While baseball is a game of streaks, football is much less so.  There are simply too many counter strategies to neutralize a good player. 

Yet on Sunday, the Ravens had 3 separate players put together impressive streaks to dominate the game for a key period.

·         Ed Reed had 5 PDs on an 8-pass stretch in the 2^nd quarter, but went the entire rest of the game without recording a defensive statistic.

·         Derrick Mason was targeted 9 times in a 15-play sequence that was highlighted by his interception turned reception strip of Talib and culminated with his 10-yard TD catch that put the Ravens up 17-3 just before halftime.

·         Ray Rice snuffed out the last Tampa hope with 4 carries and a catch for 3 first downs to run out the final 3:05.  It’s rare that a team can move the ball so effectively when the other team is selling out for the run.  On 4 successive plays, Rice made a terrific catch on a ball thrown a little behind him (covered by DE Tim Crowder!), ran over Piscitelli for 16 yards, and effectively waited for his blocking to record successive 6-yard runs over right guard behind a pair of pulling blocks by Ben Grubbs.

The Ravens’ 65 offensive plays included 2 kneels for which no scoring is recorded.

Oher:  Michael exited 3 plays into quarter 3, so he played just 36 offensive snaps.  He wasn’t party to any of the sacks, but I scored him for 5 missed blocks and a pressure (Q2, 3:21).  His false start penalty was a simple flinch, not something that begged timing relative to the snap.  While the loss of McClain will necessitate some change in gameplan, a loss of Oher, even for a single week, has far more serious implications for the Ravens’ Super Bowl aspirations.  Scoring:  30 blocks, 5 missed, 1 pressure, 1 false start, 25 points (.69 per play).

Grubbs:  Ben turned in another 6-for-6 day on pulls to bring his streak to 44 of the last 50.  He saved his best for last as he pulled on Rice’s runs for 16, 6, and 6 that preceded the 2 kneels that close out the game.  As a pass blocker, he had less success.  He failed to pick up Sean Jones when the Bucs’ safety came delayed to sack Flacco (Q3, 10:04).  I scored him for half of White’s QH (Q3, 3:34).  On that play, the Bucs stunted, but Cousins and Grubbs weren’t properly positioned for Cousins to hand off White effectively.  Scoring:  59 blocks, 2 missed, 1.5 QH, 1 sack, 51.5 points (.82 per play).

Birk:  His only significant mistake was a pressure allowed on what would turn out to be Mason’s reception stripped from Talib.  Otherwise, he pulled once successfully and made 5 blocks in level 2.  Scoring:  60 blocks, 2 missed, 1 penetration, 58 points, .92 per play. 

Moll:  So much for the controversy at RG.  Tony was beaten for penetration (not so scored because there was not a loss on the play) on the QB sneak that resulted in Oher’s injury.  He was fully charged for Crowder’s sack that left the Ravens with 3^rd and 14 on their initial drive (Q1, 8:05).  He also shared McCoy’s first sack with Yanda (Q2, 14:25).  Perhaps his most visually memorable play was his pull in front of McGahee (Q3, 2:11). Willis ended up pushing Moll as his lack of speed was impeding him.  We’d have been happy with that sort of “lead” blocking had the job been moving siege equipment.  But hey, he’s a tackle playing guard and the coaches should probably know he’s not going to be successful pulling any significant distance.  Scoring:  53 blocks, 7 missed, 1 penetration, 1.5 sacks, 42 points (.63 per play). 

Yanda:  I scored Marshal for 1.5 sacks in this game, each of which may have been the partial responsibility of another player.  Yanda allowed Crowder to rush free to the outside (Q1, 8:05).  Tim Ryan indicated he thought Le’Ron McClain might have missed his assignment, which may well be true.  I charged Yanda with the entire sack, but I understand why someone else might score it differently.  On the aforementioned sack he shared with Moll, Marshal appeared to hand off McCoy who was in good position to beat Moll alone.  It’s clear the sack was more Moll’s responsibility, but I scored it as half to Yanda.  As a run blocker, he had another very fine game with good position and push and stayed nasty to the whistle when he had his opponent moving.  Scoring:  58 blocks, 1 missed, 1.5 pressures, 1.5 sacks, 46 points (.73 per play).

Cousins:  If you’re scared by the prospect of Cousins playing left tackle, you should be.  Oniel played 27 snaps after Oher’s injury and did a nice job as a run blocker, including his contribution to the game-closing drive.  He was beaten outside by White for a QH (Q3, 8:43).  Piscitelli actually came unblocked to get there an instant earlier.  He shared another QH with Grubbs (see above), shared a penetration with Yanda (Q3, 3:29), and had a false start.  Scoring:  23 blocks, 1 missed, ½ penetration, 1.5 QH, 1 false start, 14.5 points (.53 per play).

The Ravens veteran receivers each made significant contributions: 

·         Houschmandzadeh tiptoed the sidelines on Flacco’s long escape (Q1, 8:36), pulled in a ball in tight coverage (Q1, 0:51), drew a pass interference call on Myron Lewis (Q2, 0:42), and warded off 2 defenders while Rice was slowing in the stretch of his 76-yard nullified TD. 

·         Boldin shook off the illegal block (see below) to level Piscitelli on Rice’s 8-yard draw (Q4, 9:20).  Picitelli had a bad game and (coincidence or not) was released this week.  He was subsequently claimed by the Browns which will give him a chance to extend the longest NFL career by anyone named “Sabby”.  Anquan also had 19 YAC following a 3-yard reception (Q3, 4:39) aided by Houschmandzadeh’s crushing block.

·         Mason was targeted 13 times with 8 catches, putting a quick end to the Flacco/Mason controversy.  He abused Talib for much of the day including wrestling away Aqib’s apparent interception (Q2, 1:26) just 4 plays before he scored the touchdown that put the Ravens up 17-3 (Q2, 0:37).  One could make an argument that Mason’s interception turned reception was the game’s biggest play.

Flacco had ATS on 15 of 39 drop backs (38%).  On those passes (no sacks) he completed 11 of 15 for 189 yards (12.6 YPP), 1 TD, and 1 INT.  On the interception (Q2, 9:10), Joe moved up towards the line of scrimmage to make time, and threw almost as soon as he turned towards Houschmandzadeh, but Talib broke on the ball to pick it.  I didn’t think Joe telegraphed the throw, but given the fact that Rhonde Barber nearly intercepted a pass in the same general spot on the field on the previous play, it’s evident the Bucs were keying on something.

Without ATS, Flacco was 14 of 20 for 100 gross yards (68 net) with 4 sacks for 32 yards (2.8 YPP) and 1 TD.

A lot has been said about the officiating, but I’ll briefly say:

·         The pass interference by Lewis on TJH (Q2, 0:42) was a legitimate flag.  Lewis backed into Housch in an obvious cutoff attempt . The fact that his arms were extended to the side was corroborating evidence.  I can’t even be sure the Bucs corner picked up the ball since simply raising his hands would have given him a chance for the PD or INT and would also made it unlikely the ref would have thrown the flag.

·         The illegal block on Boldin (Q3, 5:31) was bad on several levels.  First, Boldin barely made contact with Piscitelli.  What contact occurred was a grasping hand to the jersey that looked much more like it might have become a hold than a shoving motion typical of IBW.  Last, the flag was thrown at what appeared to be Piscitelli’s behest.

·         Ruud’s uncalled PI on Heap (Q3, 3:29) had 2 major earmarks (armbar, defender not tracking the football) of many such calls.