Dennis Haley

**Ravenswarrior19** · 11-16-2006, 09:24 AM

Word in the Sun today (Thursday) is that Jarret Johnson will be starting at MLB is Ray is still out.

And, for the record, I thought Haley had a great day last week. He made some key 3rd down stops even in the 1st half, and he hit hard. It was the kind of performance that the coaches love and will probably keep him on the team for a while (example: Bart Scott, Ed Hartwell).

**RavensDomination** · 11-16-2006, 09:41 AM

If Haley played as great as a lot of people on here say he did then he would be starting at MLB.

**Filmstudy** · 11-16-2006, 08:55 PM

Originally Posted by Filmstudy

Regardless of the outcome, I don't think there is anything Dennis Haley could do this Sunday which would preclude him starting again at some future time.

Restated this means:

His play against the Falcons, even if bad, will not mean he can't start somewhere down the line.

**Ravens0587** · 11-16-2006, 09:01 PM

my bad, I def. misread that, I find myself apologizing to yet another poster on the same thread.

I QUIT

**ravensfan86** · 11-17-2006, 07:37 PM

According to Jamison Hensley, Jarrett Johnson will get the nod to start. I have nothing against Jarret in fact I like his country boy style approach to football. From all accounts Johnson works very hard, is smart and quick to pick up reads and so forth. I am just a little curious why the Ravens rotated Johnson in on down and distance last Sunday after Smith went down instead of Haley and now start this week?

I really think Rex Ryan is making a mistake putting Johnson in on first and second down (on the left side of the defense opposite Scott who will move to Ray's position). I like the idea of rotating Haley in, but I would do just the opposite. Haley has closing speed Johnson will never have. Johnson, in my opinion will struggle shadowing Vick and containing Dunn. I would rather have Haley assigned to Dunn for any runs to his side and contain the corner. I think Haley has the quickness and speed to contain Vick and Dunn in space. Johnson simply doesn't.

I think the Ravens will have trouble on defense this week. I think the difference last year when Ray was out was the combination of Tommy Polley and Bart Scott. Both have experiance in the NFL and Polley played much better then his reputation. I am concerned with Ray not having a suitable replacement. (I am not sold on Mike Smith either). There is a big drop off when Ray isn't in there.

Now if we were playing the Steelers or Browns, I would say the defense can rotate around and compensate for Johnson and limit his outside running abilities. I like him on inside runs up the gut. Johnson will hold his ground and make the ball carrier adjust and get tackled at or close to the line.

As far as Haley and his play last Sunday.... You guys are a tough crowd. I thought given the circumstances and Haley's status with the club, he played all world! In fact, it wouldn't surprise me to see him rotated in more as the season winds down even after Ray comes back. Especially if we grab an early lead and the game isn't hanging in the balance. I thought he did a really good job with virtually no prep time or playing time with the 1st team defense. Henry snapped off long runs, but some of that is on the d-line.

That is the first time I can recall in quite some time where Kelly Gregg was outplayed by Maweii (sp?). Ngata was also getting pushed around and I wonder if we will start seeing less and less of Ngata (hitting the rookie wall) and more of Justin Bannan. I really like Ngata and think if he works at his technique this off season and his stamina, he could become a real force on the dline. I really like Bannan and Gregg in there together. Although undersized, they have non stop motors and make plays due to sheer hustle and determination.

Anyone else a little worried about (what Rob Long -WNST, called the transformation)? Little ground game. Defense not so great and spread offense winning games with Steve McNair. Thats all fine and dandy now. But come playoff time, we better tighten up defensively and figure out how to run the ball better. While I agree there is no single answer to why Jamal is averaging 3.4 YPC this season. I think we can all agree that Jamal might be spent after the 2003 season. He is a shell of the runner he once was. And while that is ok and we can get it done in other ways, (passing) it is a problem facing teams like Denver and Indy. The best way to beat the Colts or the Bengals is to keep their offense off the field and tire out their defense. That is done best by controlling the clock with effecient work on the ground and in the air.

The Ravens all of the sudden have become a very effective offense and not so steller defense. Not being able to contain the run and giving up big plays in the air is going to hurt the Ravens in the playoffs. Having said that, Steve McNair seems to have convinced his team mates to not give up and no lead is insurmountable. He is truly been magnificent!