Allgemeine Themen » Baltimore’s starting center may

Baltimore’s starting center may be determined by who wins the starting role at right tackle Entering the 2018 season there were storylines about the possible battle at starting quarterback. That turned out to be a moot point with Joe Flacco being the unquestioned starter. However Youth Maurice Canady Jersey , another position battle has been quietly brewing at center between Matt Skura and Alex Lewis.As of right now, it looks like Skura is the leader at the position. Lewis has been primarily taking snaps at left guard, as Marshal Yanda has returned at right guard. James Hurst has slid from right guard to right tackle, pushing Orlando Brown Jr. to the first reserve at tackle. Ronnie Stanley is the starter at left tackle. “It’s great to have Marshal [Yanda] back – always,” Hurst said of having Yanda back on the line. “He’s an incredible player, incredible leader, too. Just to have that veteran presence that’s played so well for so long [is important]. We’re really glad to have him back. It gives us more depth, gets us back to full strength. We’re excited about that, to be able to move guys around and start thinking about, ‘Hey, this is what we’re going to do Week 1.’ So it’s exciting to have him back for sure. I’m really happy. It’s obviously great to play next to him.”Yanda has made 135 starts in his career along the offensive line of the Ravens. His health is key to what Baltimore could accomplish in both the running and passing games. With his return, it further complicates what the starting lineup will look like outside of where he and Stanley will play. It also gives Baltimore a great deal of flexibility to place their offensive linemen at different spots.“I think just trying to be coachable, understanding that everyone has a role on the team,” Hurst said of being versatile along the offensive line. “If you’re not a starter, you’re a backup. If you’re not starting, you’re going to have to be able to play all positions. We only dress seven on gameday, so [it’s about] just having that mindset of, ‘Hey, I’m going to do the best I can for the team. I’m going to play my role as well as I can and work to get better every day.’”Orlando Brown Jr. and James Hurst are in a trench fight for the starting role at right tackle and the decision could cause a ripple effect at center.Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY SportsHurst started all 16 games at left guard last season with the absence of Lewis. According to Pro Football Focus, Hurst graded out at 55.1, ranking as the 62nd ranked guard in the NFL. He also signed a four-year, $17.5 million deal during the offseason, meaning that he could be seeing a larger role with the Ravens. Things could be changing soon for Baltimore at center and it all depends Brown Jr.’s ability to wrestle the starting role at right tackle from Hurst. Though some may argue that if Hurst doesn’t win the job, he will be on the bench Cheap Joe Flacco Jersey , that may not be the case. Hurst could slide over to left guard and push Lewis to the starting center role. Hurst has also played left tackle, lining up at four different positions on the line. Lewis has been Baltimore’s best option at left guard and before injuring his shoulder in 2017, he was set to be the starter at the position. In 2016, Lewis had a 96.6 pass blocking efficiency rating, per PFF. If Baltimore goes with Lewis at left guard, they are maximizing the talent that they have at both left guard and center.Baltimore could decide to go with the larger Lewis at center, who has shown the ability to get leverage on the inside against larger defensive tackles. One specific instance of this is during the first joint practice against the Los Angeles Rams where Lewis was able to seal a running lane against Ndamukong Suh. Skura had some trouble feeling the pressure against the larger defensive lineman.What Skura lacks in size and brute strength is his experience and knowledge of the center position. Skura started in 12 games at guard last season, rating 53.4 per PFF. While at Duke, Skura was the starting center from 2014-2015. Now he will slide to his natural position, where he could be the starter. “We’re really excited, especially after last year,” Skura said. “Me coming in on a short notice and still being able to play well and at a high level, I think, really helps out, as well as depth, and it shows that we can also move guys around. James [Hurst] went from playing mostly tackle in the preseason to starting all 16 games at left guard. Myself, I played left guard, center, right guard, all through the preseason and ended up having to play right guard all year. So, I think it definitely helps [having stability], and I know we’re really excited.”Regardless of who the starting center is on September 9, Baltimore has much more depth in comparison to last season. Lewis is back at left guard, Yanda is back at right guard and Brown Jr. or Hurst could be the starter at right tackle. If Brown Jr. wins the starting position it could slide Hurst over and push Skura to the bench at center or it couldn’t. Either way Cheap C.J. Mosley Jersey , it gives Baltimore a problem that they like to have. In a game that many labeled as a must-win, the Ravens faltered at home against the Steelers. Baltimore’s offense was anemic for much of the game, including a meager 4-for-12 on third down. On the other side of the ball, the Ravens highly ranked defense struggled yet again against a potent offense. Although they allowed just 23 points, they were unable to get off the field as Pittsburgh finished 10-for-16 on third down and dominated the time of possession by nearly 13 minutes. Baltimore heads into the bye week 4-5 after losing crucial ground in the AFC North race, and they will have plenty of soul searching to do before hosting the Bengals in Week 11. Where was the creativity, flow or game plan?Defensively, the Ravens were again exposed. Much like Baltimore’s previous opponents, the Steelers attacked the middle of the field and utilized tight ends and running backs out of the backfield. James Conner finished with 107 rushing yards and seven receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown. Pittsburgh’s tight ends Jesse James and Vance McDonald combined for eight receptions for 78 yards, including a 51-yard gain by James. The Ravens linebackers continued to display their inability to cover whether they were in man or zone coverage. In the secondary, Eric Weddle and Tony Jefferson also struggled to defend their areas of the field. Baltimore’s weaknesses have been put on tape, and opposing offenses will continue to shred them until they prove otherwise. After dropping three games in a row, the Ravens defense is highly suspect.On the other side of the ball, Baltimore’s offense appeared to be operating like a chicken with its head cut off. They seemingly had no plan offensively nor was there any creativity. In theory, the Lamar Jackson package is not a bad idea. However, Baltimore’s execution was not great for a majority of the game. The zone reads were having some success, but the Ravens did not have a counter for Pittsburgh’s adjustments. It took Baltimore nearly three quarters to take advantage of the Steelers’ commitment to stopping the run when Jackson was on the field by having him throw a pass. The entire offense was a disaster for much of the game as they were 1/4 in the red zone. 2. Too little, too late?The Ravens have seven games left in the season, which makes it hard to come to any foregone conclusions that the season is over. They still have six conference games remaining, including two divisional games. The playoffs are not out of reach, but Baltimore has a myriad of issues they must fix. In no particular order, they must find an identity on offense, fix their weak pass-rush, address their inability to cover tight ends and running backs out of the backfield and get Joe Flacco back in rhythm to name a few. This is certainly not an easy set of tasks Womens Justin Tucker Jersey , and with John Harbaugh reportedly on the hot seat, he must find answers quickly. Otherwise, he will be on a different sideline next season. 3. Universal solution?Joe Flacco had another atrocious showing, where he was plagued by inaccurate passes, horrible decisions and poor clock management. Despite Flacco struggling, it would be irrational to believe Lamar Jackson would fix everything immediately. He would certainly improve their running game, but what can he do with a makeshift offensive line, a poor offensive scheme and receivers that struggle to separate? The writing is on the wall — Flacco is likely playing his last season in Baltimore. However, benching Flacco for a season defining game in Week 11 does not bode well for Jackson’s development. The offense is in a bad way, and a quarterback change will not be the universal fix. 4. Copycat?The Steelers offense is one of the best in the league largely due to their staple of weapons, but every team has playmakers. What separates the good and great offenses in the NFL is scheme. Similarly to the Ravens offense this season, Pittsburgh’s offense saw a fair amount of man coverage in Week 9. The distinct difference was how each team attacked it. Baltimore elected to run iso routes with an occasional pick/rub or high-low concept. The Steelers, who have significantly better wide receivers, ran rub concepts until Baltimore changed their defense. Pittsburgh adapted to their opponent’s defensive strategy and took advantage of it. 5. Offense is offensiveAs discussed above, the Ravens’ offense lacks creativity, a ‘home run threat’ other than John Brown, and a fundamentally sound scheme. The other significant issue is their stubbornness. Baltimore was without both of their starting tackles — Ronnie Stanley and James Hurst — yet they barely adapted their game plan. They still attempted far too many outside runs behind Orlando Brown Jr. and Jermaine Eluemunor. Neither player is known for their athleticism, yet outside zone concepts rely on tackles getting to space and the second-level. They failed to identify the weakness of Pittsburgh’s defense with Jackson on the field, while also not taking advantage of the Steelers weak secondary. Against zone coverage, the Ravens rarely attacked the seams and ‘Checkdown Joe’ was back in business. If Baltimore wants to turn their season around after the bye, they need to completely reevaluate their offensive and defensive strategy.