts with him. Obviously the defense had a fourth quarter collapse, and the communication amongst the players was, yet again, pathetic. That said, the offense and Roman saw this happening and they were unable to bail out their counterparts.

Roman has been a good offensive coordinator here. The team has scored a lot of points, won a lot of games and gained a lot of yards. He definitely deserves credit for that, but he has also held the team back in important moments and I don’t see him being the OC that can help the team win multiple playoff games.

The average coordinator lasts 2.3 years in the NFL. This is year four for Roman.

It’s just time for a change.

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