Ravens Hold Off Jets, 24-23

by Bruce Raffel on Aug 25, 2009 10:03 AM EDT Comment 60 comments

The Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Jets, 24-23, when the Jets were unable to convert what would have been the game winning two point conversion at the end of the game. While the score was close at final whistle, the Ravens jumped out to 14-0 and 21-7 leads in the first half. Both Ray Lewis and Ed Reed left early in the first half, when the Ravens scored on the Jets first pass attempt which was intercepted by DT Haloti Ngata and returned 25 yards for the score. Baltimore could have easily scored again the same way when Jets rookie QB Mark Sanchez hit Ray Lewis in the stomach for what would have been a 50 yard TD return on the next series, but Ray could not hold onto it after reading Sanchez' eyes and running to the spot.

Later in the first quarter, the Ravens scored again for a 14-0 lead after a long pass to Derrick Mason set up a three yard run by Ray Rice off of a great fake by Joe Flacco. Flacco only finished 8-18 for 120 yards, but had two nice longer throws, 43 yards to Derrick Mason and 22 to Kelley Washington. The team was much more balanced between rushing and passing attempts this week, with the team running the ball 25 times and throwing it 27 times. Last game against he Redskins, the Ravens threw it 54 times while only running it 25 times.

The Jets' Sanchez looked totally confused the first few series as he made it a requirement to try to keep his eyes on both Ed Reed and Ray Lewis, leaving the rest of the defense to rush, harrass and frustrate him into ineffectiveness. He did, however, throw his first NFL TD pass with five minutes left in the second quarter and both Reed and Lewis on the sidelines, watching.

Ravens standouts for the game included reserve linebacker Jameel McClain, who led the team with ten tackles plus an interception return for a TD in the second quarter, covering 16 yards. Second year linebacker, Tavares Gooden, who started alongside Ray, had a solid game with five tackles and a sack and rookie LB Paul Kruger had five tackles starting in place of the still-injured Terrell Suggs.

Mostly because of the Ravens disruptive pass rush, the starting secondary looked solid in the first half, but the reserves did not fare as well. Both Frank Walker and Evan Olglesby were picked on repeatedly by the Jets reserve quarterbacks, Kellen Clemens and Erik Ainge. Walker continue to grab and hold and while he might be the team's most physical corner, he needs to, as Derrick Mason yelled at him in training camp, "practice good habits, Frank!"

Flacco might have only been sacked once in his stint, but he was pressured and hit hard too many times. Rookie Michael Oher seemed to do his job great, but the left side of the offensive line looked like it was collapsing or getting overstacked by the Jets' pass rush way too often. Troy Smith, who looked great in the first exhibition game, looked abysmal last night other than the 51 yard bomb he completed to WR Justin Harper and should have had two interceptions. The first was overturned by a defensive penalty but he came right back and threw another three plays later.

The placekicker competition continues to lean towards second year pro Steven Hauschka over the rookie Graham Gano, as Hauschka hit his only field goal attempt of the game while Gano missed his attempt and second of the pre-season.

All in all, it was a win, although certainly not the dominating victory that they had against Washington. At the same time, Jets' Head Coach Rex Ryan could have easily gone for the game tying extra point and sent the game into an unnecessary overtime. Instead, he went for the win against his former team which resulted in the incompletion and the victory for the Ravens.

The Baltimore Ravens next travel to Carolina to play the Panthers in their third pre-season game Saturday evening.

NOTE: In my haste to get to the stadium, I neglected to post an "Open Thread" on the game and plan to do so for the remainder of the pre-season as well as the entire regular (and hopefully post-) season.

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"practice good habits frank!"

Yeah please. Am I the only Ravens fan who believes the steelers players who say that Walker spit in that guy’s mouth? I mean, I could totally see him doing that. And the reporter asked him “how would you react if all of the Steelers thought you spat in his mouth?” he said, “I don’t care. I hate Pittsburgh.” Hey, points for the hatred, sure, but spitting on people is kindof bad form. So is constantly holding people and roughing people after the whistle. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take the effort and heart from the guy, but he needs to channel it effectively. “Practice good habits, Frank!”

Honestly if you spit in my mouth you’d better hope you don’t bump into me again. I’m no gangbanger or any type of tough guy but spitting in someone’s mouth? Woah! You’d be wrong not to fight him!

I keep wishing someone else would beat him out for his roster spot so we could just practice squad him. And I also keep wishing that Mike Preston would stop writing about Walker as if the sun shone through his anus.

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
--George Orwell

by jackmca on Aug 25, 2009 10:29 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

+1

I don’t buy the rationale: " Walker is the only physical corner we have, we need to keep him." Rex was picking on him for a reason. Walker is more of a liability than an asset, give Webb a shot at his spot.

by adh on Aug 25, 2009 1:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think that Webb is already ahead of Walker on the depth chart… Maybe not officially, but it’s obvious that they trust Webb over Walker at this point. Walker may not be the best nickel or dime back, but he’s awesome if he’s your 5th-6th corner. He’s competing with Chris Carr at this point. I would think that out CB depth chart goes something like this:

24 Foxworth
31 Washington
22 Rolle
21 Webb
30 Carr
41 Walker

by BAL_Hawk on Aug 25, 2009 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

he’s awesome if he’s your 5th-6th corner.

hilarious. And if by “awesome” you mean knucklehead then yeah sure…he is awesome.

Walker may not be the best nickel or dime back

Agree 100%

Walker is the best at talking smack and getting into fights, we should put him in the crowd to battle opposing fans.

21 Webb
30 Carr
41 Walker

I was sure I saw Carr in a few plays in the 1st or 2nd quarter, well before Webb (or Walker for that matter) was in the game. May be wrong, but could have sworn he was in.

Regardless, Carr is a lock for the return pos. and has veteran experience over Webb. That being said Webb is a 3rd round pick that shows promise. I would give the edge to Carr, but they both make the team, no question.

by adh on Aug 25, 2009 6:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Carr is in line to be the 4th corner

and either Webb or Walker is #4, but it might depend on whether the team thinks we need the physicality of a Walker, but that also means the penalties along with that.

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Aug 25, 2009 8:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

that sounds right to me, although I think you meant “Webb or Walker is #5” .

I just don’t see the point in keeping Walker. I look at it this way, Walker was a 1.9 mill cap hit last year plus a roster spot. Fabian Washington only made about half that and he is potentially our #1 or 2. The combined salaries of Landry, Zibby, and Haruki were only 1.6. It should be easy to find someone who can talk smack, be physical, and get flagged or burned every other play for a hell of a lot less than 2 mill a year..

by adh on Aug 26, 2009 8:24 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

agreed

he is physical but draws way too many penalties. He is fast becoming our next “Corey Ivy!”

Correct, I did mean #5 corner for Webb or…

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Aug 26, 2009 9:00 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

sure, but...

…probably not this year. the only guy threatening his roster spot would be Oglesby, am I right? (Bruce, help me out here?) If that’s the case, I guess he gets a roster spot.

He’s not a disaster to have on the roster, but you definitely want to keep him off the field if you can.

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
--George Orwell

by jackmca on Aug 26, 2009 9:06 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not Saying

we should sign Oglesby either.. I’d rather give Gerard and/or Martin spots on the team before Walker or Oglesby. They both have experience at corner, are younger, and no sigificant cap hit.

He’s not a disaster to have on the roster, but you definitely want to keep him off the field if you can

So why keep him??

by adh on Aug 26, 2009 9:12 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

apparently there's a reason

that we don’t know about. As fans, our wisdom is finite.

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
--George Orwell

by jackmca on Aug 26, 2009 9:32 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

apparently there’s a reason

Maybe it’s because we haven’t trimmed our roster yet.

Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.

by Ampallang on Aug 26, 2009 11:49 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Walker is a good backup corner. Chuck Pagano really likes having Walker on the depth chart and calls him the “tight-end killer” for his ability to effectively cover tight ends. I’m sure that Pagano knows Walker’s weaknesses by know. In the Jets game, Walker was maned up on Clowny, who has 4.3 speed and ran a simple go-route. Obviously, Pagano is never going to have Walker cover a speed guy one-on-one in a regular season game situation. Walker usually covers the slower, physical receivers and tight-ends.

I’m not saying that the guy is awesome, but Walker should have a place on the roster. I’d never want him as a starter, but he did start for us in a pinch last season. I still think that he’s an awesome 5th-6th corner.

by BAL_Hawk on Aug 27, 2009 9:39 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

he's barely OK

i’d love it if someone would beat him for his damn roster spot though. No way he’s on this team in two years.

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
--George Orwell

by jackmca on Aug 27, 2009 9:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

He fills a necessary role on the roster. If we drafted Shaun Smith then we may not need him, but we didn’t, so we do.

by DT711 on Aug 27, 2009 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He fills a necessary role on the roster

Yeah, now that Darren Stone is gone, we are going to need someone to draw penalties in the playoffs. Walker should be able to handle that, and what a deal at only 2 million….

by adh on Aug 27, 2009 3:15 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

I don’t usually do this, but +1.

Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.

by Ampallang on Aug 27, 2009 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

mickey m.

Walker, was getting set-up all night by coach Ryan. He plays 10 yards off and still can’t recover from the slant or deep fly. Walker… by all rights should have been gone at this time last year!

by mickey m. on Aug 25, 2009 7:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

well if you play 10 yards off, you’re never going to recover on a slant route. but you pretty much seem to be saying that he sucks in coverage, which is true.

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
--George Orwell

by jackmca on Aug 26, 2009 9:06 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

bruce if you fail to post an open threat again

i will never forgive you.

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
--George Orwell

by jackmca on Aug 25, 2009 10:31 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

open "threaD" was what i meant to say there.

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
--George Orwell

by jackmca on Aug 25, 2009 10:32 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I got it as a threat as well

I apologize, but you could always post an Open Thread as a FanPost if you want.

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Aug 25, 2009 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

ok

i’m still learning my abilities here

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
--George Orwell

by jackmca on Aug 25, 2009 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

When creating FanPosts, try to make sure that it restates what at least one or two other posts say, forget everything you know about spelling and grammar, and end it with “BOMBERJET BOOOOM!!!!!!”

You have the power.

Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.

by Ampallang on Aug 25, 2009 3:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

"woah"

I feel like Neo in Matrix 1.

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
--George Orwell

by jackmca on Aug 25, 2009 4:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I feel like one of those was a shot at BTSC. And you are right, its annoying.

by Johnny_S on Aug 25, 2009 4:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not specifically. I don’t really visit enemy territory, as it were. But, we have some traditions here at the Beatdown, and I wanted to make sure that jackmca was aware of them before he started posting original, grammatically correct topics all over the place.

Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.

by Ampallang on Aug 25, 2009 5:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It’s not all bad. We’ve had some good fanposts and posters over here. That 2000 guy makes us look bad.

by BAL_Hawk on Aug 25, 2009 6:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

sorry about my 43-defense fanpost

i’ll throw some punctuation errors into it.

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
--George Orwell

by jackmca on Aug 26, 2009 9:07 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

is it me

or did anyone else see ray lewis rush into the locker room while pretty much the whole team went to go greet rex and (crew) after the game whats that about grudge mayb?

by Bm0re blackout on Aug 25, 2009 10:43 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

free agency

Mabye he’s mad from Rex taking Bart Scott over him in free agency or he just wanted to make sure he wasn’t having trouble with an injury of some kind. Either way it probably doesnt mean that much besides a loss of respect/trust.

by Musicman00328 on Aug 25, 2009 11:35 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i really don't think there's any loss of respect

the media blows all of this stuff out of proportion. Rex was talking trash in the media, and the ravens players probably understood that it was just that since they’re used to practicing with him. They’ve probably heard him say worse things in person than he said on the record.

I’ll tell you right now that with his new contract he’s not mad that Rex took bart in new york.

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
--George Orwell

by jackmca on Aug 25, 2009 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

yup

im thinking it was the fact that rex thought bart should be the linebacker going to the jets//////////// dont get me wrong ray lewis doesnt want to leave its just that he prob feels that rex thinks bart is better and everyone knows how ray is when it comes to some one challenging him he felt that was a challenge of some sort who knows

by Bm0re blackout on Aug 25, 2009 11:40 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

As of 2:30 pm today, ESPN.com had this on their "rumors" board:

The odyssey of Matt Jones continues, but it may soon be taking a positive turn.

On his Insider blog, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that, “Very quietly, free-agent wide receiver Matt Jones had been talking with at least three teams. One team has spoken with Jones at least five times over the past two weeks.”

Anything imminent? Schefter only says, “it would not be surprising in the next few weeks to see Jones finally consummate a deal with one of the teams that has been monitoring him, if not another team.”
-—————-
Could we be one of those teams? Is Ozzie being secretive or is he genuinely uninterested? Who knows. But we’ll find out soon enough.

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
--George Orwell

by jackmca on Aug 25, 2009 4:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

naw

I think its most likely the Jets. They’re in the running for a WR also and I believe that preseason game last night may have them reviewing their wideout crop.

FEAR THE NEVERMORE DEFENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!

by Benji5203 on Aug 25, 2009 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nah...

….I’d be less surprised to see Brandon Marshall than Matt Jones, although I don’t see either on our radar. We are a running team and a top ranked WR making mega bucks is not the rep of this team.

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Aug 25, 2009 8:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

eeeeehhhhhhhhhh...

yeah, it’s not the “rep”, sure, but we could use either one of those guys for sure. Look at it this way, if Marshall is “not even close” to knowing McDaniel’s playbook, he’ll have lots of free space in his brain to learn ours!

seriously though, While you’re probably right that ozzie is just gonna sit tight with what we have, I would totally take either one of those guys. We would be so nasty if we had marshall, and Jones I think could be very productive also (if not pro-bowl productive).

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
--George Orwell

by jackmca on Aug 26, 2009 9:09 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The backup offensive line looks aweful

can’t protect Troy Smith, can’t open hole for running. Committing multiple penalties. they should pick it up.

by Tassadar on Aug 25, 2009 6:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Aint that the truth.

I will say this, running with no lead blocker and an excuse of a line, Willis McGahee impressed me, he’s definitely stepped his game up. Ray Rice took perfect advantage of a towering line and I loved it. The thumper LeRon hasnt lost a step, our running game will be great this season.

LJ Smith is really starting to rub me the wrong way, hes injured more than D-Will, (mad love D-Will, still my boy).

I like Kelley Washington in the mix, if D-Will can stay healthy and Clayton comes back full strength, Flacco will have 4 guys who can make the catch. Along with a healthy Todd Heap, I know were far from great at wideout, but if all goes according to plan (which it never does), we will have a sturdy wideout group.

Paul Krueger was impressive, very impressive, Dawan Landry looks great, T-Good is very fast and Ray hasnt lost a step. Im very optimistic after 2 weeks of preseason. Oh yea, nice grab Justin Harper.

Scott Hines

by shines on Aug 25, 2009 8:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, Rice was a step away

from breaking quite a few of his runs. Once the season starts, those should happen more often than not. Willis has a good chip on his shoulder and K-Wash looks to want to be the tough over-the-middle guy in the mix. With or w/o Clayton, expect KW to get his reps.

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Aug 25, 2009 8:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I am worried about the offsenive line depth though

the guys were on the field with troy don’t get my confidence vote. If we have some injuries, it would be tough.

by Tassadar on Aug 25, 2009 9:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

We should be scanning the cut lists next week to get a couple of OL in to try out.

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Aug 26, 2009 9:01 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

NO DOUBT

and about Rice, I don’t think he’s a breakaway speed guy. His first two steps are real quick, and that’s definitely why we want him touching the ball more than Willis, but I don’t think Rice can just shift into 6th gear like Willis can when he has open space.

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
--George Orwell

by jackmca on Aug 26, 2009 9:10 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

1. Kruger looked great.
2. The right side of our O-line got schooled with the first team.
3. Flacco looked meaner..as he ran for his life.
4. The Jet’s Washington ran at will up the gut. Ray and T-Good were late to the party.
5. Kelly Gregg got buried a few times.
6. Mason still our only deep threat or any threat.
7. Foster chickened out on the crossing pattern. Foot steps?
8. J. McClaine played well.
9. Rice is our biggest offensive weapon.
10. T-Good struts around a little too much for not having any rep. in the league.
11. Webb made some nice plays and will beat Washington out.
12. On the Jets first score, our LB’s were lost and screwed up the coverage.
13. Sanchez had no clue where to throw the ball. He almost hit Ngata in the nuts at the line. Where was that going?
14. Sanchez got a little confidence when we got lost in coverage and he squeeked in a TD.
15. Don’t draft QB’s with your 1st pick.
16. Harbaugh looked really angry at Gano for missing. Is Harbaugh rooting for Gano over Steve?
17. Cam called his best game yet. If we could have executed better the Jets would have been totally buried by the second quarter.
18. Cam’s creativity will disappear against Pitt : )
19. Ray missed an easy catch. His synaptic junctions are widening as he ages and he couldn’t process the visual information fast enough to move his hands. Sign if aging : )
20. Birk and Gregg had holding penalities. How rare is that?

by raven on Aug 26, 2009 9:59 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Is Harbaugh rooting for Gano over Steve?

The only place I’ve seen a significant bias between the two is at the Beatdown. Harbaugh’s probably just upset that Gano isn’t keeping the competition closer so as to push Hauschka harder.

Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.

by Ampallang on Aug 26, 2009 11:53 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

also,

Gano runs a 4.5, so coaches would be tempted to have him for gadget special teams plays. But that’s not a reason to take him over Hauschka, who has seems to have kicked better in game situations.

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
--George Orwell

by jackmca on Aug 26, 2009 11:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Gano’s best play was when he tackled Washington.

by BAL_Hawk on Aug 26, 2009 10:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

When we cut Walker, we can keep Gano as our “physical” corner. Two birds with one stone.

Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.

by Ampallang on Aug 26, 2009 11:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

he’ll just have to rainbow kick passes to bat them down.

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
--George Orwell

by jackmca on Aug 27, 2009 9:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Great list

although, that Statue of Liberty play definitely deserves it’s own mention. Also,

4. Was Ray even in the game then?
5. Kelley Gregg got hurt (shoulder), according to 105.7
10. He’s from Miami, wha’dya expect? ;)
18. Only if we’re losing..

by adh on Aug 26, 2009 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Answers

4. No
5. Haven’t heard anything
10. Typical 7th Floor Crew behavior!
18. Give us another chance before this happens come November when they come here for our first game w/ them.

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Aug 26, 2009 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sun Story

Kelley Gregg, L.J Smith both hurt:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bal-ravensnotes0826,0,6365247.story

by adh on Aug 26, 2009 4:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Damnit. Whatever, we still got 2 weeks to get them better.

You have to hate losing more than you love winning.

by Mr MaLoR on Aug 26, 2009 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

gotta go with hauschka. he’s got time in. i think he’ll also thrive with a little confidence boost. i like Gano too…it’s a shame 1 has to go.

by raven on Aug 26, 2009 12:46 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Im a huge Gano fan

and thought the job was secretly his to lose. And so far, he’s done just that, while Hauschka has done everything he has been asked to do. My feeling, regardless of my favortism, is that Hauschka has pretty much secured the job regardless of what happens Saturday. ?Unless of course, he misses everything and Gano hits a 50+ gamewinner.

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Aug 26, 2009 4:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs