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Ravens 2013 Schedule, Second Half Predictions

April 24, 2013 in NFL SCHEDULE

By Alan Zlotorzynski: On Monday, I broke down and offered my predictions for the first half of the Baltimore Ravens 2013 schedule. Today, I offer up the second half.

The Ravens own the fifth toughest strength of schedule heading into the 2013 season. Nevertheless, the toughest part of that schedule, at least according to the wins and losses of their opponents from last season is yet to come. During the first half, Baltimore played just three teams that made the playoffs last season but did play five games on road. 18_ScheduleAnnouncement_news

This means the second half of the 2013 schedule will be played predominantly at M & T Bank Stadium, where under John Harbaugh, the Ravens have a .825 winning percentage losing just seven times in five years.

I had Baltimore opening the season with a loss to Denver before rebounding 10 days later to win three in a row, including a ruining of Ed Reed’s homecoming with a victory over the Houston Texans in Week three. Following a win at Buffalo, I foresee the Ravens traveling to Miami and showing Dannell Ellerbe what he could have been a part of had he stayed in the Charm City, with a close win in South Florida.

I then have the Ravens hitting a bit of snag. I predicted Baltimore would enter the bye week losing back-to-back games to the Packers at home and Steelers in Pittsburgh. What ails any Ravens losing streak is always a game vs. the Browns. This season will be no different, as the purple and black regroup following the bye week with a win and sixth consecutive sweep of the Cleveland Browns, to finish the first half with a 5-3 mark.

The combined record of the teams Baltimore played in the first half for last season was 67-61 (.523) and while that is nothing to shake your head at, the second half, at least on paper, poses a bit more of a challenge. During the final eight games, Baltimore’s opponents strength of schedule record for 2012 was 70-58 (.546).

The Ravens will play four games (2 vs. Cincinnati) against three playoff teams and the Bears, who won 10 games last season but did not qualify for post-season play. Some quick highlights of the second half shows that two coaches will face a Ravens team that have strong Baltimore ties. The first made his coaching name in Baltimore and the other grew up there and attended Mt. Saint Joseph High School in West Baltimore.

Former Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan and the NY Jets visit on Nov 24 and although NY will not be bringing their cornerback island with them, Sexy Rexy is sure to have his troops fired up and ready to play. Baltimore will then travel to Detroit, who finished a disappointing 4-10 last season and are coached by Jim Schwartz.

Sexy Rexy and Jim Schwartz

Schwartz grew up In Baltimore and can still be seen rocking out to the Baltimore based 80’s hair band, KIX. He knows everything there is about places like Hammerjacks, his favorite baseball team is the Orioles and he even still talks with that endearing” Bawmer” accent “Hon”.

The Ravens, who faced the 2012 Defensive Player of the Year in Week 3, when JJ Watt visited with the Texans, will host the 2012 NFL MVP in early December, when “All Day” Adrian Peterson comes to play.

In addition, who could forget that M & T Bank Stadium will once again host the largest dessert night in America on the fourth Thursday in November when the Steelers come to town for some pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving night.

If that’s not enough for you, how about an AFC Championships game rematch for the second consecutive season in Baltimore, as the Patriots close out the 2013 home portion of the schedule when Tommy Boy and Co. come calling three days before Christmas.

The suspense is killing me, as to how these games will turn out, so here are my predictions for the Ravens second half schedule:

WEEK 10 RAVENS VS. CINCINNATI BENGALS (1:00 P.M. CBS)

NFL experts predict that the Bengals will challenge for the AFC North crown next season and it may be hard to argue against them. Head Coach Marvin Lewis finally has his foundation up front on the defensive line, as the Bengals return all four starters from the best defensive line in the AFC North.

Geno Atkins, Michael Johnson, Carlos Dunlap and Domata Peko will wreak havoc in the division. Cincy also has solid depth in Robert Geathers and Wallace Gilberry at the ends. There are young inside with Brandon Thompson and Devon Still, both of whom were drafted a year ago.

The problem may be at linebacker where James Harrison and not Karlos Dansby was signed– typical Cincinnati if you ask me. The signing is puzzling when you factor in Harrison's declining sack total (six last season), injuries (seven games missed due to injuries the past two seasons) and age (he turns 35 next month). He has never played in a 4-3 defense and he has been on the field for 77 percent of his team’s defensive snaps since the start of the 2011 season, which ranks 56th among linebackers over that span, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Cincinnati could not possibly be a playoff three years in a row could they. Maybe, Nahhhh—not with Mike Brown still running the show. They are good enough to earn another season series split with Ravens but playing in Baltimore on this day means a mark in the loss column.

The Ravens, who have won four of the last five contests against the Bengals, losing only last season’s finale when the second and third stringers came into play after the first and second series of the game, make it five out of six as they pull away late with a victory and a 6-3 record.

BALTIMORE RAVENS 27 CINCINNATTI BENGALS 17

RAVENS RECORD 6-3

WEEK 11 NOV.17 RAVENS AT CHICAGO BEARS (1:00 P.M. CBS)

A game that was once billed as Ray Lewis vs. Brian Urlacher, the Monsters of the Midway vs. the team that sports uniform’s the color of a deep bruise, will now see the marquee read, “Joe Cool and the Super Bowl Champion Ravens travel to the Windy City to take on Jay Cutler  and the Chicago Bears”.

Lewis is at ESPN and Urlacher is still looking for a team for next season, so this contest is likely to be a showdown and The Soldier Field Coral between two gunslingers at quarterback.

While many like or are Luke warm to the Bears offseason, I think it stinks. Naming a former CFL head coach (Marc Trestman) to the same post in the NFL to replace Lovie Smith, who won 10-games in 2012, is not an upgrade.  Chicago overpaid for left tackle Jermon Bushrod and while I know he is a two-time Pro Bowl left tackle, the Jay Cutler “does not have enough weapons or protection” arguments are getting old fast.

With No.54 and No.52 gone, it's to 5 & 6 to steal the show in Chicago

Cutler was sacked 38 times in 2012. That was fifth most in the NFL but, take a look at the production for the other 4 NFL quarterbacks that were sacked more often. Aaron Rodgers (51), Phillips Rivers (49), Andy Dalton (46) and Andrew Luck (41) were all on their bottoms more often but three of the four managed to make the playoffs. I know it is tough to win 10 games and miss the playoffs but after starting the season 7-1 and finishing 3-5, the QB has to take a good portion of the heat, especially when your defense was responsible for most of the seven wins to start the year.

I honestly expect the Bears to a mess at this point. This game represents a stretch of six games that see “Da Bears” play the Packers, Lions, Rams, Vikings and Cowboys.  If Flacco can beat Manning in zero degrees with 30 mph winds in Denver in January, then he should expect to win the shootout in Chicago vs. a disgruntled Jay Cutler on the third Sunday in November.

BALTIMORE RAVENS 33 CHICAGO BEARS 24

RAVENS RECORD 7-3

WEEK 12 NOV.24 BALTIMORE RAVENS VS. NEW YORK JETS (1:00 P.M. CBS)

The Ravens will return home for a critical stretch drive that sees them play four of their final six games in the Charm City. The first will be against an old friend, former defensive coordinator Rex Ryan and his NY Jets.

Have you ever heard that if you cannot locate the sucker at a poker table you are the sucker, well the same can be said of the Jets schedule.  If you cannot find the weak link on your schedule, then chances are your it and the Jets are indeed the weak link for many teams this season.

The good Ol days

It is entirely possible that Sexy Rexy will not even be the Jets head coach at this point. With NY having Revis Island towed down the Atlantic, up the Gulf of Mexico and into Tampa Bay, the Jets may be lucky to win four games this season.  Quck….name me two players from each side of the ball besides Mark Sanchez for the Jets. Can’t do it can ya. This should be a nice way for the Ravens to kick off the stretch drive. The biggest concern for the Ravens in this one will be staying healthy. The Steelers come to town just four days later to play on Thanksgiving night.

The Ravens are 7-1 vs. the Jets in franchise history.  Their only loss came back in 1997 during the Ravens second season in Baltimore. Ryan is 0-2 vs. his former team, losing 34-17 in his return trip to Baltimore in Oct. 2011.

It seems as if it were just yesterday the fans of Baltimore were upset that owner Steve Bisciotti chose John Harbaugh over Rex Ryan to be the head coach after Brian Billick was fired. Now I guess we know why he made the choice he did and as everything takes shape in NY, for the worse at this point, it appears the decision wasn't so much an indictment on Harbaugh being better than Ryan, as much as it was an indictment on Rex not being ready to be a head coach. This will not be close but the Ravens win with class, something the Jets organization has lacked recently. Flacco and company will have their way and the defense is facing Mark Sanchez, enough said.

BALTIMORE RAVENS 27 NY JETS 3

RAVENS RECORD 8-3

WEEK 13 NOV.28 RAVENS VS. PITTSBURGH STEELERS (8:30 P.M NBC)

For tolerating the Orioles unwillingness to work with the Ravens, so they could celebrate their Super Bowl victory in a Week 1 contest with Denver at home, the NFL has rewarded the great fans of Baltimore with Ravens-Steelers II on Thanksgiving night.

Unless you are the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys, playing on Thanksgiving is usually a once in a generation deal. Not so for the Baltimore Ravens, who hosted Harbaugh Bowl I two seasons back on Thanksgiving night when the San Francisco 49ers were thumped at M & T Bank Stadium.

While that game was fun and carried a ton of sentimental value, this contest will be all about knocking the “stuffing” out of each other.  The wild card in this contest is where Pittsburgh will be at this point in the season.

Ravens to play rival Steelers in 2nd Turkey Night game in 3 years

The Steelers have a very manageable schedule and only five teams play a softer slate in 2013 than does Pittsburgh. However, this is the NFL and with all of their off-season losses, it is hard to imagine Big Ben and company actually contending for a division title but they are the Steelers and that’s probably right where they will be.

I have Pittsburgh taking the first contest at the big ketchup bottle on the three rivers, so even at 8-3, this could be necessary win for the Ravens. I never head into any game vs. any team, much less Pittsburgh, thinking or even believing the Ravens will blow them out (except the Jets) but the Ravens have done it before and I feel will do it here.

This will not be a three-point game, as so many before this one has been. The Steelers walk into M&T Bank Stadium thinking they are a lot better than they are and can only watch as a Ravens team begins to come together, as they always seem to do when it matters most in the season. Outplaying Big Ben is no longer an issue for Joe Cool, as the Ravens win for the fourth time in six games vs. their archrivals to gain a split in the season series. Not only do they win but they do so in convincing fashion.

RAVENS 34 PITTSBURGH STEELERS 10

RAVENS RECORD 9-3

WEEK 14 RAVENS VS. MINNESOTA VIKINGS (1:00 P.M. CBS)

The Ravens stay right in the friendly confines of the Big ATM to host last year’s league MVP and the Minnesota Vikings. The Ravens will get a real good idea of how far their run defense has come in this contest for obvious reasons. Stopping All Day Adrian Peterson will be the key and in the words of former ESPN anchor Dan Patrick, “you can’t stop Peterson, you can only hope to contain him”. I expect the Ravens to do just that.  I believe the Vikings will not be a playoff team this season and by this time, head coach Leslie Frazier could be firmly on the hot seat.

ALL DAY

The Vikings play the fourth toughest road schedule in the league next season and will be towards the end of a stretch of games that will have seen them play in order the Giants, Packers, Cowboys, Redskins, Seahawks, Packers and Bears before visiting Baltimore. This is no easy task and it is likely the Vikings will be beat up a bit or trying to fight for their playoff lives.

If somehow Minnesota is sitting pretty at this point, then QB Christian Ponder has developed into a top-notch passer and that to me is unlikely. I like the Ravens but I do not think it will be easy. Even if Frazier is on the hot seat, they play hard for him and will do so in this contest but the Ravens will prevail for win number 10.

RAVENS 23 MINNESOTA VIKINGS 17

RAVENS RECORD (10-3)

WEEK 15 RAVENS AT DETROIT LIONS (8:40 P.M. ESPN)

The Ravens will look to even their all-time Monday Night Football record at 9-9, with a victory in the Motor City vs. the Lions. The problem is, I do not think it happens.

Head Coach Jim Schwartz is again likely to turn around a squad that finished 4-12 last season and have them knocking on the door of at least a Wild Card berth at this point.  This team has too many weapons not to succeed and the addition of Reggie Bush in the backfield cannot hurt.

Schwartz-Harbaugh II

What the Lions need to be a better team, Thursday’s NFL Draft has in abundance. The Lions need help on the offensive line and could use a defensive end. There are players in this draft the Lions could have starting for them next season if they have done their homework, which I would like to think a Baltimore raised blue collar boy, Jim Scwartz, has done.

I am calling it now, if the Lions draft well, they will push the Packers for the division title and they will need this game more than Baltimore will at this point. The Ravens beat Detroit badly in Baltimore back 2009. Ray Rice rushed for 166 yards and added another 59 receiving. They will need another big time performance from him to win this game.

At 10-3, the Ravens appear ready to clinch their sixth straight playoff appearance. In fact, for the second consecutive year, the Ravens will clinch a playoff spot on this weekend, despite losing to the Lions. Calvin Megatron Johnson, Matt Stafford and Reggie Bush will be a little too much for the Ravens on this night.

The big question is, can Jim Schwartz get off the field without almost getting into a fight with another Harbaugh?

Detroit Lions 27 Ravens 17

WEEK 16 RAVENS VS. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (8:30 P.M. NBC)

For the second consecutive year, the Ravens and Patriots will hook up in an AFC Championship game rematch. There are no longer any secrets between these two teams. They are officially rivals and while it may not be Patriots-Jets or Ravens-Steelers, this game has become one of the must see on the NFL schedule.

Last season the Patriots held halftime leads on the Ravens in both of their games only to watch Joe Flacco and the Ravens offense score a combined 38 second half points to go 2-0 vs. Tommy Terrific in 2012. That has never happened during the Brady-Belichick era to the Pats.

The Week 3 contest last season, which the Ravens won 31-30 on a controversial last second Justin Tucker field goal, will forever be remembered as the game when Torrey Smith returned to the team to play following his brothers tragic death during the early morning hours on game day.

Of course, who could forget the Ravens win in New England in the AFC Title game. On the arm of Joe Flacco and the concentration of Anquan Boldin, the Ravens scored 21 unanswered points and shutout the top offense in the league during the second half to win 28-13 to advance to Super Bowl XLVII.

The Patriots would like to forget but they only way to bury that demon is to win in Baltimore. You can believe the evil genius of Bill Belichick will pull out all of the stops to ensure that happens.  N.E. will be out for revenge and be possibly trying to lock up a bye week with a win in Baltimore.

Flacco has had the edge on Mr. Bundchen

The team they could likely be battling for one of those byes could be the Ravens. The Pats have not had a great offseason and another surgery to TE Rob Gronkowski’s arm, his fourth, does not bode well for Tom Brady’s high-powered offense, which needs to find another wide receiver.

Brandon Lloyd is gone and Wes Welker is now in Denver. Brady’s favorite target (Welker) has been replaced by a player many called a “poor man’s Wes Welker”, Danny Amendola. The draft is going to be big for the Pats but they only have five total picks. However, starting with the 29th pick, they have three selections within a span of 63 picks (29, 59 and 91) with which to do some damage. The Patriots do not currently own any picks, in rounds four through six but have the 20th and 29th picks of the seventh round.

While I believe the Patriots are playoff bound once again in 2013, it will not be because they are so much better than everyone else is during the regular season. This playoff run could strictly be a byproduct of getting to play six games within their own division this season.

The Ravens and Patriots along with a select few other franchises are considered cream of the crop run organizations. Even with all of the losses in Baltimore, I think the Ravens are a better team and in a better position from an organizational standpoint. Including the playoffs, the Ravens will win their third straight over New England in what promises to be a high scoring affair.

Ravens 38 New England Patriots 31

RAVENS RECORD 12-3

WEEK 17 RAVENS at CINCINNATTI BENGALS (1:00 P.M. CBS)

This game could mean nothing to the Ravens, or it could mean everything. If the Raves are indeed 12-3, then another win could lock up a No.1 seed for the first time in franchise history and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. I expect the Bengals to be fully engaged in a battle for one of the two Wild Cards spots, which makes this a high stakes game for both teams.

With that said, there is a big difference between needing to win a game to make the playoffs and needing to win a game to play all of your playoff games at home. If you do not believe me, just ask the Houston Texans, who watched the No.1 seed slip away last season in Week 17 because having already locked up a playoff spot and at least one home playoff game could not get motivated enough to beat a division rival on the road to finish the season.

I think the Bengals scenario gives them the edge in this one and the fact they are at home cements the deal in my mind that Cincy wins the game.

Relax Ravens fans; didn’t the boys lose in the “Natti” to close out last season as well?

CINCINNATTI BENGALS 24 RAVENS 20

For the third time in four seasons, the Baltimore Ravens will finish the season 12-4 and in doing so win their third straight AFC North championship. Unlike the NY Giants last season, the Ravens will have an opportunity to defend their Super Bowl title.

Because the Ravens accomplished this with what amounts to essentially a new defense, in terms of faces—- and after trading away Anquan Boldin, John Harbaugh will be the NFL Head Coach of the year—–and deservedly so.

RAVENS FINAL REGULAR SEASON RECORD 12-4

Please be sure to join Stephen Shoup and myself on the Fanspeak Radio Network tonight through Saturday night for all of your 2013 NFL Draft needs. Tonight, (9:30 p.m.) Stephen and I will deliver our final first round mock drafts as well as any NFL Draft news and notes.

Tomorrow, we will start our NFL Draft coverage the same time as the Draft begins at 8:00 p.m. We will stay on the air until 11:00 p.m. breaking down every pick and trade made. We will do the same Friday and on Saturday, we will have a three hour draft wrap-up show that will start a half hour following the final pick of the 2013 NFL Draft.

If you have not already done so, please be sure to download the 2013 Fanspeak NFL Draft Guide, available for free right here on Fanspeak.com.

 

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by alanzlot

Predicting Ravens Schedule (First Half)

April 22, 2013 in NFL SCHEDULE

By Alan Zlotorzynski: On Thursday night, the NFL announced the schedule for the 2013 season and aside from the opening night debacle for the Super Bowl Champions, the Baltimore Ravens have been saddled with a very manageable schedule.

In terms of strength, the Ravens own the fifth toughest in the league, but a deeper look inside shows the Ravens will have an opportunity to play the tough part in the friendly confines of M&T Bank Stadium where head coach John Harbaugh and his newly minted Super Bowl MVP signal caller are almost unbeatable.18_ScheduleAnnouncement_news

Since taking over in 2008, Harbs and Joe Flacco are a cool 33-7 at home and 21-19 on the road. Aside from the usual cast of AFC North characters, the Steelers, Bengals and Browns, the Ravens will host the Texans, Packers, Jets, Vikings and Patriots.

According to last season’s finish, these teams posted a combined record of 72-54 (.578), which has the Ravens playing the fourth toughest home schedule. Where this gets easier, or at least if you believe strength of schedule is a solid stat in April, is when the Champs take to the road.

Away from the Charm city, the Ravens, of course will make return trips to The Burgh, Cincy and Cleveland. They will also visit Denver, Buffalo, Miami, Chicago and Detroit. These teams did not do as well as the ones visiting Baltimore. The combined record of the Ravens scheduled road teams was 63-65 (.492).

This is tricky to predict when you consider the following factors. First, the Browns made a significant impact in the free agent market this offseason and have former Ravens pass rusher and leading sacker from last season, Paul Kruger. What may offset a split with Browns and possibly the Bengals is the fact that the Steelers did not get better, not yet at least. In fact, losing Mike Wallace and many of their veteran leaders are forcing many to argue whether Pittsburgh is the worst team in the North heading into 2013.

I even heard a diehard Steeler’s fan recite that horrible word, which many stalwart franchises never seem to use but the Steelers may not be able to help—–rebuild.  Don’t bet on it Ravens fans, the Steelers still return one of the best secondary’s from a defense that ranked first in the league in 2012. Losing players such as James Harrison and Mike Wallace may hurt the Steelers in the short term but it always worked out for Big Ben and company somehow. Pittsburgh has been one of the best organizations through the years when it comes to addition through subtraction.

The Dolphins figure to be improved and the entire NFC North will be tough. The Lions should be vastly improved over a 4-12 record, and it is possible that the division could send three teams to this year’s playoffs. Factor in playing a first place schedule and the schedule while manageable, is no cupcake.

Unlike last year, the Ravens do catch a few breaks this season. Their bye week is right in the middle of the season during Week 8 and twice this season, Harbaugh’s troops will have 10 days to rest, with only one of those games, at home vs. the Steelers on Thanksgiving night, coming on four days’ rest.

The Ravens longest road trip is only two games and that happens twice in the first eight weeks of the season. They travel to play Buffalo and Miami in weeks four and five and then the travel to Pittsburgh and Cleveland in weeks seven and nine but the bye week prevents the Ravens from feeling like they have been gone two weeks in a row. They play four of their final six games at home but play the Lions on a Monday night in the Motor City before returning home to play the Patriots on a Sunday night the following week, in late December.

In all, I think there are far more pros than cons to this year’s schedule. You will not find a cross-country trip to San Diego sandwiched between two games vs. the Steelers. You will also not see the Ravens play four games in 17-days to kick off the season, thank God!

With that in mind, here are my predictions for the Baltimore Ravens 2013 schedule, game-by-game:

Week 1- Ravens at Denver Broncos Thursday Sept 5 (8:30 NBC)

The Ravens, thanks to "Dem O's" open on the road.

The Ravens, thanks to "Dem O's" open on the road.

This game will forever be known as Bird-gate, in that only one of the “Birds” in town were able to open their gates in Baltimore for a game on this day. As we all know, those Birds wear orange with their black. However, the game is in Denver and that is OK Ravens fans, even if the Ravens come home to face Cleveland 0-1.

Which they will by the way——be 0-1 to start the season. While it is true that the “fax” surrounding new Ravens pass rusher Elvis Dumervil’s arrival in Baltimore may never be known, he will have revenge on his mind as he tries to sack Peyton Manning. Nevertheless, the Ravens won there in January and Dumervil is one of 22 for the Ravens that will take the field that night. Denver will have all 22 players looking to serve up a little revenge of their own and when you factor in opening night in the NFL and many new players on defense for the Champs, this may start well but may look ugly by night’s end.

 

Denver 34 Baltimore 17

Ravens Record (0-1)

One more thing about this game. The Ravens had to travel to play the Broncos at some point this season. This was the best possible choice for them to do so. Week 1 games are always full of mistakes and almost never crisp, which could work in Baltimore’s favor. That is why it may look good early but get ugly late. At least the Ravens will have a min-bye with 10-days off until they host the Cleveland Browns at the big ATM in their home opener.

Week 2 Sept.15 Ravens vs. Cleveland Browns (1:00 p.m. CBS)

Joe Flacco’s record in Week 1 since taking over the starting job in 2008 is 5-0. He has averaged 241 yards with eight touchdowns and tossed only two interceptions with an average QB rating of 106.2. Week 2 has been an entirely different story. Flacco has been horrible and that is putting it mildly. He is 2-3 and has averaged 180 passing yards with five touchdowns and 10 interceptions. To put that into perspective, Flacco has thrown almost 18-percent of his career interceptions in Week 2.

The Jekyll and Hyde show is in reverse this season. The Champs celebrate their championship flag rising with the Ravens crazies by blasting the Brownies, as Flacco shows why he was worth at least a portion of his $126 million contract.

Ravens 41 Browns 21

Ravens Record (1-1)

Week 3 Sept. 22 Ravens vs. Houston Texans (1:00 p.m. CBS)

This is going to be the first of few homecomings this season for the Ravens as Ed Reed comes home to face his old team. The fans of Baltimore will love and gush all over No.20 but Flacco and Company have the capability to expose their former teammate. Unless Reed found a fountain of youth, Flacco is one of the best at doing what Reed can no longer defend with consistency, the deep ball.

This will be all about No.20

This will be all about No.20

The Texans had a league-high nine Pro Bowlers and skill position players at the top of several statistical categories. Wide receiver Andre Johnson finished second in the NFL with 1,598 receiving yards and Running back Arian Foster was sixth in the NFL with 1,424 rushing yards and led the league with 15 rushing TDs. In addition, defensive end J.J. Watt led the NFL with 20.5 sacks and was named Defensive Player of the Year.

Still yet, the Texans are missing that “something” they need to get over the hump. I can assure you it is not a 35-year old safety (born Sept 11) with constant neck and shoulder problems. Houston delivered quite a blow to a down and out Ravens team depleted with defensive injuries in Week 7 last year. The Texans thumped Reeds old team by 30 points in Houston. The Ravens have not forgotten and John Harbaugh is sure to remind them all week leading up to the game.

With less than a minute to play and the game tied, Flacco hits Torrey Smith with a long completion as he catches Ed Reed creeping, sound familiar——-Justin Tucker makes Reed pay even more and while the Ravens do not win by 30, they will win the game. Reed flies back to Houston on Owner Bob McNair’s private jet—end of story.

Ravens 27 Houston Texans 24

Ravens Record (2-1)

Week 4 Sept. 29 Ravens at Buffalo Bills (1:00 p.m. CBS)

It is entirely possible that Buffalo is playing with a rookie quarterback by this point in the season. I can see no reason why the Ravens do not finish the first quarter of the season with a win in Buffalo and record of 3-1. This will be the Ravens and Bills sixth meeting with Buffalo winning the only meeting between the two teams in Western NY.

Rian Lindell kicked four field goals and Marshawn Lynch scored on a one-yard TD run to spoil Willis McGahee’s warm homecoming, 19-14 back in Week 7 of the 2007 season. This loss would mark the beginning of the end in the Brian Billick era. Including this loss, the Ravens would lose nine straight games, winning just once more all season. Billick was fired shortly after the season ended, as Baltimore finished 5-11. No worries on this day, as Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce steal the show against a defense that was 31st vs. the run last season.

Ravens 30 Buffalo Bills 10

Ravens Record (3-1)

Week 5 Oct. 6 Ravens at Miami Dolphins (1:00 p.m. CBS)

Ellerbe with 35 million reasons to smile

Ellerbe with 35 million reasons to smile

Homecoming, or at least playing against your original team part two for the Ravens, as they take their talents to South Beach to play Dannell Ellerbe and the Miami Dolphins. I do not buy for one second that the Ravens were caught off guard in losing Ellerbe. If he were as great as his contract is paying him, then he would have been a starter two years ago in Baltimore. Do not misunderstand me, I like Ellerbe I agree with Trevor Pryce when he said Ray Lewis should give his Super Bowl check to Ellerbe for his play in the big game compared to Lewis’, who looked beat on just about every snap. However, that check was for $88,000 (loser got half of that amount) and not $437,500, which is what Ellerbe will be getting from Miami after every game for signing a five-year $35 million deal. The Ravens will need to be careful here. The Dolphins are an improving team and could land in the playoffs if a few things go right for head coach Joe Philbin this season. Do not forget they have former Steelers receiver, the speedy Mike Wallace, who gave the Ravens, fits at times.

Baltimore has had mixed success in south Florida. They are 2-0 there in the playoffs winning 27-9 in 2009 and 20-3 in 2002. However, the Ravens have just one regular season win in Miami in five tries. Their most notable loss occurred there during the nine game losing streak in 2007. Led by head coach Cam Cameron—that’s right—the former Ravens offensive coordinator, the Dolphins entered the Week. 15 contest winless on the season (0-13). However, the game went into overtime after Billick’s team surrendered a 10-point halftime lead and lost in the extra session. Matt Stover missed a 26-yard field goal to win the game and on the ensuing drive, the Dolphins would earn their first—and only win of the 2007 season. They did so on the arm of legendary Dolphins QB Cleo Lemon. He hit Greg Camarillo with a quick slant across the middle and Camarillo out ran Ed Reed to end zone for a 64-yard touchdown and the win. The Dolphins celebrated as if they won the Super Bowl and the banging heard on the Ravens sideline was the final nails being hammered in to Brian Billick’s coaching coffin in Baltimore.

Luckily, for the Ravens Cleo Lemon has been out of the league since 2008, as that win represented 33.3 percent of his career total. Instead it’s Ryan Tannehill and I like the Ravens chances here considering the Dolphins are coming off a short week after having played the Saints on Monday Night Football. It will be another close one but I like Flacco to outduel Tannehill for the “W”.

Ravens 24 Miami Dolphins 20

Ravens Record (4-1)

Week 6 Oct. 13 Ravens vs. Green Bay Packers (1:00 p.m. FOX)

Let’s not kid ourselves here; Aaron Rodgers comes to town with a little chip on his shoulder, intent on outperforming Joe Cool in his own backyard. I can see the FOX promos now, Rodgers and the Packers visit M&T Bank Stadium to take on Joe Flacco and the Super Bowl Champs.

Joe Buck and Troy Aikman made their first appearance at M&T last December when the Ravens opened up a can on the Giants. FOX’s top team will be back for this one and it should be a good one.

Flacco Vs. Rodgers on FOX

Flacco Vs. Rodgers on FOX

The Packers will need to get a running game during the rest of this offseason to help Rodgers but I see a potential second loss for the Ravens here. They will not go 15-1 this season and losing to the Packers is no crime. Three of the Ravens four meetings have taken place at Lambeau Field, with the last one in December of 2009. The Ravens lost that contest, 27-14. Aaron Rodgers threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns, while Flacco was not at his sophomore best. Joe Cool threw for 137-yards and three interceptions. While I expect Flacco to be much better this time, this will be a shootout and Rodgers will once again prevail.

Green Bay Packers 37 Ravens 31

Ravens Record (4-2)

Week 7 Oct 20. Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers (4:25 p.m. CBS)

The Ravens and Steelers get this rivalry back to normal in this one and what I mean by normal is splitting the regular season games with the home team winning. You may not like losing two in a row but it comes on the cusp of the bye week.

547464_106111116228266_678355869_nYes, the Steelers are not as talented as they were two years ago but they are the Steelers and this is one of the best rivalries in the game and records are tossed out the windows in these games. You know how we keep referring back to 2007 in this piece, the 4-11 Ravens beat the 10-5 Steelers to end their nine game slide that season.  The talk shows in Baltimore will be blowing up on Monday as the Ravens enter the bye week at only 4-3. Flacco will be not worth the money, it was the players in the October 2012 near mutiny that were right, and Harbaugh is losing his mind.

It will be all of the usual ready to jump off the ledge stuff that Ravens fans spew when the hometown boys lose a few in a row.

The bottom line is, the Ravens used the first seven games to get their defense in sync and their offense on the same page, as OC Jim Caldwell is in his first full season calling plays. Three points have decided eight of the previous 10 regular season games between these two teams, and four points decided another; this one will be no different.

Pittsburgh Steelers 17 Ravens 14

Ravens Record (4-3)

Week 9 Ravens at Cleveland Browns

The Ravens return from the bye week where head coach John Harbaugh is 5-0 during his stay in Baltimore. The Ravens beat the Browns 25-15 following the bye week last season. The win helped settle down a fan base that wasn't happy after the Ravens entered the off-week following a 30-point loss to the Texans. A win here in Cleveland could very-well do the same thing after I have them losing two in a row before the bye this upcoming season.

If the Browns draft a quarterback early in the 2013 NFL Draft, as new team owner Jimmy “Flying J” Haslem wants them to, it is likely the Ravens could be facing their second rookie of the season in Week 9. Current Browns QB and card-carrying AARP member, (just kidding) Brandon Weeden is not the short-term answer and at 30 years old by the time this game kicks off, the future either. The Ravens enter the 2013 season having won 10 in a row and based on my prediction from Week 2, make it 11 heading into this contest. Following a Ravens win in this contest, we can call it a “Dirty Dozen”. Besides, with Pro Bowl kicker Phil Dawson gone, who is going to score the points against the Ravens?

Ravens 30 Cleveland Browns 14

Ravens record after the first half of the season, 5-3

Log onto Fanspeak.com on Tuesday to read the Ravens second half of the season schedule breakdown. Will Flacco and company finish better than 10-6 or will they even get to 10 wins. I have the answers. You can also check out my Ravens draft special on Wednesday when I tell you why Ozzie Newsome may actually do something he rarely does on draft day to get his man. Trade up! Be sure to check back to see who are the possible trade partners are for the Wizzard.

 

 

 

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by Matt Pearce

Ravens Advance To Super Bowl XLVII

January 22, 2013 in Observations

In a rematch of last years AFC Championship Game, the Baltimore Ravens outlasted the New England Patriots by a score of 28-13.  At halftime the score was 13-7 to the Patriots.  Once the second half started the Ravens had a new offensive scheme, pass the ball.  This worked as it led to 21 second half points.  The defense rose to the occasion and shut the Patriots out in the second half.  In the first half, the Ravens were out played but, in the second half, the Ravens outplayed the Patriots.  Before this game, the Patriots had won 71 games in a row under head coach Bill Belichick when leading at half, including a 67-0 record when the quarterback is Tom Brady.  Now the Ravens will head to New Orleans to play in Super Bowl XLVII.  They will have the San Francisco 49ers who are coached by the brother of Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, Jim Harbaugh.  The game will take place on February 3rd and kickoff is at 6:29 pm Eastern time.

The Red Zone
The Ravens play in the red zone, on offense and defense, is what won them this game.  On offense, they made it to the red zone four times and, scored four touchdowns.  This offensive efficiency can make an offense almost unstoppable, as long as they can actually get to the red zone. On defense, they allowed the Patriots to make it in to the red zone four times but, they only scored one touchdown.  The Patriots also got to the Ravens 24 and 22-yard line but, the Ravens were able to force interceptions both times.  This red zone defense describes this years Ravens defense.  They are not the best in the league anymore however, once the other team makes it to the red zone, they dig in and stop the offense. It is very hard to lose a game when you have these two stats on your side.

Joe Flacco
For Flacco, it was almost like two different games.  In the first half, he went 6-of-12 for 81 yards with 0 TDs or INTs.  This isn't bad quarterbacking but, it also isn't how an elite one plays.  In the second half though, he went 15-of-24 for 159 yards with 3 TDs and 0 INTs.  For the game, he went 21-of-36 for 240 yards with 3 TDs and 0 INTs.  His QBR was 80.2 and his QB rating was 106.2 compared to Tom Brady's QBR of 45.1 and QB rating of 62.3.  Brady also threw 2 INTs.  So, for the third time in as many games, Flacco has outplayed Tom Brady and, two of these games have been the AFC Championship.

As stated above, the Ravens offensive strategy in the second half changed.  In the first half they had been doing a lot of run plays, especially on first down.  The offense just looked really conservative in the first half.  At halftime, there were some changes as the Ravens came out throwing in the second half.  In fact, Flacco accounted for 70% of the Ravens offense in the second half.  With this change, the offense started to move the ball.  Soon they had taken a 14-13 lead and they never looked back after that.

On to more game specific things, Flacco never really got the deep ball going as his longest completion of the game went for 26 yards to Anquan Boldin.  The lack of a deep passing game can be attributed to the weather as it was very windy on the field with the wind at around 20 mph if I remember correctly.  All of Flacco's touchdown passes were good but the one that stood out to me was the first to Anquan Boldin.  The first was a play action jump ball.  After the fake, Flacco threw the ball up where only Boldin could get it.  Flacco also had one rush attempt where he scrambled and picked up 14 yards and a first down.

Joe Flacco

Ravens QB Joe Flacco celebrates throwing one of his three touchdown passes against the Patriots.

Ray Rice
Starting with his performance in the passing game, Rice had 3 catches for 22 yards on 4 targets.  Of these three catches, two of them went for first downs.  The most memorable was a 15 yard screen pass.  The Patriots originally had the screen covered but, Rice got away and Flacco threw it.  Rice broke three tackles on his way to the first down.  Now to the run game.  While Rice had 19 rushes, he only ran for 48 yards which is an average of 2.5 yards per carry.  Three of these rushes went for first downs.  One was a 5 yard run that put the ball on the Patriots 2-yard line after he ran for eight yards the play before.  Another of his first downs was a short run on a 2nd and 2 which put the ball on the Patriots 3-yard line.  The last of his first downs was a 3rd and 1 run with five minutes left in the game which helped run more time off the clock.  Along with his 48 rush yards, Rice also had a rushing touchdown.  He only went for two yards but, he broke two tackles on the way.  The play called for Rice to run up the middle but, like most of the game, there wasn't running room in the middle.  So, Rice bounced the run outside to the left and scored. The only negative from Rice is he had a false start on a 3rd an 8 from the Ravens own 29-yard line.  This was early in the game so it can probably be accounted to nerves.

Bernard Pierce
While couldn't get much going on the ground, Pierce had much more success.  On 9 carries he had 52 yards.  Three of these carries went for first downs.  One of them was a 2nd and 5 run for nine yards which put the ball on the Patriots 22-yard line and another was a 3rd and 2 draw that he was able to bounce outside for a gain of eleven, the longest rush by any running back in the game.  Pierce also had 1 catch for 8 yards.  This also went for a first down; it was a 2nd and 8 swing pass that just barely was enough for the first.

Torrey Smith
Unlike the Denver game, Smith wasn't able to catch a deep pass but, he still had an impact on the game.  Most of his catches were in the intermediate range due to the wind.  He had 4 catches for 69 yards on 9 targets.  He had three of these go for first downs.  The first was a 25 yard catch on play action on a 2nd and 6 which put the Ravens on the Patriots 15-yard line.  The second was a 2nd and 14 conversion that went for 23 yards.  Lastly, he had a 16 yard catch on a first down.

Anquan Boldin
This was another record setting game for Boldin.  With his two touchdown catches, Boldin became the Ravens all-time postseason receiving touchdown leader.  He had 5 catches for 60 yards with 2 TDs on 8 targets.  All of these catches came in the second half and only one wasn't a first down or touchdown.  One of these first down catches was a 3rd and 9 for 26 yards and the other was on 2nd and 10 that put the ball on the Patriots 10-yard line.  Boldin's first touchdown was on the first play of the fourth quarter.  The other touchdown (the first was discussed with Flacco), was on a 2nd and 4 and was for 12 yards.  Boldin lined up in the slot and ran a seam route, Flacco threw it up and Boldin caught it for another touchdown.

Anquan Boldin

Ravens WR Anquan Boldin celebrates a touchdown with WRs Torrey Smith (left) and Jacoby Jones (right) nearby.

Dennis Pitta
For the second game in a row, Pitta had 55 receiving yards.  This week he did it on 5 catches with 7 targets.  Three of these catches went for first downs, one for a touchdown, and the other was in the red zone.  Starting with his first down catches, Pitta had a 3rd and 4 catch from deep in Ravens territory, a 2nd and 10 catch for a gain of over 20 yards, and a 2nd and 4 catch that put the ball on the Patriots 13-yard line.  His touchdown was on 2nd and goal from the 5-yard line and was a quick pass.  Lastly, his other catch occurred on the play before his touchdown.  It was first and goal from the ten and he went over the middle.  Pitta caught the ball and took a big hit but still was able to hold on to the ball.  On the negative side, Pitta had a diving catch go right through his hands on a 3rd and 8.

Offensive Line
Yet again, the offensive line performed great.  They only gave up two sacks for a combined loss of five yards which is nothing in terms of sack yardage.  The first sack was given up by LT Bryant McKinnie on a 3rd and 6 from inside the Ravens own 10-yard line. The other sack was more of a coverage sack and Flacco was starting to scramble so it wasn't really the fault of the offensive line.  It only went for a loss of one so it was basically a failed run play.  None of the offensive linemen were called for a penalty which is very impressive.  In the run game, they got some movement but for the most past, there never were any big holes to run through.  Of the offensive line can protect Flacco like this for one more game, they could be tough to beat in the Super Bowl.

Haloti Ngata
Ngata may have only had four tackles but, for a defensive lineman in a 3-4 defense, that is good.  One of these tackles was a run stop for no gain.  The part of the game that Ngata was the best at yesterday was rushing the passer.  Ngata finished with three of the Ravens seven QB hits (they didn't record a sack but seemed to have a fair amount of pressure).  On a 4th and 4 play from the Ravens 19-yard line, Ngata had pressure with Terrell Suggs which caused Brady to throw the ball away.  Once the Ravens made this stop, it seemed like the Ravens were going to win and make it to the Super Bowl.  This play is an attribute to Ngata's speed as Brady had an open field in front of him but didn't run because he probably wouldn't have made it.  Ngata also had pressure on another play which caused a throw away.  The last play where Ngata caused a throw away was with two minutes left.  Ngata had pressure which caused Brady to throw the ball away.

Pernell McPhee
So how does a defensive lineman without a tackle make it here?  Simple, deflect two passes (including one that leads to a touchdown) and say that you have discovered Tom Brady's flaw.  First, McPhee batted away a pass in the fourth quarter that Dannell Ellerbe was able to intercept. After this interception, with seven minutes left in the game, it seemed like the game really was over as the Patriots never got the ball back until there were two minutes left.  The other pass deflection came with under two minutes left in game.  On to him discovering Brady's flaw, McPhee says "He throws all of his balls low."  When asked about how Brady has been so successful despite this McPhee said "He just throws it fast and he always gets good pockets.  But I tried to stay in front of him after watching film and knowing where he likes to go and how he likes to do it.  So that was my best advantage, just get my hands up."  This strategy clearly worked for McPhee as he had his two pass deflections at the line.

Pernell McPhee

Ravens DE Pernell McPhee batted down two passes at the line-of-scrimmage.

Ray Lewis
As usual, Lewis recorded double digit tackles with 14 but, according to Pro Football Focus, only two of those were defensive stops (runs for little or no gain).  Lewis was flagged for a helmet-to-helmet hit which was the right call even though it was pretty obvious that he didn't mean to do it. Lastly, after the game, Lewis fell to the ground and started saying "Hallelujah."

Dannell Ellerbe
Starting with pass coverage, Ellerbe gave up three catches for one first down.  With about seven minutes left in the game, Ellerbe intercepted Brady off of McPhee's tip.  This came the next play after Wes Welker caught a 56 yard pass.  The last positive for Ellerbe was a pressure on Brady which caused a bad deep pass that ended up going out-of-bounds.  Also on this play, Ellerbe was able to take down Brady.  On the negative side Ellerbe was flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty after slapping a Patriots offensive lineman when a play was over. Ellerbe was retaliating to a late block but, you can't do that in the NFL and he was flagged, even if his slap barely was anything.

Terrell Suggs
While Suggs is though of as a pass rusher, he is actually quite a good run defender and this was on full display yesterday.  Suggs had two run stops for no gain including one on a 2nd and 1.  In the pass rush department he wasn't able to record a sack (like all of the Ravens) but, still had at least two pressures.  The first was on the 4th and 4 with Haloti Ngata as already discussed.  The other was with under two minutes left where he hit Brady as he threw causing an incompletion.

Walking off the field, Suggs was overheard saying "Tell them to have fun at the Pro Bowl. Arrogant f—ers" and "These are the most arrogant pricks in the world starting with Belichick on down."  He also said "That's funny, ever since SpyGate they haven't been able to win" though I don't know if he said this one to reporters or if he was overheard like the other two.  He did respond to reporters saying "All BS aside they are a hell of a ball club … They have the right to be arrogant."  While he may believe this, there is no reason to say this but, on the positive side, he didn't come out and say it to the media, he was just overheard.  Either way, the Ravens don't need publicity like this, especially after these two controversial things about the Patriots.

Bernard Pollard
It seemed like Pollard was all over the field going full speed all night.  He finished with 9 tackles, 1 pass deflection, and 1 forced fumble.  In the run game, Pollard had a run stop for a gain of two yards.  In pass coverage, he only gave up one pass.  On a blitz he was able to bat down a pass at the line-of-scrimmage.  This batted pass came on 1st and goal from the Ravens two-yard line.  On a 3rd and 4 from the Ravens 19-yard line, he had great coverage and forced an incompletion.  Pollard had a big hit on a receiver but was called for a helmet-to-helmet hit.  However, he led with his shoulder on the play and his shoulder hit the receiver on his head so I am going to call this one a bad call.

Lastly is the play we all remember, his hit and forced fumble on Patriots RB Stevan Ridley.  Pollard hit Ridley hard and they both lowered their heads on the play so it was a helmet-to-helmet hit but since it was a running back it isn't a penalty.  Ridley was unconscious before he hit the ground and on his way down, the ball came out of his hands and was recovered by DT Arthur Jones.  Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said "That [Pollard's hit] was the turning point of the game. A tremendous hit, football at its finest."  This play goes in line with Pollard's history with the Patriots.  In 2008, it was Pollard that hit Brady when he tore his ACL.  In 2009, it was Pollard that Welker was trying to avoid when he tore his ACL.  In 2012, it was Pollard that injured Rob Gronkowski ankle which limited him in the Super Bowl.

Bernard Pollard

Ravens S Bernard Pollard goes in for a tackle.

Cary Williams
Williams had a solid performance last night only giving up four completions and one first down.  He also had a deflection on a 3rd and 2 that went right to Paul Kruger but, since the deflection took a weird bounce off of Williams, Kruger dropped it because he wasn't expecting the ball to come to him.  Lastly, Williams intercepted Brady in the end zone with 1:06 left in the game.  After this interception the Ravens just took a two knees and the game was over.

Corey Graham
Like Williams, Graham gave up four completions, however, three of his went for first downs and the other was for the Patriots only touchdown of the game.  The touchdown was on a 3rd and goal from the one.  After the play, Graham and Chykie Brown were upset because they didn't communicate well after the Patriots motioned a receiver over.  This led to Welker being open for the touchdown.  Graham was also beaten on the first drive on a 3rd and 2 but Welker dropped the pass.  On a pass that Welker didn't drop, Graham was beat deep for 56 yards.  He bit badly on the double move leaving Welker wide open.  Ending on a positive note, Graham had a run stop for a loss of one on a 3rd and 2 which forced a field goal by the Patriots.

Jimmy Smith
This game was the first time in a while that Smith received substantial playing time.  Brown started as the nickel corner and then Smith took it over.  By the end of the game it seemed like they were being rotated.  This could have been part of the game plan to put Graham on Welker instead of Brown doing that.  This would mean that Graham would be in the slot.  Since Smith is better on the outside than Brown, he would come in when in nickel.  This is just a speculation so it will be interesting to see who is the nickel corner in the Super Bowl.

John Harbaugh

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh celebrates the Ravens win in the locker room.

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by Matt Pearce

Ravens Stun Broncos in Double OT

January 13, 2013 in Observations

In the first double overtime game since the 2003 divisional playoffs, the 4th seed Baltimore Ravens beat the 1st seed Denver Broncos 38-35 in the 4th longest game in NFL history.  The 35 points given up by the Ravens are the most in franchise playoff history.  On the offensive side, the Ravens had an amazing 479 yards of offense.  Coming into the game, almost nobody gave the Ravens a chance to win but, they came together as a team to win this one.  The Ravens will play in the AFC Championship game on Sunday at 6:30 ET on the road against the winner of the Patriots Texans game today.

Coverage Units
If the Ravens lost this game, most of the blame would have gone to the punt and kickoff coverage units.  On the first punt of the game, they allowed Broncos returner Trindon Holliday to go 90 yards for a touchdown.  On the return, there was one Ravens player on the far side of the field (from a TV perspective), other that P Sam Koch.  Holliday just took the punt down the far side of the field and scored.  Brendon Ayanbadejo missed a tackle and Holliday was gone.  Giving up a punt return for a touchdown is one thing but, having about nine players on the wring side of the field is another.  Some of them should be their for contain but not nine of them.

They weren't done after allowing that punt return either.  To start second half, the Ravens kicked off.  Holliday took the ball out of his endzone and ran it 104 yards for a touchdown.  On this play, Holliday just found a hole and made the most of it.  He touched but, there wasn't a good tackle attempt on the return.  With these two plays, Holliday had the longest punt and kick return touchdowns in NFL postseason history.  After these two plays, Holliday never really had a good opportunity to return a punt or kick because the Ravens did the right thing and kicked away from him.

Referees
I just want to make a quick note about the referees.  Throughout the game there were questionable calls that went against both teams.  They also took a long time to make some decisions and what to call.

Joe Flacco
In the regular season matchup against the Broncos, Flacco had a QBR of 0.4.  This week, Flacco led a late comeback to tie the game in regulation and then played good in overtime.  With this win, he now has five playoff road wins and will play in his 3rd AFC Championship game in only five seasons.  Starting with the stats, he went 18-of-34 for 331 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, 1 fumble, a QBR of 65.3, and a QB rating of 116.2. Throughout the game, Flacco's snap count was good as he was able to get the Broncos to jump offsides at least three times.  He was also aware enough to snap the ball when the Broncos had twelve men on the field.  Part of the Ravens gameplan was to throw the ball downfield and Flacco was able to do this.  He was able to accomplish this by averaging 18.4 yards per completion.  Early in the game he had a perfect deep pass to Torrey Smith for a 59 yard touchdown.  A little bit later, Flacco overthrew Smith who had a few steps on his man again.  This also would have been a touchdown.  In overtime, he had a great pass to Dennis Pitta on 3rd and 13 for a first down.  On the negative side, he fumbled a snap at midfield and the Broncos were able to recover it.  With four minutes left in OT, he had an interception dropped near midfield.

The play that impressed me the most was the 70 yard touchdown pass to Jacoby Jones with 31 seconds left in regulation.  Not only did this tie the game up, Flacco did a great job on this play.  It was a 3rd and 3 and as soon as the ball was snapped, Flacco was under pressure from the outside.  Due to this pressure, Flacco stepped up in the pocket and threw it about 55 yards in the air.  This was a great play because Flacco rarely steps up into the pocket and makes a pass.  This is the sign of an elite quarterback.  If you watch Peyton Manning, you will notice that he steps up in the pocket most of the time when he feels pressure.  This is a great thing to be able to do as a quarterback.

Overall, Flacco's performance is the sign of an elite quarterback.  He was able to led his team on a game tying drive with about one minute left, on the road, against the number two defense in the NFL, in the playoffs.  He was also able to outperform one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, Peyton Manning, who finished with 2 interceptions and 1 fumble.

Joe Flacco

Ravens QB Joe Flacco celebrates his game tying touchdown pass to Jacoby Jones.

Ray Rice
After fumbling twice last week, Rice turned in a great performance.  On 30 carries, Rice was able to gain 131 yards and 1 touchdown.  It seemed like most of his carries came in the second half and overtime.  At one point in overtime, almost every first down play was a run to Rice.  Of his 30 rushes, 3 of them went for first downs (by my count).  The first of these was the Ravens first 3rd down conversion in the game.  The second of these was a 32 yard run that put the Ravens inside the Broncos 5-yard line.  On the ensuing 3rd and goal, Rice was able to run for the touchdown from one yard out.  This touchdown gave Rice his five career postseason touchdowns which is a Ravens team record.

Anquan Boldin
Boldin continues to be a first down machine for the Ravens offense.  He had 6 catches for 71 yards on 11 targets.  Of his 6 catches, 5 went for first downs.  One of these first downs was on the final drive in the 1st half.  Another first down was on the first drive of overtime.  Every time the Ravens needed a first down, Flacco would look for Boldin.

Torrey Smith
While Boldin is a first down machine, Smith is the big play receiver.  He had 3 catches for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns on 6 targets.  Each of his catches was for a touchdown or a first down.  The first touchdown was for 59 yards on 2nd and 2.  Smith went deep and just ran right past Broncos star CB Champ Bailey.  This touchdown was needed because the Broncos had just returned a punt for a touchdown.  This touchdown is the 2nd longest passing play in Ravens postseason history.  The second touchdown was with 36 seconds left in the 1st half.  Smith went deep on Bailey again and again scored on him.  Flacco threw the ball a little behind to try and give Smith a better opportunity.  Smith was able to stop his momentum and catch the ball while Bailey couldn't.  With his second touchdown, Smith became the first Ravens player to have two receiving touchdowns in a playoff game.  In overtime, Smith was able to draw a pass interference on a 3rd and 5 play on the Ravens first drive.  This drive didn't result in points but it helped in the field position battle.  Throughout the game, Smith was beating one of the best cornerbacks in the game, Champ Bailey, on the deep passes.

Jacoby Jones
Before his 70 yard touchdown catch, Jones wasn't having a good game.  On a kickoff, he wasn't able to catch it properly and after he got the ball, he was only able to get the ball to about the 6-yard line.  Even worse than this, was his drop on 3rd and 5 with 3 minutes left.  Flacco put the pass right in hands and Jones dropped it.  After the Ravens couldn't convert the 4th down play, it looked like the game was over.  However, Jones more than made up for his drop with his 70 yard touchdown catch with 31 seconds left.  Before this play happened, the Broncos had a 97.2% chance of winning according to ESPN Stats and Information.  On the play, Jones was able to run past the cornerback and the safety took a bad angle and run under the pass.  Once Jones caught it he had a free run to the endzone.  Other than that play, he had 1 catch for 7 yards on 4 targets.

Jacoby Jones

Ravens WR Jacoby Jones catches his game tying touchdown.

Tight Ends
In the first meeting between these two teams, backup TE Ed Dickson was injured and didn't play.  This meant the Ravens couldn't run many two TE sets.  These week he was healthy and the Ravens ran many two TE sets.  Dickson had 3 catches for 29 yards on 4 targets.  Two of these catches went for first downs.  Starter Dennis Pitta had 3 catches for 55 yards on 5 targets.  He had three first downs including one on the final drive in the 1st half and a 3rd and 13 from their own 3-yard line in overtime.

Offensive Line
There aren't enough good things that I can say about the offensive line after that game.  The biggest key on offense was the offensive line.  The line stood up to the challenge and gave Flacco lots of time to throw all game long.  They allowed 1 sack but that was a coverage sack as Flacco just couldn't find anyone to pass to.  In the running game, they opened up holes all game long.  While the longest run was only 32 yards, there were lots of runs for about 5 yards.  The line was only called for one penalty and that was a false start on LG Kelechi Osemele.  The other guard, Marshal Yanda, was very impressive because of two plays.  The first was Rice's touchdown run.  Yanda pulled and took out his guy, pushing him down into the endzone.  This block allowed Rice to score.  The other play was the last play of the first OT.  Rice ran the ball and was being held up but, Yanda came over and pushed the pile for about 2 yards which was enough to get the first down and, more importantly, put the Ravens in field goal range to win the game.

Pernell McPhee
McPhee's name was only called once yesterday but it was for a great play.  On a 3rd and 11, McPhee, as well as a few others, was able to get pressure on Peyton Manning.  McPhee was able to hit the ball out of Manning's hand.  The Ravens recovered this fumble at the Broncos 37-yard line.  McPhee finished with 2 tackles but, this play was huge for the Ravens as they hadn't been getting any pressure on Manning.  In fact, in the 1st half, the Ravens didn't get any pressure on 22 passes but, in the 2nd half, they had 10 pressures on 24 passes.

Terrell Suggs
Let's continue with the Ravens who had sacks.  Suggs had the Ravens other two sacks.  The first was a complicated sack of Manning.  On the play, Manning fumbled and it looked like the Ravens recovered.  However, it looked like Manning's knee was down on the replays that were shown.  This didn't even end up mattering because both Suggs and Cary Williams were called for illegal use of hands to the face.  The call on Suggs was ticky tack and there never was a replay to show what Williams did.  Despite all this, Suggs still got credit for a sack and a forced fumble.  This was the first time that Suggs ever sacked Manning.  The second sack came on a 3rd and 4 on the Broncos drive after Rice scored his touchdown.  Suggs pushed his lineman back right into Manning.  In pass coverage, Suggs gave up one completion.  Suggs was able to finish with 10 tackles and his two sacks were the first for him since week 12 against the Chargers.

Terrell Suggs

Ravens LB Terrell Suggs celebrates one of his two sacks against the Broncos with teammate DE Pernell McPhee.

Paul Kruger
While Kruger didn't get a sack yesterday, he still had pressure and recorded 2 QB hits.  One of these was on the Broncos first offensive play in overtime and the other was on the play were Manning threw his last interception, which set up the Ravens to win the game.  This second pressure was very important.  Kruger forced Manning to scramble out of the pocket and Manning then tried to throw across his body but, it was intercepted. On McPhee's sack, Kruger had some pressure and was able to recover the fumble.  In the run game, Kruger had a run stop for a loss of one.  In the passing game, he gave up one completion and was able to blow up a WR screen.  He forced Manning to just throw the ball into the ground on this play because Kruger was right in the way.

Dannell Ellerbe
Like the last few weeks, this was another solid game for Ellerbe.  He allowed 4 catches for 1 touchdown.  The touchdown came when he had to lineup at cornerback because of the Broncos formation.  Therefore, you can't exactly blame Ellerbe for this as he never has to play out there.  He was able to breakup a 2nd and 5 slant route which would have been a first down.  In run defense, Ellerbe stopped a 2nd and 1 run play for no gain with 2 minutes left in overtime.  Earlier in the game, he was called for a facemask on a play where his hand just grazed the helmet of the ball carrier.  Ellerbe finished with 9 tackles and 1 pass defense.

Ray Lewis
When you look at the box score, one stat that sticks out is the 17 tackles that Lewis had.  This is an amazing total, especially for a 37 year old linebacker.  Lewis is giving it his all to make it back to the Super Bowl for one last time.  When in pass coverage, Lewis gave up 3 completions for 1 first down.  He was also called for a pass interference call.  However, the pass interference probably was better than what would have happened if the receiver caught the ball as there was an open field behind Lewis.  Lewis made one great play in run defense.  He broke through the line and stopped the running back for a loss of 3 yards after Courtney Upshaw slowed him down a little.  Most importantly, Lewis was able to get the defense to stop the Broncos and not let them run the clock out at the end of the 4th quarter.  Even though they gave up a first down almost right away, they didn't give up another and gave the offense about one minute to score.

Corey Graham
If you had to pick a defensive MVP for this game, it would be Graham.  This is because of his two interception.  First though, lets talk about the other things he did.  He allowed 3 completions for 1 touchdown.  The touchdown was just a great pass by Manning and there really wasn't much that Graham could have done.  Graham blitzed a few times and on one of them, he was able force Manning to throw the ball away.  Now on to the interception.  The first came on a 3rd and 7 and was Manning's second pass of the game.  Chykie Brown had good coverage on the play and was able to deflect the ball right to Graham who then went untouched for a 39 yard touchdown.  This gave the Ravens a 14-7 lead only 5 minutes into the game.  His interception for a touchdown is the fifth in Ravens playoff history.  The second interception was just as important as the first. There was 51 seconds left in the first overtime. Kruger's pressure forced Manning out of the pocket and Graham was able to step in front of Manning's pass.  Since there was no return, the ball was at the Broncos 45-yard line.  With the second interception, Graham became the 6th player to have a two interception game in the past five postseasons.  Interestingly, he becomes the 3rd Raven to do this in the same span along with Ed Reed and Lardarius Webb.

Corey Graham

Ravens CB Corey Graham intercepts a pass and this sets the Ravens up at the Broncos 45-yard line with 51 seconds left in the first overtime.

Cary Williams
All four of the passes that Williams allowed went for first downs.  He also had two penalties that gave first downs to the Broncos.  The first was an illegal hand to the face and the other was a holding call.  The holding was on a 3rd and 3 and negated a good pass breakup by himself.  A positive for Williams was a nice hit that broke up a pass.

Chykie Brown
As said above, Brown had great coverage on Graham's interception return for a touchdown.  In pass coverage, Brown allowed 2 catches for 1 first down.  The only other thing of note was that he was called for a helmet-to-helmet hit when his helmet hit the receiver in the facemask.

Ed Reed
All throughout the game, Reed's name wasn't called much.  However, that was actually a good thing for the Ravens, and not because Reed isn't good.  The reason is that Manning wasn't passing it downfield very much.  Almost all of the Broncos passes were either in the short or intermediate range.  Manning obviously didn't want to test Reed in such an important game.  Other than this, Reed was late coming over on Knowshon Moreno's touchdown run and missed an tackle on Demaryius Thomas's touchdown catch.

Justin Tucker
Now Tucker has his first game winning kick in the playoffs.  He kicked a 47 yard field goal in the second overtime to win the game for the Ravens.  This was the 4th longest overtime field goal in playoff history and was the longest kicked by a rookie.  Tucker said that in warmups, he made a 67 yard field goal.  During the break between the first and second overtime, Tucker went out to take a few practice kicks because the Ravens were close to getting a field goal.  I have never seen this happen before and according Mike Pereira, there is no penalty for this but, referees are told to not allow this to happen.  These practice kicks were important to Tucker because they helped him gauge the wind in the stadium.  After the game, when asked about the game, Tucker said "Nobody wavered, we were all confident in each other."  The decision to keep Tucker over veteran Billy Cundiff looks even better now.  Nobody knows what Cundiff would have done in the same situation but, his miss in the AFC Championship game last year would have had to be in the back of his head.

Justin Tucker

Ravens K Justin Tucker celebrates his game winning 47 yard field goal.

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Picture of Matt Pearce

by Matt Pearce

Ravens Advance To Face Broncos

January 7, 2013 in Observations

In a very emotional Wild Card matchup, the 4th seed Baltimore Ravens defeated the 5th seed Indianapolis Colts by a score of 24-9 in what was Ravens star LB Ray Lewis's last home game.  Lewis will retire at the end of the season.  With this win the Ravens final record at home when Lewis plays is an amazing 81-36-1.  That works out to be a winning percentage of .686, to put this in perspective that is an 11-5 record if it was for one season.  On the offensive side, the Ravens set a single-game playoff team record for total yards with 441.  This win marks the 5th straight year that the Ravens have made it to the divisional playoff round.  Next week the Ravens will travel to Denver to face the 1st seed Broncos on Saturday at 4:30 pm ET.

Joe Flacco
With the way the defense was playing today, Flacco did exactly what he had to do to win this game.  The defense may have allowed 419 yards but, they only allowed 9 points which made Flacco's job way easier.  All he had to do was not lose the game and, he did better than that. Completing 12-of-23 passes, Flacco threw for 282 yards, 2 TDs, a QBR of 89.5, and a QB rating of 125.6.  His 52 completion percentage may not look good but, he was able to throw for 282 yards on his 12 completion which is an average of 23.5 yards per completion.  Flacco did have an interception dropped early in the game but this was his worst play.  On his touchdown pass to Dennis Pitta, Flacco did a good job of escaping the pressure and finding Pitta.  Throughout the game, Flacco was able to throw the deep ball well and was lofting it in very well, especially to Anquan Boldin.

Ray Rice
This was a very uncharacteristic game for Ray Rice.  In the regular season, Rice only had one fumble and that was against the Steelers in week 11.  Against the Colts, Rice fumbled not once, but twice.  Both of these fumbles occurred inside Indianapolis territory, once at the 15 and the other at the 40.  Thankfully for the Ravens, and Rice, neither of the fumbles led to points for the Colts.  These fumbles led to backup Bernard Pierce being used more in the game than the gameplan probably called for.  Rice finished with 15 carries and Pierce had 13.  On Rice's 15 carries, he went for 70 yards.  In the passing game, Rice only had one catch on 4 targets but, it was a very important catch.  It was a screen pass that went for 47 yards and put the Ravens at the Colts 2-yard line with under 1 minute left in the 1st half.  On the next play, FB Vonta Leach ran in for the touchdown.  Overall, Rice will need to hold on to the ball if the Ravens want to make it far in the playoffs.

Ray Rice

Ravens RB Ray Rice fumbles the ball.

Bernard Pierce
Pierce was the beneficiary of Rice's fumbles.  These fumbles allowed Pierce to be in the game and, as usual, he made the most of it.  He ran for 103 yards on 13 carries with a long of 43 yards.  Of his 13 carries, 4 of them went for first downs.  One of these was a nice 18 yard run that put the Ravens inside the Colts 10-yard line.  His other great run was the 43 yarder.  It was a 3rd and 1 run to the right side.  he received a few good blocks and was off to the races.  With his play, Pierce keeps showing that he could be a starting running back in the NFL.

Torrey Smith
If you go by the box score, Smith didn't have much of an impact on the game but, in fact, he did have an impact.  The box score says he had 2 catches for 31 yards on 4 targets which is pretty uneventful.  One of these catches was for a first down and, it was a leaping catch for 22 yards. I still find it hard to see how he was able to jump high enough to catchup the ball.  Smith was able to get another first down by drawing a pass interference at the Colts 15-yard line.  Thats not all, Smith also had some good block, which is rare for a wide receiver.  On Rice's screen pass, Smith was blocking way downfield and had his guy engaged all the time until Rice passed him.  This downfield block allowed Rice to get to the 2-yard line.  The other good block by Smith came on Pitta's touchdown catch.  At around the 5-yard line, Smith blocked his man which allowed Pitta to get into the endzone.

Anquan Boldin
One word to describe Boldin's performance: record-setting.  Ok that may be cheating but, he still had a great game.  Before the game, Boldin felt he was going to have a great game.  He went up to Flacco and said he felt like 200 yards today.  How big of a day did Boldin have?  Well, he set the Ravens single-game receiving playoff record with 145 yards.  This 100 yard game is only the 3rd time a Ravens receiver has gone over 100 yards in the playoff.  The last Ravens receiver to do this?  Anquan Boldin.  All of his 145 yards came in the 2nd half of the game despite having 2 targets in the 1st half.  These 145 yards in the 2nd half are the most in the playoffs since Jerry Rice had 157 in Super Bowl XXIII.  Boldin had 5 catches for those 145 yards which is an average of 29 yards per catch.  Of these 5 catches, 4 went for first downs, and the other went for a touchdown.  One catch was on a 3rd and 19.  Boldin went deep and caught a 50 yard pass.  He ran an out and up on another play for 46 yard where Flacco placed the ball perfectly over Boldin's shoulder.  Boldin's touchdown catch was for 19 yards.  It was a jump ball and the cornerback had his hand on the ball but, Boldin still corralled the ball.

After the game, Boldin said "I just wanted to go out and give everything,” Boldin said. “I think everyone in this locker room wanted to make sure this wasn’t our last game. I think we all have a goal in mind and we’re focused in on that goal. The only way we’re going to get there is if we go out there and give our all on the field."  He also said "I was real motivated [today],” Boldin said. “I’ve said it before, I came to Baltimore to win a championship. That’s my goal."

Anquan Boldin

Ravens WR Anquan Boldin goes up for a pass that he will catch for a touchdown.

Tight Ends
While both tight ends for the Ravens may have combined for 3 catches, all of these catches were important.  Lets start with the starter, Dennis Pitta.  He had 2 catches for 27 yards.  One of his catches was a 7 yard first down.  The other was a 20 yard crossing route that went for a touchdown.  Ed Dickson only had 1 catch for 24 yards.  This catch was the Ravens first, first down of the game and got the Ravens rolling on offense.

Offensive Line
Overall, the offensive line played well, especially when you consider the Ravens never used this line during the regular season.  Due to starting LG Jah Reid being out, the line go shuffled up.  Normal RT Kelechi Osemele went to LG, normal LT Michael Oher went to RT, and Bryant McKinnie came in at LT.  The line only allowed 1 sack for a loss 13 yards.  On this play, the pass rusher was never blocked on a play action pass.

On Pierce's 18 yard run, both C Matt Birk and RG Marshal Yanda had great blocks.  Yanda pushed his man 10 yards downfield and Birk probably blocked his man 7 yards downfield.  Yanda also had a great block on Pierce's 43 yard run.  Pierce ran behind him and Yanda blocked his man down (to his left).  Along with Oher's great block to the outside, this springed Pierce for the big gain.

Speaking of Oher, that play was probably his best of the game, as the rest goes downfield.  He twice allowed pressure which caused Flacco to throw the ball away.  Penalty wise, he was only called for one.  It was a 2nd and 10 on the Colts 15-yard line and Oher was called for a false start.

McKinnie had a great game.  He played good enough to question what the line will look like next week.  Obviously is Reid can't play, it will stay like this.  If Reid can play, it will be interesting to see if the coaches go with this line because it played so good or if they go with the normal line.

Paul Kruger
One word to describe Kruger's performance: domination.  Recently, Kruger has been on fire and the playoffs did nothing to stop that.  With his 2.5 sacks yesterday, Kruger now has 10 sacks in his last 9 games after only getting 1.5 in his first 7 games.  These 2.5 sacks don't give enough credit to Kruger for how he played.  There were two other instances when Kruger failed to bring down Andrew Luck for a sack.  After the first time this happened, Kruger made up for it later in the drive with his first sack.  It was a 3rd and 5 on Ravens territory on the drive after Rice's first fumble.  Kruger was able to knock the ball out of Luck's hands.  Pernell McPhee was then able to recover the fumble.  His next sack was his half sack were he split it with Corey Graham for a loss of 6.  Finally, his last sack was on a 3rd and 10 where he just ran right past the offensive lineman.  This was for a loss of 8.  If this isn't enough, Kruger had pressure on almost every pass play, and finished with an amazing 5 QB hits, exactly half of the Ravens total for the game.  On one of the few plays that Kruger dropped into pass coverage, he was able to knock down a pass.  The only negative note for Kruger was an offsides penalty on a 2nd and 10.  The Ravens will let this slip though due to his amazing performance, whats even more impressive is both of his solo sacks came on 3rd down.

Ray Lewis
I think it was fitting for the Ravens to not give up a touchdown in Lewis's final home game.  He will be remembered for being a great defensive player and for leading one of the greatest defenses ever.  Therefore, giving up no touchdowns is the perfect end.  It is also fitting that Lewis led the team with 13 tackles.  He played all 87 snaps and had one great play that made everyone remember what made him great.  On the snap, Lewis knifed through the offensive line an stopped the running back for a loss of 1.  This is exactly the type of play Lewis would make all the time a few years ago.  In pass coverage, Lewis allowed four first downs on four passes.  He was also helped out by a dropped pass.  One play that he will never live down was his dropped interception.  Haloti Ngata tipped the ball at the line-of-scrimmage and it went right to Lewis.  Somehow, the ball hit Lewis right in the hands but he wasn't able to catch it.  After the game, he blamed his arm brace for the drop.  But, this game wasn't about his performance.  It was about his last game in Baltimore.  To give out one last memory, Lewis went in on the final kneel down of the game.  This marked the first offensive play he has ever taken part of.  Even better, after the snap, Lewis did his introduction dance for one last time in the middle of the field.  You can see his final introduction here and the dance at the end of the game here.

Ray Lewis

Ravens LB Ray Lewis does his pre-game dance for the last time.

Dannell Ellerbe
Over the course of the season, Ellerbe has shown he is a great blitzer, and nothing changed yesterday.  On a 3rd and 7, Ellerbe flushed Luck out of the pocket on a blitz.  Luck had to try and run for the first down and he was stopped well short.  The next example of this was on a 2nd and 10. His pressure forced Luck to try and throw the ball away.  Since the ball didn't make it back to the line-of-scrimmage, Luck was flagged for intentional grounding.  This caused a loss of down, loss of 16 yards, and took 10 seconds off the clock because there was only 22 seconds left in the half.  Lastly, Ellerbe blitzed on a run play and tackled the running back for a loss of 2 yards.

Cary Williams
Williams only gave up 3 catches yesterday but, 2 of them were for first downs.  The first was a 3rd and 4 which put the Colts near midfield.  The other first down completion was much more important.  It was the play after Ellerbe forced the intentional grounding.  The penalty put the Colts out of field goal range.  As they were just on the edge of field goal range before, they needed to get about 25 yards to get a field goal.  This is exactly what Williams allowed setting up a 52 yard field goal which Adam Vinatieri made.  On the positive side, Williams had an interception on a 4th and 1 very late in the game.  Corey Graham tipped the pass and Williams was there to catch it.  However, on the return, Williams was chased down by Luck which has to be embarrassing.

Corey Graham
As stated above, Graham tipped a pass on a 4th and 1 inside the Ravens 20-yard line with time running down.  Other than this, Graham also had a half sack with Kruger for a loss of 6 yards.  Graham allowed 3 passes for 1 first down.  The one first down was for about 20 yards with 30 seconds left in the 1st half.

Ray Lewis (52) Jacoby Jones (12) Torrey Smith (82)

Ravens LB Ray Lewis does his dance for one last time after the game while teammates Jacoby Jones (12) and Torrey Smith (82) look on.

Chykie Brown
The two most memorable plays for Brown were penalties, never a good sign.  He was called for an illegal contact on a 2nd and 10.  The other penalty was on a punt return.  He was called for a hold which lost the Ravens 16 yards.  On defense, he gave up 1 pass for 1 first down.

Ed Reed
Even Ed Reed got into the pass rushing.  He blitzed on a 3rd and 9 and tipped a pass on the Colts first drive.  Just like his good friend Lewis, Reed dropped an interception.  Luck was under pressure and just trying to throw the ball away but he never saw Reed.  Reed jumped in front of the receiver.  He did everything right, except catch the ball, which is kind of important.  He just straight up dropped it.  It was a diving catch but, the Ed Reed of a few years ago makes the play.

Bernard Pollard
Just like Brown, Pollard was called for two penalties but, these two are a little more controversial.  The first was a "blow to the head of a receiver."  On this play, you can clearly see that Pollard led with his shoulder.  Its not like his shoulder hit the receiver either.  His shoulder hit the receiver in the arm and chest.  The only part of Pollard to touch the receiver's head was his facemask and the facemask barely grazed the helmet of the receiver.  This is just another example of the bad helmet-to-helmet calls throughout the NFL right now.  On the next play, Pollard was called for a taunting penalty after the play against the Colts bench.  After the game, Pollard said a Colts assistant cursed at him and then a player shoved him.  While the Colts shouldn't have done this, Pollard shouldn't have reacted.  After each of these two plays, the stadium united with more "bulls***."  Unfortunately, I couldn't find the video this time.  Other than penalties, Pollard broke up two key passes.  The first was a 3rd an 2 play where the Colts receiver already had the first down but was hit right away by Pollard.  The receiver dropped the ball and it was ruled that he never had full possession of it.  The other play stopped another first down.  Pollard also finished with 4 tackles.

Ray Lewis

Ravens LB Ray Lewis takes a victory lap to thank the fans after the game.

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Picture of Matt Pearce

by Matt Pearce

Ray Lewis's Final Home Game

January 5, 2013 in What to Look For

The 4th seed Baltimore Ravens will host the 5th seed Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at 1pm ET in a Wild Card matchup.  Adding to what was already a great game, Ravens LB Ray Lewis announced on Wednesday that he will retire at the end of the season.  His retirement means this will probably be his final home game.

1.  Ray Lewis
If you think Ray Lewis plays with a lot of emotion in regular games, imagine what it will be like on Sunday.  M&T Bank Stadium has always been a tough place to play with loud fans.  Now with this being Lewis's final home game, the place will be rocking all day long.  Lewis has been on the injured reserve/designated to return list since week 6 with a triceps injury.  The plan was for Lewis to get healthy for the playoffs and, that is exactly what happened.  In game, it is uncertain if Lewis will play all the time, or if he will just play situationally.  I know Lewis will want to play all the time, and he probably will get to do that.  One thing that is certain about his in game impact is the whole Ravens teams will be fired up to try and win this game for Ray.  The fans will be just the same, especially when Lewis will do his pre-game introduction for the last time.

2.  Chuck Pagano
Before Lewis announced his retirement, Pagano was the main storyline for this game.  Last year, Pagano was the Ravens defensive coordinator. In the offseason he was hired to be the Colts head coach.  Four games into the season, he was diagnosed with a treatable form of leukemia. This will be his first time returning to Baltimore since he left for the Colts.  Pagano was loved by the players and he still is.  If he didn't have to play the Ravens, you know the team would be rooting for him to win.

The emotion of the Ravens will be matched by the Colts, whose whole season has been an emotional roller coaster.  Nobody expected the Colts to make the playoffs after they went 2-14 last season.  However, they have played for Pagano all season long under the motto of Chuckstrong. Most Colts player shaved their heads to show support of Pagano.  Even two cheerleaders shaved their head during their game against the Bills. Some Ravens players showed their support by shaving their heads as well.  This game will be pitting emotion against emotion.

Lastly, since Pagano was the Ravens defensive coordinator last year, he knows the Ravens very well.  New defensive coordinator Dean Pees has changed the defense a little but, too much change wouldn't have worked.  Its not just Pagano that will know the Ravens well either.  Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians worked with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2004-2011 and also was with the Cleveland Browns from 2001-2003. He has faced the Ravens many times so he knows what to expect.  He also knows what to expect from Dean Pees as Pees was the defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots from 2006-2009 and faced Arians.  The coaching battle in this game is going to be a key factor in who wins.

Ray Lewis

This will be Ravens star LB Ray Lewis's last home game unless, the Ravens face the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship game, which is unlikely.

3.  Ray Rice
This matchup favors Rice heavily.  The Colts currently rank 29th in rush defense allowing 137.5 yards per game.  If the offensive line can control the Colts defensive front, Rice will get into the second level and run for 10 yards consistently.  In week 16 against the Chiefs, the Colts allowed 352 rushing yards.  Of these 352 yards, 226 of them went to Chiefs starter, Jamaal Charles.  This is good news for Rice and his backup Bernard Pierce.

The bad news for Rice is that he has been in a playoff slump.  In his last five playoff games, Rice hasn't rushed for more than 70 yards.  He has also averaged 3.3 yards per carry in these games.  Over his last five games (not counting Cincinnati because he barely played), Rice has averaged 88 yards per game and his career average for yards per carry is 4.5.  Lastly, over Rice's last four playoff games, he has had less than 100 total yards.  Due to the Colts bad run defense, Rice should be able to snap these two streaks.

4.  Ed Reed
As we know, this will probably be Ray Lewis's last home game.  However, it could be Reed's last home game as well.  Reed is a free agent at the end of the season and he hasn't had contract negotiations since 2011.  CBS Sport's Jason La Canfora has speculated that this could be Reed's last home game.  The reason for all this speculation is Reed has debated retirement over the last few offseasons.  Some people believe that since Lewis will retire, Reed will join him.

On to the game impact for Reed, he will be facing a rookie QB who has thrown for 18 INTs in Andrew Luck.  Over his career, Reed has feasted on rookie QBs.  When you combine this with the fact that Reed has had some great playoff games, he could be primed for a big game.  The last game that Reed recorded an interception in was week 13 against the Steelers.  Luck has played well in his rookie year but, turnovers have been a problem.  The Ravens defense is very good at forcing turnovers so Luck will have to limit them if he wants to led the Colts to the next round. Expect Reed to intercept one of Luck's passes on Sunday.

Ray Lewis (left) and Ed Reed (right)

We know that Ravens LB Ray Lewis will retire at the end of the season but, will S Ed Reed join him?

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Picture of Matt Pearce

by Matt Pearce

Ravens Will Face Colts in Playoffs

December 31, 2012 in Observations

Baltimore Homepage

This week the now 10-6 Baltimore Ravens lost to the 10-6 Cincinnati Bengals.  The Ravens rested many key players and others only played two series and then left.  Backups played in the last three quarters and some entered near the end of the first quarter.  The Bengals played their offensive starters in the first half and backups in the second.  On the defensive side, they kept most of their starters in throughout the game. With this loss, the Ravens will be the 4th seed in the playoffs and the Bengals will be the 6th seed. Each team didn't really have anything to gain, hence all the backups playing.  The Bengals will face the 3rd seed Houston Texans in Houston on Saturday at 4:30pm ET and the Ravens will host the 5th seed Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at 1pm ET.

Tyrod Taylor
Starting quarterback Joe Flacco only played in two series but, since he got the start, he tied the Ravens record for most consecutive starts with 80.  He is tied with current San Diego Charger LB Jarret Johnson.  On to Taylor, he showed some flashes of great potential against most of the Bengals defensive starters.  Most of the plays made by Taylor were with his feet.  He either ran the ball or was able to escape the pocket and find a receiver.  In the running game he had, by my count, 4 first downs, including a weaving 28 yards run.  His rushing touchdown came on a pass play.  Taylor ran a bootleg and to escape pressure, he ran the ball into the endzone on 2nd and goal from the 1 yardline.  Taylor finished with 9 rushes for 65 yards, some of which were by design on option and others were just him making plays.  In the passing game, Taylor finished 15-of-25 for 149 yards, 1 INT, with a QB rating of 60.2 and a QBR of 46.  Since the offensive line kept allowing pressure, Taylor didn't have time to sit back and be a pocket quarterback.  He did a good job of escaping multiple sacks.  Lastly, his interception clinched the game for the Bengals.  On a 3rd and 7 near their own endzone, Taylor had a pass batted down at the line by Carlos Dunlap.  Dunlap then caught the ball and ran it in for 6 points.  Overall, it was good to see what Taylor can do as he hasn't gotten an extended look in a regular season game because of Flacco's consecutive game streak.  It was an up and down game for Taylor but, he showed some good potential.

Tyrod Taylor

Ravens QB Tyrod Taylor tries to escape from Bengals DE Carlos Dunlap.

Running Backs
With Ray Rice only getting three rushing attempts, there was plenty of chances for backups Bernard Pierce and Anthony Allen.  Rice had 3 rushes for 5 yards and was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty for a late block which put the Ravens out of field goal range on their first drive.  In his defense, Rice had his back to the play and probably didn't know Flacco had thrown the ball.

Bernard Pierce had another good performance rushing 22 times for 89 yards against the 12th ranked rushing defense in the league which only allowed 107.2 yards per game (the Ravens totaled 206 yards).  Pierce ran for 3 first downs, by my count, including a 4th and 1 conversion on the opening drive.  Throughout the game he didn't go down on first contact and seemed to always get positive yards.  In the passing game, he caught 1 pass for 4 yards.  He also had a miscommunication with Taylor on a 3rd down pass route which would have led to a pick 6 if the defender hadn't dropped the ball.  He also dropped a swing pass and had bad blitz pickup on a TE screen which led to the ball being thrown away.  During the 3rd quarter, he limped off the field but was able to come back and finish the game.  Allen had more attempts and rushing yards yesterday, than his entire career.  He had 10 rushes for 41 yards and scored his first career touchdown.  His only first down came on a 20 yard run off the option which set the Ravens up on the 2 yardline.  On the next play, he scored a touchdown.

Allen also had 1 catch for 7 yards.  This was a great performance for any number 3 running back, especially when you consider he was on the originally assigned to the practice squad but then signed to the active roster just before the season opener.

Overall, the Ravens running backs played well against a very good Bengals defense.

David Reed
Once all the starters were out, Reed was in at WR for the rest of the game.  He had 3 catches for 44 yards on 4 targets.  Two of his catches went for first downs and, both of the first downs were important.  The first came with under 30 seconds left in the 1st half, helping the Ravens move the ball downfield for a possible field goal before halftime.  The other first down occurred on 2nd and 16 and went for a gain of 23 yards.  This season is the first time Reed has seen more than a few plays at receiver and he has 5 catches for 66 yards to show for it.

Ed Dickson
Dickson played TE great yesterday and had a statline similar to what starter Dennis Pitta has each game.  Not only did Dickson have 6 catches for 64 yards on 8 targets, he led the Ravens in catches, receiving yards, and targets.  Of his 6 catches, 4 went for first downs, which is another thing that Pitta does most of the time.  Tyrod Taylor looked very comfortable throwing to Dickson throughout the game, and the statline shows it.

Ed Dickson (left) Dennis Pitta (right)

Ravens TE Ed Dickson performed well in place of Dennis Pitta.

Offensive Line
The main stat to look at for offensive line is sacks.  The Ravens line failed this test by allowing 4 sacks for a loss of 37 yards.  However, the running blocking by the line was much better paving the way for 206 rushing yards.  Now for individual notes.

Starting on the left side, LT Michael Oher was part of 3 of these sacks.  On a 3rd and 10, he allowed a sack with LG Jah Reid.  He then left the game like most starters but, then returned when RT Kelechi Osemele left with an undisclosed injury.  At RT, he allowed a sack on a 3rd down and another sack with RG Bobbie Williams with under two minutes left in the game.  Lastly, Oher was blocking Dunlap when he tipped the ball and intercepted it for a touchdown.

Bryant McKinnie came in for Oher at LT, and he wasn't much better.  With the Ravens backed up inside their own 10, McKinnie had a false start. He also allowed a sack inside the 10 putting the ball on the 1 yardline.  Lastly, he should have allowed another sack but, Taylor was able to escape the pass rusher.

By comparison, LG Jah Reid had a much better game.  Sack wise, he split credit with Oher for one sack.

When Tyrod Taylor came in at QB, rookie Gino Gradkowski came in with him.  The only bad thing he did was get called for a holding.

Bobbie Williams started at RG in place of Marshal Yanda.  Williams was called for 3 penalties and allowed a sack.  On one drive, he had a false start on 1st down.  Then on 2nd down, he was called for an unnecessary roughness which set up a 3rd and 27 which killed the drive.  Later in the game on a 2nd and 2, he was called for a holding which took away a first down run by Taylor.

Last, is RT Kelechi Osemele.  He was only called for a false start.  When the backups came in, he stayed, but then left with an undisclosed injury and never returned.  This isn't expected to be serious and he should be fine for next week.

Ma'ake Kemoeatu
Usually, a NT, Kemoeatu started at DE because Haloti Ngata was inactive.  In Ngata's place, Kemoeatu had his best game of the season.  On a 3rd and 2 play, he had his first sack of the season for a loss of 1.  When the Bengals were near midfield, Kemoeatu helped stop a 3rd and 1 run for no gain.  Later on in the game he stopped a run play on first down for a loss of 3.  His other tackle came on a run play that resulted in a gain of 1.

Terrence Cody
While Cody didn't make it into the box score, he still had an impact on the game.  In the 3rd quarter, he was called for roughing the passer on 1st down which put the Bengals on the Ravens 37 yardline.  The Bengals would eventually score a field goal.  Later on, Cody had pressure on a 2nd and 10 play.  This pressure cause the quarterback to throw the ball away.  The Bengals were trying to run a screen on this play but never got the chance to.  Even more important was that the Bengals had the ball on the Ravens 15 yardline.  The Bengals couldn't do anything on 3rd down so they ended up kicking a field goal.

Ma'ake Kemoeatu (left) Terrence Cody (right)

Ravens DTs Ma'ake Kemoeatu and Terrence Cody both had good games.

Dannell Ellerbe
In what could possibly be the last game of the season for the Ravens without Ray Lewis, Ellerbe played great.  While he only had 6 tackles, he made the most of them.  On a 3rd and 3, Ellerbe stopped a run for a gain of 1.  Ellerbe continues to be a great blitzer.  On one play, he timed the snap count perfectly and went untouched to the quarterback.  However, he wasn't able to take the quarterback down.  With under 2 minutes left in the 1st half, Ellerbe blew up a screen.  He read it perfectly and ran past all the blockers, stopping the screen for a loss of 2 yards.  Lastly, he did get a sack later in the game when the snap was fumbled and the quarterback just stayed on the ground after recovering the fumble.

Paul Kruger
On the play where Ellerbe wasn't able to get a sack, Kruger was able to finish the play and push the scrambling quarterback out-of-bounds for the sack.  This sack resulted in a loss of only 1.  It put Kruger at 9 sacks for the year which is a career high.  He will be a free agent in to offseason so it will be interesting to see what kind of contract that he gets.  On a rare play where Kruger dropped into pass coverage, he was able to bat down a pass.  This occurred on a 3rd and 9 play inside the Ravens 20, forcing the Bengals to a field goal.

Cornerbacks
The Baltimore Ravens only allowed 15 completed passes on 26 attempts.  Of these 15 completed passes, only 7 of these were completed against CBs, based on my count.  On these 15 completed passes, the average yards gained were a dismal 5.5.  This means the secondary played very well, in fact the whole defense only allowed 189 yards, 142 of which were in the air.

Corey Graham started the game but played very little.  He only allowed 1 completed pass and this went for a first down.

Chris Johnson received extended playing time for the first time this season.  He allowed the most passes of all CBs for the Ravens yesterday, but still only gave up 3 passes.  Of these, he allowed 0 first downs but, he gave up a touchdown with 39 seconds left in the 1st half.

Chykie Brown played great for the second straight game.  He only allowed 1 pass to be completed against him.  On a 3rd and 9 play on the Bengals first drive, Brown broke up a pass.  He made a great play to reach his arm around the receiver to deflect the ball.

Jimmy Smith had the most playing time since his return from a sport hernia injury.  In the time, he allowed 2 passes to be completed.    None of these two were for first downs but, he was called for a 21 yard pass interference which went for a first down.  This occurred on a 3rd down and put the ball on the Ravens 15.  It also took away an interception as the ball was tipped by the Bengals receiver and Omar Brown was able to catch it. Lastly, Smith had a great pass breakup.  He was in single, man coverage on a deep pass near the endzone.  Smith was able to get his hands on the ball and almost intercepted it.  This is a positive game for Smith and he showed his potential.

Jimmy Smith

Ravens CB Jimmy Smith had a good game.

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Picture of Matt Pearce

by Matt Pearce

Ravens Clinch Second Straight AFC North Title

December 24, 2012 in Observations

Baltimore Homepage

The 10-5 Baltimore Ravens beat the 8-7 New York Giants 33-14 in a game that never seemed in doubt.  In fact the defense held the Giants to 186 total yards which is a season best for the defense.  This was the regular season home finale and the win makes 10 straight wins for the Ravens in these games, the NFL's longest active streak.  Another home win streak that continued was the Ravens record against NFC teams where the Ravens have won their last 13 including all 10 under head coach John Harbaugh.  Over the course of the season, the Ravens set a record for most points scored at home with 254, which averages out to 31.8 points per game.  Most importantly, the Ravens clinched the AFC North title with this win.  This marks their second straight title and their fourth all-time (2003 and 2006).  Next week the Ravens will head to Cincinnati to face the 9-6 Bengals.

Referees
Ever since the replacement referee fiasco ended, there hasn't been much to talk about concerning the referees in Ravens games, until now.  I think CBS's Jason La Canfora said it best with this "The officiating in this Ravens/Giants game has been laughable."  There were multiple bad calls in this game and some times when they got the call right, it was originally called wrong.  Lets start with the worst call, when they overturned a touchdown catch by Jacoby Jones.  Jones caught a pass and then turned and extended the ball across the goal line.  When he hit the ground, the ball came lose.  The explanation given was that Jones didn't perform "a second act."  As Fox does on most reviews, they brought in Mike Pereira, who is the former vice president of officiating.  He believed it was a touchdown catch and had this to say, "On this play, since Jones reached the ball out to break the plane before he hit the ground, he is deemed to perform an act common to the game — or as officials call it, a second act. This should have remained a touchdown and not have been overturned. There was clearly not indisputable evidence to overturn the ruling."  You can watch the play here and decide for yourself.  There was more than just this play though.

Both teams had phantom holding calls go against them.  The funniest call of the game came when Ravens LT Michael Oher was called for a false start.  This doesn't sound like much but if you watched the play, you could clearly see that three New York Giants jumped across the line and Oher was just reacting to them.  It was this play that prompted La Canfora's tweet.  A call that could have gone either way was when Ravens OLB Paul Kruger hit Giants QB Eli Manning and the ball came lose.  It was ruled an incomplete pass but it looked like a possible fumble.  Going against the Giants, was a pass interference on CB Corey Webster, who had a very rough day.  The pass looked uncatchable but the referees called pass interference anyways.  In a call that you don't see often, Ravens WR Torrey Smith was called for a blindside block when he hit the defender in the shoulder which is completely legal. This took away a first down pas to TE Ed Dickson.  Last, is the helmet-to-helemt hit on Ravens S Ed Reed.  Reed clearly led with his shoulder which hit Giants WR Victor Cruz.  At no point does Reed hit Cruz with helmet on the play. This play is very important to the Ravens as the NFL could suspend Reed for another "helmet-to-helmet" hit.  However, reports are saying Reed won't be suspended.

John Harbaugh

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh wasn't happy with some calls in the win against the Giants.

Joe Flacco
After recording an awful QBR of 0.4 last week, Flacco had a QBR of 94.4 which is his second best of the season.  In the game, he also set a career high, a team record, and tied a team record.  He set a career high in pass yards in a season.  He currently has 3,783 yards and his old record was 3,622 which came in 2010.  The team record that he set was for completions of more than 25 yards.  Flacco currently has 40 of these completions and will probably add to this next week.  Lastly, the team's record he tied is for most 300 yard passing games in one season.  Vinny Testaverde is who Flacco is now tied with.  They have 5 games with over 300 passing yards.  Testaverde achieved this in the Ravens inaugural season back in1996.  Odds are Flacco won't break the record next week as in his four career games at Cincinnati, he has averaged 190 yards per game.  In their game earlier in the season, he threw for 299 yards though.

One of the main reasons Flacco was successful yesterday was the Ravens running a hurry-up offense and he was moving around more.  What I mean is there were more rollouts called for Flacco.  The offense line has been inconsistent this year allowing lots of pressure.  These rollouts allow Flacco to get outside of the pocket which gives Flacco more time to find the open receiver.  Even more unexpected was an option play on 3rd and 1.  While Flacco never looked to run and pitched it back to Ray Rice right away, it adds variety to the offense and causes defenses to prepare for something other than a run up the middle in a short yardage situation.  In Flacco's rookie year, the Ravens ran a little bit of the option because despite being 6'6" he is a good runner.  Expect a lot more of the rollouts in the playoffs as it worked very well yesterday.  We can finally see the influence of Jim Caldwell after this game because of the rollouts and hurry-up offense.  The hurry-up was expected but the rollouts were a little unexpected.  If Caldwell can get Flacco to play like this he will keep his offensive coordinator job and probably will become a head coaching candidate.

In the game, Flacco showed some good awareness.  During the first drive, he was able to make the Giants call a timeout with his pace in the hurry-up offense.  On his touchdown pass to Torrey Smith, Flacco correctly read the Giants blitz and threw a quick slant to Smith.  It was man coverage on all the receivers and Smith was in the slot.  In situations like these, the slot receiver is the hot read and Flacco went right to him. Since it was man coverage, all Smith needed was step on the defender to be open, and he was.  Flacco also showed great touch on deep passes and overall, showed that when he has time to throw, he can be a dangerous quarterback.

Bernard Pierce
You know the Ravens are having a good game if Rice doesn't lead the team in rush yards, and that was the case yesterday.  Pierce ran 14 times for 123 yards.  Two plays standout for Pierce from this game.  The first was an 18 yard run down the sideline for a first down.  The second was his 78 yard rush in the 4th quarter.  Pierce ran behind the right side of the offensive line.  The key block that sprung him was by FB Vonta Leach. This cleared the hole and allowed Pierce to get into the second level of the defense.  He then was able to accelerate away from the defenders but was caught at the one yardline.  This run was the longest run of the season for the Ravens.  It also gave Pierce his first career 100 yard rushing game.

Bernard Pierce

Ravens RB Bernard Pierce runs away from the Giants defenders.

Ray Rice
There is not going to be any complaining about Rice's touches this week.  He had 24 rushes for 107 yards and had 6 catches for 51 yards with a TD on 7 targets.  This means he had 30 touches for 158 yards which is an average of 5.27 yards per touch.  This is the kind of stat line that you want for your star running back.  With this 107 yard rushing game, Rice now has 17 career 100 yard rushing games.  On his touchdown catch, Rice started out of the backfield.  He then ran an angle route, starting to the outside and then cutting to the middle.  Flacco hit him in stride and Rice stayed on the line from the route to the endzone.  On the way, two people dived and missed, meaning Rice went untouched into the endzone.

Anquan Boldin
Boldin was automatic all game long.  He was targeted on 7 passes and caught all 7 of them for 93 yards.  Six of theses 7 catches went for first downs.  The two most impressive of these were a 39 yard catch on 3rd and 18 and a diving catch for a first down inside the Giants 20.  On this play he injured his shoulder and never returned.  Since the game was already won, there was no reason to put him in the game.  There have been no updates on his injury.  He was called for a holding penalty but it didn't look like much.  This penalty took away a 10 yard run by Pierce.

Dennis Pitta
Another solid game from Pitta, as he had 4 catches for 56 yards on 5 targets.  Of these 4 catches, 2 of them went for first downs including one great play.  It was a 3rd and 20 and Pitta ran deep.  Flacco was able to thread the needle between two defenders and Pitta made the diving catch. Catches like these have become common for Pitta this season.

Torrey Smith
Fun fact of the day: all 8 of Smith's touchdown catches this year have come in Ravens victories.  He caught 5 passes for 88 yards and 1 TD. However, he was targeted 11 times.  Of his 5 catches, 3 went for first downs and he was able to draw a pass interference call for another.  I talked about his touchdown catch above but, that wasn't his only good play of the day.  He made a leaping catch for a 43 yard gain which put the Ravens on the Giants 1 yardline.  He also had a leaping one handed catch on a back shoulder fade for 21 yards.  It wasn't all good as he had a drop on a play where he went for a one handed catch when he could have used both hands.  He was also called for a blindside block, as talked about above.

Torrey Smith

Ravens WR Torrey Smith celebrates his touchdown catch.

Offensive Line
Last week, the offensive line was absolutely atrocious.  This week, they were amazing.  They allowed 0 sacks and only 2 QB hits.  Last week, they allowed about 3 sacks and 10 hits.  Overall, the line gave Flacco plenty of time to throw the ball and opened good holes for the running backs.  Individually, the only player with a penalty called on them was LT Michael Oher, who had three, on the same drive.  The first was the false start talked about earlier.  The second was a holding call and the third was a chop block.  Oher now is second on the Ravens with 9 penalties this year, only Boldin has more.

Haloti Ngata
This has been an underwhelming season for Ngata but he played good against the Giants.  The statline reads 4 tackles and 1 sack.  The sack came on a first down play after the Giants seemed to be getting on the right page.  Ngata sacked Eli Manning for a loss of 15 and this stalled the drive for the Giants.  In the run game, Ngata was responsible for a few run stops and got good penetration on a few plays.

Brendon Ayanbadejo
Starting ILB Dannell Ellerbe returned this week so Ayanbadejo didn't play as much, but when he did, he made the most of it.  He finished with 4 tackles and 1 sack.  The sack was for a loss of 7 yards on a first down.  This stopped the Giants from accomplishing anything on their final drive before halftime.  On a 3rd down play, he was able to pressure Manning into throwing the ball away.  On the negative side he was called for an illegal block in the back on a punt return though.

Cornerbacks
The cornerbacks played great all game long for the Ravens.  They held Manning to 14 completions and not all of the completions were on cornerbacks.  Cary Williams gave up 2 passes for 1 first down.  The first down was a 43 yard pass which set up the Giants first touchdown.  He tipped 2 passes including one that Reed almost intercepted.  The only other corner that gave up more than one completion by my count was nickel back Chykie Brown.  He gave up 2 passes and they were for 1 first down and 1 touchdown.  He played nickel back over Jimmy Smith for a reason that is unknown.  In his place Brown played great as he had 4 pass deflections, a tackle for a loss, and drew an offensive pass interference.  The most important thing that the cornerbacks did was contain Giants WRs Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks.  Cruz had 3 catches for 21 yards on 5 targets and Nicks had 0 catches on 3 targets.

Safeties
Three safeties were able to impact the game for the Ravens.  Starting SS Bernard Pollard didn't play due to injury which let James Ihedigbo play in his place.  He had a pressure on Manning on a 3rd and 13 which caused a bad throw.  In pass coverage he gave up 1 catch for a first down. On special teams he was called for a holding while blocking on a punt.  Ihedigbo finished with 4 tackles. Star S Ed Reed finished with 3 tackles and 3 pass deflections but he almost intercepted 2 of those deflections.  The first one went right through his hands but Reed probably didn't expect the ball to get to him.  The other was much tougher as Williams tipped it up and Reed got his left hand on it.  Reed had too much momentum to be able to intercept the ball.  Lastly, backup Omar Brown had a sack on a 3rd and 10 where he was unblocked.  This went for a loss of 9 yards and Manning almost lost the ball on the play.  I was very high on Brown in the preseason and it is good to see him make an impact in a regular season game and get is first career sack.

Omar Brown

Ravens S Omar Brown recorded his first career sack.

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by Matt Pearce

Ravens Clinch Playoff Berth Despite Loss

December 18, 2012 in Observations

Baltimore Homepage

The 9-5 Baltimore Ravens lost their third straight game to the 11-3 Denver Broncos by a score of 34-17.  This loss marked the most lopsided home loss for the Ravens under head coach John Harbaugh and is their first 3 game losing streak since October of 2009.  It also makes 9 straight games that QB Peyton Manning has beaten the Ravens (including playoffs).  However, they were able to clinch a playoff berth since the Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Dallas Cowboys.

Joe Flacco
Flacco made history yesterday against the Broncos but not in the right way.  His QBR from the game was 0.4, the only performance that has been worse this season was his week 7 game against the Houston Texans.  He also became the first QB to have two games in a season with a QBR under 1 since Jets QB Mark Sanchez, who did this in 2009.  Since this is Flacco's contract year, he needs to be playing his best game, not a record setting bad performance.  If you want a big, new contract, then you don't need your name to come up with Mark Sanchez's in terms of stats.  There were two plays that were absolutely atrocious.  The first came on the Ravens first drive.  It was a 3rd and 1 and Flacco ran a QB sneak.  He had the first down but, on his way to the ground he fumbled the ball and the Broncos recovered.  This not only allowed the Broncos to set the tone defensively, but Flacco gave Peyton Manning the ball at midfield.  Even if the Ravens had all their defensive players healthy, it wouldn't be good, let alone when 4 of your top 5 tackles are out and your top CB is out.  The second play occurred when the Ravens were inside the Broncos 5 yardline.  Flacco tried to throw a quick out route to WR Anquan Boldin but Broncos CB Chris Harris jumped the route and returned the ball for a touchdown.  This happened with 15 seconds left in the half and the Ravens were about to go into half with the momentum after a good drive.  They had the possibility to go in down 10-7 but instead went to half down 17-0.  A 14 point swing is never good, but it is even worse when you are about to go into halftime and your team will get the ball to start the second half.  The only real credit that Flacco deserves for this game is he was able to chase down Harris on his return.  Flacco dove and tripped Harris up but, Harris was able to dive into the endzone.  For a playoff team, this is not what you need your QB's best play to be.

Joe Flacco

Ravens QB Joe Flacco on the field after giving up a pick 6. It basically sums up the Ravens day.

Ray Rice
While some people may say that new offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell called an awful game because Rice only carried the ball 12 times, consider this.  On those 12 carries, Rice only averaged 3.2 yards and when you factor in his 3 catches for 3 yards, he averaged 2.7 yards per touch.  You can't blame Caldwell for trying something else.  In my opinion there was nothing wrong with Caldwell's play calling.  There was, however, a massive problem with execution of these plays.  The offensive line couldn't block anyone and Flacco was, well Joe Flacco this season.  One of Rice's catches did go for a first down but that was his only real impact on the game because the Broncos were able to contain him very well, so credit them.

Bernard Pierce
The Broncos were able to contain Pierce as well as Rice but, Pierce was able to do a little more damage with his few touches.  He had 5 rushes for 20 yards with a long of 14.  This 14 yard run was the Ravens first, first down of the game.  This may not sound like much but, when you consider that it came with 8 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, then it matters.  As I said earlier, there was a massive execution problem and this is why it took so long to get a first down.  Even then, on the next play, Pierce had a similar run but it was taken away by a holding penalty.  Pierce left the game with a concussion and never returned.

Dennis Pitta
If there was one positive on offense, then it was Pitta.  Even he had his faults though, as he uncharacteristically dropped 2 passes including 1 that would have been a first.  The other would have been 16 yards short of a first with defenders around him so it wouldn't have mattered.  To give him credit both were semi-difficult catches but, he got both hands on the ball each time.  On one play he had a diving catch but came up 1 yard short on this 3rd and 10.  Of his 7 catches, only 1 went for a first down but, he had 1 touchdowns.  The first touchdown was a diving catch on a seam route on a 2nd and 25.  The other was a 5 yard out route which was wide open.  The impressive part of this play was that Pitta broke 3 tackles, including one with a spin move, while running down the sideline for the touchdown.  By far, this was the play of the day for the Ravens. In the end, he finished with 7 catches for 125 yards with 2 TDs, on 10 targets.

Dennis Pitta

Ravens TE Dennis Pitta runs after catching a pass.

Jacoby Jones
His impact was felt more in the return game than on offense.  He returned 4 kickoffs for 112 yards and had a long of 50 yards.  This set the Ravens up with good field position multiple times.  His main offensive play was a 43 yard leaping catch which put the Ravens in Broncos territory on the first play after the 2 minute warning in the first half.  Flacco would throw his interception a few plays later but Jones gave the offense hope. In the late 3rd quarter, he left with an injury but came back after missing 2 plays.

Tandon Doss
Due to a concussion to Torrey Smith, Doss was able to get lots of playing time.  Doss had 2 catches for 28 yards on 4 targets.  Both of these catches went for first downs and he was overthrown on a comeback route where he was open which would have been another first down.  Lastly, he had one punt return and made the most of it as he returned it for 40 yards which led to Pitta's first touchdown catch.  Over the last few games, Doss has been going back for returns near the Ravens endzone.  This is probably because the Ravens trust him to catch it more than Jones. The Ravens have previously done this with S Ed Reed and CB Lardarius Webb.

Offensive Line
Your offense starts in the trenches and, if they don't play well, the offense as a whole won't play well.  On almost every pass play, they gave up pressure.  At the end of the 3rd quarter, the had given up 15 QB hurries, 8 knockdowns on 33 pass plays.  Based on my count, they finished with 18 hurries, 10 knockdowns, 3 sacks (not counted as knockdowns), and 1 roughing the passer for a hit to the head.  These stats are completely unacceptable.  If you want Flacco to succeed, then he needs to be protected as he needs to worry about finding the open receiver, not thinking about where the pass rushers will be breaking through this time.  In the running game, the line wasn't much better.  They couldn't get any holes for Rice and Pierce.  They were either getting no push, or they were missing blocks.  Individually, C Matt Birk had 1 holding call and it took back a 15 yard run by Pierce which stalled the drive.  Left guard Jah Reid gave up 1 sack.  Veteran RG Bobbie Williams played for the injured Marshal Yanda and allowed 1 sack and had a holding in Denver territory which stalled that drive.  Overall, their play was downright awful and needs to improve by next week.

Ravens offensive line

The Ravens offensive line was very disappointing yesterday.

Albert McClellan
If Pitta was the bright spot on offense, then McClellan was the bright spot on defense and special teams.  When he was in punt coverage, he had a hard hit which forced a fumble but the returner was down first.  On the Ravens first kickoff in the 2nd half, he forced fumble but, like last week, the ball went out-of-bounds before anyone could recover it.  On defense, he had one of the Ravens two sacks of Manning.  McClellan's sack came on 1st down and went for a loss of 10 yards.  This stopped the Broncos drive after they had gotten multiple first downs already.  He finished with 6 tackles and was playing through a hamstring injury.

Josh Bynes
Making his first start, Bynes played how I expected him to.  He led all defensive players with 13 tackles and has had a QB hit and a pass deflection.  Most of his tackles came more than 5 yards downfield though.  This was predictable as he barely has any experience at the NFL level.  On Broncos RB Knowshon Moreno's TD run, Bynes got blocked to the ground.  His best play came on the Broncos first drive of the game. The Broncos had a 3rd and 11 and Manning threw an underneath pass to a RB.  Bynes was able to stay with the receiver and stopped him 4 yards short of the first down.  If he doesn't make the tackle, the Broncos would have gotten the first down and more.  Overall, Bynes showed some potential but also showed why he started the season on the practice squad.

Ed Reed
In what was supposed to be a big matchup, Reed was burned by Manning multiple times.  I don't have the number of how many times he was beat but it was enough to know that Manning wasn't afraid to go after him like a lot of quarterbacks are.  On Eric Decker's 51 yard TD catch, Reed came up like he was expecting an out route.  After the play he was visibly upset and threw his helmet.  It is unknown if he was upset at himself or at CB Cary Williams who was covering on the play and seemed to give up.  Reed also didn't have a good game in run support as Moreno hurdled him despite Reed being almost vertical.  Reed later had this to say about that play, “I was not expecting him to jump, honestly.  I couldn’t react because I was just dealing with a lot of sickness early in the game.  I just wasn’t all the way into it, honestly.  I was dealing with flu symptoms and everything. I just kind of watched him jump over me. I wasn’t expecting that at all.”

Cary Williams
Like most of the Ravens, Williams had an underwhelming performance.  He allowed 6 catches and 3 of these were for first downs and 1 was for a touchdown.  As stated above, on the touchdown, he seemed to give up once the ball was in the air.  This is not acceptable, especially when you are in your contract year and trying to prove that you are worth a lot of money.  He did have 2 nice pass breakups including one in the endzone. Williams was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty for a late hit.  This was also unacceptable as the receiver was way out-of-bounds.  In run defense, Williams was able to make a tackle for a loss though.

Cary Williams (purple)

Ravens CB Cary Williams (purple) is beat by Broncos WR Eric Decker for a touchdown.

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by Matt Pearce

Bernard Pollard Questionable

December 15, 2012 in Injury Reports

Baltimore Homepage

Ravens

Bernard Pollard

Ravens S Bernard Pollard is questionable with a chest injury and hasn't practiced all week.

Out
LB Jameel McClain (neck)

Doubtful
TE Ed Dickson (knee)

Questionable
S Bernard Pollard (chest)
DE Arthur Jones (shoulder)
OLB Terrell Suggs (bicep)
DE Pernell McPhee (thigh)
FB Vonta Leach (ankle)
G Marshal Yanda (ankle)
CB Jimmy Smith (abdomen)
LB Dannell Ellerbe (ankle)

Probable
WR LaQuan Williams (thigh)
WR Jacoby Jones (ankle)
CB Chykie Brown (knee)
RB Bernard Pierce (back)
WR Deonte Thompson (thigh)
S Ed Reed (shoulder)
RB Ray Rice (hip)

Broncos

Questionable
G Chris Kuper (ankle)
LB Wesley Woodyard (ankle)

Probable
WR Matt Willis (knee)
WR Trindon Holliday (knee)
WR Demaryius Thomas (shoulder)

Remember to check out our SPORTS Trivia Nights in Baltimore at Plug Ugly's on Monday nights @ 7 p.m.! See you this Mon

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