Do you believe yet?  You should.  The Ravens turned in a game reminiscent of their 2000 playoff run in thrashing the Dolphins 27-9 Sunday.  A 9/23/145 passing effort was complemented by 5 takeaways as the Ravens frustrated the Dolphins with pressure, patience, and picks.

With good friends, 79-degree weather, empanadas, and 50-yard line seats that were offered to me as I waited to use the portapot, the day couldn’t have gone much better.  In a game that unfolded similarly to their last playoff victory, the Ravens fumbled on their first drive to set up a Dolphins FG, then again roared back with 20 unanswered points to lead 20-3.  Ed Reed continued his historic run and here we are complaining about a 6-day week and Flacco’s 0-sack, 0-INT performance, a sure sign that things are going well. 

There were again no kneels or spikes to be excluded this week:

Overall:  62 plays, 276 yards, 4.5 YPPA

Best:  Pryce 39/141, 3.6 YPPA, McKinney 16/50, 3.1 YPPA, Walker 14/24 1.7 YPPA

Worst:  Scott 53/267, 5.0 YPPA, Douglas 32/164, 5.1 YPPA

Vs. the Run:  21 carries, 52 yards, 2.5 YPC

Best:  Ngata 14/28, 2.0 YPC, Pryce 10/13 1.3 YPC

Worst:  Johnson 18/53, 2.9 YPC—Excellent for the worst

Vs. the Pass:  41 pass plays, 224 net yards, 5.5 YPP

Best:  Pryce 29/128, 4.4 YPP, Walker 10/19, 1.9 YPP, Nakamura 8/8, 1.0 YPP

Worst:  Douglas 19/127, 6.7 YPP, Johnson 17/114, 6.7 YPP

By number of Pass Rushers:

3 or fewer:  4/18, 4.5 YPP

4:  24/184, 7.7 YPP, 2 Sacks, 2 TO

5:  11/32, 2.9 YPP, 1 TO

6:  2/-10, -5.0 YPP, 1 sack, 1 TO

7:  None

By number of Defensive Backs:

3:  6/9, 1.5 YPPA (4 of these were near the goal line)

4:  23/115, 5.0 YPPA, 1 Sack

5:  24/143 yards, 6.0 YPPA, 1 Sack, 4 TO

6:  None

7:  9/9, 1.0 YPPA, 1 Sack, 1 TO

·      I’ve watched most of the games in Ravens history several times, but there are certain plays I want to rewind 5 or 6 times each viewing.  I’d like to hear yours, but mine are:

• McAlister’s 98-yard INT return vs. Vinnie at the end of the half in the last game of 2000
• Dilfer to Lewis to Buckley to Sharpe vs. the Broncos
• Washington’s blocked FG returned 90 yards by Mitchell against the Titans
• McAlister’s 107-yard FG return vs. the Broncos (with Ray’s block)
• Reed’s blocked punt and return vs. the Seahawks (All 4 were nice, but that’s my favorite)
• Reed’s sack/FF/FR/TD return vs. Brunell and the Redskins
• Reed’s 106-yard INT vs. the Browns
• Reed’s 103-yard INT vs. the Jets (“No, that’s Ed Reed”--reduced to 78 by holding)
• Reed’s 107-yard INT vs. the Eagles
• And now, Reed’s 64-yard INT vs. the Dolphins
• The play had it all with McClain’s QH on Pennington, Reed outracing the ball to make the over-the-shoulder grab, the hop to escape Cobbs (does he have eyes in the back of his head), the path to the left side of the field to draw the offense, the convoy collecting as he returns to the right side, Ngata’s leveling of Ginn, Suggs eyes widening as he flattens Pennington (who is realizing he’d made a big mistake), and the last little hop over Pennington/Suggs to reach the goal line a moment before London futilely pops the ball from his arm.  After the pick, I don’t think Ed was ever running at full speed.  Aesthetically, it was the most pleasing defensive play I’ve ever seen and the best thing about it was the way every Raven on the field was involved.

·         The Ravens 3 biggest defensive plays:

• Reed’s 1st INT (Q2, 2:51)—I hope you enjoyed it, because I expect it to be a standard of Ravens’ highlight reels for the next 40+ years.
• Ravens stop Ronnie Brown at the 1 on 3rd and goal (Q1, 9:03).  The Dolphins settled for a field goal after driving 50 yards following McClain’s fumble.  Those 4 points loomed large into the 2nd half.
• Reed’s 2nd INT (Q3, 2:04)—The Dolphins had driven 56 yards to the Ravens 15 before Reed made this 2nd, spectacular pick to keep the score 20-3.  While the Dolphins would close to 20-9 in the 4th, this snuffed out what might have been a game-changing score.