Cruise Control
by vlad755 on Nov 8, 2010 4:04 PM EST
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Printjackmca beat me to the punch, but here goes anyway. While Miami is definitely more smash-mouth than in past years, they are “not a Jedi yet…” Compared to the Ravens, they are still a relatively soft team. Yeah, they bloodied our nose in the first quarter, but they could not go twelve rounds with us toe-to-toe. In a year or two maybe, but not now. Perfect example: late in the game, Brandon Marshall kind of half-asses a ball in which Reed picks off. Plus, except for the debacle in 2007, we have kind of had Miami’s number, even going back to the SuperBowl year.
The Good
Josh Wilson –great game by him. Ravens are going to have a “good problem” when Foxworth comes back next year. Who are the two starting CB’s- Foxworth, Webb or Wilson? And then who are the nickel and dimes- one of those three, Washington* or Carr? Does Carr move to safety? Do we keep six CB’s next year? Like I said, good problem to have. Wilson may be the best in-season move yet for Ozzie. Penalties- very few. Ravens are playing very disciplined football. The two pass interference penalties against Webb and Mason were ticky-tacky and the one against Mason –okay, on the road, in Pittsburgh, Indy or NE, I expect, but the refs have got to give us, the home team, the benefit of the doubt in that instance. Picks- Webb, Reed and Wilson looking very good. Spreading the wealth amongst the receivers: Boldin, Mason, TJ, Heap, Rice, heck even McGahee caught a ball. Nice use of screens. Flacco making good decisions with the football. Great ball security- no turnovers. And let us give credit where credit is due- Cam devised and called a good if not spectacular game glam –no faults there. A David Reed sighting-! Nice little end-around for him. And last but certainly not least, what a great call on the fake punt –just a stake through the heart. Love the imagination and the brass cahonies to call the play. Gives every future opponent something else to think about, spend time working against. Who knew Koch had such an arm? Now I know why the Ravens only kept “two” QB’s- they can use Sam “Musket Arm” Koch in a pinch…
The Bad
Again, defense just brain-farq’d on Miami’s first drive. But the good news is they made adjustments, tightened up and only allowed Miami a FG the rest of the way. Pass protection. Flacco is lucky he didn’t suffer a gaping chest wound on the one hit…
The Ugly
The abomination of the aborted drive right after the first pick. The offense just sat that one out –they never got off the bench. At home, against the phins, we can get away with that, but in the playoffs, we have *got* to cash in on those opportunities. That is the difference between a SuperBowl victory and one-and-done in the playoffs.
And finally, the missed FG does not bother me (not talking about botched hold- the second miss). Didn’t bother me then and does not bother me now. Cundiff has been money when it counts and he hit two in the fourth quarter to seal the deal. Kicking with the wind, he was hitting the back of the endzone –what is not to like? *And lastly, Washington is in a slump right now. He is too good a football player and he will bounce back. His role may be reduced, for the time being, but he will make some plays for us down the road.
The opinions posted here are those of the administrator of this blog and his loyal readers. They are in no way official comments from the team, and should not be misconstued as such, even though he thinks he could do just as well or even a better job!
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Love the imagination and the brass cahonies to call the play.
I believe Koch called the audible at the line when the gunner ended up wide open. I love that the coaching staff have that much trust in him; it’s obviously deserved.
Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.
pretty incredible that Koch has that kind of jurisdiction over the punt team but Flacco can’t audible out of a QB sneak.
"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
Koch's been around a bit longer but yeah surprising they let him decide fakes like that.
Calling an audible to get more protection is one thing but how many guys really get to decide to go for it on fourth and long like that.
by Roa on Nov 8, 2010 4:34 PM EST up reply actions
You're all wrong
I saw the lack of the defense on the gunner and was the first persn in the stands who stood up and yelled, “Hike the ball, throw it to him!” and I’m pretty sure Koch heard me.
aka 'Rexx'
That
Sums up pretty much one of the major issues with the Ravens right now. Not that there are many, and granted we are nit-picking, but that is it in a nutshell.
So is it a Cam issue, a Flacco issue or a super-paranoid Harbs issue? In perverse way, given that Harbs background is Special Teams, so he knows Special Teams, could he be more comfortable and less risk-averse with Special Teams than with his franchise quarterback??? Sounds kind of upside down, but who knows…
I think it's a Cam issue
Cam Cameron is definitely a gifted strategist. But I think he does become obsessed with out-coaching other players and that is reflected by his averseness to audibles. It’s borderline hubris to think that a call you make before the defense lines up will invariably be better than a call that a QB can make after seeing what a defense looks like.
This last weekend was a shining example of what good Cameron can do for an offense. But week 2 versus the Bengals shows you what happens when Cameron refuses to acknowledge that he hasn’t taken everything into account.
"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
haha yeah Vlad I didn’t even notice it but all of a sudden we’re not getting penalized as much anymore. Have we finally gotten those Billick Blues out of our system?
"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
That drive after Webb's pick was UGLY
I would like to point out that the play calling took forever to get in. With the time clock ticking down well under 10 seconds when we broke the huddle, Flacco and our line couldn’t make any presnap reads and the defense could make a really good guess when the snap was going to be made.
It could be fair to assume that Cam and our offense were not prepared to have the ball in that situation. After a turnover we should hit their defense hard and fast while they are still recovering.
The abomination of the aborted drive right after the first pick. The offense just sat that one out –they never got off the bench. At home, against the phins, we can get away with that, but in the playoffs, we have got to cash in on those opportunities. That is the difference between a SuperBowl victory and one-and-done in the playoffs.
Well said, couldn’t agree more vlad.
"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
yeah
to me, that one is on the O-Line.
"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
Taking a timout and then getting that delay of game
penalty was embrrassing and falls on the coaching staff.
aka 'Rexx'
off topic but...
a) does anybody else feel really lucky to have Harbs instead of Jason Garret right now?
b) did anybody catch Deion Sanders on NFL network the other day joking about how Randy Moss pissed people off asking for a contract? He whispered to Mike Irvin like “Hey, Mike, don’t tell nobody. Can I get some money?”
"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
a) yes, I feel very lucky to have Harbaugh. He is exactly the type of coach we needed because he does not give in to anyone, regardless of their stature. Billick let all the veterans run the team instead of himself, Harbaugh doesn’t do that. He holds everyone responsible for their actions and gives everyone a fair chance. Garrett seems like a pussy to me and I can only imagine how many times we would have called him “frotch” after he had terrible games.
Also glad we have John over Rex. I think Bisciotti, Dick Cass and Ozzie all knew the type of coach Ryan would have been, and it would have probably gave us a bad image much like it has in New York. With John, we lay low and don’t run our mouths before or during a game. Rex does that shit and looks like a fool when he loses (MNF opener)
"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
Harbaugh was the perfect hire
Wouldn’t expect anything less from Biscotti, considering he made his fortune in the “staffing” business. Anyone who says otherwise is crazy… We were coming off a 5-11 season, had been up and down every other year under Billick…. We are 26-14 in regular season under Harbaugh, and 3-2 in the playoffs, all road games.
Yea, losing a game to the Bengals or Pats hurts as fans (evidenced by the week 2 bridge jumpers and bench Flacco, play Bulger crowd), but it’s because expectations are so, so high. That didn’t happen overnight.
but it’s because expectations are so, so high. That didn’t happen overnight.
Quite sad that so many people do not realize this. Very, very well said.
"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
the same goes for Flacco
all of a sudden, people expect him to have a QB rating of 158.3 in every game and they expect him to dissect the most daunting defenses with ease, just because it’s his third season and “there are no excuses anymore.” Just a short while ago we would have been satisfied with any QB not named Boller.
"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
Exactly. What I always tell to the Flacco haters is “where did you expect Joe to be come his 3rd season?” And you know damn well that fans outside of Baltimore and even Ravens fans themselves did not think that we would we be seeing this type of production from our team.
It is not a fluke that we are on the verge of making the playoffs for 3 straight years, something that has never been done by this team. John and Joe have literally flipped this franchise around and I give all my love to Bisciotti, Ozzie, Dick Cass, Kevin Byrnes and so on for giving me something to look forward to every year now, unlike the days under Billick and Boller.
"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
Yup
Some people can’t see the big picture, and only look at little snap shots and make ridiculous snap conclusions… ie; Fitzpatrick had a career game against us; so lets judge Joe against this one game and criticize him for everything Fitz does “better” then him… Sorry, it doens’t work like that… Overall body of work, Joe is so far superior to Fitz that those comments were just laughable.
How so many Ravens fans can hate on Joe (and Harbaugh) so readily is shocking and truthfully, disturbing… All things considered they have been amazing for this franchise and are just now hitting their primes – yet to some people we should have benched our franchise QB after one awful week two game? Good call guys (where are those guys now?).
Good call guys (where are those guys now?).
Probably trying to pick Joe up on their fantasy teams after seeing that he has 11 TDs and only 1 INT since the Bengals game, good enough for the best passer rating since that game.
"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
Yeah
Paging raven.
"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
A Lot
Of Joe’s recent success may have to do with ironing the bugs out with Boldin -takes a few actual games do that and also adjust to the patched-up right side of the O-line. I feel pretty confident the protection calls are different with Chester-Yanda than what would have been with Yanda-Gaither -which means the passing plays (Joe’s drops, routes, etc) need to be adjusted and all of that probably takes more than a game or two to iron out.
I believe the recent success experienced by Joe and the offense in general is a direct result of that, as exemplified by the opening drive against Miami (although game-planning through a bye probably contributed as much as well).
in the words of Sigmund Freud
“sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”
Sometimes a guy just has a bad game. The fact that he has bounced back so well is how you know he’s a good QB. I think in his first two years he was looked at as a guy who didn’t screw up too badly and people thought he was going to be good. But at this point, I think we can say he’s good now.
"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
Add the fact that he's consitently
Bounced back after poor games his whole career (I posted all the stats during the post week 2 suicide watch) should have been enough reason for the bridge jumpers not to panic.
Full body of work considered, Joe is now a good QB, on a solid path to becoming a great QB (ie; top 5 in league) in the next 2-3 years.
+1 baby
That is solid all the way.
Joe is a good QB in this league and with any O-Line protection, he becomes great.
by Mstevens_Design on Nov 10, 2010 7:40 PM EST up reply actions
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