QUARTERBACK: C
No one can question Kyle Boller’s toughness. Clearly he struggled with a painful knee after being leveled by Rams DE Leonard Little in the second quarter yet he toughed it out and stayed in the game to allow Steve McNair to rest his troublesome groin and knotted back. Boller was under pressure much of the day and was forced to make quick decisions – not exactly his most endearing quality as a quarterback. When he did have time he didn’t put it to use. With plenty of time to spare on a third and 7 in the first quarter, Boller launched a pass well out of bounds to Mark Clayton who was one zip code away. Maybe he was already a bit twitchy from the pressure.
On his deep throws, Boller mechanics are a mess. He buckles his back (right) knee and then resembles a shot put specialist as his deep throws miss their mark. Three times he was short of his target although Demetrius Williams made a nice adjustment on one deep pass for a 34 yard gain. In the first quarter Boller’s deep throw down the right sideline was short enabling the beaten DB Ronald Bartell to make a play on the ball. If that pass is in front of Williams, he’s going in for six. Boller was also short on a deep pass to Mark Clayton in the third. It will be interesting to see how he handles his first road start in quite awhile in Buffalo.
RUNNING BACK: C+
Willis McGahee made the best of limited space but he was a split second slow to hit on a couple of openings that weren’t available very long. He took on eight and nine man fronts often without much success. He managed only 61 yards on 25 carries and twelve of his carries were for 1 yard or less, losing yardage on four carries. McGahee should get used to this approach. Clearly the Bills with vengeance on their minds and perhaps even malice in their hearts will look to lay the wood on McGahee. McGahee needs to do a better job of securing those quick pitches if he wants Billick to call them again in the future.
Musa Smith has been hesitant running the football in limited touches over the past few games. He’s much better hitting the hole quickly than he is at reading and reacting to designed delays. Mike Anderson was “unleashed†and had a carry for two yards. Le’Ron McClain is improving as a lead blocker and has put together two solid back to back performances. Both he and McGahee helped Boller when called on to provide pass protection.
RECEIVERS: C+
Perhaps more than in all other games in total, the Ravens looked downfield against the Rams. Demetrius Williams beat his man a couple of times and Boller failed to deliver an accurate deep ball. Williams adjusts nicely to errant throws and judges a ball in flight much like a good centerfielder would. He has the tools but to be considered great, he needs to hang on to the tough catches like the one that was stripped away in Q1. Clayton was open for a long scoring strike but again Boller fell short of his mark (pun intended). Derrick Mason rolls on and continues to make plays. His suddenness is that of a man five years his junior and it creates separation for the cagey veteran. There are however times when none of these receivers gains separation and it brings the play design into question. Are the routes too vanilla? Do they complement each other or do they undermine? Are the plays matched up against the wrong defenses? Or are the plays easily read by opposing defenses? One or more of these questions has to be in play here. This trio is far too talented not to be able to find wide open spaces on occasion. Sypniewski was decent in relief of Heap but he is a slow plodder off the line and that invites safeties to the line of scrimmage in run support. He is hardly a vertical threat.
OFFENSIVE LINE: D
The first series of downs set the tone for this youthful unit that looked their age on Sunday. On the very first offensive snap Jason Brown committed a false start. Then when faced with a third and 16 on the same series of downs, half the line ran off the field thinking that it was fourth down. Chris Chester was overpowered at times by rookie defensive lineman Clifton Ryan. Jared Gaither couldn’t keep pace with Leonard Little on Boller’s deep drops and at times looked a bit lost when the Rams D-line disguised their rush. Marshall Yanda showed good footwork and controlled his man once he was squared up on him but he did get beat to the punch a couple of times as his man flushed Boller from the pocket and disrupted the play. Perhaps the best performance of the day came from Ben Grubbs who is beginning to blossom. Grubbs with some help from Le’Ron McClain paved the way for McGahee’s first rushing TD as a Raven.
DEFENSIVE LINE: A+
Kelly Gregg was menacing, Haloti Ngata as stout as a brick wall and Justin Bannan (5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FF) had his best game as a Raven. Even the sluggish Dwan Edwards was in on the act contributing four tackles, an interception and a batted pass. The foursome collectively contributed 23 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 QB hurries, 1 interception and a forced fumble. D-Line Coach Clarence Brooks probably enjoyed his proudest film study day as a Ravens’ coach on Monday.
LINEBACKERS: B+
Ray Lewis had a very solid game and it’s no small coincidence that it happened on a day when the Ravens DT’s controlled the line of scrimmage up front. Lewis was able to move about freely leading the team with 10 tackles and he played well defending the pass when dropping into zones. Bart Scott showed his versatility providing some speed rushing off the left edge and he looks more comfortable when called upon to drop into the secondary. His hit on Gus Frerotte in the fourth quarter led to Ed Reed’s fourth interception of the season. Jarrett Johnson was very strong at the point of attack and he was menacing in the passing game. He is rounding into a quality all-around defender. Terrell Suggs registered his first sack and he batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage. He did look disengaged at times when rushing the passer, perhaps weary from regular double teaming.
SECONDARY: B-
Samari Rolle looked very good in his first return to action in over three weeks. He looked even more comfortable than he did prior to his battles with an undisclosed illness. (Note: John Czarnecki from FOX Sports reported earlier this week that Rolle’s illness is heart related.)
Rex Ryan used Rolle and nickel Corey Ivy in way that was reminiscent of the manner in which the Ravens used Deion Sanders and Gary Baxter back in 2004 with Rolle in Sanders’ role and Ivy in Baxter’s. It worked very well as Ivy continues to add to an already impressive season.
Dawan Landry got caught up in some mismatches with Torry Holt which fortunately Gus Frerotte didn’t see or didn’t have time to take advantage of. Gerome Sapp had been a big part of the Ravens nickel and dime packages for most of the season yet on Sunday he played sparingly and didn’t register a tackle. Derrick Martin played well in relief and as a dime. He made a nice read, jump and catch to haul in his first NFL interception. Chris McAlister looked out of sorts and was beaten fairly regularly by the great Marques Hagans. Hagans had his first catch as a pro against the Ravens and then added another five for a total of 6 catches for 85 yards. He should have had a seventh catch for a score as well but couldn’t hold on. McAlister was beaten badly by Drew Bennett on a designed roll out. Frerotte’s well under thrown pass to Bennett saved McAlister. Bennett had clear sailing if Frerotte could have delivered. Three of the four Ravens sacks can be credited to this group.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B+
The Ravens’ answer to Tom Brady – Matt Stover was back at it again with five field goals. Brian Billick should probably contribute to Stover’s retirement fund. He makes more than Stover yet without him Billick might be working for NFL Network. Stover’s kickoffs are hardly a thing of beauty particularly when compared to those of Rams’ K Jeff Wilkins. Sam Koch had a great day hitting 5 punts for an average of 50.8 yards while netting over 42 yards. Derrick Martin was active as the gunner fighting through blocks effectively while maintaining his lane. Yamon Figurs needs a confidence boost. His fair catch signals are a bit premature and he seems to be playing a bit scared. He was fortunate that his fumble after his 54 yard kickoff return tumbled out of bounds.
COACHING: Offense C+/ Defense B+
Brian Billick has been criticized heavily for his red zone play calling. And while the results on the season only worsened as the Ravens were one of five in red zone opportunities, he at least changed things up a bit and tried running outside the tackles. The inefficiencies this week were more on the players than the plays.
I’ve likened Billick’s attachment to his play chart to the way a pizza delivery boy carries a pizza box. Apparently he only delivers tomato and cheese when Steve McNair is at the controls. When Boller is behind center, we get pepperoni. Billick’s play calling is clearly spicier and more vertical when Boller is in but perhaps they aren’t vertical enough. By his own admission the Rams committed more resources than others the Ravens have faced to stopping the run by showing many eight and nine man fronts. Use that to your advantage coach. Meaningful play action might help but don’t forget to tell Boller to sell it a bit better. Looking downfield more might also help loosen things up for McGahee. You can bet the Bills will be creeping up to the line to stop their former mate.
Defensively the Ravens did what they had to do – beat up on a decimated offensive line. Winning the line of scrimmage on defense was the difference in the game. That said, the Ravens will need a more coordinated effort on the back end when they take on the likes of Indianapolis and New England.
OTHER NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS: The scoreboard operator apparently saw something that no one else did. After Derrick Mason caught one pass early in the contest the big screen displayed, “Gus Frerotte complete to Derrick Mason.â€â€¦The Ravens PA guy Bruce Cunningham provided his usual brand of humor. This time he announced that Yamon Figurs had fielded a punt of 49 yards followed by a 54 yard return. It was actually the only kick return the Ravens had on the day. It was returned to the Rams 49…Kyle Boller has Fox’ Jimmy Johnson’s vote to be the Ravens starter…The Ravens benefited from an official review inside of the two minute mark in the first half. Replays showed that Torry Holt was short of a first down forcing a fourth down play. Yet the spot on the field was extremely favorable to the Ravens. What looked to be a mark that was a half yard short ended up being spotted 1 ½ yards short…For a team that had little to lose Scott Linehan certainly played it close to the vest on Sunday. Who among you didn’t expect at least a little razzle-dazzle?…Only 4 percent of the country saw the Fox broadcast of the Ravens v. Rams…I think the Ravens are better at the stretch runs and the quick hitters than they are at running delays, particularly on first down…As if you needed further proof that the Rams were stacking the box, prior to Sunday’s game the Rams had given up 146 rushing yards per game. On Sunday the Ravens managed only 77…Brian Billick had to be pleased with the results of the game. The Ravens won and he managed to escape a QB controversy.
