Body bags? Check. Band aids? Check. A win? Not so fast.
For the Baltimore Ravens and their fans there are two weeks out of the season that are more exciting than the rest. Not that any football game isn’t exciting, but Steelers Week has a different feel to it.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Ravens are mirror images of each other. The teams don’t like each other, but respect one another.
Read More→
In another game that wasn’t complete, the Baltimore Ravens (8-3) defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-4) 17-10 Sunday afternoon.
Joe Flacco had another solid game completing 25 passes for 289 yards, along with two touchdowns. However, Flacco did throw his first interception at home. The interception was an amazing catch by Tampa’s Aqib Talib. Talib caught the ball between his legs before going to the ground.
Read More→
The Baltimore Ravens got their second win in as many tries this preseason Saturday night. Baltimore’s first-team offense played a full half against the Washington Redskins.
Joe Flacco went 9-for-16, completing passes to several different receivers, including new acquisitions Donte’ Stallworth and Anquan Boldin. Ray Rice didn’t get many opportunities to rush the ball as the team is protecting him for the regular season, but he ran for 17 yards on just three carries. The offensive line was good at times, but Michael Oher got pushed around a little bit.
Read More→
The Baltimore Ravens opened their preseason amid excitement from the home fans. Baltimore looked pretty decent in a game that ultimately means nothing more than getting chemistry going between quarterback Joe Flacco and his new receivers.
Flacco connected with both Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton, who had a touchdown catch, with ease, however, it seemed like he and new acquisition Anquan Boldin were just a bit off. Flacco went completed eight of his 12 passes, including that touchdown to Clayton in the second quarter, which means he was far more accurate than he’s been in his previous two seasons. Flacco, like most of the starters, didn’t hang around long and gave way to the second- and third-string players.
Read More→
The Baltimore Ravens threw the ball 10 times en route to their stomping of the New England Patriots. Of course, after the game, the question was about Joe Flacco’s health.
Flacco has been battling injuries all season long. In the 2009 season, Flacco’s had a banged up hip and shoulder and has seemingly regressed. I will give him the benefit of the doubt and say his injuries have caused his regression. However, if the Ravens are to beat the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, Flacco may need to throw more than 10 times.
Read More→
Generally, awards are handed out to the team before the 16th game is played, but I decided to wait until the season was over. There are tons of awards to hand out, but I will only give out a few. There have definitely been some fantastic performances and some duds. So how do I see it?
Team MVP: Ray Rice
Rice is a very easy pick for team Most Valuable Player. He has been phenomenal in his second season gaining over 2,000 yards both rushing and receiving. Without Rice, tis team’s offense is completely different. He became Joe Flacco’s go-to receiver in the check down passing game. His development has been key for the record-setting offensive year that the Baltimore Ravens.
Read More→
The regular season in the NFL is quickly winding down and the injuries are piling up. This week, several Ravens are either limited, or not practicing at all.
Among those not practicing, five are starters. Ed Reed, Jarret Johnson, Terrell Suggs, Mark Clayton and Jared Gaither all didn’t practice. I don’t expect Reed,Clayton or Gaither to play Sunday.
Reed is resting his hip, neck and foot. In Week 16 the Ravens have Pittsburgh and I think he’ll come back for that game. Clayton is nursing hamstring and knee injuries and could be out for the year. I would like to see Clayton back for the Steelers game because his last game against Pittsburgh was a good one. I wouldn’t expect to see Gaither this week either. Michael Oher filled in fine at left tackle and Oniel Cousins was solid at right tackle last week.
I would expect to see Suggs and Johnson however. Suggs played last week and is rounding back in to shape after injuring his knee against Cleveland. Johnson also played last Sunday until the game was out of hand and he was removed.
Most of the other players practiced. I fully expect most of the starters to be removed from the game again after a few Jay Cutler interceptions.
The Baltimore Ravens moved Lardarius Webb and Marshal Yanda to first-team players on the depth chart Tuesday. It’s not big news and not really all that important, but it’s worth talking about.
Webb, of course, replaced the injured Fabian Washington in the lineup on Sunday night. His rise in his rookie season has been meteoric. The third-round draft pick started very slowly in training camp, but started to turn it around on special teams. Then he started to get in some plays in the nickel package. Now, Webb is the starter. For what it’s worth, I liked what I saw out of Webb on special teams. He seemed to have a nose for the ball on kick and punt coverage. It looks to me like he can be a shutdown corner. No, Webb is not as big as Chris McAlister, but size doesn’t matter as much as speed at the corner back position. Webb was a very solid addition for the Ravens in the draft, and is a welcome addition in a secondary that has been suspect all season.
Yanda, on the other hand, has finally gotten his job back. Yanda was the starting right guard for Baltimore until he shredded his knee last season. Chris Chester hasn’t played poorly, but Yanda is much nastier when blocking. Also, I think John Harbaugh, like many coaches, believes that players shouldn’t lose their starting jobs to injuries. Yanda just needed to get his knee healthy. I fully expect the offensive line to be even better in the upcoming weeks now that Yanda is back on the right side next to rookie right tackle Michael Oher.
I don’t think the depth chart matters too much in any instance, but I’m certain it doesn’t matter with the Ravens. Since Harbaugh took over last season, the whole roster has been used. I wouldn’t put too much stock in these moves, other than Harbaugh is putting the best 11 men on either side of the ball on the field. I do like how Harbaugh uses the entire active roster, for the most part, in every game, but elevating Webb and Yanda to first team is the right move.
In a very exciting game Sunday, the Ravens came up just short in a 33-31 loss to the undefeated Minnesota Vikings. Joe Flacco came through in a big way in the second half again in Baltimore’s furious comeback attempt.
The offense struggled early in the game, as Brett Favre helped the Vikings to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. In fact, the defense got off to a slow start too. After taking two quick punches the defense held up until the fourth quarter.
Flacco aired it out for 385 yards and two touchdowns. That was almost good enough. He ran the two-minute drill to perfection giving the Ravens a shot to beat the Vikings as time expired. Unfortunately, Matt Stover wasn’t the kicker. Steve Hauschka got his chance for his first pressure kick and didn’t pass the test.
The defense again had a letdown. The secondary was suspect and the rush defense was again leaky. Adrian Peterson was able to find creases and holes all the way to 143 yards. That’s now two consecutive games with a 100-yard rusher after over two seasons without allowing one. Still, this game could have been much worse.
What I did notice, defensively, is the Ravens play the sidelines very well. They have trouble stopping slants and intermediate routes over the middle. Minnesota tight end Visanthe Shiancoe drove the Ravens linebackers and secondary crazy all day. Sidney Rice broke a huge run on a slant pattern and Bernard Berrian’s touchdown was on a slant too. Something has to be corrected there.
Offensively, aside from the success of Flacco, Ray Rice had an unbelievable day. Rice gained nearly 200 yards on 20 touches. Derrick Mason wasn’t shut out again and Mark Clayton even got in on the act. Clayton caught a touchdown pass, almost redeeming himself for the Patriots drop. There was even a Demetrius Williams sighting. Williams got on the field because of a Kelley Washington injury, but he made a crucial grab.
Also, on an even more positive note, Michael Oher played very well. Oher was filling for Jared Gaither for the second consecutive and almost shut down Jared Allen completely. Allen had one sack, but he was unblocked on that play. Oher also sealed off Allen on Rice’s go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
Overall, the Ravens weren’t horrible, but they weren’t outstanding either. The bye week comes at a good time for this team. They will now have time to heal up and focus on what they’re done wrong and what they’ve done well. I’m looking forward to the Denver game on Nov. 2.
Coming off of a last minute loss to Cincinnati, Baltimore will be looking to bounce back this Sunday. The problem is the opponent.
Minnesota is one of five undefeated teams left in the NFL. Brett Favre has had a solid season so far and Adrian Peterson is doing what he’s done for the last three years. The Vikings defense is stout led by their defensive line. Jared Allen potentially could drive Michael Oher crazy. The Williams Wall (Pat and Kevin) are excellent run stoppers. Minnesota’s weakness is their pass defense.
Minnesota is 18th in the NFL in pass defense, yielding 224.6 yards per game. Their linebackers will struggle covering Todd Heap and their corners are good, but like the Ravens, small and fast. Darren Sharper, who was the glue at safety for Minnesota, has now moved on to New Orleans, was the Vikings best safety for a few years. If Joe Flacco and the offense get their early-season swagger back it could be a long day for Minnesota.
I expect Baltimore’s defense will be in a foul mood after allowing 100+ yards to Cedric Benson last Sunday. Benson broke the 100-yard mark for the first time in 40 games and it’s just not going to sit well. Peterson is an absolute beast for the Vikings and the Ravens can’t afford to load up eight in the box. However, Peterson fumbles the ball a lot. That could be a plus for Baltimore. The real X-factor is the Ravens running game, though.
The running game has been seemingly abandoned by offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. There’s no reason for that. Ray Rice averages 5.8 yards per carry and seems to make a play every time he touches the ball. Willis McGahee has a ton of touchdowns so he should get touches too. In short-yardage situations Le’Ron McClain hasn’t gotten the ball and that’s a problem. If Baltimore gets back to running the ball at least half the time, they will win Sunday.
Prediction: Baltimore 17, Minnesota 14
Note: There has been a rumor that the Ravens are trying to acquire Dwayne Bowe from the Kansas City Chiefs. If this happens then that’s a great move for the Ravens. Bowe is big, fast and physical. That’s the kind of receiver the Ravens could use going forward.