By Zach Wilt, on November 1st, 2009 After dropping three straight, Baltimore is back in the win column and starting their November off right.
Here are my quick thoughts about the Ravens 30-7 victory over the Broncos.
- Total Domination - Offense, defense, and special teams; the Ravens controlled all aspects of this game against a good, 6-0, Denver team. Our defense held the Broncos to just 7 points, while Baltimore reached the end zone three times.
- Webb is a playmaker - As predicted, Lardarius Webb is exactly the guy the Ravens want returning kicks. He took one for a 95-yard TD to start the second half and in my eyes he should always be back there.
- Well balanced offense – Even though they were held to just six points in the first half, the offense put together a good plan in my opinion. Ray Rice had 23 touches while Joe Flacco spread the ball to Kelley Washington four times, Derrick Mason four times, Mark Clayton three times, and Todd Heap three times.
- Pass Rush = Better Secondary – Don’t think for a second that Domonique Foxworth and company figured things out. The Ravens rattled Kyle Orton, an over rated QB in my book, up front all day long. Particularly, Jarrett Johnson had a huge game by constantly hurrying Orton and sacking him once.
- I’m still not sold on Steve - I’m glad to see Steve Hauschka drain three field goals today, but he was never put in a pressure situation. I think the kid has what it takes, but is still far too unproven for me to feel comfortable.
- BS Calls – I’m in no way buying into the conspiracy theory, but a few calls/missed calls stuck out in my memory. Derrick Mason was clearly held on a critical third down, Michael Oher was called for a bogus unsportsmanlike conduct, and flags were being tossed in five seconds after plays. It in no way costed the Ravens or the Broncos the game, but it was frustrating the watch. This crew should go work baseball.
By Zach Wilt, on October 19th, 2009 The Baltimore Ravens decided to let their veteran kicker, Matt Stover, go after 12 years and a game winning 44 yard field goal in the playoffs against the Tennessee Titans in the gusting winds of January.
This week, Stover’s replacement Steve Hauschka got his first real challenge with an opportunity to win the game with a 44 yard game winning field goal at the Metrodome against the Minnesota Vikings. Hauschka’s kick was wide left and the Ravens fell to 3-3.
While everyone in Baltimore is pointing the finger at Steve, I’m looking at the Ravens Staff. More specifically, John Harbaugh and Ozzie Newsome.
Brian Billick was continuously criticized during his tenure in Baltimore for a lack of offense because he was an “offensive guru”, but no one has said jack about the terrible special teams play under former special teams coach John Harbaugh.
Here I am.
The Baltimore Ravens organization gave up on the NFL’s third most accurate kicker because they wanted a guy who could make the long field goal and kick off at the same time. Only problem is that they haven’t found him. Hauschka hardly ever reaches the end zone while kicking off and his first kick under pressure was a game losing miss.
Ozzie and John are responsible for the Ravens 3-3 record a the bye week and they need to accept the responsibility.
By Zach Wilt, on October 18th, 2009
By Zach Wilt, on October 18th, 2009 The Ravens have an extra week to reflect upon their third heartbreaking loss in a row. Baltimore should have won this game, but don’t be fooled there was nothing good about the way they went down in this 33-31 loss.
- Kick the ball in the end zone - I figured I would start with Steve Hauschka, just in a different way than everyone else. Hauschka was not only brought in to make that 44-yard game winning field goal, but to kick the ball into the end zone. His kick offs in a dome were lackluster and the Vikings had way better field position than they should.
- Our secondary can’t tackle – What does $28 million get you? About 15 missed tackles around the neck by Domonique Foxworth. It’s bad enough that these guys can’t cover anyone, but at least after you get burned make a tackle. None of them did it today, the linebackers had to come down field to clean up after their junk.
- Joe was getting clocked - Flacco had a big hit laid on him just about every drive. His ankles were stepped on twice by Minnesota’s big men up front and he rarely made a throw without getting knocked down. I was impressed with Michael Oher’s performance, despite two false start calls.
- Ray Lewis/Ed Reed were every where - Ed spent the whole day cleaning up after Foxworth and Washington. Ray made some crucial tackles including a nasty sack on Brett Favre deep in Vikings’ territory late in the fourth quarter.
- Ladarius Webb should be returning – Webb returns punts and kicks north to south, he hits seams hard, and I feel like he’s got a chance to break here soon. I never felt that with Chris Carr, so let’s give Webb the job and keep some consistency.
- Clayton/Rice for MVP – Obviously Ray Rice had a hell of game. 2 TD’s, a few nasty stiff arms, you can’t bring that guy down. But, Mark Clayton stepped up this week with three crucial catches and a great leaping snag for a TD.
- Make the kick Steve - Baltimore gave up on the 3rd most accurate kicker in the NFL, Matt Stover, who made a huge field goal in the playoffs just last season, to bring in a kicker who could do exactly what Steve didn’t do today. Granted, you shouldn’t back yourself into that situation, but it will happen. 44 yards is unacceptable to miss, especially given the circumstances.
By Zach Wilt, on September 15th, 2009 The Ravens decided to leave behind Matt Stover and replace him with a younger, stronger leg in Steve Hauschka. That’s fine and dandy. I trust the guys in the front office and I think they know what they’re doing.
After Hauschka missed a 41-yard field goal in Sunday’s game I knew people would be out for his head and looking for Matt Stover to be making the kicks in San Diego.
Those people are always going to be out there. They were probably the same people that left the game after three quarters of play.
Anyway, I don’t have a problem with the guy missing field goals. I do however have a problem with him making excuses for missing field goals.
“The wind just sort of took it,” Hauschka told the media.
The wind took it? Seriously? It was 80 degrees on a September afternoon and you think the wind took it? I wasn’t at the game, but I live in Baltimore…not that windy on Sunday.
Man up and say you missed it. How is Hauschka going to handle making kicks in Pittsburgh in the wintery months? Hopefully he can judge the wind right.
To be fair he said he will learn from the mistake, but I’m not a fan of how he answered the question.
I still have faith in him and think he’s the guy for the job, but I don’t like the excuses.
By Zach Wilt, on September 6th, 2009 On Saturday, the Baltimore Ravens finalized their 53 man roster for the 2009 season. Like any season there were quite a few surprises.
Image Courtesy of the Baltimore Sun
Steve Hauschka has won the kicking competition and Yamon Figurs got the ax. Other surprises were Linebackers Prescott Burgess and Antwawn Barnes and Running backs Jalen Parmele and Matt Lawrence making the team.
According to BaltimoreRavens.com, “In addition, defensive tackle Nadir Abdallah; fullback Jason Cook; running back Cedric Peerman; wideouts Justin Harper, Yamon Figurs, Jayson Foster, Ernie Wheelwright and Eron Riley; safety K.J. Gerard; kicker Graham Gano; center Robby Felix; linebacker Tony Fein; tight ends Davon Drew and Isaac Smolko; cornerback Evan Oglesby; offensive tackles Joe Reitz, Stefan Rodgers and Tre’ Stallings; guard Bryan Mattison; and linebacker William Van DeSteeg were all waived.”
So there it is folks, you’re 2009 Ravens.
By Zach Wilt, on August 25th, 2009 Now that Ravens’ training camp has wrapped up and we’re half way through the preseason, BSR decided to get the inside scoop on the team by an expert and fellow blogger.
We decided to ask Joe Barnes of EbonyBird.com to fill us in on the 2009 Ravens…
Image Courtesy of the Baltimore Sun
With training camp coming to a close, what are your expectations of the 2009 Ravens based on their camp performance?
I see a season similar to last year’s campaign. Joe Flacco looks solid, the defense looks solid, every position is pretty deep, and things are looking good. With that said, it is possible that the loss of Bart Scott dooms the defense, but when has the team not replaced a linebacker well? If you want a record, I’d say that looking at the schedule, anywhere from 9-7 to 12-4 seems possible, and most likely with playoffs.
Who were you impressed with?
I was most impressed with rookie Lardarius Webb. He was always buzzing around the field, whether it was rushing the quarterback, picking off a pass or making a tackle in between the trenches on a running play. At the beginning of camp, I thought that the secondary might not be good enough to survive against some QBs like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Phillip Rivers, etc. but seeing the depth behind Fabian Washington and Dominique Foxworth, including Webb, has made me think otherwise.
Who were you disappointed with?
I was disappointed with Mark Clayton more than any other player. He just never was on the field. While I understand that they don’t want to risk an aggravation of the injury, it seems like he could be more involved with the team and have a bigger presence in camp. At least he was running routes the last week of camp, but it seems like he might not be in good enough shape, like McGahee last year, and Joe Flacco needs him to have a very good season this year.
What is the team’s biggest flaw?
For me, the team’s biggest flaw is the lack of speed with their top receivers. Flacco’s got an arm, we have all seen that, and Yamon Figurs, Jayson Foster and Justin Harper all have breakaway speed. The issue is getting them on the field enough to have them make an impact with their speed. Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton, Demetrius Williams and Kelley Washington will probably get most of the time on gameday, and none of them have exceptional speed. Mason is great on cutbacks, Clayton great with mid-distance passes, but none could beat a safety 40 yards deep. It’s not a huge flaw, but it’s important for the offense to figure out how to get the speedsters on the field.
What is their strongest point?
The strong point of the team is the defense, in general. The line is great, led by Haloti Ngata. Rookie Paul Kruger looks good enough to start for a lot of teams at DE, but the Ravens’ line is good enough that he’s just depth. The linebackers should be one of the best groups in the league, yet again. And the secondary, led by Ed Reed and strengthened by the return of Dawan Landry and signing of Domonique Foxworth looks to be great as always. This defense is just too good.
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