Emotion played a big role in the game particularly with Yamon Figurs. Some after the slugfest have wondered if Figurs was even ready for the game given his hamstring issues and apparent lack of burst against the Steelers. Figurs’ excitability seemed to get in the way of his sensibility when running out of the end zone on two separate occasions leaving his rookie quarterback with starting points of the 17 yard line and the 12 yard line respectively, on the Ravens’ first two possessions…The Ravens need someone to stretch the field and that player could be Figurs. But to be effective, he’ll need to make some underneath catches in order to get opponents to respect something more than his speed. During training camp, Figurs showed improved hands and toughness in traffic.
Mark Clayton is really struggling and it is apparent in his body language. It might be time to drop him on the depth chart and see what Demetrius Williams can do as a starter. The opportunity costs aren’t great. Clayton has only 5 catches for 35 yards through three games and hasn’t caught a touchdown pass in 21 months…Also slumping is Todd Heap. Clearly his chances were limited in
The clock management at the end of regulation was in this writer’s opinion very Billick-esque and very unacceptable. With the ball on their own 17 yard line and 1:40 to go in regulation, the Ravens had 1 timeout to move the ball into position to set up Matt Stover for a game winning field goal. Up to this point, Joe Flacco had answered with flying colors questions about whether he could hold up under the extreme pressures of the Monday night spotlight. He did and the coaches erred by not letting him go the distance. On the road you play to win not for the tie. Why risk losing the coin toss and allowing
Ed Reed is obviously far from 100%. Playing centerfield is one thing to keep him out of harms way and limit his on field collisions. Playing on the warning track is another. He has whiffed on two open field tackles this season that have resulted in easy scores by the opponent. The Ravens defense has given up 2 touchdowns so far during the ’08 campaign, both on passing plays when Reed had a chance to make a tackle and failed. One Ravens’ insider has compared Reed’s willingness to play hurt to that of Peter Boulware’s. You may recall the retired Raven playing effectively with his arm in a sling. But Boulware didn’t avoid collisions and let’s keep in mind, Reed’s position is called “safety” for a reason.
In the past it has been a fairly safe bet that the Ravens would put a 3 spot on the scoreboard whenever Matt Stover lined up from 40 yards in. I don’t know about you but lately, I’m not exactly brimming with confidence when Stover takes the field. His timing seems to be a bit off, much like that of a golfer that just can’t get his hands right either snapping the wrist too soon or leaving them open and blocking through impact. Stover’s relatively easy kicks on Monday were overly adventurous for my liking.
Has Tony Kornheiser become the modern day Howard Cosell? While I enjoy Kornheiser’s writing and ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption, his commentary on MNF is the equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard. Just prior to Jeff Reed’s walk off field goal in overtime, the Ravens, like other teams in similar situations, called for a timeout before Reed’s initial attempt to try and disrupt his timing. Kornheiser called the move “cheesy.” Hey Tony, you want cheesy? Try looking in the mirror at that nasty comb over dude!…Props to ESPN for a solid telecast and very good statistical graphics.
