A Win Is A Win: Ravens Beat Browns 20-14
by lastcallbmore on Dec 24, 2011 4:42 PM EST
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The Baltimore Ravens played an impressive half of football today at M&T Bank Stadium. The other half, not so much. Baltimore jumped out to an early led after a Seneca Wallace interception by Lardarius Webb. A long pass interference penalty led to a Joe Flacco to Ed Dickson touchdown to put the Ravens up 7-0 early.
For the rest of the first half it was all Ravens, Flacco threw a beautiful over the shoulder pass to Ray Rice in the second quarter to put the Ravens up by three scores. Rice had a one-on-one match-up with a linebacker coming out of a wheel route and Rice was able to beat everyone to the end zone.
Flacco had an up and down day as he made some very nice plays with his arm and ran well when needed but he also threw a bad interception in the third quarter and overthrew a couple of wide open receivers as well.
Ed Dickson was poised to have a huge day as Flacco looked to the second year tight end early and often. Dickson then inexplicably dropped two easy catches that would have gone for big yardage and Flacco did not look his way again. One notable absence in the passing game was tight end Dennis Pitta. Many thought he would be much more involved with the loss of Anquan Boldin. I have to think Pitta would have made those catches...
The Lee Evans experiment did not go well today. When Evans was open Flacco either didn't see him or threw to him to late after the open window had closed. Then when they did design a play his way he was never open. Maybe these two should bunk together or something.
There were a couple of troubling injuries during the game. Marshal Yanda was removed from the game with a chest injury, Cary Williams also left with a concussion. David Reed, who seemed to be returning to form was then injured on a nice kickoff return as well.
The running game once again looked solid as Ricky Williams seems to be really coming on late in the season and Rice was unstoppable when they gave him the ball early.
It seems to me that once Baltimore felt they had a comfortable lead they decided to force the passing game and almost gave the game away. It is good they want to see what they have with some of these new receivers but every drive must be balanced to be successful, not just the run-pass ratio at the end of he game.
Shayne Graham Was two-for-two on field goal attempts but looked bad on kickoffs. At least we know between him and Billy Cundif we have one solid kicker. Next week is huge for this team. They need to win. That is all that needs to be said. With this win the Ravens have gone undefeated at home this season and 5-0 in the division. Not bad considering the mass exodus of veteran players in the off season.
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My takeaways are:
Pitta has better hands than Brickson. He has dropped alot of passes this season. His drops today were drive ending. Flaccid counts on that position as a fail safe.
Corey Reddit.g is a huge piece to our run defense.
Lee Evans is a waste. Zero catches in a starting role.
Flacco is overrated as a deep passer and has too much confidence in his arm. He had torrey deep and didn’t throw it deep enough, held it too long. Torrey won on a double move and Flacco threw too far outside.
We will not see a good look on Doss this yr.
by Raven_all_day on Dec 24, 2011 4:54 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Dickson makes some tough catches
but then he has some easy ones that he drops. Fortunately his hands seem to work well in the end-zone.
No doubt but we have to get there 1st.
by Raven_all_day on Dec 24, 2011 5:12 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Yes on Pitta. Those drops are now officially a SERIOUS problem and we are now at the point where we can no longer wait for guys to turn the corner on their hands. I’d like to see more Pitta.
Redding is excellent.
Evans— hmmm. I’d still say the jury is out. He’s clearly still recovering from his injury, and I think it’s too soon to call him a waste. Clearly his missed time is hurting him now.
Flacco is definitely not a great deep passer. He has the arm but he has missed deep too many times this season for us to keep thinking that’s his specialty. I’m not saying we shouldn’t throw deep anymore, but the reality of the matter is that he just isn’t amazingly accurate at that range. The pass to Evans that was picked was terrible and the PI call on Smith in the first quarter was well underthrown. Maybe this can improve with time, but at the moment, he’s not stellar in that category. He doesn’t seem to know how hard to throw it sometimes.
Shame about Doss. I guess if you don’t contribute on Special Teams, Harbs won’t let you get touches on offense. I’m not sure I agree with that philosophy but it is what it is.
I love it knowing that there are a handful of Ravens fans in this area who despise the fact that Joe will be our QB for the next 10 years. --Mr. MaLoR
All the ravens offense need is Mason and more Mason then everything will be fine.
If David Reed goes on i.r the ravens going to have to sign a wideout Mason would be fine but if they can get a big tall wideout that can go deep/ make tough catches also knows the offensive system then that would be good
i'd like to think you're joking
but i don’t think you are.
I really really don’t see us calling up Mason, regardless of the circumstances. Houston couldn’t find any use for him, neither could NYJ.
We’ll probably stick with Smith, Evans, Williams, Doss, and hope Boldin comes back.
The guy who needs the ball is PITTA.
I love it knowing that there are a handful of Ravens fans in this area who despise the fact that Joe will be our QB for the next 10 years. --Mr. MaLoR
Houston couldn’t find any use for him, neither could NYJ.
yeah but none of those teams are the ravens and none those teams currently have a better quarterback than Joe Flacco. I feel like Mason would be alot productive here because he has chemistry with Joe Flacco like no other wideout currently on the team.
Jazz – I’m begging you, for the sake of the New Year, give up the Mason thing. He’s gone. He should be gone. He should stay gone.
Cam Cameron - the creator of the Prevent Offense™, and best-selling author of "150 Short Runs Into the Line on 3rd and 10"
re: Big Ben - "God can have his soul. His ass is mine." - Terrell Suggs
by GrumpyOldBird on Dec 25, 2011 12:26 AM EST up reply actions
he needs to stay gone
because if not jazz is in serious danger of having stalking charges brought against him.
I love it knowing that there are a handful of Ravens fans in this area who despise the fact that Joe will be our QB for the next 10 years. --Mr. MaLoR
Im not the only one saying that signing mason would be a good idea
even fans on Baltimoreravens.com are saying the samething to. The Ravens clearly dont have a solid third wideout that can catch that can catch the ball consistently and they ravens really dont know what they have outside of torrey smith, lee evans , ed dickson and dennis pitta. David Reed most likely will go on i.r so you can’t tell me the ravens dont need some kind depth at wideout essepcially since Bodlin will be out until the playoffs
We'd be better served signing Marcus Smith
Mason doesn’t play special teams.
That would be cool but if thats the case the ravens might as well re-sign Kelly Washington
because he can play specail teams and also is a good wideout unlike Marcus Smith. Kelley Washington knows the systems and is a big tall wideout as well and I love the energy he bought to the offense with his dancing moves
that actually might make sense
but I would think Marcus Smith would be more likely. He hasn’t had to learn a different system since playing here like Kelly has so it probably isn’t very fresh in Kelly’s mind at this point. Smith is also extremely physical.
I love it knowing that there are a handful of Ravens fans in this area who despise the fact that Joe will be our QB for the next 10 years. --Mr. MaLoR
you right but to my knowledge Kelley Washington played for the chargers which is a team that runs a similar offense philisophy as the ravens
but im sure its not completely the same.
who knows
kelley isn’t too young anymore, smith has been with us more recently. anything is possible (including standing pat with who we have)
I love it knowing that there are a handful of Ravens fans in this area who despise the fact that Joe will be our QB for the next 10 years. --Mr. MaLoR
Great first half, thanks to
Cleveland’s horrible clock management and awful last play-calling. Typical Cam into his turtle shell in the second half, predictable with his run-run-short pass. Flacco overthrowing receivers and those receivers (Dickson) dropping passes.
Why do you punt to the conference’s best returner? Joe Thomas “owned” Suggs today.
aka 'Rexx'
I like the analogy of...
Cam into the turtleshell. But I feel more like he’s one of those dung beetles. You know where they crawl into!
Joe Thomas "owned" Suggs today.
We still got to Seneca plenty though. Maybe not as much in the 2nd half (obviously) but i’d still say I’m happy with our pass rush, much of which comes from Suggs commanding so much of the O-Line’s mental and physical labor.
We were clearly missing the depth with Redding out.
I love it knowing that there are a handful of Ravens fans in this area who despise the fact that Joe will be our QB for the next 10 years. --Mr. MaLoR
Oh Bruce… It was a beautiful game and we got the win. We didn’t mess around and took care of business. I’ll take this kinda victory all day. Let’s keep it rolling, get a few more of these and win some hardware? Ravens baby
by ryantz on Dec 24, 2011 10:15 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
David Reed has a serious knee injury.
Yanda has bruised ribs.
Ellerbe has a concussion
Cary Williams has a concussion
Lee Evans sucks balls
by Raven_all_day on Dec 24, 2011 5:01 PM EST via mobile reply actions
The Keystone Kops Revisited
Well, the combination of “Overthrow Joe” and Cam Cameron tried their best to lose this one for the Ravens.once again. Without a doubt this team has some real talent but due to poor coaching appear to be a bunch of bumbling boobs. I even have to point the finger at Harbaugh for not managing his coaching staff.
I think Cameron must have pictures of Harbaugh comming out of a cheap hotel with a hooker…how else could somone so inept and hardheaded keep his job.
We should send them a nice Christmas present so we don't have to play them in the playoffs
Maybe they will fire Norv, we can only hope
I hope we don’t sign him to a offensive coaching job. I think Cam has a hard time understanding that we don’t have huge receivers or Phillip Rivers.
by Raven_all_day on Dec 24, 2011 6:02 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
even Rivers looked awful without his guys in there
shows how vulnerable the air coryell system is.
I love it knowing that there are a handful of Ravens fans in this area who despise the fact that Joe will be our QB for the next 10 years. --Mr. MaLoR
Yep
Seems like our team just wears out.
I always think wear and tear is overated but it might be true with the Ravens especially with the age of the team.
Its all the more important that we get that first round bye honestly.
After that might be Lewis and Reed’s last three games (if we make it to the superbowl)
I expect them to put it all out on the field
Well
A different team maybe.
But hopefully a team that doesnt have to play one extra game.
Bengals game Super important
by Rickrock on Dec 24, 2011 6:27 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I love mediocre wins. Weren’t we the only team to have 4 wins against teams with 10 or more wins this season? Oh yea, we were.
I love mediocrity!
Flacco has to trust his receivers to make catches, but shouldn’t throw towards coverage. He needs to attack deep more often, but shouldn’t hold onto the ball so long. He needs to show more awareness in the pocket and move to extend plays, but nothing good comes of him leaving the pocket. He should run with the ball if nobody’s open, but he definitely can’t run with the ball.
Flacco should have the awareness of Roethlisberger, the elusiveness of Vick, the control of the offense of Manning, the leadership of Brady, the accuracy of Brees, and the arm strength of … Flacco? - Ampallang
by Mr MaLoR on Dec 24, 2011 7:45 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
But...
A win in the NFL is a big deal and I am happy our Ravens won today! Go Ravens!
by Smiley4660 on Dec 24, 2011 6:02 PM EST reply actions 2 recs
Ugly win, but rather win ugly than lose pretty. It’s important we get Yanda back next week. He is the best lineman on this team and is key to our rushing attack. I will be very nervous going against a talented Bengals front without him. Lets hope we can just get healthy. Next week game is huge and we need to be ready to play. Also like some mentioned Dickson needs to fix these drops. Huge drive killers and we won’t be so lucky against a good team. Cincy can be a dangerous team and we can’t leave so many plays out on the field. Stoked that we won though and I fully expect us to get that first round bye.
On Ed Reed:
"I’ve told him to his face many times, ‘You’re the greatest safety ever to play the game,’"
"We all learn from each other, but we all learn most from him."
- Troy Polamalu
more than cam or joe
the offense’s suffering in the 2nd half seemed to coincide with Yanda coming out of the game. Our guards are absolutely crucial to any ability we have to move the ball on offense.
I love it knowing that there are a handful of Ravens fans in this area who despise the fact that Joe will be our QB for the next 10 years. --Mr. MaLoR
BEAUTIFUL WIN!
Perfect everything!
Flacco has to trust his receivers to make catches, but shouldn’t throw towards coverage. He needs to attack deep more often, but shouldn’t hold onto the ball so long. He needs to show more awareness in the pocket and move to extend plays, but nothing good comes of him leaving the pocket. He should run with the ball if nobody’s open, but he definitely can’t run with the ball.
Flacco should have the awareness of Roethlisberger, the elusiveness of Vick, the control of the offense of Manning, the leadership of Brady, the accuracy of Brees, and the arm strength of … Flacco? - Ampallang
by Mr MaLoR on Dec 24, 2011 7:29 PM EST via mobile reply actions
lol not really
but i’ll take it however i can get it
I love it knowing that there are a handful of Ravens fans in this area who despise the fact that Joe will be our QB for the next 10 years. --Mr. MaLoR
Perfect! Everyone played perfect!
Flacco has to trust his receivers to make catches, but shouldn’t throw towards coverage. He needs to attack deep more often, but shouldn’t hold onto the ball so long. He needs to show more awareness in the pocket and move to extend plays, but nothing good comes of him leaving the pocket. He should run with the ball if nobody’s open, but he definitely can’t run with the ball.
Flacco should have the awareness of Roethlisberger, the elusiveness of Vick, the control of the offense of Manning, the leadership of Brady, the accuracy of Brees, and the arm strength of … Flacco? - Ampallang
by Mr MaLoR on Dec 24, 2011 8:29 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
getting laid by a fat chick is still getting laid.
I love it knowing that there are a handful of Ravens fans in this area who despise the fact that Joe will be our QB for the next 10 years. --Mr. MaLoR
It all looks the same in the dark
by ryantz on Dec 24, 2011 10:12 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
I’ll take the win! Keep on keeping on!
by ryantz on Dec 24, 2011 10:16 PM EST via iPhone app reply actions
Brilliant play-calling in this one
Going for the long ball with a 2-3 score lead is what wins like this are made of. Cam either really wanted Evans to get a touchdown or he was counting on a pass interference call to bail us out.
Cam either really wanted Evans to get a touchdown or he was counting on a pass interference call to bail us out.
\
I know the goal was to win the game but the coaches had know choice but to see how Lee Evans would handle the number one spot in Boldins place. I saw on baltimoreravens.com when somebody said that Torrey Smith was basicly double covered and Lee Evans was single covered all game but wasn’t getting much separation from the cornerback.
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