Methods and apparatuses for applying coatings on a baggy web are provided. A Mayer rod and a back-up roll engage with each other to form a nip. The back-up roll has a deformable inner layer with a surface thereof covered by a deformable outer layer. The Mayer rod and the flexible web at a contacting area are impressed into the back-up roll with a machine-direction nip width W and a nip engagement depth D, which enables formation of a coating having a substantially uniform thickness.