The loss was bad, how’s the report card?

Quarterback: B-

Joe Flacco avoided the pass rush all day, made a few impressive runs, and even made a few nice passes. His arm wasn’t quite as sharp was it could have been, though, with many of this throws landing behind their intended targets. The windy conditions seemed to limit Flacco and the entire offensive scheme; the Ravens never even tried to stretch the field. Flacco had two interceptions on the day, though he only deserves credit for one.

Running Backs: D+

How bad was the Ravens rushing attack? Joe Flacco’s 57 yard performance led the team. Similar to in Indianapolis, the Ravens running backs tried to run around the defense, instead of through it.  Willis McGahee was limited by injury again. Ray Rice stepped in and did a fair job, but even he looked scattered. The Ravens couldn’t get anything started on the ground - not that they could be expected to match the Giants 200+ yard performance.

Wide Receivers: D

Derrick Mason had 7 catches and 80 yards, but attempt at impersonating David Tyree may have cost the Ravens the game. Mark Clayton and Yamon Figurs were non-factors. Todd Heap made three catches for a total of 17 yards. This group continues to take the life out of the Ravens offense with dropped passes and poor routes.

Offensive Line: C-

The front five of the Ravens had their ups and downs, as did most units. In the passing game, they kept the rush off of Flacco for most of the game, allowing only one sack. That’s not to say Flacco never felt the pressure, but the line helped him manage it well. In the running game, the offensive line looked lost. No sealed corners. No running lanes. And worse? The unit was charged with five false starts.

Defensive Line: D+

The Ravens defensive line was handled all day by the Giants fron-five. They occasionally got pressure on Manning, but were pushed aside and pancaked time and time again in the running game.

Linebackers: D

Outside of Ray Lewis’ interception, the unit failed miserably. Lewis was mentioned more for missing tackles and overpursuing than he was for making tackles. Terrell Suggs and Bart Scott were never mentioed. Jarrett Johnson’s off-sides penalty negated an interception by Fabian Washington. The unit was out of position and looked out of place.

Defensive Backs: C

The Ravens secondary normally takes the brunt of the criticism in bad losses, but not today. The Ravens secondary was far from stellar, but at least they showed up. Eli Manning and his receiving corps didn’t  beat the Ravens today. Jim Leonhard deserves some credit for a game well-played and being the only Raven man enough to take on Brandon Jacobs face-to-face.

Special Teams: D+

Kick returns by Yamon Figurs were surprisingly strong, but hardly enough to save face for a bad season. Matt Stover had a kick blocked. Sam Koch was bothered by the wind. The unit didn’t necessarily hurt the Ravens effort, but they sure didn’t help either.

Coaching: C-

The coaching in this one is hard to read. To start with, the Ravens looked outmatched. That simply shouldn’t happen. The Giants knew every scheme Rex Ryan had and they came prepared. Offensively, Cam Cameron shut the Ravens down himself. At the same time, however, adjustments were clearly made at halftime and the Ravens looked like a new team. If not for a few mistakes specific to the players, not the coaches, I believe this team would have made things far more interesting. The biggest questions, though, have to be for John Harbaugh, who conceded defeat and truly shut the offense down in the 4th quarter. Running the ball is for eating clock, not saving it.

Quarterback: A
For weeks, Joe Flacco has managed the offense, and that trend continued against the Texans. The rookie protected the ball, while still taking plenty of shots down the field. All told, Flacco turned in a solid performance with a 118.9 passer rating that included 185 yards and two touchdowns. Flacco is beginning to come into his own at a very important time for the Ravens. Troy Smith also continues to contribute to the team, as he threw for a touchdown.

Offensive line: B-
For the most part, the offensive line protected their quarterback. Although the unit allowed three sacks, they did a great job at opening up running lanes to help sustain drives. The Texans’ star defensive back, Mario Williams, was held in check throughout the game. Penalties continue to plague the line.

Wide receivers: B
Last week, the offense welcomed Mark Clayton to the 2008 season. This week, it was Todd Heap’s turn to be reintroduced to the offense. Heap turned in a two touchdown performance. Yamon Figurs was serviceable in place of Derrick Mason, who suffered a dislocated shoulder early in the game. Despite the injury, Mason caught three passes for 41 yards.

Running backs: B+
Willis McGahee returned to the field after watching rookie Ray Rice trample the Browns last week. McGahee racked up two touchdowns of his own; his best performance of the season.

Defensive Line: A
Haloti Ngata showed sheer dominance throughout the game. From snagging an interception in the red zone, forcing an interception, and nearly blocking a punt, Ngata is having a Pro-Bowl year. The unit also held the Texans’ red zone offense in check, limiting them to just three points from inside the five-yard line.

Linebackers: A
Middle linebacker Ray Lewis hauled in two interceptions that looked like they were intended for him anyway. Lewis finished the game with eight tackles. The unit helped ensure that the running game was taken away from Houston, while limiting the short yardage passes of Texans quarterback Sage Rosenfels. Terrell Suggs was able to pressure Rosenfels throughout the game, and managed a safety early in the game.

Defensive Backs: B-
The secondary did a decent job of containing Texans receiver Andre Johnson, limiting him to 66 yards and no touchdowns. Samari Rolle returned to the field and hauled in an interception of his own. The unit was exploited a couple of times in the game. One of those miscues resulted in a Houston touchdown. Against a better quarterback, the secondary might have had big problems.

Special teams: B
Steve Hauschka announced his arrival to the Ravens squad by sinking a field goal from 54 yards, while punter Sam Koch held the Texans in check. The kickoff coverage was much improved this week. Matt Stover missed a 50-yard field goal, but that is quite a stretch for him anyway.

Coaching: B+
The Ravens clearly executed the game plan they wanted. The offense continues to field a balance attack to keep opposing defenses honest. The defense continues to dominate opposing offenses, while the Ravens offense sustains drives, eating up the clock and actually scoring. Why was Stover sent out to kick a field goal from midfield when  Hauschka already proved he could kick it from further?

Quarterback: B+
Joe Flacco continued his solid play against the Browns. He remained cool, calm and collected, even after the Ravens fell behind by two touchdowns. He showed nice touch on his throws and made some spectacular passes into tight coverage. There is still a bit of a learning curve (intentional grounding penalties, being one of them), but the rookie continues to make positive strides.

Offensive line: A
This unit was solid throughout the game. Flacco was well-protected throughout the game and had plenty of time to make his reads downfield. The line opened up holes for the most part, but softened up when it counted most.

Wide receivers: B+
Welcome to the offense Mark Clayton. The wide receiver notched his first touchdown in two seasons. Derrick Mason continues to be Flacco’s favorite receiver, snagging nine passes for 136 yards.

Running backs: A
Ray Rice continued to dominate among Baltimore’s running corps for the second week in a row. The rookie averaged just over seven yards per carry, and created running lanes of his own. Le’Ron McClain was solid in his performance, and added a touchdown that was setup by a beautiful Rice run.

Defense: B-
The defense did a solid job of stopping the run, but struggled a bit against the pass. If the Browns hadn’t insisted on running the ball against the best defense capable of stopping the run, the Fabian Washington and Frank Walker would have been in for a long and brutal day. If Braylon Edwards doesn’t drop that very catchable ball from Derek Anderson, the outcome of the game might have been different. Bart Scott led the team in tackles (10) and Terrell Suggs snagged a key interception and returned it for a touchdown that sealed the victory for the Ravens.

Special teams: C+
The Ravens were helped immensely by the Browns’ ineptness, which setup great field position for the Ravens for much of the first half. The special teams coverage continues to have ups and downs. In this game, they had both, and sometimes at the same time. For instance, Matt Stover punts a 62-yarder, which is pretty good for a 40-something. The bad news is that the Browns’ Josh Cribbs returned it 92 yards for a touchdown.

Well now… that was one doozy of a game.

The Ravens scored early, faltered often, scored late and some how pulled out a win - even if it wasn’t the strongest, most convincing victory in recent memory.

Here are some quick thoughts coming out of the game…

Game Balls: Offensive game ball goes to Ray Rice. 150 yards on 21 carries, including a huge run late in the game to set-up the go ahead score. Rice was strong throughout the game, even when it appeared the offense was having issues. He ran straight at blockers and only made moves when he had to. And boy, those moves were pretty. Standing in for Willis McGahee, you can’t say enough about Rice’s performance as a rookie.

Honorable Mention: Mark Clayton, welcome to the 2008 Baltimore Ravens offense. We’ve been waiting years to see this guy contribute in the way he did today. Cam Cameron and the Ravens finally seemed to figure out how to use Clayton in this offense: send him down field and challenge defensive backs to catch him. Sending Clayton downfield opened up the offense in other ways too - drawing linebackers out of the box and asking safeties to cheat. Read the rest of this entry »

Fans saw a new look from the Ravens offense yesterday, dubbed the Wild Bird. Is this an offense that is here to stay, or will it be migrating south for the winter?

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Our quick thoughts today come from ExtremeRavens staffer John (aka BallTMore) … and we thank him for his help!

Flacco looked pretty good again this week, he wasn’t as accurate, but he still made some solid throws. Still has some trouble throwing the deep ball. He hangs the ball in the air which allows the D to adjust to the ball.

Joe is also faster than he looks, he had two good runs today, one resulting in a TD to seal the game. Joe also showed he has good hands for a big guy, hauling in a great pass by Troy Smith in the 3rd qtr. (highlight of the season so far!). Penalties killed the drive, so the Ravens had to settle for a field goal.

Read the rest of this entry »

Our quick thoughts today come from ExtremeRavens staffer John (aka BallTMore) … and we thank him for his help!

The Ravens got back on track in Miami today… it wasn’t the prettiest or easiest win they’ve ever had, but it was a win nonetheless. The team definitely showed some signs of growth.

-Joe Flacco had a solid day throwing the ball. He finished with a 74% completion percentage and a passer rating of 120 (120!). He looked good again throwing the ball to the sideline and made good decisions when dumping the ball off, keeping the Ravens out of long yardage situations. His fumbling when being hit in still a concern; it seems like the ball could come loose at any second when he is being sacked. In the long run, hopefully we’ll see Joltin’ Joe put it all together, but today was a nice step forward for a rookie coming off three tough games.

Read the rest of this entry »

Following two devastating losses in consecutive weeks - in two games the Ravens certainly feel like they should have won - things get no easier as the team hits the road for five of its next six games. The first of these games is against the Colts, and no reference to where they used to play or how Baltimore fans feel about the game is necessary.

Lucky for the Ravens, the Colts might be one of the weaker teams they face in this dreaded six game stretch. At 2-2, the Colts have underperformed so far this season and were only able to squeak out a win against Houston last week thanks to an astonishing 21-point surge in the final four minutes of the game. Once able to score at will against opponents, the Colts’ offense appear to be missing something this year. All the weapons are there, but the functionality is not. Similarly, a strong defense from past seasons is struggling this year to contain the run.

Heading into Sunday, here are two key match-ups to keep an eye on … Read the rest of this entry »

Apologies on the fact that these thoughts aren’t quite as quick as usual… it’s been a long and interesting weekend, capped by a frustrating game to be sure.

Brief, but still here… and building on what Andrew said.

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Phew…. what a game that was!!! The atmosphere in the stadium was electric throughout… the only lag coming in the mid-second quarter, but quickly rejuvenated by a stunning start to the 3rd. Here’s what I see right off the bat…

• Joe Flacco made a few mistakes… but he never lost his confidence and he rebounded by making some pretty impressive plays. Honestly, the second interception should hardly count against his record… it was a known risk going into the gadget play of that type. The first was just a bad pass. He appeared to miss some open receivers for big games, settling for lesser gains instead, but he still had the offense moving.

• Welcome back to Willis McGahee… it was a fine effort by Willis. But the standout was again Le’Ron McClain. The Browns, like the Bengals, simply did not know how to handle the big bowling ball of a mixed-back. My only wish is that we had seen more of Ray Rice. When he came in, especially with McClain in front, you could see the Browns hurting.
• Have to take a moment to think about Dawan Landry. So far all news has been good, but still a scary sight. His injury clearly shook this defense and inspired Ray Lewis… which deserves a bullet of his own.
• Ray was a MAD MAN in the 3rd quarter. Whatever happened in that lockerroom at halftime must have been special. The hit he put on Kellen Winslow set the tone for the second half… and you could see that Anderson, Winslow, and every other receiver on the Browns was worried about what Ray and that D would do.
• We might have an ‘aging secondary,’ but they showed their quick feet tonight. Reed and Rolle had nice little picks, not to mention McAlister’s. And the unit played well overall. No disrespect meant to the injured Landry, but this defense was something to see when Jim Leonhard got in the secondary…
• Leonhard also deserves some loving for his strong game as a returner. He was hurt by a few penalties on good returns, but he sure made believers out of a number of fans today with his returns. In the preseason he looked slow, especially compared to Yamon Figurs, but he seems to have figured something out since then.
• My only concern is Harbaugh’s use of Matt Stover. We simply can’t use him in the 45-50 range, unless absolutely necessary. This team has shown it’s ability to make some great 4th down conversions (a welcome surprise, really), but let’s not stretch Matt … as much as we love him.

Finally, we’ve got to take a minute and give some credit to this coaching staff again. Offensively, Cam Cameron had the Browns on their toes… even if it wasn’t always working. The unit is coming together. The running game is solid, the use of play-action is inspiring, and the misdirection is just plain pretty. Defensively, after a slow start Rex had these guys clicking on all cylinders again and executing a great game plan that neutralized a dangerous passing game. And overall, the team did what it will need to do each week… control the ball, control the clock, and give that defense the chance to make big plays.

Baltimore Ravens 28, Cleveland Browns 10.