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Smith Loss Dampens Ravens Win

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It had been 307 days since the Ravens last regular season win at M&T Bank Stadium.

It has been 398 days since the Ravens last regular season win at home against a team with a winning record – a 38-10 thrashing of the then (2-1) Carolina Panthers. It was a game that in storybook fashion, featured heroics from former Panther Steve Smith, Sr.

Unfortunately Sunday’s win over the Chargers was dampened by the Achilles injury to Smith that will end his season, perhaps his career.

Smith is a special player. Not only does his relentless determination pave the way for achievement that belies his physicality, he sets the tone. He embodies what it used to mean to “Play Like a Raven”. His loss is massive, not only for what he brings in terms of offensive productivity to a severely challenged corps of receivers but also for his menacing presence, without which the team has absolutely no identity.

Maybe we’ll get another season to cheer on Smith. Football warriors like him don’t want to be taken off the field on their shields. They don’t want the last play of a career to be defined by assistance to the sideline.

It has been reported that Smith was waffling a bit on the retirement. If that’s true this injury will alter his thinking significantly. I think he’ll be back in 2016. But if I’m wrong, it’s been a great season and a half, and despite Senior’s short tenure in Baltimore, he will never be forgotten.

THE GOOD

I may as well start with No. 89. He made a play when the Ravens needed one, a 46-yard reception despite tight coverage and no separation. In 5 full games and 2 half-games (Pittsburgh, San Diego) Senior has posted 46 catches for 670 yards and 3 TD’s despite a limited supporting cast of receivers to draw away attention. Projected out over a 16-game season that adds up to 122 catches, 1,787 yards and 8 TD’s. There’s plenty in the tank…Kamar Aiken was physical and caught some balls in heavy traffic (6/62)…Kelechi Osemele, Marshal Yanda and Rick Wagner were solid but they couldn’t prevent some of the leaking from the left and center…

Daryl Smith has had a fine season and unfortunately it is lost given an overall very weak defense. He had 14 tackles, 2 for losses…Elvis Dumervil could use a bookend. He’s been relentless but without help he’s like a one-armed paper hangar. He’s also supported the run defense better than expected…Lardarius Webb was generally in the neighborhood in coverage and tackled very usp_nfl__san_diego_chargers_at_baltimore_ravens_77212902-e1446417803778efficiently, bringing down much bigger opponents one-on-one…Will Hill was physical and made a great play to break up a 20+ yard pass directed at Antonio GatesShareece Wright played well in coverage (not a typo). You have to admire his mental toughness after a few embarrassing games.
Sam Koch netted 62 yards on two punts. SIXTY-TWO YARDS! His efforts were supported well by coverage teams, particularly Asa Jackson and Raheem MostertJustin Tucker, what can you say, 17 points, 5 for 5 in FGA’s and of course the game winner.

THE BAD

Questionable play calling from Marc Trestman. Taking on the NFL’s 31st ranked defense Trestman saw to it that the Ravens ran the ball exactly 6 of 26 plays in the first half for 15 yards. It’s also hard to understand the underutilization of Crockett Gillmore…CJ Mosley continues to struggle in coverage and given his physical skills you have to wonder how he’s being coached. The technique isn’t there.

THE UGLY

James Hurst started in place of the on/again, off/again Eugene Monroe so you just knew he’d end up here, right? Chargers OLB Melvin Ingram was criticized heavily for his extremely poor outing a week earlier against the Raiders. Hurst is great medicine for ills like that…Joe Flacco looked like he was playing Whac-A-Mole when catching James Urschel’s unpredictable snaps in shotgun formation. Making matters worse, after seeing these snaps that seemed to be on a short-string, why didn’t Trestman have Flacco under center more regularly?…Why is Marlon Brown in the NFL? Why did the Ravens promote Jeremy Butler from the practice squad only to have him inactive for two straight weeks?

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The Ravens secondary continues to have communication breakdowns. It’s always the same. They look confused and out of sorts. There is no uniformity in their zone coverages. It would be shocking to see DB coach Chris Hewitt survive after the season…Kyle Arrington has been benched repeatedly in 2015 yet he keeps reappearing and keeps making major mistakes. Maybe John Harbaugh should buy him a PSL…Asa Jackson got away with one on the blocked PAT, yet another indictment of NFL game officials. The blown call was huge. Had the Chargers connected it would have forced the Ravens to score a game winning TD, not a FG.

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THE MEGAN FOX

For some who follow my online musings, this, like my Marlon Brown criticisms, might sound like an iPod stuck on replay, BUT…Joe Flacco’s performance given a left tackle named Hurstile, a backup center who struggled with shotgun snaps, the absence of Steve Smith, Sr. and the abandonment of the running game, won’t garner enough credit from analysts. He was spectacular given the odds against his success, success that came at the expense of the league’s 9th ranked pass defense. The stats were impressive (25 for 37, 319 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 103.3 rating) but the gutty performance was a thing of beauty.

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