One Raven May be Writing His Own Ticket Out of Town
It was painful to watch for the better part of 2 ½ hours.
Losing to the Connor Shaw-led Cleveland Browns 10-3 after three quarters in a game that meant everything to the Ravens and nothing to Mike Pettine’s gang, while the Kansas City Chiefs were doing their part to secure a Ravens playoff berth, was akin to severe gastric pain with no relief in sight.
Mentally I began to prepare for the absolute worst situation – that being a Chiefs win coupled with a Ravens loss.
I prepared for what would surely be a long week (or more) laced with outlandish criticisms (some deserving) leading into a torturous offseason.
Fortunately the Gas-X arrived in the form of back-to-back Joe Flacco to Torrey Smith connections covering 69 yards capped by a 16-yard TD pass to put the Ravens up 13-10 at the 7:40 mark of the 4th quarter.
Suddenly the “P” word was in play.
Like many of you, I expected an ugly game, predicting a 22-10 Ravens win. It was even uglier than anticipated but in the end how a team gets to the postseason is insignificant. What’s important is what they do when they arrive at the dance.
That said, here’s the route the Ravens took to get to their sixth dance in the last 7 seasons…
THE GOOD
Through the first 3 quarters the Ravens had 170 yards of offense. In the 4th quarter alone they had 249 and it’s no coincidence that Joe Flacco fueled the offensive surge. He had a passer rating of 68.6 through 3 and posted a perfect 158.3 in the fourth quarter while distributing the ball to both Smiths, Daniels, Brown, Aiken, Forsett and Gilmore…Justin Forsett had a very efficient afternoon gaining 119 yards on 17 carries. The burst that seemed to be missing during the previous 2+ games resurfaced in timely fashion. Forsett’s pass blocking is understated but certainly appreciated by his quarterback…The patchwork offensive line held up well although their timing was a bit off through the initial 3 frames. Save the sack given up to Paul Kruger (which in part is on Flacco), Marshal Yanda had a very solid game at right tackle. He’s by far the franchise’s second best offensive lineman ever – and it’s not even close…After a rocky start, Steve Smith, Sr. had a solid game hauling in 8 passes for 90 yards, many of which were in traffic…Torrey Smith’s catch of the 53-yard bomb from Flacco over Joe Haden was the single-biggest play of the day. Everything changed after that.
Terrell Suggs, save for one play when he shot the gap leaving the right edge vulnerable to a Terrance West sweep, was very efficient as the edge setter. He had 3 tackles, a sack, a hurry and a key fumble recovery…Lawrence Guy (6 tackles, 3 stops) and DeAngelo Tyson (2 stops and a sack) did well with their expanded roles in the absence of Timmy Jernigan who left the game with what looked like a severe ankle sprain…Daryl Smith and CJ Mosley filled in well most of the day although on occasion both got lost in the wash during a few of West’s productive efforts inside the tackles. After an initial breakdown that led to a 30-yard connection to Jordan Cameron, Smith and Mosley did a nice job of quieting the talented tight end…Sam Koch netted 40.7 yards on 6 punts, two inside the 20.
THE BAD
The Ravens have been vulnerable to A-gap pressure all season and yesterday was no exception. The interior heat forced inaccurate throws by Joe Flacco. The QB and OC Gary Kubiak need to work this out sooner than later. You can bet that Dick LeBeau and the Pittsburgh Steelers have taken note…The receiving corps seemed to struggle to gain separation. Maybe the Ravens need to employ more timing routes and dust off the back-shoulder-throw plays…The short yardage and goal line offense is unimaginative and ineffective. Kubiak’s game plan by and large was severely lacking. There is no chance that he will leave the Ravens due to a promotion…Four for 13 on third down has to get better. They won’t be playing the JV team on Saturday night.
The secondary benefitted tremendously from Connor Shaw’s short-comings. His minor league arm failed to connect with open downfield receivers multiple times…If Terrance West can navigate the Ravens defense for 94 yards I can only imagine what Le’Veon Bell might do, if he plays (knee injury)…Anthony Levine was lost on a blown coverage assignment that resulted in a 49-yard Shaw to Taylor Gabriel connection which set up the Browns’ only TD…Jerry Rosburg’s unit, on point most of the season, continued their recent slump. Jacoby Jones refuses to come up and catch short punts which more times than not bounce deeper into Ravens territory. He also was flagged for running with the football after a fair catch. Seriously? Not sure what was going on with the returns fielded by Fitz Touissant. That seemed to do nothing other than waste a potential blocker. There were too many penalties on teams (3) for too few plays. Time to get the clean up crew working Jerry…
THE UGLY
The Ravens were nearly comatose for 3 quarters and their sleepy ways started immediately. The first play from scrimmage resulted in a false start (Daniels) followed by a dropped pass by Senior…The snoozefest seemed to affect the exchange between Flacco and Jeremy Zuttah. Two fumbles?…Flacco continues to inexplicably throw the ball behind the line of scrimmage to a COVERED running back (usually Forsett) and the result is a loss. Just throw the ball at his feet for an intentional incompletion instead of taking the loss. This isn’t rocket science!…The flat starts are a commonplace occurrence for the Ravens these days and that MUST change. Kubiak might not like it but perhaps the best way to get Flacco jump started is to script the first 15 plays and let him operate from the no huddle. Do something – anything. The Steelers aren’t the Browns or the Jaguars.
THE MEGAN FOX
For some strange reason the Ravens front office chooses to wait until current contracts have expired to re-sign desirable players. They waited with Ray Rice and then they overpaid. They did the same with Haloti Ngata, Terrell Suggs and Joe Flacco. They waited too long to re-sign Paul Kruger and Dannell Ellerbe and were promptly outbid. The same looks like it will happen to Pernell McPhee.
The four-year veteran from Mississippi State has had an outstanding season and ranks as the 2nd highest OLB per Pro Football Focus. Against the Browns he turned in another great performance. He chased down Browns WR Andrew Hawkins on a 3rd-and-8 flanker screen, stopping him 2 yards short of the first down. Known primarily as an interior pass rusher, McPhee is developing into a complete player. He set the edge on running plays when called upon; he sniffed out a quick pitch and dropped Terrance West for a 5-yard loss; he batted down a pass and totaled 5 tackles including 2 sacks while adding 3 QB hurries.
Joe Flacco deserves praise for the 4th quarter rally but without the effort of McPhee doing so much to keep the Browns offense in check, that rally may never have happened.
Another outstanding day from McPhee that unfortunately could price him right out of Baltimore.
And if that happens Ozzie Newsome would only have to look in the mirror to cast the finger of blame.
