Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman mentioned little Thursday about his potential curiosity in teaching Stanford, indicating he’s wholly centered on fixing what ails his present staff’s offense.
“All the rumors and whatnot aside, we’ve got a great group of players and coaches here,” he mentioned. “Our singular focus is on this week’s game in Denver and their top-ranked defense. That’s really where it’s at.”
Ravens coach John Harbaugh confirmed Wednesday that Roman had engaged in “very preliminary” talks with Stanford after longtime Cardinal coach David Shaw stepped down final weekend.
Roman answered one query in regards to the Stanford job however spent most of his often scheduled podium session speaking about sharpening the Ravens’ efficiency within the pink zone.
His offense stalled the primary 3 times it moved contained in the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 20-yard line Sunday, and people unexploited alternatives loomed massive when the Jaguars rallied to win, 28-27. The Ravens have dropped to twenty fourth in landing share contained in the pink zone after rating twelfth, twelfth and second in Roman’s earlier three years as coordinator.
“We moved the ball really well. We controlled the game. Third down was outstanding. Lamar [Jackson] did a great job managing certain situations,” Roman mentioned. “But you’ve just got to finish those drives with touchdowns. … I think I can help with certain things. Execution-wise, we can do a little better. So it’s all of us.”
Dropped passes, poor clock administration, errant throws from Jackson and subpar run blocking undid the Ravens after they had possibilities to construct their lead over the primary three quarters in opposition to the Jaguars.
Roman is aware of the corrections won’t come simply Sunday in opposition to a Denver protection that ranks third within the league in opposition to the go and third in fewest factors allowed.
The loss to Jacksonville adopted an unsightly 13-3 win over the Carolina Panthers, and people two performances have impressed a renewed wave of Roman naysaying from Ravens followers on Twitter even if his offense ranks eighth in scoring, eleventh in whole yards and fifth in Football Outsiders’ DVOA.
Harbaugh gave no indication of dissatisfaction along with his teaching workers in reviewing the loss, however when requested in regards to the pink zone woes, he mentioned “we’re going to look at the scheme part of it. We’re not going to say it’s not that; that has to be part of it, and what personnel groups are on the field, what plays we’re running, are we doing enough to cause problems for the defense?”
Roman famous that the Ravens have corrected different flaws of their offense — early inefficiency within the run sport, for instance — throughout the course of this season and mentioned their struggles on a shorter discipline are not any much less fixable.
“We’re so close on some things,” he mentioned. “It’s not that complicated when you really look at it, what’s going on down there. It’s something that’s easily fixed with hard work and focus.”
He additionally addressed the Ravens’ recurring difficulties getting organized in time to beat the 25-second play clock, which bit them at key moments of the Jacksonville loss.
“Really what we’re talking about is a race to be in control,” Roman mentioned. “It’s not, ‘Hey, how fast can we get to the line and snap it?’ It’s, ‘How can we do what we want to do and be in control of the situation.’ If we snap the ball an average of four seconds later than other teams, over the course of a 70-play game, now you’re talking four-and-a-half, five minutes where their offense can’t touch the ball. Those are treasures. When you’re having operational issues, and now you’re not in control and you’re rushing and things are hectic, that’s not what you’re looking for.”
He mentioned headset issues and different ‘technical difficulties” contributed to the disorganization in Jacksonville. “We’ve obtained a protocol in place to deal with that,” he mentioned. “We’ve got to make sure we’re on top of that, starting with me.”
It’s not clear what the Ravens would do if Roman took the Stanford job with a good portion of their season remaining. Would he stick round to the top? To whom would Harbaugh flip if he didn’t?
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Harbaugh mentioned Wednesday. “I think we’re pretty far from that at this point.”
Internal candidates may embrace tight ends coach George Godsey, who labored as a coordinator for the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans; large receivers coach Tee Martin, who was a high-ranking offensive coach in school stops at Tennessee and USC; and quarterbacks coach James Urban, who has labored carefully with Jackson since his rookie season.
Fans desperate to see Roman go will level again to the Ravens’ Super Bowl season in 2012, when Harbaugh fired offensive coordinator Cam Cameron after the staff’s Week 14 loss to Washington and changed him with Jim Caldwell, who helped unleash quarterback Joe Flacco. But the succession state of affairs was hardly an identical: Caldwell had been head coach of the Indianapolis Colts the earlier three seasons.
Week 13
Broncos at Ravens
Sunday, 1 p.m.
TV: Chs. 13, 9
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
Line: Ravens by 8 1/2
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Source: www.bostonherald.com