Patriots 23 Ravens 20 OT (The GOTTA PLAY/COACH ALL FOUR QUARTERS Game)

Posted by darnold on Monday, October 18th, 2010

On Sunday, the Ravens lost.

They lost to a very good football team.

They lost to a very good football team with a Hall-of-Fame head coach.

They lost to a very good football team with a Hall-of-Fame head coach and a Hall-of-Fame quarterback.

They lost to a very good football team with a Hall-of-Fame head coach and a Hall-of-Fame quarterback, who had two weeks to rest and prepare.

They lost to a very good football team with a Hall-of-Fame head coach and a Hall-of-Fame quarterback, who had two weeks to rest and prepare, on the road.

All of that, I can deal with.

What makes this loss so difficult to stomach is what I neglected to mention above…

On Sunday, the Ravens lost to a very good football team with a Hall-of-Fame head coach and quarterback, who had two weeks to rest and prepare, on the road…in a game in which they held a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter.

Yeah. That last point is the inexcusable part. For the first 45 minutes of the game, the Ravens beat the Patriots up and down the field, building a 20-10 lead with 14:57 remaining. What was unfortunate, and what ultimately proved to be the difference in the game, was that in the four plays prior to Billy Cundiff’s 25-yard field goal gave the Ravens what would be their final points for the day, Ravens’ receivers dropped two potential touchdown passes. On the first, Anquan Boldin was separated from the ball by a New England safety after a perfect strike from Joe Flacco from 20 yards out. On the second, Derrick Mason heard footsteps and couldn’t haul in what should have been a seven-yard score.

Sure, both plays would have required impressive, if not spectacular, catches. But both Boldin and Mason got two hands on the ball, and in the NFL, those passes should have been caught – especially by veterans like those two. If they are, this recap likely has a much different tone.

Compounding the problem was that, after that series, the Ravens offense (both playcalling and execution) seemed to climb aboard the plane back to Baltimore. With the exception of an 18-yard pass from Flacco to Boldin on the opening play of their next drive, the Ravens offense went 3-and-out, 3-and-out, 3-and-out on their next three possessions of regulation and overtime. The aforementioned Boldin completion came with 10:24 left in the fourth. The Ravens would not pick up another first down until the 10:17 mark of overtime – over a full quarter of play.

Three plays after that 10:24 first down, a sequence that could likely be pointed to as the pivotal one of the game unfolded.

On 3rd-and-1 from their own 47, leading 20-17, Cam Cameron called for a quarterback sneak. A play which, for anyone watching, was obviously doomed from the start. Flacco attempted to go through Pats’ defensive linemen Vince Wilfork and Greg Warren, and didn’t have a prayer.

The talk radio lines will no doubt be lighting up this week with people blaming Cameron for the odd call, and Flacco for not recognizing the defense and audibling out of the play. What is likely to be an even greater point of contention this week in B’More, though, is what happened next.

Facing 4th-and-the length of the football, Coach John “you have to put teams away when you have the chance” Harbaugh elected to punt. To punt the ball back to Tom Brady and the Patriots offense, who were fresh off an 8-play, 60-yard drive where they faced only a single third down, in that situation…puzzling, to say that least. To say a bit more, it was the kind of decision that we just aren’t used to seeing from Harbaugh, who has proven during his 2+ years as the head coach, that he has plenty of “balls” in those type of situations. This time, though, he went timid, and the Ravens paid dearly.

It wasn’t just Harbaugh that went into a shell in the fourth quarter and overtime though. He took the entire Baltimore coaching staff with him.

Cam Cameron stopped picking on the Patriots’ secondary.

Greg Mattison gave Brady the short underneath stuff in the passing game, and Brady took it eagerly.

Now, give New England credit. As mentioned, they have a great coaching staff of their own, and those guys made the necessary adjustments. They took away Flacco’s passing lanes. They threw quick screen after quick screen on offense. They did what was necessary to win the game. What the Ravens’ coaches were up to is anybody’s guess.

Flacco played very well all day, going 27/35 for 285 yards and two touchdowns. I don’t know if the Ravens’ coaches’ tentative mentality was preached to Joe on the sideline during the fourth quarter or what, but he wasn’t the same after those two dropped touchdown passes. He seemed much more willing to check down to Ray Rice, even though Rice was routinely swarmed by New England linebackers.

That’s another area where New England must be commended – they were not going to let Rice destroy them like he did in the two 2009 meetings. Although there seemed to be some nice holes on the Ravens’ opening drive, ultimately Rice ran the ball 28 times for just 88 yards, and his long of the day was just eight. He added eight receptions for 38 yards, but really wasn’t a major factor in the game.

Which brings us to the next puzzling thing about the gameplan of the Ravens’ staff…

Where the hell was Willis McGahee???

McGahee did not see a single touch in Foxborough, and I’m not even positive he was at the stadium. Sure, I was calling for Rice to take over goalline duties from Willis, but to just leave #23 on the sideline all afternoon? Especially considering the relative lack of success that Rice was having? It just makes absolutely no sense to me that McGahee was never even inserted as a sort of change-of-pace, and I’ll be anticipating how Cameron and Harbaugh explain that fact this week.

Before we wrap up, we can’t excuse the Ravens’ defense or special teams here either. While it’s commendable to hold New England to just 23 points, after they had put up 38 in each of their prior two home games, there were some disturbing signs from the “D.”

First off, what the hell is it with the Ravens’ inability to stop white running backs? We all remember Peyton Hillis running roughshod over them in week 2, and in Foxborough, Danny Freakin’ Woodhead had 63 yards and 5.7 per carry. They also had a hell of a time tackling Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, and Deion Branch, allowing the Pats to rack up an incredible amount of YAC, after doing such a great job against the Denver Broncos last week.

Next, Mattison’s insistence to only rush three men so often is starting to cost the team. By now we know not to expect the kind of blitzes that we saw when Rex Ryan was in town, but giving Tom Brady 5 or 6 seconds to find a receiver down near the end zone isn’t a recipe for success in any universe. I don’t care if the Ravens emptied the bench and put 12 guys in the end zone covering Pats’ receivers, if Brady can basically take his helmet off back there and stand flat footed, he’s going to find someone. And that’s exactly what he did to get New England to within 20-17. With the exception of Haloti Ngata, the Ravens’ pass rush was disturbingly non-existent, especially considering the past success they have had against the Patriots.

Finally, we come to special teams. While they never came up with the huge game-breaker that we feared, and that they used to beat Miami in week 4, New England was clearly the superior unit on Sunday.

Jalen Parmele needs to be out of a job. His indecision/terrible decisions cost the Ravens a good bit of field position on at least two occasions.

Neither Chris Carr nor Tom Zbikowski can generate anything on punt returns. And when it seems like they just MIGHT, it’s always because someone else is illegally blocking or holding. On top of that, their refusal to come up and field punts that aren’t hit directly to them cost the team additional field position several times. It’s a sad state of affairs for the Ravens’ return games.

Even Billy Cundiff, despite his three touchbacks, had a costly gaffe. After going up 20-10, Cundiff’s ensuing kickoff squirted out of bounds at about the two yard line…two yards too soon, which resulted in the Patriots starting at their own 40-yard line.

The Ravens outplayed the Patriots for three quarters Sunday. Despite the Pats having two weeks to prepare, the Ravens appeared ready to take their best shot and bring a 5-1 record back to B’More.

Unfortunately, they were outplayed and (thoroughly) outcoached during the final quarter and the overtime period, and 4-2 is the result.

Still not a terrible place to be, after four tough road games, and with only a home game against Buffalo standing between us and the bye week.

Oh, and a certain guy who wears #20 is rumored to be coming back this week.

Things could be worse.

Let’s not melt down like a bunch of complete morons, please (these comments make me embarrassed to be a Ravens fan).

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Ravens (4-1) @ Patriots (3-1)

Posted by darnold on Saturday, October 16th, 2010

For the third time in just over a calendar year, the Ravens travel to Foxborough to take on the New England Patriots on their home turf. So will this trip end in heartbreak like the 2009 regular season meeting, or in jubilation as the playoff matchup did?

The Patriots have won 22 consecutive regular season home games.

They are coming off their bye week, a situation in which Bill Belichick coached teams are 8-2 since 2000, and have not lost since 2002.

In short, it won’t be easy, but if the Ravens play a solid game, they could have the talent on both sides of the ball to hand the Patriots their well overdue post-bye week loss.

Tom Brady is having another stellar season so far in 2010, completing 69.7 percent of his passes for 911 yards and 9 touchdowns to go with only two interceptions. In the first meeting with Baltimore last year, “Tom Terrific” was just that, going 21/32 for 258 yards and a critical touchdown to Randy Moss. In the playoff game however, a time during which Tom has been exceptional during his career, the Ravens held Brady to 23/42 for 154 yards, and picked him off three times. One area in which B’More has had success against the Patriots, though, is in pressuring Brady. They sacked him three times in each of those 2009 meetings, and Terrell Suggs especially seems to dominate Pats’ left tackle Matt Light. Even last season, when Suggs was generally playing poorly, he got to Brady and forced a fumble in both games. He, and the rest of the Ravens’ pass rush, will need to be equally effective against Brady, who has only been sacked five times in four games, on Sunday.

The Pats’ offense is also dealing with the much ballyhooed departure of All-World wide receiver Randy Moss, who was traded to Minnesota during New England’s bye week. Moss was not particularly effective against the Ravens last year (managing just 8 catches for 98 yards and 1 score total in the two games), but his presence on the field undeniably opens things up for the Patriots’ very strong underneath passing game. Guys like Wes Welker, and more recently Julian Edelman, have found great success running routes against linebackers with Moss taking the coverage deep with him. New England reacquired Super Bowl XXXIX MVP Deion Branch from Seattle, and he and second-year wideout Brandon Tate will try to pick up Moss’s slack.

Perhaps the more dangerous weapon in the Patriots’ passing attack Sunday will be rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez. Hernandez, out of the University of Florida, has 18 receptions for 240 yards already (for comparison’s sake, Moss had 9 for 139), and at 6’1″ 245 lbs., could pose a big matchup problem for the Ravens. Ravens’ linebackers struggled mightily in pass coverage in the preseason, and will have their hands full this week. As a whole, the Ravens’ 2nd-ranked pass defense will face easily their biggest challenge of the young season. Though Kyle Orton managed over 300 yards last week, the defense held him in check while it mattered, allowing the offense to build a comfortable lead through the early part of the game, before Orton racked up some yards with the game out of hand. Even sans Moss, they’ll have to play their best game of the year to beat Brady and the Patriots.

On the other side of the ball, the Ravens have a clear advantage over the Pats’ young and struggling defense. New England is 29th overall and 28th against the pass, so Joe Flacco and the Ravens’ passing game could be in for a big day. In the playoff game, of course, it was Ray Rice and the running attack that won the game, racking up 234 total yards on the ground. Flacco, meanwhile, was just 4/10 for 34 yards and an interception. I don’t expect New England to allow such a one-dimensional attack to be successful again, so B’More will have to be much more balanced from the start to have a chance. Fortunately, with the additions of Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, along with Todd Heap and Ed Dickson, the Ravens have plenty of weapons to turn to, should New England shut down the run as they were unable to do in January.

One area where the New England defense has excelled is in catching errant passes from opposing quarterbacks. The Patriots have seven interceptions, tied for third highest in the NFL, through just four games. Let’s hope Flacco leaves his patented “back foot floater” at home, or he could be in for a long day.

The Patriots’ special teams have also been a strength, as evidenced by their single-handedly costing the Miami Dolphins’ special teams coach his job two weeks ago. Brandon Tate is averaging over 33 yards per kick return, and the Patriots have blocked several punts. Fortunately for the Ravens, they have the ultimate special teams trump cards in their excellent kickers. Billy Cundiff has 11 touchbacks already this season, and Sam Koch’s incredible directional punting skills were on full display against the Broncos’ dangerous returner Eddie Royal. Although the Ravens’ return games have been disappointing as a whole in 2010, the coverage has been solid, and John Harbaugh’s special teams background could be a great asset for the team in Foxborough.

Now, when you see my prediction, some may accuse me of “flip-flopping” or of pandering to the audience earlier in the week when I picked the Patriots to win in my chat with Foxboroblog.

However, I did that interview on Tuesday, and in the days since then I have been convinced otherwise. Through listening to the local and national pundits, and watching Playbook on the NFL Network, I’m now much more confident that the Ravens can pull out a victory against the favored Patriots.

Mike Preston says he “can’t figure out how” the Patriots will beat the Ravens.

All three guys (Brian Billick, Sterling Sharpe, Joe Theisman) on NFL Network picked the Ravens.

All the Boston-area media who were guests on Baltimore talk radio this week picked the Ravens.

As you can see below, 6 of the 8 ESPN personalities picked the Ravens (even Steeler-loving Raven-hater Merrill Hoge!)

via

Bill Belichick was the one that called Steve Bisciotti nearly three years ago and told him to hire John Harbaugh. He regretted that phone call, if just a bit, last January. Let’s hope he regrets it again, just a bit, Sunday.

Goob used TV commercials to decide his pick. I’m going to be a bit more superstitious, pick the score I picked for the playoff game, and hope for the same result:


Ravens 28 Patriots 24

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Broncos (2-2) @ Ravens (3-1)

Posted by darnold on Friday, October 8th, 2010

When the Denver Broncos roll into M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday, history will not be on their side. Denver is 0-4 all time in B’More, the last loss being the 30-7 shellacking the Ravens put on them last season. Again the Broncos come into town with an apparent “house of cards” number attached to them. In 2009, it was their 6-0 record, which made them look much better than they actually were. This year, I’m thinking it’s their top-ranked passing attack.

You read that right.

It’s not Drew Brees’ Saints, Peyton Manning’s Colts, or even Matt Schaub’s Texans that own the top aerial attack in the NFL through four weeks…its Kyle Orton’s Broncos.

The same Broncos that are now without their leading receiver from 2009, one of the best in the game, Brandon Marshall. The same Broncos that are now throwing the ball all over the field to guys like Jabar Gaffney, Brandon Lloyd, and Eddie Royal. That’s the team that leads the NFL in passing yardage.

Again, I’m not terribly impressed.

Though those three have each had a 100-yard game already this season, the secondaries Denver has faced are not exactly the cream of the crop: Jacksonville – 30th against the pass in 2010, Indianapolis – 15th, Seattle – 29th, and Tennessee – 13th. This week, they’ll face a Ravens secondary that, despite being told all offseason that they were going to be the team’s Achilles heel, are the best unit in the NFL at the moment. Even without Dominique Foxworth or Ed Reed, the Ravens currently boast three cornerbacks playing extremely well – Lardarius Webb, Fabian Washington, and Chris Carr – another who has a track record of strong performances and should see plenty of the field this week – Josh Wilson – another who had a great preseason and appeared ready to step in and contribute – Cary Williams – and a backup safety who has proven that he can come in and cover one-on-one in a pinch – Haruki Nakamura. The Broncos don’t have a true #1 wideout, as Orton has shown that he can spread the ball around very evenly, but that could play right into the hands of the Ravens, who have 5 or 6 players who can adequately cover, despite not having a big-name “shut down” cornerback.

I could be way off base here (wouldn’t be the first time, won’t be the last), but it just looks like a good matchup for B’More to me.

Another thing – the reason the Broncos have had to fling it around so much is that they cannot run it. At all. At 55 yards per game, the Broncos own the NFL’s worst rushing attack by more than 10 yards per game (The 31st ranked team, The Bears, average 68.8 ypg.) Their #1 running back, second year player Knowshon Moreno, has missed the team’s last two games with a hamstring injury. Moreno practiced Wednesday, but not Thursday, and will be, at best, considered questionable for Sunday (though if you tell him Ed Reed isn’t playing, that may change to probable.) Filling in for Moreno has been former Patriots’ first round pick (and eventual bust) Lawrence Moroney. Moroney, though, has just 29 yards on 23 carries (not a typo) through his two starts.

Moreno, Maroney, whatever. It doesn’t matter – this game proves a great opportunity for the Ravens’ run defense to move up from their slightly misleading 23rd overall rank.

Now that Denver has spent all week looking at film trying to figure out how to block Haloti Ngata (hint: give it up; can’t be done.), there should be plenty of opportunities for guys like Cory Redding (who missed the Pittsburgh game due to a concussion), Kelly Gregg, and Brandon McKinney to make a few plays. Unfortunately, just as one lineman comes back, another goes out. Paul Kruger suffered a sprained MCL in Pittsburgh, and will miss 2-4 weeks. It’s a shame, as Kruger (if you excuse his penalties as a symptom of rust) showed some things last week, pressuring Charlie Batch several times and recording what would have been a sack-fumble were the play not negated for offsetting penalties. As long as those forementioned D-linemen, along with linebackers Terrell Suggs and Jarret Johnson, can find ways to get pressure on Orton, it should be a very long day for the Broncos’ offense.

As for the other side of the ball, we’ve heard this week that Ray Rice is ready to reclaim his starring role in the Ravens’ offense, after a disappointing first four weeks for Mighty Mouse. Denver, though, is not likely to be the team that he breaks out against. After allowing Maurice Jones-Drew 98 yards on the ground in Week 1, the Broncos have buckled down. In Week 2, Justin Forsett of Seattle had just 44 yards, though he did average a hefty 5.5 ypc. In Week 3, Joseph Addai of Indy managed just 29 yards and a 2.2 average. And, most impressively, they held Chris “I’m going to run for 2500 yards this year” Johnson of the Titans to a measly 53 yards on 19 carries last week. While Ravens fans are clamoring for a more balanced offense, and more touches for Rice, Denver just looks much more vulnerable against the pass.

And so, we could very well be in for another week of 200+ yards and multiple touchdowns from Joe Flacco like we saw the last time the Ravens played at home. Last year against Denver, Flacco was 20/25 (80%) for 175 yards and 1 score. While Denver may elect to put their best cornerback, Champ Bailey, on Anquan Boldin all day long, Flacco is showing more and more comfort with T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and should have all the confidence in the world in T.J. after last week. Throw Derrick Mason, Flacco’s all-time favorite target and the Ravens’ leading receiver in Pittsburgh a week ago, into the mix, along with Todd Heap and Rice out of the backfield, and the Ravens should have plenty of success moving the ball through the air even if “Q” has another relatively quiet afternoon.

The guys on the NFL Network’s great program, Playbook, were discussing how they feel the Ravens’ offense will “break out” against the Broncos. They pointed to Flacco’s 5-0 lifetime record against the AFC West, and predicted a big day from Anquan Boldin, while also forecasting that the Ravens will shut down the Broncs’ high-flying offense.

Some are making a big deal about the fact that the Ravens are just 1-3 in their last 4 games coming after a win over Pittsburgh. That’s a combination of emotional letdown and physical beatdown after those intense rivalry matches, but let’s remember – fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it – this is just the second such occurrence during the Harbaugh/Flacco era, as last week was just their second victory against Pittsburgh. Flacco said this week that, if the Ravens can’t put the emotion of last week behind them and move forward quickly, then they aren’t the team that they think they are.

The Ravens have a history of slapping around the Broncos, a team that our favorite columnist Mike Preston likes to describe as “soft,” when they come to town, and this week should be no different.

This assertion still applies.

Ravens 27 Broncos 13

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Ravens (2-1) @ Steelers (3-0)

Posted by darnold on Friday, October 1st, 2010

Some people get all pumped up at the prospect of another hard-hitting, close-fought, drag out brawl between these two hated division rivals. These people bask in the mutual hatred shared by the two fanbases, drinking in every last ounce of disdain as kickoff approaches.

Usually, I’m one of those people. For some reason this time feels a little different, though.

I can sense a few reasons for this.

One, two of the marquee guys on the teams won’t be participating Sunday, as the Steelers are without Ben Roethlisberger, and the Ravens without Ed Reed.

Second, it’s still very early in the season, so the stakes don’t seem quite as high as normal.

Mostly though, it probably has something to do with the classic psychological evaluation of people that states that we are more upset by negative outcomes than we are made joyous by positive ones. That is, if you lost $1000, you’d be more angry/sad than you would be happy if you found that same $1000.

That’s how Ravens/Steelers feels this week. The prospect of losing to Pittsburgh (again…Harbaugh/Flacco are a dismal 1-4 so far against them) is more vomit-inducing to me than a win over them is exciting. This is in no small part due, I’m sure, to the fact that the Steelers are playing with house money at this point. Even the most optimistic Steeler fan would have told you that they would be ecstatic to be 3-1 to start the season, and that the team should be more than satisfied with a 2-2 record out of the gates while their franchise quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, served his suspension. Now, they face the very real prospect of going a ridiculous 4-0 to start 2010. The only thing standing in the way of that outcome is, of course, our Baltimore Ravens.

Should the Ravens win this game, it will be as much a relief as a reason to celebrate. Going up against a team that is on what amounts to their fourth-string quarterback is a situation from which any true contender should emerge victorious much more often than not. As for your nearest yinzer-wannabe, sure they’ll come back with “yeah, but we didn’t have BEN.” While a fair point, the fact of the matter will be that the teams will sport equal 3-1 records, and “game on” moving forward.

Lose, and all hell breaks loose. The Ravens will find themselves in a two-game hole in the AFC North after only four weeks of football. At 1-2 in the division, their best case scenario would be to end the year at 4-2 against AFCN opponents – hardly a lock to win the division crown. The Steelers would have put together a 4-0 record with basically a high school offense. And the aforementioned towel wavers? Don’t think we will EVER hear the end of it, should Charlie freaking Batch figure out a way to do enough Sunday to lead his team to a victory over the “powerful” Ravens’ defense.

Doesn’t that latter scenario sound fun? See what I mean now about a loss being more “bad” than a win is “good?”

Anyway, all that said, how do I feel about the game itself?

Uneasy, at best.

We all know that when the Steelers and Ravens match up, you can pretty much throw the stats and records out the window. However, this year, one stat that is too glaring to completely omit is that of the Ravens having the 22nd-ranked rushing defense in the league. Add to that Pittsburgh’s #3 rushing attack, and the potential for the Steelers to have more success on the ground against the Ravens than they have in nearly a decade seems all too real…on paper, anyway.

In reality, the Ravens defense hasn’t been all THAT bad. Ladainian Tomlinson ripped off a couple 21-yard scampers in Week 1 that padded his stats, but was otherwise fairly well contained. Shonn Green did nothing in the same game. In Week 2, Cedric Benson, who destroyed the Ravens in 2009, was bottled up nicely. And yes, Peyton Hillis ran wild last week, but again, most of his yards came on a few big runs, and also against Greg Mattison’s “passing situation” sub packages. The now departed Trevor Pryce was a big part of those sub packages that couldn’t stop Hillis, but he seems to have no problem trashing his former teammates, guys he was lining up with not even a week ago. Apparently the #1 clause of any New York Jets contract reads “must be a jerk at all times.”

The Ravens will be better against the run in Pittsburgh. They’ll get Terrence “Mount” Cody suited up for his first NFL action, and that, along with the need for redemption for a prideful unit, will be enough to keep Rashard Mendenhall from getting anything significant going.

With task #1 accomplished, they can focus on Charlie Batch. Batch threw three touchdowns last week in Tampa, but two of those should have been interceptions. Along with the one pick he did throw, that would be a nice 1 TD/3 INT day. Batch will make mistakes Sunday. However, if potential interceptions clang off defenders hands the way they did for him last week, or the way they did for Ravens’ defenders in Week 2 in Cincinnati, it will be another nail biter down-to-the-wire type game at the convergence of the three rivers. Double up on the stick-em, Zibby.

On offense, the Ravens will have to play their best game of the season to date. And they’ll have to get off the bus ready to play. In the three games so far, the Ravens’ BEST first offensive play has been Ray Rice for 3 yards (twice). The other first play was the sack-fumble in New York. The SECOND offensive play last week should have resulted in six points the other way. The Pittsburgh crowd will be amped, and the defense will be champing at the bit to make Joe Flacco’s life a living hell. This lackadaisical, dazed, slow-start business has to stop. It’s been a disturbing characteristic of the Ravens’ offense for far too long now, and if it rears its ugly head again in Pittsburgh this week, the way that defense is playing, things could get very ugly very quickly.

If you see the Ravens’ offense moseying up to the line of scrimmage with 6-8 seconds on the play clock, and by the time they put the requisite man in motion, Flacco is snapping the ball at or near 0, so the Steelers can time their jumps off the ball…you might as well just turn the T.V. off, because they don’t stand a chance.

Cam Cameron needs to get the plays in quickly, Joe needs to relay them efficiently, and the team needs to be lined up and ready to go with 10 or more seconds on the play clock. At that point, Flacco has to be able to survey the Pittsburgh defense, attempt a pre-snap read, and make the necessary adjustments.

Eight men in the box? Audible out of that running play.

Big puffy-black-haired troll looking dude bouncing around like an idiot on the left side of the line? Slide the protection left and send the right side receiver deep against man coverage.

In short, Joe Flacco and Cam Cameron need to ENGAGE in the chess match that Dick LeBeau and the Steelers’ defense are playing, instead of simply letting them flip the board over, kick sand in their faces, and shove rooks up their noses (you’ll excuse my mixed metaphors).

Against Pittsburgh’s defense, the pre-snap battles are nearly as important as the post-snap ones, and Flacco needs to start winning the former much more often to give his team any chance to succeed in the latter.

After the snap, the Ravens have the personnel to move the ball against the Steelers. Ray Rice had over 150 total yards in both matches last year, and looks to have bounced back from his injury against the Browns to be ready to play. Anquan Boldin caught 8 balls for 84 yards in his last game against Pittsburgh, Super Bowl XLIV. Todd Heap had 2 TD grabs in the Steel City last season. Derrick Mason had seven catches in each game in 2009. T.J. Houshmandzadeh has had plenty of experience and success working against the Steelers’ secondary. And new tight ends Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta present new, unknown variables for Pittsburgh to account for.

It’s not 7-on-7, though. The onus, as it always does against Pittsburgh, will fall on the offensive line’s ability to keep Flacco upright, and his ability to get the ball out quickly. Take a sack if necessary Joe, but don’t force the ball into coverage, and don’t get stripped in the pocket. The Steelers’ defense thrives on the sack/fumble.

(An aside: Ravens fans are all too familiar with the names James Harrison and Lamar Woodley, but keep an eye out for Lawrence Timmons this time as well – he was the one that damn near killed Mason over the middle in the 2008 home game. He’s having a very strong season in the early going.)

Of those aforementioned five games against Pittsburgh in the Harbaugh/Flacco era, only one was decided by more than four points (three, three, four, three, and nine). The simple fact is, the Steelers have made the plays down the stretch to win those ballgames, while the Ravens have repeatedly shot themselves in the foot.

Picking up boneheaded penalties to rob themselves of precious field position or take points off the board.

Dropping wide open passes in the end zone.

Failing to wrap up the quarterback for a sack despite getting both hands on him, letting him instead escape and make a big play.

These are the kinds of things that have doomed the Ravens time and again in this rivalry match.

Until they get them corrected, the results will continue, I’m afraid, to be the same.

Playing smart, disciplined, mistake-free football will go a long way to seeing the Ravens emerge from Heinz Field as the victors. On top of that, they must take advantage of the errors made by Batch, and not let speedster Mike Wallace get open down the field. That type of execution, combined with the absence of noted Raven-killers Santonio Holmes and Roethlisberger (a single Holmes touchdown ended up being the difference in 3 of the last four Ravens losses) should be enough to put them over the top.

Ravens 17 Steelers 10

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Play Like a Raven – Week 3

Posted by darnold on Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

PlayLikeaRaven

Played Like a Raven – “Flacco to Boldin”

Whether Joe’s first pass of the day was simply a little leftover hiccup from Cincinnati, or a huge wake up call that b-slapped him mentally back into the game, things were different from pass #2 onward. “Good Joe,” showed up, sound mechanics and all, stepping into his throws and delivering the ball into some tight windows.

More often than not, the recipient of those strong throws was Anquan Boldin, who finds himself in this spot for the second time in just three weeks as a Raven. Boldin has immediately brought a nastiness to the wide receiver position in Baltimore, a dimension that has been sorely lacking for years. Watching “Q” go up and snatch the ball out of the air has quickly become a favorite sight of the purple faithful, and for Joe Flacco. Had he not been interfered with not once, but TWICE (both uncalled), Boldin would have had an even bigger day and at least one more touchdown. As these two continue to develop chemistry and confidence in one another, “Flacco-to-Boldin” could quickly become one of the most familiar phrases on NFL highlight shows.

Did Not Play Like a Raven – Run Defense

I struggled a bit with this one; that is, deciding exactly who to pin Peyton Hillis’ 144-yard performance on. First, I was going to put the lion’s share of the blame on Haloti Ngata. After all, as the best player on the defensive line and a guy who many consider to be one of the top tackles in the NFL, he should have been able to do more personally to clog up the middle. Watching the game again though, Haloti wasn’t even on the field for a few of Hillis’ big gains.

So I thought, “lets put this one on the defensive line in general.” It wasn’t just Ngata who had a bad day – Kelly Gregg and Trevor Pryce didn’t do much either. Then again, when a running back busts through the line like that, a team that supposedly has a strong linebacking corps should be able to bottle him up just a few yards downfield, not deep in the secondary. Alright then, let’s go with: The Entire Front 7 “did not Play Like Ravens.”

However, watching the pathetic attempts of some of the Ravens’ secondary in trying to bring down Hillis (looking at you, Fabian Washington and Tom Zbikowski), there was no way I could just let them off the hook.

So we’ll go this route: The ENTIRE Ravens’ defense played un-Raven-like…when the Browns ran the ball.

They were decent when Seneca Wallace dropped back to throw, flushing him from the pocket regularly and ultimately allowing only 141 passing yards on the afternoon. Granted, they weren’t exactly challenged (again), but I’m still convinced that the reports of the death of the B’More secondary have been greatly exaggerated. Once Ed Reed comes back, things will only get better.

The play of the pass defense doesn’t excuse the failures to contain Hillis though. We know that this team has a very stout front seven, so we have to believe this was strictly an aberration. Though they’d never admit it, it was perhaps a result of the defense looking past the Browns a bit with Pittsburgh looming.

They’ll have to be MUCH better against Rashard Mendenhall this week, or it likely won’t matter that the Steelers are on what amounts to their fourth string quarterback at this point.

Photos c/o Baltimore Sun

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Bengals 15 Ravens 10 (The BENGALS’ DBs CAN CATCH BETTER THAN OURS CAN Game)

Posted by darnold on Monday, September 20th, 2010

Damn Bengals. They seem to have perfected this whole “beat the Ravens by only kicking field goals” thing.

In an effort to avoid wrapping my laptop’s power cord around my neck, or just throwing the whole thing through the television, let’s first take a look at the positives from Sunday’s game. Trust me, there actually were a few.

  1. The Ravens’ much talked-about (in a “they’ll be the weak link this season” way) defense has yet to allow a touchdown in 2010 in 8 quarters of play.
  2. The secondary in particular played well, holding Carson Palmer to just a 45% completion percentage and 167 yards. Now, if they could only catch…
  3. Lardarius Webb made his first appearance of 2010, and contributed to the aforementioned strong play of the secondary.
  4. Ray Rice looked strong after being bottled up by the New York Jets, picking up 87 yards on 16 carries (5.4 average) and 30 yards on 4 receptions (7.5). He also had a key block on Joe Flacco’s lone touchdown pass of the day.
  5. Cedric Benson, who gashed the Ravens for 227 yards in the two games last year, was held to just 78 yards on 23 carries.
  6. From a “big picture” perspective, most of the AFC is 1-1 along with the Ravens. Only Houston, Miami, the not-really-for-real-at-all Kansas City Chiefs, and those who shall not be named are 2-0.
  7. There are still 14 games to play.

Reluctantly moving on to address the REST of Sunday’s action…

On the Ravens second play of their second drive, a 2nd-and-10 from their own 28, Flacco dropped back, scrambled around in the pocket a bit, and ended up diving forward for a 2-yard gain, barely avoiding the sack. On the replay though, when analyst Rich Gannon was trying to describe how well covered the Ravens’ receivers were…there he was: Anquan Boldin, streaking down the right sideline, nary a Bengal within 15 yards of him, hand waving frantically in the air calling for the ball. Of all the terrible plays that Joe made Sunday, THIS play may be the one that makes him slink lowest in his seat when the team reviews film this week. If Joe even LOOKS to his right at any point during the play, he would have had the easiest 70-yard touchdown throw of his career. Instead, the Ravens would punt two plays later, and the play was an ominous harbinger of plenty more terrible things to come for #5 and the B’More offense.

With all the talk about the Ravens’ new offense and all its fancy toys, they have now managed just 20 points in two games. Granted, those 20 points were against the #1 and #4 defenses in the NFL in 2009. However, the degree of ineptitude that Cam Cameron and his charges showed against Cincinnati was far higher than even the most pessimistic Ravens fan could have predicted. Flacco was horrific against the Bengals in 2009, throwing four picks in two games. After one game against them in 2010, he has already matched that interception total, and it’s easy to just say that Cincy has Flacco’s number. Joe has played far worse against the Bengals in his career than he has against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Sunday he appeared to be playing scared and timid right from the start.

In fact, I’d have never thought I would grimace and say “ew” so many times in one game watching Joe Flacco. His mechanics are dreadful – his signature move now seems to be what I’ve deemed the “back-foot floater,” a pass that he throws high in the air while leaning back, hoping his target can run under it. So far this year though, he has not shown near the level of “touch” needed to consistently complete these kinds of passes. I hated on Mike Preston earlier this week for saying that Flacco needs to step up in the pocket more like a Brady, Manning, or Elway, but I couldn’t agree more with the spirit of the argument (I just thought it was funny how he pulled a few Hall of Fame names out of his hat). Joe DOES need to step up and put some zip on the ball. We’ve seen him do it before, so I’m as confused as the rest of you at his seeming regression.

In both games so far in 2010, there has been one play where you can see Joe just get fed up and step into a throw and put it right on his receivers’ chest, giving them no choice but to catch it – against the Jets, it was a sideline out to Derrick Mason; against Cincy, he slammed the ball into Anquan Boldin’s chest on a play where he lined up in the slot.

Where are those passes the rest of the time?

What the hell is up with this new back-foot floater?

Can I get a Ra-Ven? (Get it…”can I get an amen?” No? Ok, fine.)

Staying on Joe for a minute: Another wildly exasperating facet of his play so far this season is that he is seemingly completely unwilling to audible at the line of scrimmage. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think I’ve seen him check out of one play in the two games to date. In New York is one thing, but the Cincinnati crowd isn’t exactly known around the league for being one of the loudest; there is no noise-related excuse for never changing the play. It’s especially maddening when the Ravens have some sort of slow-developing running play called, and the opposing defense walks 7 or 8 guys to to the line of scrimmage – that play is dead in the water. Still, Joe makes no effort to change the play. We saw him do it a couple of times in the preseason (think of the touchdown pass to Boldin in the Giants game), so why has it suddenly stopped? I’m not suggesting Joe needs to be Peyton Manning up there, diagnosing every defensive player’s assignment, along with his fears, goals, and ambitions…but a check-off here and there would be a sight for sore eyes.

Its all a bit too disappointing to delve into too deeply. I’m much more inclined to chalk it up to a combination of factors, including the short week, consecutive road games, Cincy “having his number,” poor offensive line play, and the failure of the Ravens’ receivers to create separation (the aforementioned Boldin play notwithstanding) or haul in catches that we’ve seen them make a hundred times before (seriously…anybody else get the feeling the T.J. Houshmandzadeh is still a closet Bengals fan?) Let’s all cross our fingers that a full week of preparation, along with a home game against a sorry Cleveland team, will be just what the doctor ordered to heal up our sputtering offense and suddenly shaky quarterback situation.

Moving on from Flacco, but sticking with the offense in general…

Cam Cameron needs to stop buying into the hype about his offense. I don’t know if its a symptom of trying to keep all of the receivers happy or what, but on a day where his quarterback is having the worst game of his young career, and his running back is ripping off over 5 yards a carry in a 1-score game…man, come ON. RUN THE DAMN BALL. Rice had only 16 carries. Willis McGahee had three. Le’Ron McClain had ONE.

I completely understand that the days of the “three-headed-monster” in the Ravens’ backfield are pretty much over, even if I don’t 100% agree with it. The Ravens have these highly paid guys on the outside and a young quarterback who they are trying to develop, but sometimes the game has to dictate what you’re doing as an offense. Especially with a makeshift offensive line that is struggling mightily to pass protect, while at the same time showing that they can open holes in the running game. Moving the ball through the air against the Bengals wasn’t happening, and the Ravens were never down by more than 6 points, so the fact that Rice had only 8 carries per half is absolutely criminal.

Ray Lewis (among others) have already addressed the bogus officiating calls that cost the Ravens 6 points, so I won’t get into it. Fact is, the key play of the game yesterday wasn’t any of Flacco’s four picks, nor was it either of those two costly penalties. It was the kickoff return by Bernard Scott with just under 6 minutes remaining. The Ravens had just taken a 10-9 lead, but the 60-yard kickoff return set the Bengals up in near field goal range to start the drive. It was a hugely deflating letdown from a unit that had been solid all day, with Billy Cundiff’s two kickoffs to that point both resulting in touchbacks.

The Ravens now have a full week of preparation for their home opener against the Browns. Identifying and correcting the plethora of offensive mistakes we witnessed on Sunday will be tantamount to not only a victory against Cleveland, but absolutely critical if this team has any hope to realize the lofty goals they have set for themselves in 2010.

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Ravens (1-0) @ Bengals (0-1)

Posted by darnold on Friday, September 17th, 2010

Next up in the “teams whose head coach owes their job to Ray Lewis” are the Cincinnati Bengals. Now we just need the Jacksonville Jaguars (Jack Del Rio) and the 2005-2008 San Francisco 49ers (Mike Nolan) to complete the “#52′s head coach’s tree.” Marvin Lewis’ team is still licking their wounds from that 38-24 drubbing at the hands of the New England Patriots (a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the score) in Week 1, and will look to rebound against a team that they had plenty of success against in 2009.

Those 2009 losses to Cincy were especially surprising for the Ravens and their fans not necessarily because of the outcomes, but because of the manner in which the Bengals were victorious. Running back Cedric Benson rad roughshod over B’More’s usually stout run defense, breaking their streak of 40 consecutive games without allowing a 100-yard rusher on his way to 120 yards in Week 5, and duplicating the feat with 117 yards just four weeks later. Benson managed just 43 yards on 15 carries in Week 1, but his opportunities were quite limited due to his team getting blown out of the water early and being forced to play catch-up.

The Ravens will be looking for some revenge against Benson Sunday. If rookie defensive tackle Terrence Cody is able to suit up (he practiced this week), it will go a long way to exacting said revenge. Along with Haloti Ngata and Cory Redding up front, Benson will be hard pressed to find even a sliver of daylight. Even without Cody, the Ravens did well against the Jets’ vaunted rushing attack last week, as RBs Shonn Green and LaDainian Tomlinson managed 80 yards on 16 carries.

“Well, wait a minute, that’s 5 yards per carry,” you might be saying. The stat is a bit misleading, as Tomlinson ripped off two 21-yard runs in the game. Take away those two, and the numbers drop to 38 yards on 14 carries, a 2.7 ypc average. Of course, you can’t just “take away” big plays – the Ravens need to avoid giving up similar big plays to Benson and Bengals’ “change-of-pace” back Bernard Scott.

Which of course, isn’t to say that stopping the run = Ravens win. Quarterback Carson Palmer has always done well against our Ravens, putting up a career record of 8-3. Even after throwing a pick-6 to Ed Reed last year, Palmer bounced back and led his team to a last-minute game-winning touchdown in Baltimore.

Palmer threw for 345 yards and 2 touchdowns last week in New England, but again – they were in catch-up mode all day after falling behind 31-3. He again has a full compliment of weapons to throw to, including two reality TV stars.

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Along with those two, rookie WR Jordan Shipley is dangerous, and Andre Caldwell (though I ripped Mike Preston earlier this week for bringing him up) is set to return from a groin injury and has hurt the Ravens in the past.

Just as getting Cody back could help the run defense, a return from injury in the secondary could greatly improve the Ravens’ chances Sunday. Lardarius Webb has been removed from the injury report, but is still “working out the kinks,” after ACL surgery. With Webby in there, the much maligned Ravens’ secondary is instantly better. Without him, newcomer Josh Wilson and safety Haruki Nakamura will be forced to line up against the Bengals’ receivers, matchups that favor Cincy.

The Bengals also gave the Ravens fits on defense last year, holding them to 14 and 7 points, respectively, in the two meetings. This despite Ray Rice racking up 143 and 135 yards from scrimmage (mostly receiving). The problem was that Rice was the team’s leading receiver in both games, as cornerbacks Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph gave Joe Flacco and the Ravens’ wideouts fits.

2010 is a new year, though, and now Hall and Joseph have to deal with Anquan “Q” Boldin and former teammate T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who weren’t there last year. Hopefully Housh can also bring some “insider info” to the Ravens in practice this week – the offense and defense could both use all the help they can get after being swept last season. Tom Brady had no trouble finding his wideouts last week, as both Wes Welker (8 catches, 64 yards, 2 TD) and Randy Moss (5, 59, 0) had better days than any Ravens WR had against the Bengals in 2009.

Of course, he’s Tom Brady. While Flacco looked like Brady on occasion last week, skillfully avoiding the Jets’ pressure and converting key 3rd-and-long situations, but looked downright awful at other times, holding the ball too long in the pocket, overthrowing a wide open Le’Ron McClain in the end zone, and throwing from his back foot. To show that he really is ready to step into the next tier of NFL quarterbacks, as so many experts see him doing, Joe needs to start beating quality QBs – not just the likes of Mark Sanchez and Jay Cutler – in head-to-head matchups. He has the weapons to do it now, so the time for excuses is over. In his defense, he had a perfect touchdown pass dropped last week (by Todd Heap) and another likely touchdown just flat out missed (by Derrick Mason). But he also underthrew Mason on another deep route, underthrew Boldin from his back foot, and missed Ray Rice on a slant that would have given the Ravens a 1st-and-goal inside the 5. We know he can make the throws. What we need to see now is consistency from #5.

The Ravens have revenge on their minds after being embarrassed by Cincy in 2009. The Bengals have redemption on theirs, after being blown out in Week 1.

I think the Bengals do bounce back this week…just not quite high enough.

Ravens 24 Bengals 20

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Ravens 10 Jets 9 (The MOST LOPSIDED 1-POINT GAME EVER Game)

Posted by darnold on Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

I’m sure many of you out there are, like me, Maryland Terrapin fans. And watching this game, I’ll bet many of you also, like me, felt like you were watching Labor Day’s Maryland-Navy game all over again, only this time from the Navy fan’s point of view. They weren’t quite the goalline possessions that the Midshipmen kept coming away empty from, but the Ravens did have the ball inside the Red Zone twice in the games first 25 minutes (once on a 17-play, 9-minute drive) only to turn the ball over and come away empty handed on both chances.

I’ll also say this – I think we Ravens fans may have cashed in every last “the refs hate us” chip that we had left. The Jets were penalized 10 times for 100 yards in the FIRST HALF alone. The Ravens had four 3rd-down attempts turned into first downs via New York penalties, including a 3rd-and-28, and the pass interference in the end zone that set them up at the 1 for their only touchdown of the night – a touchdown that would not have happened had a field goal attempt earlier on the same drive not been nullified by, you guessed it – a penalty.

As a matter of fact…watching the Jets, with their defense committing a stupid penalty for seemingly every big play they make, and their offense that nobody in the stadium has any confidence in to go 40 or so yards to set up a potential game winning field goal…you begin to wonder if it was Rex Ryan or Brian Billick coaching those Ravens teams of the last decade.

John Harbaugh’s team – the “new” Ravens – were penalized just 5 times for 38 yards in the game, compared to 14-125 for Rex’s “old” Ravens. Several times the New York crowd was pining for pass interference flags on Ravens’ cornerbacks, but none would come, as Chris Carr and Fabian Washington were playing with what Harbaugh likes to call “perfect technique.”

The Jet penalties served to effectively offset all the mistakes the Ravens’ offense was making in giving the ball away. It’s a bit eerie when, after a season of hearing your offense hyped up as potentially one of the league’s best, your quarterback’s very first dropback on the very first offensive snap of the season results in a sack-fumble-turnover. Flacco held the ball way too long on that play, and paid the price. On his interception, the MNF crew seemed to think it was as much Anquan Boldin’s fault as Flacco’s – the ball was seemingly intended for Todd Heap, but Antonio Cromartie – who was covering Boldin on the play – came off his man to make the pick. Still, it was an ugly floater of a pass that had me nervous as soon as it left his hand. As for the Ravens’ THIRD turnover of the first half, Willis McGahee, who looked terrible all night save for his crucial touchdown burst, just played right into the Jets’ hands, allowing himself to be held up by tacklers while more flew in to try to knock the ball loose.

It was those turnovers – along with the Jets eating the Ravens’ lunches on special teams – that kept Gang Green in the ball game. The “lopsidedness” of this one, which I referenced in the blog title, is on full display if you look at some of the numbers:

First Downs: BAL – 20 NYJ – 6
Third down conversions: BAL – 11/19 57% NYJ – 1/11 9%
Passing Yards: BAL – 233 NYJ – 60
Time of Possession: BAL – 38:32 NYJ – 21:28

Complete dominance by the Ravens, yet a single point separated the two teams after 60 minutes. As my dad put it, it felt like we were playing the damn Steelers. The only difference – and its a big one – Mark Sanchez is no Ben Roethlisberger (although he and his teammates seem to be working from Ben’s playbook lately).

Sanchez had no ability to drive down the field for a game-winning score. He was horrific all night, throwing check-down after check-down, and at one point sliding like a wuss just shy of what would have been a Red Zone first down when he saw #52 flying at him. The Ravens’ much-maligned secondary was never even tested by the second-year quarterback. Mark Sanchez did NOTHING the entire game, save for confirm every suspicion I have about him being nothing but Matt Leinart version 1.2.

It was ugly – excruciatingly so at times – but all that really matters is that the Ravens walked out of the New Meadowlands with a 1-0 record.

Now, Rex and the Jets: SHUT THE F*$K UP!!!

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Ravens @ Jets Preview

Posted by darnold on Monday, September 13th, 2010

Well, if the Atlanta Falcons weren’t the worst team ever in the history of teams, the Ravens could be sitting in first place in the AFC North this morning without having yet even played a down in 2010. The Bengals came out looking like the Bungles of old against the Patriots before getting things together in the second half and making the final score a respectable 38-24, and the Browns were undone by two Jake Delhomme interceptions (raise your hands if you’re surprised…anyone? anyone?) down in Tampa. Pittsburgh, however, pulled another one out of their rear ends, winning despite going four full quarters without scoring a touchdown.

So the Ravens miss out on the ridiculously meaningless chance to enter their Monday Night showdown with the Jets with an early 0.5 game lead in the AFC North. No matter. At this point its all about results on the field anyway.

And those results will come after a week of jabber-jawing between these two teams, smack talk which is sure to continue well after the opening kickoff. The Ravens and Jets would be wise to keep the extracurriculars to a minimum, however, as the officiating crew set to watch over this one is the same group that was on the field for the FLAGSFLAGSFLAGSFLAGS Game, which saw an incredible 310 collective penalty yards. I think about 270 of those were Frank Walker’s though, so maybe we’ll be ok.

As long as the zebras let them play, this game could easily be the most smash-mouth, hard-hitting contest of Week 1. They say familiarity breeds contempt, and if that holds true, the hate will be palpable on the field in East Rutherford Monday Night. The Jets’ roster and coaching staff are, as has been well documented, littered with former Ravens.

However, some important things have changed since guys like Rex Ryan, Bart Scott, and Jim Leonhard left B’More. Most notably are the emergence of Ray Rice as a budding superstar, and the addition of some other quality weapons to Joe Flacco’s arsenal, including wide receivers Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and tight end Ed Dickson. The threat of the 3-headed monster Ravens’ backfield still exists as it did when Rex was still going up against the Ravens’ O in practice every day, but the Ravens have since obviously put much more effort into becoming a team that can more efficiently move the football through the air.

Moving the ball in general Monday night, whether through the air or on the ground, will prove difficult against Rex’s Jets.

New York had the #1 defense in the NFL in 2009, #1 against the pass and #8 against the run. That scary-good pass defense has the potential to be even better in 2010, having been bolstered by the offseason acquisitions of cornerbacks Antonio Cromartie and Kyle Wilson, a rookie out of Boise State. As everyone has heard 10,000 times by now, they will also be with Darrelle Revis, thought by many to be the best CB in the league. Flacco and all his fancy new weapons will have their work cut out for them.

Surprisingly, even with Rex’s complex blitz schemes, the Jets had only 32 sacks in 2009, the same number as the Ravens (tied for 18th in the NFL). While the numbers don’t really back up the reputation of the Jets as a get-after-the-passer type team, the Ravens have some questions on the offensive line that make us uneasy regardless. Jared Gaither’s back issues will keep him out, and Oniel Cousins is still dealing with some headaches after suffering a concussion in the preseason, but is expected to start at right tackle. If his noggin starts to hurt, or if his play is poor, the Ravens will likely move right guard Marshal Yanda to right tackle, and insert Chris Chester at right guard. This may be the safest course of action anyway, but the Ravens seem willing to start with Yanda in his more natural spot. If Cousins is effective, this is easily the Ravens’ strongest offensive line alignment in Gaither’s absence.

The Ravens have shown a fair amount of the “slow-hurry” no-huddle offense during the preseason, and Flacco looked very comfortable doing so, especially against the New York Giants. This is something that Ravens fans can attest Rex Ryan’s defenses always struggle to defend against. The issue will be whether or not Flacco can run this offense in what is sure to be an extremely loud New Meadowlands Stadium. He has used a silent snap count in the past, and while it will be a challenge, it could still be the best kryptonite to counter the Jets’ defense.

On the other side of the ball, its surprising how everyone is still talking up the Jets’ rushing attack, which was also #1 in the league last year, despite leading rusher Thomas Jones departing for Kansas City. Sure, Shonn Green may be able to step in and seamlessly continue Gang Green’s dominant ground attack, but let’s make him prove it before we go ahead and just assume they will be as effective this season as last. I’d feel much better about the Ravens defense against this Jets rushing attack were rookie Terrence “Mount” Cody playing. Cody will miss the game with knee issues, and Kelly Gregg will have to play like the Buddy Lee of old to make up for the giant rookie’s absence. Stopping the Jets running game, especially if the offense can jump out and put some points up early, will put the game squarely on the shoulders of second-year quarterback Mark Sanchez, which, conventional wisdom suggests, plays right into B’More’s hands.

Sanchez was just good enough as a rookie, getting his team to the AFC Championship despite throwing 20 picks to just 12 touchdowns, with a QB rating of 63.0. This preseason he hasn’t looked any better, throwing 2 scores and 2 interceptions. Much ado has been made of the Ravens’ issues in the secondary, but it hasn’t looked all that bad so far in the “fake” games. With the potential return of Lardarius Webb, a game-time decision, the chance is there for the Ravens to lock down the Jets’ passing game, which will be missing perennial Raven-killer (while he was in Pittsburgh) Santonio Holmes, who is suspended for the first four games.

More concerning has been the play of the linebackers against the pass. Jets’ tight end Dustin Keller caught 45 passes in 2008, and could cause the Ravens problems. The best defense against Keller may be to crank up the pass rush on Sanchez, so that they are forced to keep their tight ends in to block, much as the Ravens have been forced to do with Todd Heap in the past.

The build-up to this game has been a bit extreme, and admittedly probably tiresome for fans that don’t quite care for these two teams (which, if we’re honest, is MOST NFL fans). Like Ray, we’re all just ready to see them “strap up their chinstraps” at this point.

The Jets seem all too willing to take the torch from the Ravens as the league’s most brash, heaviest trash-talking, and generally universally despised team. What better way to officially pass said torch than to treat the Nation to a very public shutting-up of Rex and his yet-to-win-anything squad?

Ravens 20 Jets 13

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Ravens 2010 Preview – Weeks 10-13

Posted by darnold on Friday, September 10th, 2010

Today is Friday (WOOOOO!), which means we are now down to two work days remaining until we get to watch our purple and black shut Rex Ryan and his gang of green boogers’ collective mouths. Day 3 of our quick Ravens season preview sees the Ravens play 3 teams from the NFC South, as well as Rapey von Rapenstein and the Steelers.

See Day 1 here and Day 2 here.

Of course, all of these predictions are based on rosters, teams, etc., as they stand today. Injuries, suspensions, and whatever else could easily drastically change my feeling about any or all of the games. This is for fun more than anything else, so don’t go calling your bookie on my recommendations.

Week 10 – @ Falcons

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Matty “Ice” Ryan and the Falcons are looking to bounce back after missing the playoffs despite a 9-7 record in 2009. It will be a matchup of 2008 First-Round Draft Pick quarterbacks and third year head coaches. If this game were in B’More, I’d feel a lot better about it, but going down to the ATL to play inside the Georgia Dome in early November doesn’t sound appealing at all. The Ravens will have their hands full with Ryan, Michael Turner, and Roddy White, and, though Flacco is indeed a better QB than Ryan, our purple and black will likely have a tough time in this one.

Chance of Victory – 40%

Week 11 – @ Carolina

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The Panthers are moving to Matt Moore at QB after jettisoning Jake Delhomme to the Cleveland Browns. Unless he is awful for the first 10 weeks, or gets injured, there is little chance rookie Jimmy Clausen will be lining up against the Ravens. Carolina also lost Julius Peppers, and their defense will likely be their undoing in 2010 as a result, considering their still-potent rushing attack of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. I see Flacco having a field day down in Charlotte, while the largely one-dimensional Panthers attack struggles to keep up.

Chance of Victory – 70%

Week 12 – vs. Tampa Bay

Bucs

The only worry here is that the Ravens look past the Bucs to the Week 13 matchup against Pittsburgh. Tampa has always struggled mightily in cold weather, and November 28 in Baltimore has the potential to be plenty chilly. On top of that, the Bucs were just 3-13 in 2009, and didn’t do much to improve their roster this offseason. Entering the season, their top two wideouts are Ronnie Brown (9 receptions in 2009) and rookie Mike Williams. Tight end Kellan Winslow could be effective, but he just had his fifth knee surgery this offseason (not to mention he has awesome memories of playing in Baltimore). Ravens win in a laugher.

Chance of Victory: 80% (+1% for every 2 degrees under 50 F at game time)

Week 13 – vs. Pittsburgh

Swat

The Steelers will have Baby Ben back by this point – let’s remember though, Ben has still won only once in Baltimore (though it seems like a far more frequent occurence). He may have the Steelers back in the thick of contention by this time, and even if he doesn’t, this game is always tense and tightly contested. The Ravens will hopefully be looking for their first season sweep of Yinz from Donton since 2006, while Pittsburgh will be chasing just their second victory in Charm City since 2002 (the other, of course, coming in 2008). This game gets my heartbeat above baseline already, just thinking about it nearly three full months ahead of time. I need a drink…

Chance of Victory – 60%

Monday – Weeks 14-17 AND Ravens-Jets full preview.

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