Ravens' Flacco: Tale of Two Halves
by Bruce Raffel on Nov 12, 2010 11:07 AM EST
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There's no way you can pin last night's 26-21 loss of the Baltimore Ravens to the Atlanta Falcons on QB Joe Flacco's broad shoulders, but when you look at the huge differences between the stats of the first thirty minutes versus the final two quarters, it makes you wonder once again,..."what if?"
The Baltimore Ravens have been notoriously slow starters on prime time TV and last night was no difference. Falling behind 10-0 by the end of the first half, the Ravens looked lost, confused and inferior to the Falcons despite both teams sporting 6-2 records entering the contest. While Falcons QB Matt Ryan was 20 of 28 for 160 yards and one TD pass, Flacco was totally out of sync with his receivers, finishing the miserable half 5 of 8 for a measely 31 yards. Even so, the Ravens knew they were only one score away from getting back into the ballgame.
The second half started off the same way the first ended, as Flacco threw an interception on the team's first series on a pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh even though 'Housh' was clearly covered yet Joe insisted on throwing to what appeared to be his primary target anyway. Atlanta turned that turnover into a field goal to give them a 13-0 lead early into the second half. Both Ravens turnovers (the interception and Lardarius Webb's first half fumble on kickoff) were turned into two FG's and those six points were the difference between winning and losing.
After the Ravens fell behind by those 13 points, the "other" Flacco came out onto the field for the remainder of the game. This one seemed determined and focused on unleashing the rocket arm that the Ravens and their fans knew was inside of him but for whatever reason, seemed to have him handcuffed for the first half. Joe Cool finished the second half with these impressive stats: 17 for 26 for 184 yards and two TD passes. That gave him relatively solid stats for the entire game, 22 of 34 for 215 yards, three TD's and one pick, with a 99.5 QB Rating. Looking at just the final stats, one might think that those numbers would usually be good enough to be on the winning end of the game. However, the disparity of the two halves put the team in a difficult position to come back from that deficit on the road off of a short week, especially against a solid team, with a QB that just knows home to win, specifically at home.
Matty Ice is now 18-1 at home in his short two-plus year career, and proved, that at least last night, that he was the better quarterback. That said, had the Ravens historically-stout defense stopped the Falcons on that final game-winning drive, much less from converting 12 of 20 third down opportunities, Flacco's stats would have been sufficient and he would be hailed this morning for leading the team to another last minute victory just like he did at Pittsburgh earlier this season against the Steelers.
But the defensive shortcomings last night is another story for another day. Say tomorrow? Stay tuned.
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im not going to say matt ryan was the better quarterback because Joe Flacco
didnt get much of a chance to do much most of time becuase the oline wanted to play we dont know how to block anymore until the second half.once the pressure start getting to Matt Ryan by Terrell Suggs he was start doing the same thing Joe Flacco was doing and he threw a interception as well
Matt Ryan looks more decisive and accurate than Joe at this point. That said, I still think Joe has a higher ceiling and I for one am very glad he’s our qb.
by 60minuteassassin on Nov 12, 2010 12:13 PM EST up reply actions
Me too
as he can only improve. Once he has the confidence to go downfield more, defenses will lay off the line and if the o-line improves, then look out!
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Nov 12, 2010 1:00 PM EST up reply actions
disagree
you have to say Ryan is at least slightly better after Thursday night. Ryan got rid of the ball MUCH faster (still an issue for Flacco) and you have to notice his pinpoint accuracy. While Flacco can be extremely accurate as well, he does sail the long balls again and again. Ryan on the other hand seemed to surgically place balls right where they needed to go. Nose down, tight spiral, he looks incredible.
I’m very happy to have Flacco but boy Ryan looks like a beast.
"Cam, we're not going to have any issues because we're going to be winning."
--Joe Flacco
"Just win baby. Yeah, I stole that."
--Jon Gruden
Not disagreeing
But def need to take into account the game was played in Atlanta, where Ryan is markedly better then on the road, and has a career 18-1 record. Joe is also a better QB at home, so who knows how it would have played out in Baltimore…
oh I agree with that
In Baltimore we might have come out much stronger at first and had a chance to run away with the game.
"Cam, we're not going to have any issues because we're going to be winning."
--Joe Flacco
"Just win baby. Yeah, I stole that."
--Jon Gruden
Thus far
Ryan is the better Qb based on his pocket awareness and decision making skills. I was saying that before the game and unfortunately Ryan backed my argument up last night.
by Georgia Raven on Nov 12, 2010 12:26 PM EST via mobile reply actions
The pocket awareness item played out last night
and Ryan is ahead of Joe on that and of course has much better legs than Joe. Flacco did run for a nice 1st down last night tho.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Nov 12, 2010 1:01 PM EST up reply actions
pocket awareness is definitely something flacco could work on, he needs to stop running to his left so much, he cant get the ball out going that direction. I will in the second half he started running the other way.
If I had Chris Chester playing right guard for me, I’d probably run to the left all the time, too.
Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.
someone on espn radio compared flacco
to a great catch and shoot bball player. so long as he can spot up, he’s accurate and hits the shot, but he doesn’t move well to create his own shot. ryan, otoh, can move around and make things work, so he’s more like a true offensive weapon in bball. the comparison is far from perfect because the two sports don’t match up, but it’s interesting.
Flacco played well enough to win the game. You take away the fumbled punt and give him an opportunity, we may have had a different story for the first half as well. Flacco only had one possession in the second quarter.
Between Webb and even Ed Reed, I am scared to death of a fumble and almost always expect their to be a penalty.
Yes, but
Flacco didn’t take advantage of the few ops he got in the 1st half, despite the TOP advantage, 22 minutes for Atlanta vs 8 min. for us. Ryan did.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Nov 12, 2010 1:02 PM EST up reply actions
your logic seems a bit strange. Your criticize Flacco for not taking advantage of the 8 minutes in which he had the ball but you praise Ryan for what he did in his 22 minutes?
Sure Flacco didn’t look great but if we had just decided to establish the run those TOP numbers could have looked very different.
"Cam, we're not going to have any issues because we're going to be winning."
--Joe Flacco
"Just win baby. Yeah, I stole that."
--Jon Gruden
NOTICE...
Reed is only in the game to catch punts so we won’t be pinned down deep in our own territory.You might have noticed,he fair catches mostly all of them.Webb is the primary returner,but we don’t get any primary returns…
Exactly. Any time we are fielding a punt inside the 20 yard line or so, Harbaugh is just making sure that we get it right there. Don’t think there is ever any intention for Reed to return it unless there is alot of room, which he seems to always think though. Lol.
"He kept on throwing soft jabs on the field, and we just kept on hitting him harder," Mason said. "Eventually, he fell. It’s kind of like one of [Muhammad] Ali’s fights. Keep on talking, ‘What’s my name? What’s my name?’ And every time I looked up, that guy was either on the ground, getting pushed out of bounds, Willis [McGahee] stiff-armed him. - WR Derrick Mason on Miami LB Channing Crowder
I’m more worried about our D than Flacco. It just looked to easy for Ryan out there. We didn’t get pressure mainly because we only brought a 3 man rush most of the time. What is the deal with Mattison? And has anyone seen JJ. I argued last year that he was our best player in the front 7. I take that back.
by Georgia Raven on Nov 12, 2010 12:36 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Defense lost that game, agreed
just like they did to NE. However, gotta hand it to Suggs, as he was a one-man wrecking crew and earned his $10M a year last night.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Nov 12, 2010 1:03 PM EST up reply actions
i put the loss on the whole team, first half
you cant expect to play one half of good football and come out with a win
gotta think about the risk of rushing more then 3 men when there more then
two wide receivers on the field and the risk is pretty high but blitzing is always risky
its a risk reward
Corners don’t have to cover as long but there is usually no extra help. Maybe a free safety.
by Georgia Raven on Nov 12, 2010 5:33 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
ok so of course the ravens have lost some games that werent the refs fault, but honestly not too many. player for player Baltimore is better then most teams that have been beating them. face it. The entire Nfl is fixed almost every game. period. Anyone that feels otherwise is completely niaeve. the Lions got jobbed last week against NY. its not just the Ravens- week after week refs control the direct outcome of most every game i watch that is fairly close. think about it. who sets the odds (point spread)… (the Vegas casinos). most of which are owned by? (the mob!) and then they bet a ton of loot on or against the spreads they set. meanwhile they pay off the refs to make sure the game goes the way they need it to to win or keep from losing all the money. house gets the take and the maphia (who is more underground and legit now) has theyre modern way of hustling money. and its been goin on for 20 years. common sense. how else do you explain so may obviouse blatent horrible calls that affect games. and any other game ive watched over the last 30 years, that catch out of bounds is called no catch. should it be a catch. yes. but is it most times. no. so why suddenly since its the Ravens does that become a controlled catch? now having said that last nights game was a trap game for Baltimore because the league doesnt want anyone to run away as a dominant team this year so since either Pitt or NE must lose this week, and the Jets and Colts though they should win) and Titans all have tough games too, it stands to reason it wasnt a must win for us the Ravens anyway. but going on the road in a tough dome vs. a team who is 17-1 at home and giving Atlanta 1 extra day (wednesday = 3 days paractice for them) to prepare against our 2 days, as we had to travel wednesday… and thats 3 days after a very physical team Miami played us hard. the deck was stacked against Baltimore from the start and before the season I called this one a loss for the Ravens. Yes, te team looked very flat, tired, and unprepared for the 1st 2 and a half quarters last night, but those were big odds against them. not to mention Having a crappy pass happy offensive coordinator who doesnt run even when it is clearly working, (accept against Pitt whom he actually SHOULD HAVE PASSED AGAINST),along with a deffensive coordinator who is also just stubborn and cant get it through his thick head that blitzing 6 and 7 men EVERY 3rd down hasnt worked or generated any pass rush all year and furthur exposes the secondary certainly doesnt help either! both those guys are garbage and have been costing Baltimore weekly and both desserve be jobless and eating out of dumpsters next year. Cam is a Moron who made his mind up months ago that the Ravens were going to be a pass 1st team regardless of weather they shouldnt be or not. does he really think if he puts up lots of points hell get a head coach job someplcae. weel the ravens arent built like that. run 1st and the play action will come
by thegr8testofalltyme on Nov 12, 2010 12:41 PM EST reply actions
Who is this "maphia" you speak of?
I want them to fix the games for the Ravens to win the Super Bowl!
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Nov 12, 2010 1:04 PM EST up reply actions
you copied and pasted this exact same rant from another thread
and it’s still impossible to read. But let’s give it a shot.
think about it. who sets the odds (point spread)… (the Vegas casinos). most of which are owned by? (the mob!) and then they bet a ton of loot on or against the spreads they set. meanwhile they pay off the refs to make sure the game goes the way they need it to to win or keep from losing all the money.
Nope, you’re crazy.
house gets the take and the maphia (who is more underground and legit now) has theyre modern way of hustling money. and its been goin on for 20 years. common sense.
Yeah totally common sense. I think you’ve figured this out. You should blow the lid off this whole fiasco.
how else do you explain so may obviouse blatent horrible calls that affect games.
The games happen fast and refs make mistakes, right? WRONG! It’s a conspiracy!
now having said that last nights game was a trap game for Baltimore because the league doesnt want anyone to run away as a dominant team this year
let me guess, in 2007 you probably thought it was a conspiracy to make sure the Patriots were undefeated. But this year the NFL changed their minds and now they can’t have any runaway teams!
Oh man I have to stop now. This is complete garbage.
"Cam, we're not going to have any issues because we're going to be winning."
--Joe Flacco
"Just win baby. Yeah, I stole that."
--Jon Gruden
I told you, it's all about the nick name
Matty Ice wins
"I'm from Maryland, and no one can beat me!"
extra man in coverage
I understand that but we don’t disguise anything. If we show blitz its coming from where we show it. We never show blitz and back out. We never show 3 down linemen and bring the house. Our D is too easy to read. I was calling out where Ryan would go with the ball all night based on our D’s alignment before the snap. The sad thing is I was right more than wrong. Letting Rex go killed our D. We have an above average D now. No one is intimidated by us anymore.
by Georgia Raven on Nov 12, 2010 1:20 PM EST via mobile reply actions
I have seen blitz and back outs before. I dont think we should worry about the defense im sure
something will happen to fix the problem if not then I dont no what to say but for the fans to pray for the defense
"above average?"
Sorry, but “average” is a bit more like it. The soft defense has cost us the Pats and this game and almost cost us the Bills game as well. 6-3, and only two of the six wins have been outright (Broncos, Dolphins). The rest have been by a TD or less and not decided until the final whistle.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Nov 12, 2010 5:46 PM EST up reply actions
Lardarius Webb
Looked terrible last night. He was constantly giving the falcon receivers just enough room to make it to the first down marker on crucial third downs. He did end up getting benched, but it’s not like Fabian Washington was any better.
you right and its good that he experience such things now he can learn from this
and get better well every body on defense can learn from this and get better
well every body on defense can learn from this and get better
I hope you’re right, but that really hasn’t been the case this season. The defense has not learned from one of their squandered games all year. This now marks the 3rd time the defense has failed to maintain the lead in the 4th quarter.
Flacco is the only one that has really learned from his mistakes on this team.
Fabian was targeted all nght
and has looked like a true rookie since Buffalo and NE burnt him (and Fabian) over and over.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Nov 12, 2010 5:47 PM EST up reply actions
Roddy isn't denying anything:
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Roddy-White-admits-offensive-pass-interference.html
I do believe the Falcons would have won either way, but that would have backed them up to the 43, which is pretty much out of FG range.
Add in that costly PI penalty on T Gooden
and you have a defense that should be better. Sure White pushed off Wilson, but Wilson shouldb e tough and stable enough to stick with him and besides, where was Ed once again?
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Nov 12, 2010 5:48 PM EST up reply actions
Very true.
Roddy did give him a little shove, but I think he had Josh Wilson beat either way.
Like I said though, with the way we were playing they were bound to get a FG anyway.
Like I said though, with the way we were playing they were bound to get a FG anyway.
I hate to say it, but I can’t disagree. We definitely shot ourselves in the foot a couple times last night. It just sucks that the referees decided to help usher in the inevitable. I’m trying to ride that fine line between blaming the officials on the loss and whining about bad calls.
Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.
At the time of the questionable calls..
I was willing to blame the loss on the referees. But after reviewing the game as a whole later on, we really we’re lucky to even be in that game after the way they controlled the clock in the first half.
I’m really hoping to see us jump on the Panthers in two weeks. I’m not worried about the game, but it’d be so refreshing to score 3-4 times in the first half, instead of bullshitting around until the 3rd quarter.
It really bothers me
when people say we didn’t deserve to win the game because of the first half. I know that’s not what you’re saying, but it just reminded me of it. Regardless of the terrible first half, the excellent comeback in the 2nd half should not have just been thrown in the garbage by referees.
I also hate when people say “you shouldn’t be in the situation for the referees to decide it”. Every game in NFL history could be decided by referees if they make enough bad calls/non calls in the right situation. It’s the Ravens’ fault they didn’t go up by 30 on one of the top teams in the league so the referees couldn’t influence the game? Bullshit.
"You know how I get the safety? No safety so I went to hit Ray, and I lost...BAD" Chad Johnson on trying to block the great #52
The refs are a factor in the game, just as much as the running back or quarterback or coaching or whatever. We had problems last night obviously, but refs were one of the bigger ones.
by RulingWalnut on Nov 14, 2010 6:00 PM EST up reply actions
according to matt ryan, who was in the postgame,
ed reed had good double coverage on tony gonzalez, the primary read, so he was forced to go to roddy white.
Forced to go to the man
who pushed his defender to the ground while the referees flag was jammed up his ass.
There’s no way you can pin last night’s 26-21 loss of the Baltimore Ravens to the Atlanta Falcons on QB Joe Flacco’s broad shoulders
I like how the article started with this sentence and then goes on for several paragraphs on how Joe was at fault for losing this game. Bruce, I know you aren’t the biggest Flacco fan, but damn dude. You seem to forget that he is only in his 3rd year and he isn’t Manning or Brady yet, if you get pressure on him, he won’t brush it off that easily.
I heard absolutely no mention in this entire article of the fact that Joe led us back from a 13-0 beatdown to take the lead in the final minute of the game. I also didn’t hear a single complain in that article about how the O-Line refused to block anyone for 2 and a half quarters. You also don’t mention the drop by Hoshumandzadha (sp?) or how the defense couldn’t contain the Falcons all game, let alone the last 50 seconds of the game.
What I saw out of Flacco was really clear… Given even a little bit of time, Flacco is dead on point and makes very few mental mistakes. He needs to work on his delivery speed and work on his pocket presence a bit in order to make the next jump, but right now he is a top 10 QB.
So please Bruce, chill out on the Flacco disapproval just a tiny bit.
by Mstevens_Design on Nov 12, 2010 4:43 PM EST reply actions
There is a whole discussion based off me saying I’m I’m not worried about Flacco as much as our D.
by Georgia Raven on Nov 12, 2010 5:40 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I gave Flacco his props for the great second half he had and the stats showed it
but critcized his first half performance. There was nothing biased about it, just pure stats. The o-line was pretty weak but Flacco holds onto the ball and the difference in pocket awareness between Joe and Matt Ryan is huge, and both have the same experience. I am satisfied w/ Joe as our Franchise QB and think we can win the SB with him, as he doesn’t have to be a great QB to lead us to the promised land, just a good one.
However, right now I’m not too sure if our defense can back up his efforts from their side of the ball. I think Joe is a Top 15 QB, but not too sure if I’d put him Top 10 and if so, it would be somewhere around #’s 9/10.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Nov 12, 2010 5:52 PM EST up reply actions
difference in pocket awareness between Joe and Matt Ryan is huge
Yeah, namely that Ryan had a pocket and Joe had a shoulder to the chest on every play. I will agree that he holds on to it too long sometimes, but a majority of the time he is just taking hits because he has no protection. So to compare both of the QBs based on that game or even their career isn’t fair…. they haven’t dealt with the same protection issues.
Some of that can be blamed on Cam and some of it can be blamed on the O-Line. We need to run more shotgun and have extra protection in (TEs and RB stay in to block). Its pretty obvious that the edges are where the pressure is coming from.
by Mstevens_Design on Nov 15, 2010 4:10 PM EST up reply actions
yeah
you can tell that Flacco is very comfortable working out of the shotgun. It’s also not a bad formation for Rice to run out of.
"Cam, we're not going to have any issues because we're going to be winning."
--Joe Flacco
"Just win baby. Yeah, I stole that."
--Jon Gruden
I like how the article started with this sentence and then goes on for several paragraphs on how Joe was at fault for losing this game. Bruce, I know you aren’t the biggest Flacco fan, but damn dude. You seem to forget that he is only in his 3rd year and he isn’t Manning or Brady yet, if you get pressure on him, he won’t brush it off that easily.
In Bruce’s defense, I think this is one of the more fair Flacco-related articles he’s written this season. The story may be a bit one-sided, but I think Bruce is in an early stage of recovery.
… and work on his pocket presence a bit …
Maybe I wasn’t watching as closely as you were, but I thought his pocket presence was great for most of the game. There were several instances in which a defender was getting close and Flacco had the presence of mind to start moving. I’m not convinced that Flacco will ever have the ability to extend a play and avoid the sack like Roethlisberger does, but I think there’d be less discussion about Flacco’s pocket awareness if he ever got a bit of protection from his line.
Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.
The difference between Joe's pocket awareness
in the first vs. second halves was interesting and very noticeable. I’ve always thought Joe was pretty sad on the run throwing the ball. He usually throws it out of bounds or runs it and was that way in the 1st half but he hit a couple of great throws on the move in the second half that toally impressed me.
That said, the o-line is doing pretty bad so far and while I like the job Yanda has done, Oher on the left side is no JO and perhaps not even as good as Gaither was when healthy.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Nov 12, 2010 5:55 PM EST up reply actions
He usually throws it out of bounds or runs it …
Given that our weakest link is on the right side of the offensive line, it isn’t surprising to see Flacco scrambling to the left more often than not. In that situation, I’d rather him ditch the ball than try to force the pass. Obviously, he should go for it if there’s a great situation, but he should avoid low percentage passes that are the norm for right handed passers running left.
… Oher on the left side is no JO and perhaps not even as good as Gaither was when healthy.
Gaither played well for several weeks with only one functional arm. Oher has yet to play well for several weeks. That’s neither here nor there now, though. We’ve made our bed, and now we have to sleep in it.
Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.
Pocket Presence
Joe needs to work on feeling the pressure and where it is coming from. I have seen him step into a sack a few times. He also sometimes gets happy feet when he has good protection when he feels someone coming close to him.
Overall, its all pretty minor things and that will come with more playing time.
by Mstevens_Design on Nov 15, 2010 4:13 PM EST up reply actions
his pocket awareness has improved greatly, and it was on display Thursday night. He might not have extended many plays or looked like Michael Vick, but he definitely avoided a few sacks.
"Cam, we're not going to have any issues because we're going to be winning."
--Joe Flacco
"Just win baby. Yeah, I stole that."
--Jon Gruden
I’m not disagreeing with you here. But I am saying that has been his 1 weakest point up to now in his career. Just because he has made strides doesnt mean he is good enough at it yet.
He definitely avoided a few sacks and I have been very impressed with him this season. I just want him to get a little better at it since we refuse to get him any blocking help.
by Mstevens_Design on Nov 16, 2010 1:31 PM EST up reply actions
Flacco's pocket pressence
I noticed this last night. Not sure if it’s really the case or not, but I think a large part of Flacco’s pocket problems (when the O-Line actually holds a pocket that is) is the length of his step. If he’s told to take a 5 step drop – well, five steps for a guy who’s 6’5" is a whole lot different than for a guy who’s 6’0. I noticed last night that Flacco, in doing a standard drop, is well behind the open end of the semi-circle formed by the pocket. Basically, he’s dropping back further than the pocket extends.
In this case, there might as well not be a pocket since it’s protecting the area in front of him. Yes, if he steps up into it as he throws, then cool, but I think he’s become “accustomed?” to the idea that the pocket should be in front of him and not around him. Watch the film. When he drops back, there is no protection on either side of him for a good two yards vertically, so all the opposition LB’s need to do is run around the tackles and there’s Joe, right out in the open.
Yeah, I know the fabled “presence” is knowing when to go up into the circle, but if he’s waiting for routes to develop, he usually can’t do that because the line is collapsing and the pocket is filling with defenders. I think he either needs to shorten his drops or the tackles and guards need to take two more steps back to form the pocket.
Great observation. If I had to guess, I’d say it stems as much from having little confidence in his pass protection as from his height. It’s pretty much a given that Chris Chester is doing a three step drop on any pass play, so Flacco may just be taking some longer strides to give himself a bit more room.
Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.
True comments, as I see what you're saying
Perhaps he needs to shorten his strides and learn to have those “happy feet” that Peyton has.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Nov 12, 2010 5:56 PM EST up reply actions
… and learn to have those "happy feet" that Peyton has.
I would die happy if I saw Flacco doing that. As I understand it, though, Manning puts a ridiculous amount of work into effecting very small changes in his passing behavior. Few other quarterbacks have the drive and discipline to do the same, but those small changes really add up.
Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.
I'd just like to see Joe
get properly set in the pocket and not throw off his back foot. This results in balls being thrown too high. Most of the passes he overthrew last night were a result of not getting his footing. This has to be fixed. Maybe the line could provide a little better protection for him???
And that’s part of it – if the line can’t hold protection for (which for the most part, this year, it can’t) AND he’s dropping too far to be naturally covered by the tackles laterally, then most plays he is (and has been) going to be on the run and then throwing off any foot is all you can hope for.
by GrumpyOldBird on Nov 12, 2010 6:38 PM EST up reply actions
When our line can’t block bring in Bulger who can get the ball out quicker. Qb loyalty is over rated.
Jesus Christ,Bruce
Get off Flacco’s nuts. He was great for us, and there is absolutely no way you can criticize him for this game. He looked like he was the only one trying to tell you the truth. When did this “I hate flacco” thing start?
Editor at Baltimore Beatdown - SB Nation Baltimore Ravens Blog
Really?
Hey ya’ll first post with the beatdown, but I have been a reader for quite some time. Flacco did his job last night…there are two groups to put this loss on….the O Line which had Joe running all over the place. Ryan on the other hand had alot of time in the pocket. Second and obviously the defense. With that said give Joe some more control to audible and make adjustments at the line…Finally, I can’t stand Cam Cameron.
One thing I think that is forgetting to get mentioned is us going away from the run. Rice was having a great game on the ground and cam kept going away from it. The easiest thing for a lineman to do is run block and when your line is struggling what better way to build their confidence by pounding it down the other teams throat. We have a great RB group and I think we fail to utilize them to their potential.
The Falcons controlled the clock so well
we didn’t really have time to run, we had to get downfield and score as fast as possible; rushes, effective though they were, would take too much time off the clock and Flacco heated up so well in the 2nd half I was fine with the passing calls.
But that’s why getting shut out in the 1st half was so damaging—they flashed the stat on the broadcast that Flacco is the #1 play-action passer in the NFL, and in the 1st half that dual threat would’ve been more relevant and we should have gashed them for a lot of yards and points. As it ended up, they knew we had to pass to come from behind and the clock forced our offense to be unbalanced.
question????
How many NFL games have been played over the last 10 years where a team only had one penalty in the entire game? I found it absolutely absurd that the Falcons only got one 5 yard penalty Thursday evening… Would love to hear what the answer is…
Per the fun folks at Wikipedia
* Fewest Penalties, Season, 19
Detroit Lions: 1937
Seattle Seahawks: 2007, with 59 (Fewest Penalties in a 16-game season)
* Fewest Penalties, Game, 0 (zero)
By Many Teams; Last Time: New England Patriots vs St. Louis Rams (10/26/08)
* Fewest Penalties, Both Teams, Game, 0 (zero)
Brooklyn Dodgers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (10/28/34)
Brooklyn Dodgers vs. Boston Redskins (9/28/36)
Cleveland Browns vs. Chicago Bears (10/9/38)
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Philadelphia Eagles (11/10/40)
* Fewest Penalties, Season, 19
Detroit Lions: 1937
Seattle Seahawks: 2007, with 59 (Fewest Penalties in a 16-game season)
by GrumpyOldBird on Nov 15, 2010 4:29 PM EST up reply actions
Thanks
It’s just so surprising that in the current age of football that a game can transpire with such few penalty calls. Granted there were some very suspect calls made in the game as well as some calls NOT made but in the end, well, we lost. I appreciate you tagging this info on here for me! Cheers! Go Ravens!
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