Heroes and Goats...Week 5

**RAVENOUS52** · 10-06-2008, 11:45 AM

*The opinions expressed in my weekly thread are mine alone, but are probably endorsed by the majority of level-headed, even-keeled Ravens fans...

HEROES:

1) Le'Ron McClain- A premium blend of shifty elusiveness and smashmouth ground & pound, he is quickly becoming my favorite Ravens back. Another week, another touchdown...

2) Ray Lewis- You are timeless and playing some of the best football I have ever seen you play...A healthy #52 is more than worth his weight in gold, even in these harsh economic times...

3) Todd Heap- Welcome back, HEEEEEAAAAPP! Hopefully yesterday's performance is a harbinger of you returning to Pro Bowl form on a more consistent basis.

4) Derrick Mason- A first down machine who I've come to admire for his sheer will to get to the ball and gain yardage afterwards. Are you sure you're 34-years-old?

5) Terrell Suggs- Nevermind the senseless roughing call of an effeminate referee, you simply harass the QB non-stop all game and cause him to make mistakes...Now if only said effiminate referee would learn to recognize and call "holding" on the O-linemen, you'd truly be unstoppable.

GOATS:

1) NFL Officiating- Dude, I don't know who you are or where you live, but when every sports highlight program unanimously agrees that your roughing call was a load of fertilizer, you may want to consider a) Stronger glasses or b) Another vocation. Overall, I'd rate the officiating of yesterdays game a D-minus

2) Matt Stover- Brother, I love you to death and for a long time you have been the primary source of offense for this team, but I'm getting pretty worried that your accuracy isn't what it once was. Notice that we've lost the past two games by a FG each time and I think you understand where I'm coming from.

3) Yamon Figurs- Since returning from your injury, you've been an indecisive basketcase. With a limited offense, we NEED you to perform up to your potential!

4) Coach Harbaugh- Another week, another overabundance of silly penalties and personal fouls. Don't even get me started on wasting timeouts in consecutive games because we can't get plays run on time...Up your game, coach...I know you have it in you...

5) Joe Flacco- Listen man, I understand better than anyone that you're a rookie, but the offense has been Dilfer-ized especially for you, so that you DON'T throw the game away with that strong arm of yours. Work on your decision making and stop randomly reverting to a Division I-AA QB, especially when coverage on our receivers is good. I'll tell you this: I'd much rather see Bazooka Joe or even The Average Joe out there than "Sloppy" Joe...

**Sgt CouchPotato** · 10-06-2008, 12:13 PM

ugh mark clayton, i feel like an ass because i rag on him all the time, but the guy is soft as tissue paper....shows no desire to compete, or fight for balls/extra yardage.....not to mention i question his sexual orientation....cut this bum/bust and find a beer truck driver who wants to play football...

**ravensnhokies** · 10-06-2008, 12:15 PM

I nominate McGahee as a goat. 1st down at the 36, and he goes for no gain, and then -1 during one of the most critical points of the game. He has gotta duck his head, bull forward and get more yards to make it a managable 3rd down.

**RAVENOUS52** · 10-06-2008, 12:33 PM

Originally Posted by ravensnhokies

I nominate McGahee as a goat. 1st down at the 36, and he goes for no gain, and then -1 during one of the most critical points of the game. He has gotta duck his head, bull forward and get more yards to make it a managable 3rd down.

That's a pretty flimsy argument for goat status, IMHO...But I guess...

**BArellano** · 10-06-2008, 12:46 PM

Originally Posted by Sgt CouchPotato

ugh mark clayton

That's really all you can say about him at this point. Paging Roy Williams...

**ravenjoe** · 10-06-2008, 12:49 PM

HEROES:
1 - MASON - my favorite raven;
2 - RAY - the best MLB that I've ever seen, maybe even the best NFL player that I've ever watched play, second only to Jim Brown;
3 - McClain - I love his 'smash mouth' style of play;
4 - O / D lines - you guys are difference makers.

GOATS:
1 - Collective Team - two weeks in a row, now, you've let two sure wins get away from you.

**ravensnhokies** · 10-06-2008, 12:55 PM

Ravenjoe.... I don't think the Ravens D line can be designated Heroes. Their lack of pass rush on the last drive was a big reason why Collins had the time to go through his progressions and then dump it off to Schaife multiple times. That is somewhat 'Goatlike' status to me.

**ravenjoe** · 10-06-2008, 12:58 PM

I really meant to say the Interior O and D lines....

**Rayvens52** · 10-06-2008, 01:02 PM

Originally Posted by BArellano

That's really all you can say about him at this point. Paging Roy Williams...

I couldn't agree more, we need to do what ever it takes to get him in Bmore before the trade deadline next week!!!!!

**Rayvens52** · 10-06-2008, 01:03 PM

Also I would love to add Adam Terry to the list of Goats he is a Bum and gets manhandled every play

**ravensnhokies** · 10-06-2008, 01:13 PM

Originally Posted by Rayvens52

Also I would love to add Adam Terry to the list of Goats he is a Bum and gets manhandled every play

Well Anderson is in there now, and hopefully plays good enough to keep the job.

**Rxdoxx** · 10-06-2008, 01:22 PM

I will say Figurs looked a lot better than last game.
He went NorthSouth a lot more and I don't recall seeing any backwards arcs, so at least there wasn't a hidden 60 yds that we didn't get this game. I'll take away 1/2 the goat I threw at him last week.

Also not sure how much I blame the defensive pressure. Part of me is thinking that missing players/injuries caused us to tire late. Couldn't tell if Barnes got in. I think I saw Gooden a play or two. And when Washington went out holding his arm, I knew things were going to come Walker's way (nice holding interception) a lot. I'd vote him at least 1/2 a goat.

**Jeremiah W** · 10-06-2008, 02:45 PM

Ray is the tone setter. The whole defense is awsome. They are not the problem, een though they did give up another untimley, uncharachteristic drive, they allowed a total of 2 TDs in 4 games, so I give them a complete pass.

The O line was awsome again. No sacks, no pressure, great push in the run game, and drive finishing TD the old fashioned way. I love everything about the O line play so far. The coaching job here is incredible, and they look like a premier unit in the NFL aready.

Heap and Mason are solid. Wilcox does his thing. Clayton is open, and has good hands, but he has got to fight for the first downs and block like he means it if he does not get the ball. I like th eskill guys as a group, but want to see some vertical game and better YAC from Clayton.

McClain is very fun to watch. I love that guy. he is a lot more shifty that you want to see from a guy who can run you over without a head of steam. Great hands, good blocking and incredible yards after contact.

Willis is still the guy, but he needs to be worked in sparingly until he shows he is near 100%. I do not see the same kind of big play potential I was getting from Ray Rice in preseason. I am not sure what is going in practice, but I want a little more Rice and a little less Willis. We are going to need Willis later on, so if he is hurting he needs to sit down.

As far as goat of the game it is only one guy. There were a lot of mistakes made through the game, and one play here or there would have made all the difference, but of all the mistakes, Flacco's stood out the most. If he just throws the ball out of bounds the 3rd time, we most likley win the game. If he just ran for 5 yards both times, we win. The mistakes were the same mistakes, over and over, and over again. The rest of the game he was pretty good, even though it loked like he was afraid to go deep.
I think we have to play through his mistakes for a few more games, but this team has too much talent to play for the future.

Stover gets a pass, but has to get better.

**Fanman** · 10-06-2008, 02:58 PM

I agree McGahee has to be added to the Goat list. This cat is simply not pulling his weight so far. I thought his rep from Buffalo was a case of sour grapes by the fans, but I am starting to see why they don't miss him.

FM

**StingerNLG** · 10-06-2008, 03:21 PM

How does Suggs get to be on the Heroes list? Despite the penalty, take that away for a second; what else did he do? There was no pass rush on Collins, especially on that last drive the defense caughed up the lead with.

If you want to put someone on the Heroes list, how about Ngata and Bannon? At least they contributed to one of the turnovers for the Ravens Sunday.

**RAVENOUS52** · 10-07-2008, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by StingerNLG

How does Suggs get to be on the Heroes list? Despite the penalty, take that away for a second; what else did he do? There was no pass rush on Collins, especially on that last drive the defense caughed up the lead with.

If you want to put someone on the Heroes list, how about Ngata and Bannon? At least they contributed to one of the turnovers for the Ravens Sunday.

I saw Suggs' pressure, although not in the form of sacks. Collins was able to move around in the pocket But T-Sizzle forced more than a couple bad passes by Collins, the last being a would-be harmless pass forcing a would-be punt if it weren't for the errant whistle of a certified douchebag of an NFL official.

He was right in the mix of things, believe me...His run support this game was exemplary...

**HoustonRaven** · 10-07-2008, 09:53 AM

Agree with Stinger.

Take away the penalty and Suggs name is never mentioned.

**UKRavenStockers** · 10-07-2008, 10:04 AM

Suggs as ever was bringing pressure all day long. I'm with Rav on this, he may not get to the QB for a sack as much as some folks would like but there's more to pressure than big sack numbers. Suggs brings it on every down, Sunday was another day at the office for him.

Both teams are paid to play and adjust on the fly, the Titans did a good job of adjusting their passing plays and protection schemes to buy Collins time and move the pocket to avoid the pressure on the final drive, the credit goes to them rather than it being an indictment of our defence IMO.

**HoustonRaven** · 10-07-2008, 10:11 AM

If "bringing it" means his least productive performance to date this season, then we are in agreement.

3 tackles (2 solo and one assist) and no sacks and no QB knockdowns. 7 other players on the Ravens D had more tackles then Suggs on Sunday.

**RAVENOUS52** · 10-07-2008, 10:28 AM

Originally Posted by HoustonRaven

If "bringing it" means his least productive performance to date this season, then we are in agreement.

3 tackles (2 solo and one assist) and no sacks and no QB knockdowns. 7 other players on the Ravens D had more tackles then Suggs on Sunday.

You have to know that a boxscore doesn't begin to tell the true story of a player's impact, right?

Least productive? Numbers-wise, maybe. But numbers don't tell the whole story. Numbers are what you look up on NFL dot COM and make assumptions about because you didn't actually see a player perform in that game.

I isolated T-Sizzle for at least 60-70% of the game and he was definitely on his game...Notice the double-team he was receiving when that atrocious roughing call was made. Teams don't normally tend to double-team guys who aren't productive.

Sheesh...