PFF: Michael Crabtree bounces back and Za’Darius Smith leads the defense

Nothing better than Monday morning following a dominant Ravens’ victory. Strutting around campus or work with your purple gear and permanent smirk is far better than random NFL fans mocking you when they aren’t even Browns or Bengals fans. . .

OFFENSE

WR Michael Crabtree was the Ravens top performer on offense against the Titans, grading at 87.8. He recorded a WR rating of 137.7 and did most of his damage across CB Malcolm Butler, catching four-of-seven targets for 68 yards and one TD when covered by the former Super Bowl MVP.

Catching passes from a Super Bowl MVP and burning a Super Bowl MVP in the same game. Beautiful stuff.

Also, it’s great to see Crab come back and fix the mistakes. He owned the loss last week and busted his tail to get back on track. Great work.

QB Joe Flacco was pressured on only 17.9% of dropbacks but struggled mightily on those plays, completing two-of-seven passes for 28 yards and an interception.

Joe’s usually level-headed but the interior line collapsing from Jurrell Casey definitely rattled him. Hopefully he can stay sharp in future exhibitions.

DEFENSE

Eight different Ravens defenders recorded a sack, with Za’Darius Smith leading the way with three. He currently ranks fourth in Pass Rushing Productivity among all edge defenders so far this season.

Still in awe of the defensive performance yesterday. Led by Don Martindale, he dethroned the Titans from Mt. Olympus, dialing up unique schemes and sets as the pass rush produced eleven sacks.

It’s becoming clear the Ravens need to keep Za’Darius. He’s coming along as a pass rusher and they need to keep somebody for when Sizzle finally fizzles.

Only one Raven defensive back gave up more than 18 yards into their coverage - Jimmy Smith (two-of-two for 40 yards).

It’s laughable that a bad day in the office for Jimmy is 40 yards on two catches. It’s also bewildering to think this was the worst performance on defense in the game. No matter, they’ll take it.