Despite Loss, Ravens Defense Shuts Down Patriots
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 23, 2012 4:00 PM EST
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Despite losing 23-20 to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, the Baltimore Ravens can still say that their defense shut down the Patriots high-flying offense. Led by QB Tom Brady, New England's offense was the 2nd ranked unit in the entire league during the 2011 regular season, averaging over 419 total yards per game. Yesterday, the Ravens "held" the Pats to 330 total yards.
Understandably, holding a team to 330 total yards may not normally fal into the category of shutting down an opponent, but given how prolific that opponent had been all season changes the limits of that definition. The Ravens held New England to almost 100 yards below their average, mostly using an always-moving, difficult to figure out, confusing scheme led by LB Ray Lewis and FS Ed Reed, who played the classic "chess match" with Brady as he stood over center looking for some sign that would expose whatever the Ravens had planned for his offense.
More often than not, Brady had no idea what the Ravens were going to do and while he put up decent stats, they certainly weren't "Tom Brady" numbers, to whom the credit for this goes to Ravens Defensive Coordinator Chuck Pagano's game-planning and the execution of the eleven guys on the field at one time. Even Brady knew this would be happening as he said so in his interviews all week leading up to the game.
Brady got what he expected all game long. At times, he looked solid, but the Ravens defense rose to the occasion when he did make his completions, limiting the all-important YAC (yards after the catch), especially from his pass-catching TE duo of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Surprisingly, the Pats run game provided the initial spark to the offense, accounting for their first TD and the run game actually scoring both of New England's TD's on the game as Brady had the six-inch QB sneak for the other TD.
Of the Patriots 330 yards offense yesterday, 239 of them came off the arm of Brady, almost 100 less than he averaged during the regular season (330 yards/game). His 57.5 QB Rating on Sunday was virtually half of his 105.6 regular season average.
The Ravens defense pretty much did everything right. Ray LEwis and Bernard Pollard each had 12 total tackles to lead the defense. Lardarius Webb continued his great play in the secondary, picking off Tom Brady on an acrobatic catch, his third of the post season to go along with his team leading five in the regular season, leaving Ravens fans scratching their collective skulls wondering how in the world could he have been bypassed for Pro Bowl honors. Webb also had six tackles and one pass defensed in what was a great individual effort.
Speaking of acrobatics, the tip and pick of Brady by rookie CB Jimmy Smith, off of the assist by Pollard was a thing of beauty, as well as the rookie's grasp of the moment to get up and return the ball almost to midfield from his initial spot in the end zone.
While the defense played as good a game as could have been expected, certainly good enough to win, LB Dannell Ellerbe had a visibly poor game. Missing tackles all over the field, trailing receivers after the catch and being nailed with an unsportsmanlike penalty for grabbing and ripping off New England RB Ben Jarvis Green-Ellis' helmet that cost the team dearly with the 15-yard penalty, leading to the Pats' first TD on the very next play.
The Ravens defense also kept the Patriots off the field as much as the Ravens offense did the same thing, with Baltimore winning the time-of-possession battle, 33:33 to 26:27, and the Ravens offense even ran two more plays than the Patriots did, 70 plays to 68 for New England.
All-in-all, a solid defensive effort, but as we know all too well in Baltimore, there are three parts of the game (offense, defense, special teams) and any one of the three can be the reason a team wins,....or loses.
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What I can’t believe or get over is that we won both the turnover battle 3/1 and time of possesion battle by 7 minutes and we didn’t get it done. I don’t know what the exact numbers are for our winning % when we win in the turnover column, but I know that it’s heavily lopsided in our favor. AND 7 more minutes of having the ball? That makes it even worse.
"Don't throw it, don't throw it, don't throw it. I know y'all going to throw it, they going to throw it anyway. I wouldn't throw it. Don't do it." - Ed Reed
You say tomato, I say tomahto. You say Six, I say Sweep.
by WestminsterRaven on Jan 23, 2012 4:13 PM EST reply actions
I'm currently looking deeper,
but so far I’ve gotten to 10-1 in playoffs when we win the turnover battle.
You come at the king, you best not miss.
by organizedchaos52 on Jan 23, 2012 5:18 PM EST up reply actions
The only loss prior to yesterday was the '04 loss to the Titans.
You come at the king, you best not miss.
by organizedchaos52 on Jan 23, 2012 5:19 PM EST up reply actions
Here we go (I'm going to guess these don't include playoff games):
2+ in turnover ratio: 57-1
Positive turnover ratio: 81-4
You come at the king, you best not miss.
by organizedchaos52 on Jan 23, 2012 5:22 PM EST up reply actions
when you get a TO u go for juggler/end zone. cam did’t abuse their DBs enough. BUT, flacco has check off…vonta was wide open in front of him and his primary was blanketed….O-line needs serious work
That third and three run/loss
before the failed fourth down play was classic Cam – FAIL.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 24, 2012 4:52 PM EST up reply actions
Despite Loss, Ravens Defense Shuts Down Patriots
The better team won, so how the heck do you consider the Patroits were shut down? All you Baltimore people suck, especially the sports writers.You actually get paid to write this crap? Just like the thugs on your choking Ravens team. I’m so happy the dumb Ravens lost.A lot of other happy people too. Boo Hoo…The Ravens choked again. The only one I’m sorry for is Flacco. The only decent guy on this losers team.
People like you are absolutely pathetic. Made an account just to gloat and hurl insults did you? Be my guest and GTFO.
"Don't throw it, don't throw it, don't throw it. I know y'all going to throw it, they going to throw it anyway. I wouldn't throw it. Don't do it." - Ed Reed
You say tomato, I say tomahto. You say Six, I say Sweep.
by WestminsterRaven on Jan 23, 2012 4:46 PM EST up reply actions
What a bad sport
and obviously one who knows absolutely nothing about football proved by having to make such obnoxious comments. See. You. Later.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 23, 2012 4:46 PM EST up reply actions
Does anyone take comfort in these stats?
I sure don’t, and Pagano and the defense shouldn’t either. They allowed more points than the Pats, that’s the bottom line. Brady didn’t need to throw TD passes when the Ravens’ D allowed 2 rushing TDs. Last time I checked, rushing TDs count for the same amount of points as passing TDs.
Plus, they gave up the touchdown to Brady in “the trenches”. Going into the game, there was lots of talk about how “the Ravens win if it comes down to battles in the trenches”. They lost that battle, and the game.
Here’s a stat that says as much about the final score as any:
The defense allowed Benjarvis Green-Ellis to out-gain Ray Rice, 68-67 yards, and Green-Ellis averaged more yards per carry too. That’s a Cardinal football sin right there!
That Ellerbe penalty was at least as damaging the gaffes at the end.
So when I read about how “the defense was screwed by Evans and Cundieff” I can’t feel sorry for the D.
Dickson has been extremely disappointing.
You come at the king, you best not miss.
by organizedchaos52 on Jan 23, 2012 5:22 PM EST up reply actions
He disappointed in the final month, but his post interview comments were very encouraging
He’s young and has talent. I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt. The response to his poor performance will be telling
Those have actually been a lot of the passes he’s struggled with were the easy ones. He’s made some of the more difficult catches.
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
Travis Taylor did that too,
if I remember correctly.
You come at the king, you best not miss.
by organizedchaos52 on Jan 24, 2012 12:30 PM EST up reply actions
who here thinks Cam Cameron will keep his job?
A fan of losers, Redskins, Wizards, Orioles, Terps, Dale Jr, America
Patriots
shut down Ray Rice.
Shawn Johnson... she's a nice lady
by Noah Lot on Jan 23, 2012 5:03 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
That they did.
But they didn’t shut down Joe Flacco.
You come at the king, you best not miss.
by organizedchaos52 on Jan 23, 2012 5:05 PM EST up reply actions
The thing about this game
is that both teams strengths were pitted against each other, as well as their weaknesses. So had Joe Flacco gone against his own defense, he would probably have numbers similar, but probably worse than Brady and vise versa. Of course in turn of how the QB play was, NE did have BJGE outrush Rice, so it really came down to which team was capable of putting their team in the best position to win through their weakest link. In most games during the regular season, if Brady plays poorly, NE loses, and if Rice doesn’t rush 20 times effectively, Bal loses. The fact that Baltimore won the TOP and turnover battle, but lost, is indicative that in this game, NE’s weakest link was stronger than Baltimore’s.
Shawn Johnson... she's a nice lady
I'm not about to give you that.
You come at the king, you best not miss.
by organizedchaos52 on Jan 23, 2012 5:23 PM EST up reply actions
For what reason? Baltimore’s weakest link almost beat NE, but of course it came up short via Evans. The missed chip shot only ties it, so we don’t know how that would’ve turned out. Fact is, NE’s weakest link made the plays to win, and Baltimore’s didn’t.
Shawn Johnson... she's a nice lady
For this exact reason:
The missed chip shot only ties it, so we don’t know how that would’ve turned out
Unless you want to argue that our ST is our weakest link, in which case, you may not get an argument from me.
You come at the king, you best not miss.
by organizedchaos52 on Jan 23, 2012 5:32 PM EST up reply actions
I’m not sure why people keep saying if Flacco went against Ravens D he would be worse than Brady. I don’t think that’s 100% given. Not saying Flacco is better than Brady, but he’s posted solid numbers against some of the top ranked D’s this season. Usually it’s more of if Flacco has time he has a solid game typically.
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
Agreed
Flacco’s played against 8 of top 10 defenses in league this season and beat every team with a winning record. 12-4 ain’t good enough? Jeez?
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 24, 2012 4:53 PM EST up reply actions
Saints fan here
Just want to say I know what it feels like to lose a game on the road you feel you had won and let slip away…give it about 10 days, you will go from murderous rage to an amnesiac state.
Credit to the Ravens for playing their hearts out. They were clearly the better team on the field. Would have loved to see a Saints Ravens Super Bowl…Classic matchup of style versus brute force, and since you guys have often kicked our butts, would have been nice for us to get one more opportunity.
Dang…Patriots/Giants…Now if they would let the QBs wives/girlfirends play in that game, that would be entertaining.
"I've seen George Foreman shadow box, and the shadow won." Muhammad Ali
I guess you know
that misery loves company, eh? Ouch. Thanks,…I think.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 24, 2012 4:54 PM EST up reply actions
Question
Talk radio up here in NY saying some unnamed Ravens claiming Cundiff totally unprepared & distracted before the kick. His head wan’t in the game at all at that time. Is this getting any play in Balt?
Also a lot of talk about the total dysfunction on the Balt sideline in the last 6 minutes of the game. Coaches fighting, bad play calling.
Balt kicked the crap out of the Pats IMO. Should have won by 10.
Baltimore sideline action
I though the refs might throw a flag on John Harbaugh for an illegal blow to the head on Cam Cameron !
by profootballfan on Jan 24, 2012 5:09 PM EST up reply actions
That's why I believe
the Giants will beat the Pats. Their defense is similarly aggressive and their offense is clicking right now. I don’t even think the Pats will have a shot a game-winning drive.
Heat fandom est. 2004
by sherman r on Jan 23, 2012 8:07 PM EST via Android app reply actions
JJ here. I wanted to wait a couple of days out of respect to allow you guys to assimilate the loss.
You guys played a hard fought game and gave the Pats all they wanted and more. Brady played poorly – not because he was off – but because you guys put him off. Harbaugh showed a lot of class when he came out after the game and said that 53 guys win and 53 guys lose in support of Cundif, who IMO is a good solid player. I was rooting hard for you guys as representatives of the AFCN and was sad – I am sure not as sad as you guys – but disappointed none the less that you dodn’t get to the SB.
The off season will be interesting as all AFCN fans look toward free agency and the draft to prepare for another tough year of divisional play. I am sincere when I wish you the best. Like I have said before, if I weren’t suffering from the affliction of Bengal fandom, I would be a Ravens fan. But that affliction is lifelong and possibly terminal. We will be gearing up with a plentiful draft and another year for our young team to learn from. I will be following your team’s progress and hope that the Bengals can continue to close the gap between the current AFCN champion Ravens and the Bengals. This is going to be very interesting. Again, sorry for your loss and best hopes for the future. I hope you play great next year and finish 2nd behind the Bengals and get a WC spot. (LOL)
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
Thanks JJ
Funny thing is, if when Cundiff was hurt and the Ravens signed Shayne Graham, he hit all his attempts. But since his kickoffs were so incredibly short, they released him and kept Billy,although I thought Graham was the better kicker this season and should have been kept.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 24, 2012 4:56 PM EST up reply actions
I can tell you from experience that Graham is a high percentage kicker - when the pressure isn't on.
Under pressure he folds like a cheap lawn chair.
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
If we had won, I think Jimmy Smith’s pick would have gone down as one of the greatest plays in Ravens history. But if one good thing came out of this game, it showed that our window is definitely not closing. It wasn’t Lewis and Reed stepping up, but the young guys. Webb, Jimmy, Torrey, even LaQuan Williams all made some fantastic plays to keep us alive.
favorite play
As Brady scores his TD on the sneak, he literally holds the ball out in front of Ray Lewis & taunts him as he scores 7. Ray doesn’t miss the opportunity for a cheap shot & hits Brady in his lower back, upper arse area & gets a good whiff, but Brady gets up & slams the ball in front of the entire Raven team.
The Patriots were in no way, shape, or fashion SHUT DOWN.
‘Changing the limits of the definition’ as you are trying to do here is the usual Raven BS!!
I’ve been quiet all year Bruce, but this is really too much & proves my theory that Ravens fans just can’t deal with reality.
Shut Down!! Really??
by WhereHaveYouGoneJohnnyU on Jan 25, 2012 5:40 AM EST reply actions
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