The Good And The Bad (Week 10)

**PurpleRulz** · 11-12-2006, 04:13 PM

The Good:

1. Steve McNair. He won this game for us. 373 yards passing? When was the last Ravens QB to throw for that many yards? Has any Ravens QB threw for that many yards?

2. The Receivers. Mason, Clayton, and Demetrius Williams! Wow. Look how far we have come at the WR position. Clayton is a star in the making. Mason is what he should be, and Demetrius is going to be a huge star in the NFL. The catches that Demetrius made today shows that he has serious talent. Imagine DW in about a year or two. Todd Heap also made some key catches.

3. Sam Koch. Some good punts especially in the second half. The Tits started field position deep in their territory for most of the second half, save for that INT by McNair.

4. The OL. Kuddos for this group giving McNair lots of time to throw the ball. Looks like pass protection is becoming this unit's specialty.

5. We are 7-2 and lead the division by 3 and half games. If we keep our heads, we will own the AFC North.

6. Dawan Landry. Led the defense in tackles. Does anyone miss Will Demps?

7. Matt Stover. What would we do without him?

8. Trevor Pryce. Great hands on that blocked kick.

The Bad:

1. The defense. Where did our intensity go? There were so many missed tackles left on that field. Additionally, we have got to get to the QB much faster if we are going to commit so many defenders while blitzing.

2. Billick. He has to set the precedent for keep his composure. His penalty was unacceptable and is probably what led to Ogden losing his cool. Also, someone must get CMAC under control and quick. It seems he can be counted on for a costly (and stupid) penalty. I guess Billick can't be counted to get CMAC under control.

3. JAMAL. As stated in another thread, "Jamal Must Go!" Enough of stutter step. He can't gain anything on the 31st ranked run defense? He just does not have IT anymore. Can we please get more of MA and Musa (now that we know that he'll be alright)? If Jamal wants to whine inspite of the fact that we are so far in first place in the division, pay Jamal and send him home. I think we could get more production from PJ Daniels and Cory Ross, than what Jamal puts out.

**psuasskicker** · 11-12-2006, 04:17 PM

1. The defense. Where did our intensity go? There were so many missed tackles left on that field. Additionally, we have got to get to the QB much faster if we are going to commit so many defenders while blitzing.

Okay I'm gonna say it. This game was a near exact clone of the Jags game in 2000. Now, the Jags were a better team, and we were at home. But the rest was almost exactly the same. Jumped all over us early in the game, ran up a bunch of points, then we stoned them in the second half and came back to pull out a very close win.

That game really propelled our season IMO. Our losing streak was after that, but it felt like we knew we could overcome great adversity after that game. But more importantly, the defense started to play lock-down after that game.

Hopefully this will have a similar impact.

- C -

**RavenDavey** · 11-12-2006, 04:24 PM

Originally Posted by PurpleRulz

1. The defense. Where did our intensity go? There were so many missed tackles left on that field. Additionally, we have got to get to the QB much faster if we are going to commit so many defenders while blitzing.

I'm gonna say it.....Ray Lewis is our defense against the run!!! what an underrated player!

**Sephy** · 11-12-2006, 04:39 PM

Originally Posted by RavenDavey

I'm gonna say it.....Ray Lewis is our defense against the run!!! what an underrated player!

Hehe, underrated.

**bassgtrst** · 11-12-2006, 04:40 PM

Steve McNair. He won this game for us. 373 yards passing? When was the last Ravens QB to throw for that many yards? Has any Ravens QB threw for that many yards?

Today's game is the second most passing yards a Ravens QB has put up.

The most was 429 by none other than Vinny Testaverde.

**Merlin** · 11-12-2006, 04:42 PM

Jamal is the weakest link on the team at this point , when Ray comes back

If we don't address this problem it will come back to bite us . .

**RavensNTerps** · 11-12-2006, 04:43 PM

not like the jacksonville game....more like the bears/cardinals game this year.

**StingerNLG** · 11-12-2006, 04:49 PM

Excellent post PR. Not much to add to what you said, especially when it comes to the receivers. D-Will is going to be the guy the FO and coaches THOUGHT Clarance Moore was going to be. He sat down in that zone in the 2nd half like he had been doing it in the NFL for years. He's going to be special in this league. Can you imagine just going 4 wide a lot with Mason, Clayton, Williams, and Heap? I can only think of MAYBE 3 other teams with better receiving tandems than us. One of them lost today.

I did want to disagree with one thing though:

4. The OL. Kuddos for this group giving McNair lots of time to throw the ball. Looks like pass protection is becoming this unit's specialty.

Sometimes they did, sometimes they didn't. I wouldn't yet say pass protection is becoming their specialty. McNair had to do a LOT of running around today, and thankfully Billick has decided to bring in the rollouts and waggles that this offense has been missing for years.

I will also contend that our special teams play had a big hand in winning this game. When it looked like the defense was going to blow it for us ala Cincy 2004, the ST unit comes up HUGE and blocks the game winning FG.

Other than that, dead on posting PR.

**donnaj** · 11-12-2006, 09:13 PM

One obvious BAD must be the play of McAllister! The stupid penalties and undiscplined play was part of what he concentrated on in the off season and was supposed to be more disciplined to putting an end to this season. WHat happened? The last few games CMAC has been good for at least 2 pass interference penalties a game, instead this time we get a personal foul and an off sides! The personal foul was extremely costly, because of it it made the opportunity to challenge the Vince Young "TD" null and void. As was pointed out earlier, if we had challenged it and won, we still would have had the personal foul so instead of it being 4th down and the Titans having to settle for a FG attempt they would have gotten the ball on the 3 with 1st and goal.
The second penalty again allowed the Titans to continue their drive when they should have been punting and they ended up taking that penalty on to score again.
Billick's penalty...well we didn't get to hear him on the sideline this time, but last week we very clearly heard him yell to the ref that it was "close enough for a f*#$ing measurement" I am sure CBS had a hefty fine for not bleeping that one out. Again I could read his lips (gee he must be a friend of George Bush - read my lips) today with much of the same colorful language. He needs to remember that he can't bully the refs by screaming obscenities in their ear on the sideline.
JO's penalty - I know that it was a lapse in discipline, but if you look at the play again. JO seemed to be defending Mike Anderson who was having his arm/elbow twisted and pulled on in the opposite direction it is supposed to go while he was sitting on the pile. I know some dirty things can happen in the pile, but it seemed to me that JO was trying to protect his teammate!

I think our secondary needs to take a hard look at how they are preparing for games. I have seen footage on Comcast and Ravens Wired about how they all meet at Ed Reed's house to eat and watch game film, well maybe they need to go somewhere without so many distractions and be a lot more disciplined in their preparation. Our corners are scaring me and quite hoestly so was Ed Reed's play across the middle today. Was Ed really not well enough to play? I am hoping that is all it was, because I am not accustomed to Ed just letting a player go after not being able to bring him down or even failing to pursue a tackle. He seemed to have no drive or filler instinct on the field today - what happened?

**GreenWave52** · 11-12-2006, 09:33 PM

The good is that we stole a win (and all the stuff PR mentioned).

The bad is our D without Ray Lewis. To think a majority of posters wanted to ship him off for a 2. We were crap and it was one of the few times since Billick has been coach where I wasn't sure if we could hold our lead- AFTER SCORING 27 POINTS!

I'm thrilled we won and games like this can help define a season. It was a real up and down game (well really down and then up) and our boys showed that if they don't quit they are never out of it.

Go Ravens!

**Heap86** · 11-12-2006, 09:39 PM

Its bizarre, without Ray our Run D is crap, but last season without Ray they didn't miss a beat, was Tommy Polley really that good?

**bobw2829** · 11-12-2006, 10:23 PM

Originally Posted by Heap86

Its bizarre, without Ray our Run D is crap, but last season without Ray they didn't miss a beat, was Tommy Polley really that good?

It's one game people. You all act like this has been going on for years. Damn, sounds like "what have you done for me lately" symdrome.

**RockyMRaven** · 11-12-2006, 10:52 PM

Originally Posted by Heap86

Its bizarre, without Ray our Run D is crap, but last season without Ray they didn't miss a beat, was Tommy Polley really that good?

The problem was that Mike Smith was injured IN THE FIRST SERIES. Smith has proved that he can hold his own at middle linebacker.

In comes Dennis Haley, who had been playing on the practice squad, since the season began, had been activated this morning and only expected to play on special teams, and had taken absolutely NO snaps with the defense. Would you expect the D to perform at the same level? At least initially? I don't think they would have missed a beat it Mike Smith had not been injured.

**Greg** · 11-12-2006, 10:59 PM

There was another McAlister penalty, offsides on a missed FG that turned into a first down and eventual TD for them.

**Sephy** · 11-13-2006, 12:50 AM

Trevor Pryce: Biggest offseason acquisition not named McNair. Bar none. Guy has been a BEAST all year. No upgrade over Weaver my ass.

**PurpleRulz** · 11-13-2006, 06:00 AM

The running situation really disturbs me, because we all on here know that is crucial in any hopes of being more than one and done in the playoffs. Our receivers stepping up huge is great, but what happened to the Bengals and the Colts in the last offseason shows that it is more of how well you run that determines how far you go and not so much how you won in the regular season.

Typed all of that to say this. What do we do with this Jamal issue. He clearly showed that he is no longer a featured back. We know it, experts know it, however Jamal is in serious denial about it. Here is our dilemma:

1. We sit Jamal or decrease the number of carries he gets, and get more carries to MA and Musa, and then Jamal starts his whine and bitch sesssions and brings down the entire club and seriously risk our postseason/ SB chances.

2. We continue to play Jamal (because forbid we offend Jamal) and seriously risk our chances postseason/ SB chances.

What to do?

**belzner** · 11-13-2006, 06:53 AM

J.Lewis has got to go!!!!!
Give us M&M, Mike and Musa.
Without a stronger running game we will not go beyond
the first round of the playoffs.

**Gabrosin** · 11-13-2006, 09:29 AM

The biggest gain from having Steve McNair at quarterback is definitely the way he stands in the pocket. I don't think I've seen him panic yet, even when it looks like the entire pocket has collapsed around him. That's something you only get from a decade of experience in the NFL; I can remember an earlier McNair who would try to break free and run for daylight. He still does that when necessary, but he really makes the most of every ounce of pass protection.

I still don't know whether Jamal is the total problem for our running game, but I do know that what we're getting from him now isn't worth what we'd have to pay to keep him around after this year. I'd like to see Musa Smith start getting the lion's share of the playing time, but of course, we don't know whether his injury is going to keep him out for a while. Still, he has looked pretty good so far; I'm especially impressed with his blocking.

It looks like some people around here have finally gotten their wish; the Ravens are becoming a team that has to pass to set up the running game, rather than the other way around.

**Gabrosin** · 11-13-2006, 09:32 AM

Originally Posted by RockyMRaven

The problem was that Mike Smith was injured IN THE FIRST SERIES. Smith has proved that he can hold his own at middle linebacker.

In comes Dennis Haley, who had been playing on the practice squad, since the season began, had been activated this morning and only expected to play on special teams, and had taken absolutely NO snaps with the defense. Would you expect the D to perform at the same level? At least initially? I don't think they would have missed a beat it Mike Smith had not been injured.

I was hoping they would move Bart Scott to MLB and bring in Cody for his spot, or move Suggs back and start someone else at DE. I was not impressed with Haley, but he did about as well as you can hope; you can't expect a PS player to be Ray Lewis, even for sixty minutes. Our defense really adjusted at halftime, and the biggest change was up front, where Gregg and Ngata turned things around on Kevin Mawae. Without the center of our line collapsing, we were able to make stops in the running game. Looks like Ray knew exactly what he was talking about this offseason.

**52decleetzu** · 11-13-2006, 10:23 AM

Originally Posted by RockyMRaven

The problem was that Mike Smith was injured IN THE FIRST SERIES. Smith has proved that he can hold his own at middle linebacker.

In comes Dennis Haley, who had been playing on the practice squad, since the season began, had been activated this morning and only expected to play on special teams, and had taken absolutely NO snaps with the defense. Would you expect the D to perform at the same level? At least initially? I don't think they would have missed a beat it Mike Smith had not been injured.

Exactly.I heard Rex Ryan this morning on 1570 and he said they basically had to create a scheme for Haley on the sidelines while the game was going on!They actually had some packages where Sapp was playing MLB,along with Scott some and Haley.

Just think about if McNair was hurt,Boller starts and then he gets hurt on the second play and we need to go to our emergency QB,thats essentially what happened on defense.

Our great announcing team didnt even realize that Smith was out until 3/4 of the way throught he first quarter,Im watching saying to myself 'Where the hell is Mike Smith?" not knowing that he got hurt on the second play.