Just another quick note about the Ravens loss to the Vikings just over an hour ago…

At the end of the first half, and into the third quarter, I was so disgusted by the play from the team, I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t be posting anything about this game for a few days. It wasn’t just the level of play, it was how they were playing.

For the first half of this game, the Ravens looked just weak. Instead of looking like the proud, fiery, intense team we’ve come to love, they looked like a shell of themselves. There seemed to be clear issues on the defense that no one wanted to address… players just left staring at each other.

And all the while we got it rubbed in our face as Brett Favre pushed up and down the field, jumping and smiling like a little kid who’d just picked up a football for the first time. That’s the way the Ravens used to play.

The second half – and the fourth quarter especially – changed that though. Offensively the team was outstanding, of course. But the excitement and intensity of the offense, the electricity of Ray Rice and the subtle confidence of Joe Flacco, seemed to become contagious. The defense found it.

The defense certainly didn’t play lights out and win the game for us, suddenly. They could have, but they didn’t. But they did at least play with a level of confidence that leads me to believe, or at least hope, that they can find some level of greatness again. The feeling was at least familiar.

And even with Steven Hauschka missing that kick, I have to think that the Ravens left the field knowing they didn’t deserve to win that game. They deserved to win the fourth quarter, but not the game. And so perhaps we’ll see that intensity from the very beginning in two weeks when we play Denver. If we do, if this team can play with the heart it was lacking all the while against Cincinnati and for most of the game in Minnesota, there is plenty to look forward to.

Stupid Penalties: 40%

Second straight week the Ravens can thank themselves and their absolute lack of discipline for their problems. The officials were not good, but that’s not an excuse. The Ravens apparently didn’t learn anything from last week’s game in New England. I’m still a bit baffled by Steve Tasker’s relentless defense of the officiating – the Frank Walker pass interference and Chad Ochocinco lack of interference calls were particularly questionable, and Tasker failed to even acknowledge the possibility. Meanwhile, the Ravens gave away first downs and yards, play after play. [Is defensive illegal formation even a penalty, by the way?]

Stupid Players: 30%

Missed tackles. Missed coverages. Leaving holes wide open. Dropping passes. There are no excuses for the Ravens pathetic play today. As much as players and fans may want to be upset at the officials,  the Ravens came to the game today with no emotion and no heart. Half the game, I wasn’t even sure the defense wanted to be there – the secondary was consistently out of position and failed to find the ball while the front seven struggled to find their zones.

Stupid Gameplan: 20%

Noticing a trend yet? This whole game was stupid by the Ravens. I’m not sure what Cam Cameron’s offensive game plan was today. It’s become more and more clear to me that the offense simply does not have a steady game plan. In early games we dismissed the funky offensive style as “taking advantage of weak opponents,” but in two straight losses to good teams, there has been no “settling” of the gameplan. There were stretches where the Ravens looked far too conservative. At other times the Ravens looked far too aggressive. At no point did the Ravens offense look like the force it had been for the season’s first four weeks.

(Stupid) Disappearing Players: 9%

Derrick Mason. Willis McGahee. Kelley Washington. Terrell Suggs. Kelly Gregg. Fabian Washington. Le’Ron McClain. Were any of these guys even on the field today? Did McGahee even get a touch? Did Mason? Washington and McClain each had a moment or two… but I don’t even remember seeing Washington on the field more than two or three times.

Stupid Steve Tasker: 1%

Okay, so maybe he had nothing to do with the Ravens losing, but he certainly had a lot to do with me not enjoying the game. Gus Johnson is bad. Steve Tasker is just dreadful. I’m not sure how, but he’s actually gotten worse since the Ravens earlier games. Do they even show up before Sunday?

Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis and Safety Ed Reed will not be fined for their post-game remarks criticizing the officials in the team’s 27-21 loss to the Patriots. Read more here.

Quite a surprise, actually. Lewis in particular just went off on the officials in the game. But in reality, both players were criticizing the league’s recent moves to protect quarterbacks. As Lewis sees it, the new rules and interpretations make it impossible for a player to hit a quarterback without getting flagged.

No word yet on whether John Harbaugh will be fined for his in-game tantrum, which drew a personal foul, and his post-game remarks which were similar to Lewis and Reed. I would expect Harbaugh to see a lighter paycheck this week.

Fair is Fair. It’s been pretty well documented elsewhere, but the Ravens simply didn’t do the right things to win Sunday’s game. Somehow, though, at game’s end, the Ravens were still just yards away from winning (or perhaps just one Mark Clayton catch away). All told, that says a lot of good things about the Ravens. For as poorly as they played (from special teams to penalties), they were still right there with a chance in the final moments – and not a hail mary chance, a legitimate chance.

Today as power rankings are released we’re already seeing the Ravens fall a bit, but not too far. ESPN has the Ravens 7th, right behind New England.

Run the Damn Ball, Cam. I’m still trying to decide whether the Ravens failure to run the ball was the result of in-game panic or just a bad game plan. My bet is a bit of both, with a pinch of “inability to adjust” as well. Cameron’s game plan was to pass frequently. As much as we may not like that in hindsight, it actually worked fairly well for most of the game. Minus a Joe Flacco miscommunication leading to an interception, the passing game looked alright.

But the pass-favored attack was made worse by an early deficit. Last year one of the Ravens’ greatest strengths was that they never panicked, even when down early. On Sunday, it seemed quite the opposite. Some early scoring by the Pats had the Ravens scattered.

Finally, even when the Ravens seemed to regain some control over the game in the second half, they failed to reset themselves and their gameplan. One big reason to run the ball is not just to balance the defense, but even a mediocre run nets yardage. 3rd and 7 looks so much friendlier than 3rd and 10.

The Refs. Still not a fan of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed mouthing off – even if I agree with the broader sentiment that quarterbacks are overprotected. And I’m not a fan of John Harbaugh getting in on the action, even in a more subdued, passive way than he did on the field.

It has been interesting, however, to see the national reaction to the Terrell Suggs personal foul in particular. No one seems to like it. In a Baltimore Sun article today the wording of the rule was emphasized – contact to the quarterback below the knee must be forcible to warrant a penalty. Suggs’ contact certainly wasn’t forcible.

I’ve heard it argued that had Brady not moved his leg, it would have been much worse. But last I checked, the NFL didn’t give penalties for almost pass interference and almost facemasks. It’s a fast game, what looks like it could be a penalty one instant can very clearly change.

Offensive Game Ball: Ray Rice. Rice ran for more than 100 yards on just 11 carries, including a 50 yard run that set up the Ravens third touchdown and made it a three point game. Rice also gets the game’s underused game ball for only seeing 11 touches. Even 10 carries for 50 yards sounds good (Rice’s numbers minus his big run), so we all have to be wondering why Cam didn’t put the ball on the ground more.

Feelin’ Fine Ball: Ray Lewis. Because I’m feeling a fine coming his way for his post game remarks. I didn’t agree with every call on the field out there today, but the Ravens need to learn how to take their losses and the game’s circumstances and move on.

Lesson Learned Ball: Terrell Suggs. Asked post-game about his personal foul on Tom Brady, Suggs replied quietly, “it is what it is.” That shouldn’t be taken to mean Suggs liked the call, but he knows how to keep his pay check fat.

Buddy Buddy Ball: Tom Brady. Brady played a good game. But between his Manning-esque “flag wrist” asking for a personal foul and the closing shot of Brady walking off the field with the refs… I can’t help but think it. These refs know they have a job to protect the league’s stars.

Fired Up Ball: John Harbaugh. I’ve got mixed feelings on Harbaugh’s tantrum. I don’t think it cost the Ravens as much as some fans do, but there’s no way to tell. I do know that I want my coach to care enough that he’s ready to go. First time we’ve seen Harbaugh go off like that. Probably won’t see it again for a while.

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Three Predictions:

1. Two Ravens runners will top 100 yards. That’s pretty bold, right? I’m leaning towards Willis McGahee and Ray Rice, obviously. Not sure that there are even enough carries in one game to get them both over 100 yards, but it only really takes one big run (and the Browns specialize in making those available). If this doesn’t happen, I won’t be losing any sleep. Just a gut feeling.

2. It won’t be a shut-out. As much as Ravens fans and the team want it, the Browns are going to score. This Ravens defense is not there yet, especially not with Josh Cribbs helping out with field position. Not sure if the Browns will find the endzone or not (based on yesterday’s score prediction, I’m leaning towards not), but they will put something up on the scoreboard. But man, what would a shut out do for the Ravens points allowed average!

3. The Bengals will upend the Steelers. Ok, so this one isn’t Ravens, obviously. But there’s only so much to say about Ravens-Browns. Looking at the other division game this weekend, I’m loving the Bengals. Their defense is more legitimate than most think at the moment, and with the Steelers unable to run and vulnerable to the sack, there’s hope for Cincy. I also love Hines Ward saying that Pitt isn’t worried about their running game because the passing attack can handle it – for how long, Hines?

Three Questions:

1. Will the Ravens big play defense show up? The Ravens are facing a pair of back-up runners (one a rookie). Their also facing an inexperience quarterback leading a sloppy offense. The turnovers should be there for the taking – so will the Ravens take them? I expect a couple of turnovers, of course. But the bigger question is can the Ravens turn one into their signature scoring play? Fans are waiting – Ed Reed, Fabian Washington, Haloti Ngata, we’re looking at you.

2. Will the Ravens secondary improve? It better, given the opponent is far less advanced than San Diego was last week, but we all still have doubts. Defensive coordinator Greg Mattison said the defense will be returning to more standard secondary arrangements, hopefully keeping everyone on the same page and (we can only hope) in the right position. It would also help if he taught his smaller corners how to defend a pass, and not just run stride for stride with a receiver. But we can only hope for so much in a week.

3. Will the Browns implode? Their play on the field has already collapsed, obviously. That’s not really the question. But the whole team seems on the verge of absolute self-destruction. If the Ravens really pound the Browns, it might just be enough to send them over the edge and on the path to being one of the truly memorable bad teams in football history. Ray Lewis has a history of leaving bad memories for opponents, we can only hope he delivers here.

Ravens Rush Attack vs. Browns Rush Defense

The Browns rush defense could be one of the worst in league history, even relative to other Browns defenses in recent memory. And as bad as they have been, the Texans are actually still worse at the moment, statistically. Regardless, the Browns have allowed more than 400 yards rushing in just two games. And the Ravens? Well, they only bring the league’s fourth best rush attack to the game. While no individual Raven is going to have Adrian Peterson-type numbers at the end of the day (180 yards and 3 TDs), you can bet that the Ravens are going to get as much as they can on the ground. Any of the Ravens three runners (Willis McGahee, Ray Rice and Le’Ron McClain) could handle this defense alone. And with the help of the Ravens offensive line, which has been downright dominant on the ground this season, you can expect to see defenders blown off the ball play after play. Edge: Ravens

Ravens Pass Attack vs. Browns Pass Defense:

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Yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiikes. Pulled that one out. Nice game on both sides, scary on both sides, impressive on both sides. Ravens sneak by.

Defensive Game Ball: Ray Lewis.Gotta start where it ended. Not only did Lewis make the tackle that ended the game, beautifully reading the Chargers’ blocking scheme and meeting Darren Sproles 4 yards in the backfield, but he also controlled Sproles throughout the second half. After Sproles and the Chargers abused the Ravens defense on screens and swings, the Ravens assigned Lewis the task of hawking the speedy back. In the second half, Sproles’ big screens were far less damaging. Lewis had a forced fumble, an innumerable  number of tackles, and was one of the few highlights of an otherwise forgettable defensive performance.

Two-Face Ball: Dawan Landry. It was the tale of two halves for Landry. In the first half, he needed a GPS to find his way around the field. Landry lost Sproles on the Chargers 70+ yard screen to score in the first, and found himself out of position or turned around frequently. It’s hard to deny that my mind occasionally wandered to Jim Leonhard’s spirited campaign at safety last season. But in the second half, Landry found himself and turned his game around – intercepting Rivers once and almost doing it a second time later in the third.

Winner / Whiner Ball: Philip Rivers. Read the rest of this entry »