Another Lee Evans thread......

[Simon]

Game Rewind is your friend. $30 for the whole season. The games are able to be seen starting sometime Sunday Night. It's awesome. Can settle a lot of arguments and knucklehead posts. Hope you had a great time. Busby's in Santa Monica with AKC was insane.

 

I imagine it will be even better this week as I imagine you'll have a handful of Raidah fans to harass. Tell that crusty old raconteur I said Howdy.

 

Simon, were you sober enough to notice what kind of routes they were having Evans run?

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

Well it's Lee, so you know he's going to run go's all day cuz that's what he does. They tried hooking him at the sticks a couple times and he ran a couple skinny posts to clean out the seams, but it was pretty much exactly what you'd expect. "Hey Lee, run the 9 and take two guys with you; if one of them is dumb enough to sit down, start looking for the ball."

[Kelly the Dog]

I would like to see that play again too. From what I recall Fitzy through it to the wrong shoulder that was closer to the sideline, the ball was placed high so even if it was caught in bounds the DB would just push him out of bounds in the air (no force out rule) and the ball would be incomplete. I think if that ball is more to the back side shoulder he can use his height and stay in bounds. Atleast that is how that play is supposed to playout in theory.

 

That's from what I recall but I think only seen 1 replay from the broadcast.

I just watched it a bunch of times. Fitz couldn't have thrown it to the other shoulder, actually the DB had perfect coverage. D Jones actually made a great play to put himself in position, but didn't come down with the ball. Jones stopped at the right time, nudged the defender out of the way (but not interference), turned at the right time and jumped up to make the catch. He just didn't get his feet down when he could have if not should have. The ball was in the only place it could have been caught although I always think it's impossible to know if that is what the QB wanted (sometimes it is and sometimes it's just luck).

 

Jones made a really good play on the ball to put himself in position to make the catch but again didnt really time his jump right or go straight up, and didn't get his feet in bounds when he had a little room. It wasn't much but IMO he should have made the catch. It was a nice move though, especially considering he was blanketed while the ball was in the air.

[Fan in Chicago]

 

P.S. This post is not intended to speculate on what Evans' may have done if he was still in Buffalo, or start tangents on why the Bills traded him. Just wanted to bring some light to the ongoing evolution of what I think is a really fascinating matchup. Doug Whaley is taking some grief from his old buddies in Pittsburgh right now because he played a part in altering the balance of power in this rivalry. But don't take any of that guff, Fresh! Give it right back to 'em with both barrels!!!

First of all - I did not watch that game so am taking your observations at face value. As someone else pointed out, Evans has to start making catches else his credibility as a viable catching threat will go away and the advantage will be neutralized. Secondly, I wonder how the Steelers will now react in the second game and try to account for his presence. It will certainly be fascinating to see the defensive game plan for the next meeting. If the same advantage differential exists, I would hand it to Evans and the other receivers on the Ravens.

 

Now for the comparison between his presence on the Ravens versus imagination of him being still a Bill. I think he fits the Ravens offense better at this point in time as they have the variety of receiving weapons and a more mature/talented OL which allows Flacco the luxury to take advantage of said weapons. Next year, I would not be surprised to see the Bills invest high picks on a WR (esp considering the latest Easley situation/possible fiasco) and OL which will finally allow the overall offense to blossom into a multi-dimensional one.

 

Good thread !

[GG]

Kinda funny, but this Sunday, I had better vantage point of the Pitt/Balt game than the Bills game. The TV coverage was also better with more cameras & replays. And my untrained eye saw Flacco looking at Evans as No. 1 target several times, only to see consistent double coverage. And since he had ample time, he checked down to the secondary receiver for big gains. Rice's grab & run only happened when Evans ran through the end zone and cleared out the safety & CB. How often have you seen a Pitt D leave that much space alone?

 

On the other hand, name a play from Sunday where a Bills WR got behind the secondary?

 

To imagine that this offense is as good without Evans is ludicrous.

[loserlovers]

I believe that the other receivers that actually caught the football had more impact on the game than Evans who dropped all four thrown to him. Boldin used to play with a guy named Fitzgerald. They had an impact on the way their team performed because Fitzgerald actually catches the football.

ya right, im sure he "dropped" them a drop is when it hits both hands and should have been a catch, not a ball you can barely get one finger on or a highly contested ball with a db in your face. YOu must hate evans and I agree it was a big reason the ravens did well.

[ganesh]

Um... as stated, he didn't drop any passes. Two weren't within ten feet of him. Yao Ming on a ladder would not have touched either of those. One he jumped as high as he could and got one hand on a ball that was well out of bounds. Zero chance. The fourth was a two yard pass that Ike Taylor went over his back, interfered with him and knocked the ball away before it even got to Evans. No one who saw those four passes, even if you hated him, would call any one of them a drop. He had no chance at a catch on any of the four of them.

Kelly,

 

You are probably right that Lee did not drop any of the passes, but the OP was way over to say that the Ravens won because Lee was able to let them stretch the field. The Ravens won because of so many other factors...Having Lee Evans was just one of them, albeit a small one.

 

Um... as stated, he didn't drop any passes. Two weren't within ten feet of him. Yao Ming on a ladder would not have touched either of those. One he jumped as high as he could and got one hand on a ball that was well out of bounds. Zero chance. The fourth was a two yard pass that Ike Taylor went over his back, interfered with him and knocked the ball away before it even got to Evans. No one who saw those four passes, even if you hated him, would call any one of them a drop. He had no chance at a catch on any of the four of them.

Kelly,

 

You are probably right that Lee did not drop any of the passes, but the OP was way over to say that the Ravens won because Lee was able to let them stretch the field. The Ravens won because of so many other factors...Having Lee Evans was just one of them, albeit a small one.

[Kelly the Dog]

Kelly,

 

You are probably right that Lee did not drop any of the passes, but the OP was way over to say that the Ravens won because Lee was able to let them stretch the field. The Ravens won because of so many other factors...Having Lee Evans was just one of them, albeit a small one.

The OP never said that, or anything close to it. The OP said, "Here's the truth of the matter; Lee Evans has significantly altered the entire dynamic of this division rivalry."... and "I don't care about math and/or whether he put up a single statistic. This game had Evans fingerprints on it right from the get-go." and, "If y'all think that Evans isn't a significant factor in this new equation, I'd have to say you're badly mistaken on that point."

 

You, however, said "Lee Evans dropped balls." Not even one ball, but plural.

[White Linen]

Apologies for starting another Evans thread but I thought it might be worth it since a) I'm probably the only dude on this board who actually watched the entire Balt/Pitt game and b)I'm probably the only guy on this board who hasn't missed a single one of those matchups in years since it's my favorite rivalry right now.

Here's the truth of the matter; Lee Evans has significantly altered the entire dynamic of this division rivalry. And I'd guess that these 2 games (and sometimes 3) are the biggest reason they brought him to Baltimore.

I don't care about math and/or whether he put up a single statistic. This game had Evans fingerprints on it right from the get-go. Do you know why Boldin was singled on the first TD vs a weak corner who'd been out all preseason? Because the Stillers rolled their coverage over at Evans. It's right there on the film if you want to see it. Did you know that Baltimore has repeatedly struggled to get their TE's and RB's involved in the passing game against the Stillers, and for many, many years now? Yet on Sunday they found enough space for these guys to catch about a dozen balls for 150+ yards. There were places all over the field where the Ravens have never been able to find space against Pittsburgh(flats and seams), yet now those places are suddenly vacant of defenders. I don't believe for a second that this is just a co-incidence.

For the first time in years, the Ravens have the ability to stretch the field in a big way. And suddenly they have more space to work with all over the field. If y'all think that Evans isn't a significant factor in this new equation, I'd have to say you're badly mistaken on that point.

 

P.S. This post is not intended to speculate on what Evans' may have done if he was still in Buffalo, or start tangents on why the Bills traded him. Just wanted to bring some light to the ongoing evolution of what I think is a really fascinating matchup. Doug Whaley is taking some grief from his old buddies in Pittsburgh right now because he played a part in altering the balance of power in this rivalry. But don't take any of that guff, Fresh! Give it right back to 'em with both barrels!!!

 

 

I'm curious to know how you were able to say this so definitively after one game? I too agree that Lee did this for us, but I found it very difficult to verify because of how an NFL game is shown. The opportunity to see this on television was far and few between because I couldn't see the whole field. I had to watch dozens of Bills games only to be able to verify what I thought a few times.

Edited September 14, 2011 by Triple Threat

[Bufluv]

The legend of Lee Evans never dies....

 

It's nice when your defense gets 7 turnovers isn't it? Surely that can't change the dynamic of the game.

 

+1 BIG TIME. 7 turnovers is > than Lee stretching the field and getting 0 production IMHO. How many times have teams with 7 turnovers gone on to win? I haven't looked it up, but I'd be shocked if many have done it

[The Big Cat]

It's like I'm standing outside a room listening to the baby cry, yet nobody in the Evans camp can/will show me the actual baby.

 

Yes, I get it. Just SHOW me the baby.

[Kelly the Dog]

It's like I'm standing outside a room listening to the baby cry, yet nobody in the Evans camp can/will show me the actual baby.

 

Yes, I get it. Just SHOW me the baby.

Fine. Here is the baby.

[Peter]

I am going to DVR the Ravens shortcuts and watch for myself.

[USABuffaloFan]

I flipped over to that game occasionally, and saw Flacco target Evans a few times but never connect.

 

I don't dispute that Evans' presence may have opened up the field for other guys, but at some point if you consider yourself an elite or even very good receiver, you need to do more than be a decoy.

 

I like Evans, but #1 WR's get open and catch balls, even when they're double covered.

 

One thing that won't change also is eventually Evans won't play as hard. Coverage roles back to Bolden and Evans will have to pickup the slack. He will catch his 2-4 passes for under 80 yards. Baltimore will lose those games. If Evans was so good as a number one reciever than why was Buffalo always at the bottom of the league as a offense. Even with Losman tossing long passes, Buffalo never ranked high enough to get us more than 7 wins. Moulds and Flutie managed 11-5 and 10-6 records. Sorry, there is a reason Buffalo never became a winning team and Lee Evans is one of them, just not good enough. Add Polusny, Witner, Lynch and any number of players gone for the same reason.

[USABuffaloFan]

Kinda funny, but this Sunday, I had better vantage point of the Pitt/Balt game than the Bills game. The TV coverage was also better with more cameras & replays. And my untrained eye saw Flacco looking at Evans as No. 1 target several times, only to see consistent double coverage. And since he had ample time, he checked down to the secondary receiver for big gains. Rice's grab & run only happened when Evans ran through the end zone and cleared out the safety & CB. How often have you seen a Pitt D leave that much space alone?

 

On the other hand, name a play from Sunday where a Bills WR got behind the secondary?

 

To imagine that this offense is as good without Evans is ludicrous.

 

Wow, The Bills scored 41 points and Fitzpatrick was the top rated QB with 4 TD's. Also 3 recievers had at least 4 catches for arounnd 60 yards, these were good numbers for Evans when he played the last two years. I believe Evans only had 1-100 yard game in his last 30 plus games. Don't miss him a bit. We had 4 wins last year with the mighty Lee Evans on this team. Did Lee Evans was out played by TO. Did Evans pull coverage for TO, I believe TO was double covered plenty of times. This love for a player who never had but really one good season makes no sense. The Bills didn't win enough with a number of players who Bills fans love. Bye Lee Evans, Donte Whitner, Paul Polusny, Marshawn Lynch, Trent Edwards and whoever else that is not here who never got more than 7 wins. You all were just not good enough! ask Thurman Thomas.

[eball]

Game Rewind is your friend. $30 for the whole season. The games are able to be seen starting sometime Sunday Night. It's awesome. Can settle a lot of arguments and knucklehead posts. Hope you had a great time. Busby's in Santa Monica with AKC was insane.

Even better, if you have the Ticket, are the 30-minute short cuts. I've found watching one of these while working the treadmill or stationary bike is a great way to kill the time.

[ThurmasThoman]

this is like when favre was playing, would put up a

15/34, 1td, 4int game

 

and espn would say something along the lines of

 

"he's just out there being a gunslinger, having fun out there. the real value to his team, is that he makes his team mates better!"

 

lee evans:

 

no catches, no yards, no touchdowns

 

"if you can't see his value to the ravens, you don't know anything about football. completely changes the way the game is played. so good, he doesn't need to touch the ball to be a difference maker."

 

let's take this to other sports.

 

kobe bryant, 0/16 from the field, no points, fouled out in the fourth.

 

"kobe bryant, clearly the best player in the league, had double coverage all night but is such a good player, managed to turn an 0/16 night shooting into one of the main reasons the lakers are a championship contender this season."

[John Cocktosten]

Posted 11 September 2011 - 06:40 PM

Evans get safties out of the box and widens the zones between lbs and safeties. Perfect fit for the Ravens.

 

Like I said in in one of the other 500 Lee Evans threads, it's as simple as this ^^^^^^^

[prissythecat]

Want to know my biggest concern? We draft a speedy WR with a top-15 pick next year. Take that to the bank.

 

 

We should pin this prediction then for next April ;-)

[thewildrabbit]

Simon,

 

Living in Pittsburgh for the past decade, I have watched every game of the Ravens-Steelers rivalry.

 

Lee may have helped the Ravens stretch the field and move coverage away from the likes of Boldin and Ray Rice and give them the room to make plays. However, teams don't sign a #1/#2 WRs to be just decoys. They expect them to catch balls thrown towards them. Lee dropped balls.

 

BTW, You are giving too much credit to Lee for this big win for the Ravens. The big reason the Ravens won was because they rushed for 175+ yards against an AGING Steelers defense and the Ravens defense created 7 turnovers. The Ravens turned the Steelers offense to one dimensional and then harassed Ben Rothelisberger..

 

Remember the Ravens took a 3 TD lead into half time last season too, only for Flacco to make mental mistakes and throw away that game.

 

Lee is definitely a great addition to that team (and for Lee himself), but he was not the big reason for their win on Sunday.

This is what Baltimore's HC had to say...

WR Lee Evans didn't catch a pass in the season opener, but he did make an impact. According to coach John Harbaugh, Evans' speed on the outside opened up crossing routes for other receivers.

 

(Yahoo! Sports)

 

The facts are Evans was making big bucks to be just a decoy in Buffalo, he didn't see the ball as much because he was drawing all the coverage and Fitz didn't target him as much. Plus the fact that many have stated Fitz had a tough time throwing that deep out to Evans accurately.

The Ravens have enough talent on that team is almost every aspect expect a WR deep threat. Evans gives them that scary one play TD bomb like Randy Moss gave the Patriots. Its certainly not his fault Buffalo didn't care to continue to utilize him. That deep threat not only opened up the underneath routes it also opened up the running game.

 

 

NFN but Chan Gailey was the OC in KC just 3 years ago under Todd Haley and he knows the Chiefs playbook pretty well, that had to give the Buffalo Bills a huge advantage against the Chiefs. They also may or may not have changed the terminology for the calls, if they didn't its another big reason as to why Buffalo womped them so hard.

 

It remains to be seen if that Buffalo offense can continue to be as productive as it was against the Chiefs. I hope it is, but something tells me it won't be.

[Armchair GM]

Apologies for starting another Evans thread but I thought it might be worth it since a) I'm probably the only dude on this board who actually watched the entire Balt/Pitt game and b)I'm probably the only guy on this board who hasn't missed a single one of those matchups in years since it's my favorite rivalry right now.

Here's the truth of the matter; Lee Evans has significantly altered the entire dynamic of this division rivalry. And I'd guess that these 2 games (and sometimes 3) are the biggest reason they brought him to Baltimore.

I don't care about math and/or whether he put up a single statistic. This game had Evans fingerprints on it right from the get-go. Do you know why Boldin was singled on the first TD vs a weak corner who'd been out all preseason? Because the Stillers rolled their coverage over at Evans. It's right there on the film if you want to see it. Did you know that Baltimore has repeatedly struggled to get their TE's and RB's involved in the passing game against the Stillers, and for many, many years now? Yet on Sunday they found enough space for these guys to catch about a dozen balls for 150+ yards. There were places all over the field where the Ravens have never been able to find space against Pittsburgh(flats and seams), yet now those places are suddenly vacant of defenders. I don't believe for a second that this is just a co-incidence.

For the first time in years, the Ravens have the ability to stretch the field in a big way. And suddenly they have more space to work with all over the field. If y'all think that Evans isn't a significant factor in this new equation, I'd have to say you're badly mistaken on that point.

 

P.S. This post is not intended to speculate on what Evans' may have done if he was still in Buffalo, or start tangents on why the Bills traded him. Just wanted to bring some light to the ongoing evolution of what I think is a really fascinating matchup. Doug Whaley is taking some grief from his old buddies in Pittsburgh right now because he played a part in altering the balance of power in this rivalry. But don't take any of that guff, Fresh! Give it right back to 'em with both barrels!!!

Brilliance!! 1000% agree. With that being said, we blew the trade negotiations...seriously, a fourth!? Sorry, still heated. Anyway, I said this in another post, while using much less words...Lee doesn't fit this offense, and totally fits Baltimore's. I know it's only 1 game, and everyone if favoring *NE to go to the Bowl, but I say watch out for Baltimore!