Cornerback was the weakest position in preseason.  Domonique Foxworth was still recovering from the ACL tear which shelved him for 2010.  Cary Williams was the team’s best corner, but did not use his physicality as much as might be hoped.  Lardarius Webb was criticized by message board pundits for his lack of technique.  Chris Carr was also struggling with injuries. Meanwhile at safety, injury questions continued to surround Ed Reed and the newly acquired Bernard Pollard could not win the starting strong safety spot from Tom Zbikowski. From there, the … Continue reading →

In the year of the quarterback, the Ravens not only led the NFL in opposing passer rating (68.8), they also led the AFC in sacks with the 2nd highest total (48) in franchise history.  As usual, the Ravens also stopped the run effectively despite injury issues at inside linebacker (ILB). The Ravens have no defensive level with more potential for change than linebacker.  Jarrett Johnson, Brendan Ayanbadejo, and Jameel McClain are free agents, and may not be back.  Dannell Ellerbe will fight to win a job.  And, of course, the … Continue reading →

The Ravens had more than a little success defensively in 2011.    What went right above all else for the 2011 Ravens’ defense was an absence of serious injuries on the defensive line. The Ravens only had 7 players suit up the entire season and none of them played less than 17% of the total snaps.  Brandon McKinney was deactivated 5 times (including the AFCC) and Arthur Jones missed 2 games late in the season, but the Ravens otherwise dressed the same 7 men for every game. The Ravens regained … Continue reading →

Prior to Sunday the Ravens had a 57-1 record with a +2 or greater turnover margin, since 2000.  That record with a turnover advantage is cited weekly in the Ravens press release.  It is to 2011 football statistics what the Yankees’ record entering the 8th inning with the lead was 30 years ago to baseball statistics.  It’s deceptively good, because there is not a meaningful context for the typical fan.  Bill James wrote that the Yankees 51-3 record in 1981 when leading entering the 8th inning wasn’t particularly exceptional (only … Continue reading →

I would have liked to avoid the topic of the week, but it’s difficult not to talk about Flacco with a game of these extremes. First, let’s look at the pressure brought by the Texans.  They rushed between 4 and 7 every pass play.  To summarize by number of pass rushers: 4:  12 plays for 15 yards, 1.3 YPP, 4 sacks 5:  5/22, 4.4 YPP, 1 sack 6:  8/21, 2.6 YPP 7:  7/82, 11.7 YPP These numbers tell a story without much further subjective analysis, but I want to speak … Continue reading →

Chuck Pagano came up with another game plan well suited to the opponent.  The Ravens were able to limit the damage from the Houston running game and with minimal pressure on Yates, forced him to throw 37 times directly into the strength of the Ravens defense. If you were genetically designing a new super soldier, you’d want to start with some of TJ’s DNA for his fearlessness. Most veteran quarterbacks playing the Ravens seem to look for Ed Reed and throw away from him.  Yates has a clearly-demonstrated affinity with … Continue reading →

Ask 100 folks to come up with 3 adjectives to describe the Ravens’ defense and you’ll get a lot of overlap.  I’m guessing the most common words might be aggressive, physical, and opportunistic.  It’s that last word I want to examine for a moment. The Ravens had 13 passes defensed versus the Bengals on Sunday.  For the season, they lead the league in passes defensed with 112.  That’s 8 more than 2nd place San Francisco.  Unlike past seasons, however, they aren’t converting those hands on the football to interceptions as … Continue reading →

The Ravens get all the calls.  Just ask any Steelers fan. Torrey Smith has drawn the 3 longest pass interference calls in the league this season (50 yards at Jax, 50 yards vs. SF, 60 yards vs. Cle).  No one else has drawn such a foul in excess of 45 yards.  The 60-yard PI Sunday is the longest I can ever recall.  Flacco threw the ball approximately 65 yards and Smith had separation from both Haden (via a double move) and Adams (via speed).  Adams was closer and tried to … Continue reading →

Talk about history repeating itself. In last year’s week 16 game (12/26/10), the Ravens and Browns played a very similar game.  In Cleveland that day, the Ravens benefitted from a number of Browns’ miscues to win 20-10.  Here’s a link On Sunday, the Ravens faced a Browns team that: ·         Exercised awful clock management at the end of the 2nd quarter ·         Used all 6 timeouts used on offense ·         Lollygagged their way through a drive beginning with 6:50 to go in the game which assured that it would be … Continue reading →

Sometimes it’s not about your players. As a fan, it’s natural to want to pinpoint an explanation for a game like Sunday’s.  It’s easiest to develop a theory related to either outside circumstances or the players/coaches we know well.  Ideally we’d ascribe it to some temporary or correctable problem.  There was lousy play calling, Webb’s injury, blind officials, and the Chargers fell on every loose ball.  You’ve heard the excuses. In this case, I think their athletes simply outplayed ours.  Most significantly, Rivers had an amazing night of touch passing … Continue reading →

The Ravens returned to a style that has served them well versus overmatched opponents in the Harbaugh era, small ball. Some examples: •             The Ravens took just 1 deep shot the entire game, a 35-yard pass intended for Smith (Q2, 1:12) where Lacey appeared to get away with pass interference. •             The Ravens have played very conservatively on 2nd and short (1 or 2 yards to go) of late.  In the last 3 games they have had 9 such plays with 8 runs (Leach 4/4 first downs, Williams 2/2, Rice … Continue reading →

For a defensive laugher, the Ravens forgot a lot of punch lines. The Ravens dominated by most measures, yet went 0 for 3 recovering the fumbles they forced and left some interceptions on the field.  While it was good to see some of the young players get a chance on the final drive, it was disappointing to see the Ravens render their own pass rush impotent by playing so soft on the corners.  That led to the only touchdown allowed. I’ve got more detail on Suggs below, but just where … Continue reading →

The Ravens returned to a style that has served them well versus overmatched opponents in the Harbaugh era, small ball. Some examples: ·         The Ravens took just 1 deep shot the entire game, a 35-yard pass intended for Smith (Q2, 1:12) where Lacey appeared to get away with pass interference. ·         The Ravens have played very conservatively on 2nd and short (1 or 2 yards to go) of late.  In the last 3 games they have had 9 such plays with 8 runs (Leach 4/4 first downs, Williams 2/2, Rice … Continue reading →

Much is made of the mini-bye week teams enjoy after a Thursday night game.  The Ravens had extra time to prepare, delivered an offensive performance which was varied, and directly attacked the Brown biggest weakness. What’s so creative about running the ball a franchise-record 55 times?  I can’t imagine a team running the ball more different ways than the Ravens did Sunday.  Let’s review: •             The Ravens successfully used both zone and straight ahead blocking •             They used a 6-man formation (6 plays) •             They ran the 6-man formation unbalanced … Continue reading →

Fans of any team tend to be highly reactive to bad losses, particularly to rivals. With the Browns facing 4 games with the Ravens and Steelers in a 5-week period, I’m expecting lots of drama.  The Browns have a dedicated and knowledgeable fan base.  They’ve clearly had enough of losing and can be very amusing when discussing it.  Current topics include: •             What songs best convey the organizational commitment to losing? •             The Browns had only 9 men on the field for a punt Sunday (Q4, 12:14) •             Half of … Continue reading →

Each week the Ravens put out a Ravens Game Release that looks a little like the media guide with some similar information.  I would guess the target audience is primarily the other team’s media, because the information doesn’t change too much from week to week. If you like the media guide and the little information boxes, you’ll love this stuff.  The Ravens have the 4th best record against the NFC since 2008 (10-5).  The Ravens have allowed the fewest 1st-possession points in the NFL this season (0, Arizona/Houston had allowed 7 … Continue reading →

The Ravens were once again forced to play without Ray Lewis.  Unfortunately, Dannell Ellerbe was also inactive with a groin injury. Jameel McClain, as expected, took Ray’s spot and played every snap for the second straight week.  Albert McClellan stepped in at the other inside linebacker spot and contributed 29 quality snaps. McClellan had previously been the Ravens 8th heavy in the 443 at OLB, but he had 2 snaps at ILB after Ellerbe’s departure from the Bengals’ game.  Ayanbadejo played the nickel snaps and the Ravens were particularly effective … Continue reading →

The Bengals have thoroughly frustrated Joe Flacco over the past 2 seasons, primarily with the 4-man pass rush.  On Sunday, Zimmer stayed with the 4-man rush for 17 of 28 passing plays.  He also sent 3 men twice, 5 men 6 times, 6 twice, and 7 once.  Nothing worked consistently as Flacco threw for 9.6 yards per drop back. Last year, Flacco had ample time and space (ATS) on just 23 of 63 attempts (37%) versus the Bengals.  To compound matters, he threw for 7.8 YPP with ATS, 1.8 without, … Continue reading →

Like any football fan, I have expectations about how the game ought to be played. It surprised me a little that Pagano did not convert to the dime or quarter for the game’s final 2 plays (beginning Q4, 0:40).  With 17 yards to go, it seemed the extra DB (or two) would have been an asset in coverage, there was no legitimate threat of a run (other than Dalton), and the intentional grounding call allowed time for substitution.  At that point, it was a choice between having Ayanbadejo and Johnson … Continue reading →

Just how bad was the special-teams effort Sunday? ·         Reed’s kick-off-return fumbles gave Seattle fields of 18 and 19 yards to navigate ·         Reed was called for unsportsmanlike conduct (Q2, 5:39) following a kick return to the 20.  The Ravens would start at the 10, run 3 plays for 4 yards, then Koch’s 28-yard punt would give Seattle the ball at the Ravens 42. ·         Cundiff’s first missed field goal gave the Seahawks the ball at the 40 from where they scored their only TD ·         Cundiff missed a 2nd … Continue reading →