One of the things I hear about this year, and since I've been on the radio, is about bad playcalling. Once upon a time, those comments were reserved for the offensive side of the football. These days, those comments are geared directly at the defense.

 

Greg Mattison has been under fire on many local sports talk radio shows. Shades of Matt Cavanaugh and Jim Fassel echo the calls as fans seem to believe that better playcalling will produce better results. That's what fans thought when Kyle Boller and Anthony Wright were under center on the offensive side of the ball. Those guys have moved on and produced absolutely nothing. It wasn't about playcalling, it was about the lack of execution.

 

While watching ESPN's NFL Live, Mark Schlereth explained how Ravens' linebacker Terrell Suggs got pushed outside while the Vikings right guard pulled to the left side of the offensive line to trap. Suggs attempted to "swim" outside and allowed himself to be taken out of the play. Vikings running back Adrian Peterson turned it into a long play and continued an eventual scoring drive.

 

How is that bad playcalling? When you look at the big plays given up by the Baltimore Ravens, you can clearly see how defensive players aren't in position or making the play when it comes to them. The touchdown run by Cedric Benson two weeks ago against the Bengals is an example of that. Dannell Ellerbe had Benson in the backfield, but missed the tackle and Benson raced to the endzone for a touchdown. That is good playcalling, and bad execution. Mattison put the defense in position to make the play, but the defender did not make the play.

 

This has been typical of the Ravens' defense during the 2009 season. Players aren't doing their part to be successful. On a long second half gain by Vikings Sydney Rice, Ed Reed jumped to the outside and allowed Rice to get inside for the easy catch and run. That was an example of Reed guessing wrong. That's not Mattison's call.

 

Playcalling isn't magic. You can lead the players to the correct scheme, but they have to be in the right place. Sometimes the wrong place isn't by defensive design, but by player mistake. These guys have to make a play. They haven't been able to do that. This defense was not great because of Rex Ryan's playcalling. Rex Ryan was able to call anything he wanted because he had guys who made plays.

 

On the picture that compliments this post, you'll see that "AP" ran outside of Reed to break a long run. Reed was on the line of scrimmage and the defender who was suppose to have containment. If Reed is suppose to have containment, why is "AP" on the outside of him? If Reed pushes the play back inside, the runner doesn't break that long one, unless someone of course misses a tackle.

 

Now is not the time to change things. The players aren't executing the defensive sets that are being called now. Maybe, if they actually do what the coordinator tell them to do, they'll be able to see what adjustments they actually need to make. Until then, how do you really know?

 

Rob Long