BALTIMORE RAVENS 26, MIAMI DOLPHINS 10
NOVEMBER 7, 2010
For the third consecutive game against an AFC East opponent, the Ravens held a 20-10 fourth-quarter lead. In the previous two contests collapses by the Ravens defense allowed the Patriots and Bills to claw back and push the game into overtime.
Not this time, as the Ravens won going away, 26-10. Their recently maligned defense tightened in the second half and allowed the Dolphins to rush for just 11 yards, while helping to build a 20:27 to 9:38 advantage in time of possession for the half. Three interceptions for fifty return yards didn’t hurt either in securing the win.
That kind of defensive dominance didn’t appear to be in the cards early, as the Dolphins took their opening possession the length of the field and answered the Ravens’ opening score to knot the game 7-7. But from that point onward the Ravens proved that they are too talented for the Dolphins to keep pace.
Frankly, the Ravens left points on the board, which will give them plenty to work on thanks to red zone fiascos by the offense. They succeeded in scoring on just one of their seven trips into the red zone. Their struggles in this aspect of the game were never more apparent than after Lardarius Webb set-up the offense on the Miami nine, following an interception.
After trotting on the field, the offense looked lackluster and flustered in trying to capitalize on the advantage their defense created. Willis McGahee was slow taking a handoff and was stuffed for a loss. Joe Flacco then took a sack on the second play of the series. That was followed by a delay of game penalty and then nearly another, as the Ravens were forced to take a time out.
Already pushed back sixteen yards on the drive, Baltimore then allowed one more sack against a three man rush, which forced them to settle for a field goal attempt. And that attempt was missed when holder Sam Koch fumbled a perfect snap from Morgan Cox. It was a foreboding series.
In the end, however, they didn’t need the points to secure a win. As easily as the team drove the ball between the twenties, with no punts on the day, they surely would have preferred not settling for five field goal attempts during the contest.
Not that they will have much time to dwell on it, as they travel to Atlanta next on short rest to face a Falcons team that needed a goal line stand to hold off Tampa Bay this week to secure a win and match the Ravens 6-2 start.
Quarterback: B
Joe Flacco feasted on underneath throws to Ray Rice and took advantage of poor pass coverage by the Dolphins’ cornerback Vonte Davis. Flacco’s numbers on the day were 20 of 27 for 266 yards and 2 TD throws, for a passer rating of 130. Despite being pressured by the Dolphins pass rush, Flacco made good decisions with the ball, other than a telegraphed pass attempt to Anquan Boldin that could have been returned for Miami touchdown if not for a Sean Smith dropped interception. Flacco and Boldin did not appear to be on the same page for much of the game, and Flacco’s deep balls were not particularly well thrown.
Running Backs: A
Ray Rice sliced and diced the Dolphins defense for 84 yards on the ground and 97 more in receiving yards. It added up to about half the total offensive output for the Ravens. More importantly, Rice was back to being much more explosive with the ball in his hands after looking sluggish in the preceding weeks. Willis McGahee was very impressive using choppy steps and sly moves. He made the most of his nine touches, gliding for 66 yards and a touchdown. Together, Rice and McGahee slipped a number of tackles to keep drives alive. Le’Ron McClain was effective in short yardage carries. After starting slowly as a lead blocker, he began to open holes later in the game.
Wide Receivers: B
TJ Houshmandzadeh contributed early, finding space in zone coverage and improved his downfield blocking as well. Derrick Mason starred for the Ravens with key receptions despite being targeted just five times. After being referred to as simply, “the old guy” by the Dolphins’ Channing Crowder, Mason schooled young cornerback Vonte Davis, juking him after a bubble screen to run for a first down and later leaving him flat-footed in the end zone for an easy touchdown catch on a slant. Anquan Boldin stayed off the stat sheet until the fourth quarter when he grabbed two key first down receptions. David Reed made a quick appearance and flashed great speed as he took a handoff on an end around for a gain of fifteen. Donte Stallworth made his first appearance of the year for the Ravens coming off a foot injury, but did not catch a pass.
Tight Ends: B
Todd Heap was the only tight end involved in the offensive game plan this week and used mostly as a blocker. He was steady in this role, including a nice block in space on a sweep. Heap was effective on two tight end screens, as well, rumbling for 23 total yards.
Tackles: C+
Marshal Yanda struggled throughout the game trying to stop the pass rush. He took a step backward with his footwork after having made progress each week leading up to the bye. The converted guard was more effective as a trap blocker. Michael Oher was far from perfect in protection himself, but improved as the game wore on, and was an effective lead blocker on a number of runs to the left.
Interior Line: C
Matt Birk struggled at the point of attack moving nose tackles Tony McDaniel and Paul Soliai. While Ben Grubbs and Chris Chester did their best work pulling around the ends and blocking down field on screens, they also struggled to keep their pad level low when engaging defensive linemen. There was too much interior pressure waiting for him when Flacco was forced to step up in the pocket. The Dolphins managed four sacks, five hurries, and eleven tackles for a loss. (That compares to two, four, and four for the Ravens defense.)
Cornerbacks: B
While red-zone inefficiency was the story for the Ravens offense, coverage struggles for Fabian Washington was the story for the defense. Poor play by Washington forced the coaching staff to bench him for the second consecutive game. This time however, they did not wait until the final drive of the game, as Washington was replaced this week by Josh Wilson at the start of the second half. As poorly as Washington played in coverage, falling down and missing tackles, Wilson was outstanding in stabilizing the defense in the second half. The former Maryland Terrapin played tight coverage and was rewarded with an interception as he stepped in front of a Henne throw. On the opposite side Lardarius Webb also managed to step in front of second-year receiver Brian Hartline as he slipped, to get the first Ravens interception on the day. Webb was also a steady tackler. He was however beaten once on a dig route, and was flagged for interference when he could not find a ball over his head, which was caught along the sideline anyway. Chris Carr showed poor jam technique on Hartline to allow him to haul in a first down on a drag route. And confusion between Carr and Washington allowed Davone Bess to make an easy catch at the goal line. Carr was much better closing and tackling at the line of scrimmage, and tied with Webb for second with five tackles on the day.
Safeties: B
Miami was not very effective attacking the middle of the field against the Ravens safeties. Credit Dawan Landry and Ed Reed for communicating well in the secondary and leaving few windows for Henne to throw in to. Ed Reed nabbed an interception on a tipped pass that Brandon Marshall short-armed after he spied Ray Lewis waiting to lay lumber to him over the middle. Haruki Nakamura checked into the game in dime packages and showed tremendous ball skills.
Linebackers: B-
This group was not good early. Jameel McClain was taking bad angles and failing to get off blocks as the Dolphins shredded the defense in the middle for runs of 12 and 14 yards to start the game. McClain also had inadequate coverage in the end zone on what should have been a touchdown catch by Anthony Fasano on a poorly thrown ball. McClain improved as the game wore on, including a nice job of getting outside leverage to force Ronnie Brown back inside. Tavares Gooden returned from the injury list, putting Dannell Ellerbe on the inactive list, and was effective in coverage. Ray Lewis had eight tackles to lead the team and showed he could still run with receivers. Jarret Johnson was quick off the edge as a pass rusher, but did not flash many moves to get around blockers.
Defensive Line: B
While the front four did not establish much pressure early, they eventually found ways to hurry Henne. Paul Kruger saw more action this week, and was burned for an early run, but did show nice technique nearly getting to Henne in a few passing situations. Terrell Suggs collected a sack on an overload blitz, and showed good recognition on screens. Haloti Ngata got a highlight reel stuff of Ricky Williams to start the second half and it was the last the Ravens saw of the big running back. Ngata was also too much for Joe Berger and overwhelmed the center to pick up a sack of Henne, which contributed to a missed 46 yard field goal attempt by Dan Carpenter on the next play.
Special Teams: B-
David Reed got the nod as kick returner, and promptly botched the opening kick at the two, but picked up the ball and stumbled out to the 22. Billy Cundiff continued to boom kicks into the end zone. However, for the first time the Ravens suffered from a lack of consistency in their field goals. Cundiff pulled a 37 yard attempt for a miss, and Koch fumbled a snap for another failed scoring attempt. Koch did not have a punt on the day, but did throw a nice spiral on a fake punt with a ten point lead, connecting with Cary Williams to extend a drive. The Ravens still did not get a lot from their punt returners, using Lardarius Webb and Ed Reed to average 6 yards on two return attempts. Josh Wilson stood out for his kick coverage.
Coaching: B-
On the plus side, the Ravens seemed well prepared, coming off their bye week, for stopping what the Dolphins wanted to do, including a would-be fake punt call. Greg Mattison tried to mix in some new schemes to pressure the quarterback, with mixed results. Cam Cameron mixed up his play calling very well. However, the team was a mess in the red zone, and continues to struggle finding effective third and short calls. They will need to find a way to put teams away after creating opportunities.
Officiating: B
John Parry’s crew did a nice job keeping the game moving at a brisk pace. The only questionable calls of note on the day were an offensive pass interference call on Derrick Mason in the end zone that appeared to be business as usual for NFL wide outs, and there was an iffy call on Haloti Ngata for leading with crown of helmet on Henne at the end of the game. Lip readers know what John Harbaugh thought of the call, which he made known to Parry’s crew after the final gun sounded.
Broadcast: C
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