YOU CAN TUNE A PIANO, BUT YOU CAN’T SPITUNA FISH…When he was at the University of Alabama, Le’Ron McClain had 37 carries for 170 yards – in his entire 4 year career as a member of The Crimson Tide. Not one game; not one season; FOUR seasons!!!
Fast forward to the 2008 season when McClain was called upon to be the Ravens’ workhorse. Willis McGahee was uncomfortably relegated to John Harbaugh’s doghouse and Ray Rice wasn’t exactly the picture of health that season in part stemming from an inhumane workload during the ’08 summer camp.
It was then that the Ravens may have created a bit of a monster.
Yes McClain was successful as a featured ball carrier. He rumbled and bumbled for 902 yards on 232 carries including 10 for scores. He was a bruiser and together with fullback Lorenzo Neal, McClain spearheaded a punishing ground attack.
The carries led to name recognition and that in turn paved the way to a Pro Bowl nomination as the AFC fullback for the then second year player.
In ’09 McClain’s workload fell off and he carried the rock 186 fewer times.
So heading into the 2010 summer camp, the two-time Pro Bowler began a self-promoting campaign for more carries and blasted it out on his Twitter account and he developed complimentary tee shirts that read, “McClain4RB.”
No one was impressed.
Why would offensive coordinator Cam Cameron feature McClain when he has Rice and McGahee in his ground attack arsenal? Besides, McClain doesn’t have the luxury of a lead blocker as he did in ’08 when Neal led interference for him. Many who campaign for the three-headed monster often forget that missing ingredient.
The Ravens want McClain to do what they drafted him to do – flatten linebackers for their tailback.
Apparently McClain wants something else.
Maybe he’s heard the whispers about his position becoming obsolete.
And speaking of whispers, a few have heard that McClain is an unwilling lead blocker for McGahee because he believes McGahee is getting the carries that he deserves.
Remember the Pro Bowls.
Remember the McClain4RB campaign.
Remember the costly unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Patriots.
Remember the Twitter driven F Bombs directed towards fans who blamed McClain for the loss in Foxborough.
Now this alleged spitting incident that McClain denies.
"Nah, I didn’t spit on him. That’s crazy. That’s not my game. I’m Le’Ron McClain, man. Le’Ron McClain don’t spit on another player. But I will block you. Four quarters. That’s a fact."
How many team oriented guys do you know who refer to themselves by name or in the third person?
Sorry folks but McClain’s priorities in a team sport are a bit whack for my tastes.
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire and within McClain there appears to be a firestorm brewing.
ONE MAN’S LOSS IS ANOTHER MAN’S GAIN…Fabian Washington’s slump at corner is on par with a golfer who can’t get off the tee or a hitter who bails on the slider. He’s a train wreck right now and for his and the club’s sake, Greg Mattison should try and restore his confidence in nickel or dime situations. Josh Wilson is the superior player at the moment and he plays with far more confidence plus he’s a much more technically skilled tackler than Washington who as of late grabs more air than he does ball carriers.
Wilson looked very solid on Sunday against the Dolphins and demonstrated great technique defending a go route against the much taller Brandon Marshall in the Ravens’ end zone. He should and will get the start on Thursday night.
Wilson arrived in Baltimore via a trade with the Seattle Seahawks. The former second round pick cost the Ravens a conditional pick (4th or 5th round) based on the number of starts in 2010. From what we’ve learned even if Wilson starts the remaining games this regular season, he will not reach the number required to give Seattle a fourth round pick. Therefore the cost for Wilson is a fifth and that could prove to be a very worthwhile investment for the Ravens this season.
NO ONE IS IN A RUSH…The Ravens have struggled to generate a pass rush and to do so, Mattison will need to get creative and he’ll need to do it quickly as the Ravens prepare for Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons. Ryan is a very proficient quarterback in the Georgia Dome and if given ample time to throw, he can and probably will pick the Ravens defense apart. But if Mattison can get Ryan to move from his spot and force him to back up, the Ravens could produce turnovers. Ryan doesn’t have Joe Flacco-like arm strength and if he throws off his back foot, ball hawk Ed Reed just might be able to make a big play.
One of the ways the Ravens were successful in ’09 in forcing QB hurries was by blitzing Lardarius Webb from the nickelback slot. It may work to the Ravens advantage to let Webb work from that position during obvious passing situations and move the underrated Chris Carr to corner. Webb has an explosive first step and is a far more threatening blitzer than Haruki Nakamura.
SPEAKING OF EXPLOSIVE FIRST STEPS…We all remember Kelly Gregg’s ability to anticipate a snap count, use great technique while borrowing from his collegiate wrestling days and knife his way into the offensive backfield to disrupt plays. That appears to be a thing of the past as Gregg’s effectiveness is diminishing rapidly.
Not helping matters much is the ineffectiveness of Terrence Cody. So much time and attention has been given to Cody’s conditioning and it now appears as though the first year player has hit the proverbial rookie wall early. After the long collegiate season at Alabama followed by the Scouting Combines, Pro Player Days, etc, Cody looks like he’s out of gas on the field. We are seeing none of the promise that he exhibited during the preseason. Brandon McKinney, a healthy scratch this past Sunday, has been much better.
A FACEOFF OF NO. 1 QB’s… When you look at the stats of these two quarterbacks who will be forever tied at the hip given their 2008 first round draft status, Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan pro careers to date are remarkably similar. Flacco has a career QB rating of 85.8 to Ryan’s 85.7. This season Ryan edges Flacco by a 90.2 to 88.9 margin. Ryan’s record is 26-12 while Flacco’s is 26-14 although Flacco does have 3 playoff wins to his credit while Ryan lost is only post season appearance.
To say either is better than the other at this point is difficult. Ryan seems to have an edge over Flacco in the nuances of quarterbacking such as reading through progressions and throwing on time. Flacco however has a more powerful arm particularly when asked to deliver balls outside the hash marks.
HURT SO GOOD…Last season Jarret Johnson’s play made many who missed Adalius Thomas forget about the versatile former Ravens’ backer. JJ played through a shoulder injury and had a career high 6 sacks, 2 interceptions and 4 passes defended. This season JJ came in healthier and most expected an even more productive campaign from the two-time captain of the Alabama Crimson Tide. It’s not happening and there is concern within the Ravens’ inner circle.
Johnson has often failed to hold down the edge against the run and he’s just not the playmaker that he was in ’09. His ineffectiveness places an even greater burden on Terrell Suggs.
SUGGS OR FREENEY? Suggs has been the target of much fan criticism for a few reasons: 1) The Ravens struggle to get to the quarterback and Suggs is considered to be the premier Raven to get there; and 2) No. 55 is the highest paid Raven. Mix the two and you get a fan base wanting more. Many will go so far to say that they wish Suggs was more like Freeney.
Be careful what you wish for.
If you take in an Indianapolis Colts game, you will notice that Freeney is often off to the sidelines early on downs. Now it could be argued that the Colts are simply trying to keep Freeney fresh in order to get to the quarterback more effectively or it may be concluded that Indy views Freeney as a liability when defending the run. Perhaps it’s both.
Draw your own conclusions but before you do, consider that the two have the same number of sacks (5) through 8 games; Freeney has forced more fumbles (3-1) and defended more passes (2-1) while Suggs has far more tackles (34-13).
Freeney is obviously flashier and more fun to watch but the numbers hardly suggest the Colts’ DE is better. You might even make the argument that Freeney has more explosive pass rushing teammates thus making his job a bit easier than Suggs’.
