Quarterback 
One of the most noticeable differences between Anthony Wright and Kyle Boller is composure in the pocket. Wright doesn’t try to escape the pocket when pressure envelopes him. He could step up a bit more but his calm demeanor allows the play to develop downfield. Boller more often than not will bail out of the pocket or back up and throw off his back foot.
Unfortunately a similarity is that Wright like Boller, locks in on his primary receiver. On the first play of the second half on a designed roll out, Wright tried to force a pass into Mark Clayton when Derrick Mason was open deep down the seam along the right hash mark. On the flea flicker, Clarence Moore was doubled almost from the start of the play yet Wright forced it in despite the favorable game situation, first and 10 at the Jets 39. To make matters worse, Wright had Derrick Mason again wide open underneath on a crossing route that would have gone for a big gain. Wright had time to throw and he never even looked at Mason who was clearly in the same view of Wright’s passing lane. Mason was visibly upset.
On the plus side, Wright threw the ball with confidence and hit his receivers in stride. He executed the game plan and contributed a solid performance.
Running Back
Jamal Lewis’ game still looks like a work in progress although he did seem to have better vision against the Jets than he did against the Titans two weeks ago. On the second play from scrimmage, the Ravens offensive line had the back side sealed off to the left and as Lewis properly read the zone blocking and tried to cut back, he slipped resulting in no gain. The exchange between him and Anthony Wright is also sloppy. His fumble could have cost the Ravens the game had it not been for extreme hustle from Todd Heap to prevent a touchdown during the return of Lewis’ fumble.
While the Jets defense often jammed 8 men in the box when Lewis was in the game, they seemed more unsure of themselves with Chester Taylor in the backfield. Taylor creates something out of nothing and gives the Ravens a more unpredictable look when he’s in the game. He also appears to be more decisive than Lewis. Alan Ricard contributed some key blocks and chipped in with a big first down reception while the Ravens were deep in their own territory in the fourth quarter.
Receivers
Derrick Mason’s determination and spirit inspires. His productivity in a vertically challenged offense is also commendable. Mason could have easily had another two catches and 50 yards receiving if he and Wright were on the same page. Repetitions should help to develop this burgeoning tandem. Let’s hope the same happens for Wright and Clayton. On first and 10 at the 7:30 mark of the first quarter, Wright dropped back and had plenty of time to throw. He locked in on Clayton and apparently wanted the rookie to turn upfield. Instead Clayton hovered around the left sideline 12 yards downfield much to the chagrin of the noticeably dismayed Anthony Wright and Brian Billick.
Todd Heap made plays when called upon but was often held in for additional pass protection, more times than not on the right side to aid Tony Pashos and Orlando Brown. He did struggle with some of his blocking assignments, badly missing no less than twice.
Offensive Line
Without question the Ravens’ worst unit up to yesterday’s game against the Jets has been the offensive line. This Sunday, the Ravens offensive front stopped the bleeding. Some might argue that they didn’t create enough space for Jamal Lewis and Chester Taylor. But then again, one has to consider the Ravens game plan to remain conservative, eliminate mistakes and control the football. When that is your game plan and you face 8 men in the box, it will never be pretty. But to win the game and to control the clock as they did, this unit deserves props. There is still plenty of room for improvement considering that they kept one of their best offensive weapons (Heap) in to provide additional support in pass protection, but no one can deny the improvement against a very tough front 7 of the Jets.
Jonathan Ogden hasn’t quite returned to form but he did have a very good game against one of the league’s toughest ends, John Abraham. On a first and 10 from the Ravens 24 early in the second quarter, Ogden pulled outside left to lead Chester Taylor on a 9 yard gain completely burying CB David Barrett. Perhaps most importantly overall, the Ravens offensive line kept Anthony Wright clean all day. The collective effort of this group against the Jets is clearly something to build upon.
Defensive Line 
1/2
The defensive front controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the game, helping to limit an outstanding back in Curtis Martin to 13 carries and 30 yards (and Jets’ RB’s to 28 yards on 15 carries in total). The goal line stand may have changed the game completely and validated Todd Heap’s hustle to prevent the TD on the fumble recovery return. When there appeared to be some confusion in coverage on a play during which the Jets flanked Curtis Martin to the far left, Kelly Gregg peeled off the line to provide coverage on Doug Jolley limiting him to a 3 yard reception. Heads up play.
Terrell Suggs had an outstanding game, providing constant pressure on Bollinger. Besides the assist on a sack, Suggs had 4 other tackles which on average resulted in – 0.5 yards and 8 tackles overall. He also made a play that is sure to land on ESPN’s “Jacked Up” segment tonight when he crushed Curtin Martin on a short dump off pass over the middle. Peter Boulware in limited snaps was also very effective off the edge. Jarrett Johnson, while he doesn’t get the stats his effort and desire has to be accounted for and that in and of itself benefits his teammates. Maake Kemoeatu held his own against Pro Bowl center Kevin Mawae. Anthony Weaver prior to his injury, made some key tackles at or near the line of scrimmage.
Linebackers
Although Ray Lewis didn’t record a single first half tackle, his presence was felt and his recognition skills clearly aided a stingy Ravens’ defense. The blitz package that features Ray shooting the gap to the defensive left of the center with Deion Sanders on his heels from the nickel position is something opponents will have to game plan for in the future. Ray contributed a very athletic pressure on Bollinger during such a blitz in the first half despite the cutdown block from Curtis Martin at Ray’s knees. The first play of the second half looked like something from a 2000 highlight reel of Ray Lewis as he chased down Curtis Martin on a power sweep for no gain. Lewis finished with 9 tackles. Tommy Polley was more noticeable today than in the past although Adalius Thomas was a bit quieter. AD did manage a sack (although clearly a coverage sack) and he deflected a pass intended for Laveraunes Coles that could have given the Jets a key first down.
Secondary
Ed Reed was hardly a factor in this game and fortunately he didn’t need to be. He had his bell rung on one play and looked much like a boxer who couldn’t manage a standing eight count. He stumbled and tripped and was helped to the sideline where he later regained his composure. Reed was beaten by McCareins when he had deep responsibility in the Cover 2 Zone. It looked like Reed wanted to take a shorter path to the ball and misjudged it. Other than this play, the defensive secondary made very few mistakes although for some reason, the in route run no less than 3 times by Justin McCareins was open often. Twice it led to gains from McCareins and another time, McCareins dropped a pass that would have led to a sizeable gain.
McAlister and Demps contributed very sure tackling as did Chad Williams in the dime. Deion Sanders nearly had a pick while blanketing Wayne Chrebet. Had Bollinger not wisely thrown away two passes towards the sideline manned by Samari Rolle, the newest member of the Ravens’ secondary would have had at least one pick as he baited the first time NFL starter.
Special Teams
B.J. Sams’ punt returns averaged 14 yards and the kickoff returns were solid averaging 26 yards. Unfortunately for Sams, his most memorable play took place with the Ravens leading 3-0 with about 4 minutes left in the first quarter. Sams backed up to the goal line to retrieve a Ben Graham punt and then signaled for a fair catch – a catch that he didn’t make as Sams muffed it and fortunately watched it bounce through the end zone for a touchback. Isn’t it a widely known rule of thumb not to field a punt inside the 10? For the second time this season (once during the preseason) Sams has fielded or tried to field a punt at the goal line. And then to try and fair catch it there….He needs to get a clue. It could be time to spot Deion Sanders back there from time to time or even Mark Clayton. Antwaan Randle El seems to do just fine and Clayton’s open field running skills are comparable to those of Randle El.
Dave Zastudil had a terrific day netting nearly 40 yards per punt with the help of solid coverage. New kickoff “specialist” Aaron Elling was hardly special. Only one kick approached the goal line (kicked from the 35 due to a 5 yard penalty against the Jets assessed on the kickoff) and the other 3 on average landed at the 11. This is hardly justification for Elling’s roster spot.
Coaching 
1/2
* Why the Ravens continually run routes and throw on third down to receivers that are short of the first down, remains a mystery to this writer. On a few of such plays there were no receivers beyond the first down marker. Inquiring minds want to know why!
* Brian Billick decided to challenge the spot of a Mark Clayton reception after a third and 5 pass fell a yard short of the first down. To the naked eye (and Billick was right in front of the play) it looked like Clayton actually had a favorable spot. The challenge was a waste of a time out and emotional decisions like that one could come back to bite the Ravens in the future. The review of the play showed that the spot of the ball as called was favorable for the Ravens. Fortunately they did convert the fourth down which helped to set up the game’s only touchdown.
* With 8 men in the box any time Jamal Lewis is in the game, why not take a shot down field, get the CB’s to back up a bit to set up quick flanker screens? Mason and Clayton are dangerous on the edges one on one with their open field running ability.
* Nice call to Chester Taylor, play faking the run to Taylor and then hitting him on the pass as he emerged from the line of scrimmage. It appeared to me that the Jets were much less sure of themselves with Taylor on the field given his versatility.
* Another nice call to Alan Ricard on the first down pass to bail the Ravens out from inside the 10.
* Brian Billick was the target of boo birds at The Vault during the closing seconds of the first half. I can understand both sides of the argument here. Everyone wants to see the Ravens become a big league offense. Big league offenses use the clock and time outs to their advantage and look to maximize every opportunity. Big league offenses would have taken a few shots down field to put the Ravens in field goal position.
But the Ravens are not a big league offense.
There’s too much room for error and a mistake at the end of the first half could have changed the outcome of the game. It’s not as though the Ravens have been mistake free. Keep in mind that up to that point, the Ravens offense had produced only 2 touchdowns all year. They’ve also given up two touchdowns. The way the Ravens defense was playing, a 6-0 lead looked like a lot more.
Later in the season, the Ravens need to be better offensively in situations like that and they’ll need to take advantage of their time outs and manage the game better if they plan on being a playoff contender. But they aren’t there yet. After all, we are talking about a team that didn’t even have a first half first down against Tennessee, a team that while not playing the Ravens, gives up 32 points per game.
Final Thoughts
* Yesterday was clearly a step in the right direction for the Ravens. It is a building block. It was a step forward. And if you really want a big gulp from the Ravens Kool Aid cup, Brian Billick is suggesting that his team is really 1-0, not 1-2. Well here’s a revelation –they are 1-2 but I do like the one game at a time approach and if it works for the players (for they all seem to be parroting Billick’s 1-0 mentality) than as coach would say, “Have at it!”
* I wonder how this game plays out if the Jets don’t imitate the Ravens 2004 offense and drop all those passes…When you consider those drops, the marginal offsides penalty against John Abraham on the game’s first play (which negated a fumble recovery for a touchdown) and the muff from Sams in the end zone, one could conclude that the ball certainly bounced they way of the good guys yesterday.
