Not since 1998 have the Ravens played a meaningless home game. And while today’s game was hardly meaningless, the Ravens needed help from what would eventually be too many other teams to keep their season alive.
Yet despite the game being meaningful, the mood prior to the game was somber and the reported attendance of 69,843 was probably about 10,000 shy of that figure. Eventually the fans came around, particularly when word filtered throughout the crowd that the Steelers were beating the Bills — the first of three wishes
unanimously agreed upon by the Ravens’ faithful. The other teams that needed to fall, the Broncos and Jaguars did not. Instead, it was the Ravens’ playoff aspirations that fell — the two other wishes were unfulfilled.
The off season will be a breeding ground for speculation about the Baltimore Ravens. Who will stay, who will go, who will be the offensive coordinator, what will be the Ravens base defensive set? These and other questions will be kicked around often. Why? First, because we bleed purple and secondly, what else are we going to discuss, the Orioles off season improvements? The Orioles likely third or fourth place finish in the A.L. East? I don’t think so.
We’ll have plenty of time to set the stage for the 2005-06 season. But until then, let’s recap the Ravens v. Dolphins…..
QUARTERBACK 
Boller threw accurately and should have connected on a couple of other plays to Clarence Moore — one for another scoring strike. But it didn’t happen. Boller continues to show progress although he had several balls batted at the line of scrimmage. Most of those coming on three step drops when he locked in on his receiver. That could be the result of receivers not getting to their breaks in a timely fashion. Boller’s field presence continues to improve. He recovered a very questionable Jamal Lewis fumble in the end zone that could have resulted in a Dolphins touchdown. When Darnell Dinkins began to lock up in an altercation that could have resulted in a silly penalty, Boller assumed the role of mediator and ended it before any damage. He also had a heady and impromptu QB sneak that resulted in an easy 11 yard gain to set up a first and goal at the Miami 9.
RUNNING BACK 
Jamal Lewis looked sharp and nimble and showed top form despite a sore ankle. He exhibited patience following his blocks and took advantage of the Dolphins as they tried to flood the zone blocking. He will be credited with two fumbles — the first the result of a bad exchange between he and Kyle Boller; the second clearly should have been blown dead. Alan Ricard led the way for Jamal on several runs; Chester Taylor and Jamel White were ineffective subbing for Jamal.
RECEIVERS 
Daniel Wilcox was very effective finding the soft spots in the Dolphins Cover 2. Darnell Dinkins chipped in when called upon. Randy Hymes continues to show that he deserves to be part of the team’s future. Clarence Moore continues to see the field often yet he continues to fail to finish plays. A perfectly thrown jump ball in the end zone should have been caught as should the post pattern in the fourth quarter on a 2nd and 7 at the Miami 45. The shuffle pass to Terry Jones for the Ravens first touchdown was perfectly executed and sold by the entire offensive unit.
OFFENSIVE LINE
The Dolphins refusal to venture far from their base 4-3 played right into the hands of the Ravens as their offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage. The unit is still challenged to pick up a strong pass rush in obvious passing situations. Jonathan Ogden was beaten early by Jason Taylor although he did seem to be
turning the tide as the game wore on, prior to Taylor’s departure. The unit appeared motivated and ready to play. Brian Rimpf saw his first bit of action and after a slow start (holding penalty) he settled in and threw a big block to pave the way for Jamal’s waltz into the end zone after the Ed Reed interception.
DEFENSIVE LINE
The group was active and pressured Rosenfels throughout the contest. Jarret Johnson made a play that linemen dream of when he tipped a Rosenfels pass and then caught the tipped ball and carried it in for the score. Tony Weaver was disruptive and showed athleticism on his interception. He was also a beast down the stretch in obvious passing downs, rushing the interior of the line. The group did miss tackles at times in the interior of the line.
LINEBACKERS
And when the interior of the line missed, T.J. Slaughter provided little help, coming up with nothing but air on a couple of tackling attempts. Slaughter was effective at the goal line, hurling his body like a kamikaze towards the ball carrier on first and second down from the Ravens’ 1 yard line. Ed Hartwell seemed a bit less sure of himself without his normal side kick. Terrell Suggs provided pressure throughout and had a tackle for a two yard loss plus a sack. A.D. had two sacks, a few additional pressures and was very disruptive, forcing a fumble.
SECONDARY
Gary Baxter struggled. He was torched on the first play from scrimmage for a 76 yard Rosenfels to Chambers scoring strike. Baxter bit on a weak Rosenfels’ pump fake. He was nearly torched again on the very next Dolphins’ offensive play but an under thrown ball by Rosenfels prevented a 64 yard strike to Brian Gilmore. Baxter also missed a couple of tackles. McAlister was unable to stay with his man a few times and seems to need bracketing assistance on deep routes against solid receivers. The one time he had a beat on the ball and covered the sideline streak, he dropped his chance at a pick. Ed Reed played ball hawk again. Besides his record breaking interception, Reed also made a key third down tackle for a 2 yard loss in the first quarter. Corey Fuller was beaten badly on one play and had he not hung on to Randy McMichael’s jersey, it could have produced a big play down the middle.
SPECIAL TEAMS
1/2The offensive play calling was solid and the Ravens seemed to take what the Dolphins gave. The shuffle pass was a great call as was the naked bootleg with 1:47 to go in the game to produce a Ravens first down. The Ravens took shots down the field despite the Dolphins deep Cover zones and twice they nearly produced scores — once on a post corner to Hymes (pass interference put the ball at the Miami 1) and the play action post to Clarence Moore that the rookie dropped.
FINAL THOUGHTS
> Don’t know if you noticed the PA announcer’s enunciation of Jamal Lewis’ first name. No longer is it Jamal — it’s JA-mal. Way to go BA-ruce.
>> Hey, what was up with the lack of out of town scores — particularly the Pittsburgh game? If the Ravens can’t focus on winning because of an out of town scoreboard, then the team’s troubles are deeper than I thought. So they keep the score from the team and the fans for most of the game. Then with the Ravens clinging to a 7 point lead with 3:29 to go, first and 10 from their own 1, said PA announcer informs the crowd just prior to the snap that the Steelers were leading in their game against the Bills. That was PA-oor timing.
>>> Yesterday was fan appreciation day, right? Did the Ravens just appreciate us coming? Can I use my ticket stub for a Happy Meal? Maybe a Ballpark Frank?
>>>>>> And speaking of resting players, Philadelphia has gone through the motions for two weeks now. This week they have a bye. That will mean that nearly a month will have elapsed before they play meaningful football. Can they turn it on? Shouldn’t they have used some of the time to have McNabb develop a little rhythm with some of the non-Terrell receivers? If Philly gets knocked out early, Andy Reid better hide under the same rock as Osama bin Laden.
