If you aren’t searching for the opponent’s broadcast of the preseason games on the NFL Network, you are missing out.  It’s a lot like reading the opposing city’s newspaper after a big win against their team.  There is often hilarious juxtaposition of homer viewpoints.  On Saturday, the London Fletcher delay of game penalty was portrayed by the Baltimore feed as a cunning attempt to rest a tired defense against the no huddle.  However, Ron Winter’s explanation sent the Washington booth into conniptions, a review of the replay, and discussion of intent. 

I assume both broadcasts are produced from the same basic game cameras with supplemental sideline interviews and a director for each team pulling it together.  The result is that you don’t miss as many plays while someone asks Donte Stallworth how it feels to be back.

I wish the offense was as much a cause for humor, but the results were mixed.  I scored the 25 snaps played by most of the starters:

Oher:  He had a difficult assignment, primarily against Orakpo.  Here are the plays I have marked him down for less than a completed block:

·         (Q1,8:10)  False start (-3)

·         (Q1, 7:46) Failed on stunt handoff.  He and Grubbs shared the pressure (-1)

·         (Q1, 5:06) Missed block on Rice’s run.  Orakpo penetrated, reached out, and barely missed Rice (0).  Oher not called for hold.  This wasn’t visible on the Ravens feed, but the play is shown on the Redskins version.

·         (Q2, 15:00) Orakpo moved by Oher to the inside and he was forced to push the DE across the pocket with an arm bar.  No hold was called despite the protestations of the Skins announcers.  However, his inability to control Orakpo contributed to the pressure (charged to Grubbs) and incomplete, so I charged him with a missed block (0).

Although he was not flagged, he also blocked downfield on the pass play that resulted in Stallworth’s fumble (Q2, 9:51).  That may have been frustration or a simple loss of concentration, but he was lucky to go unnoticed in this game.  On a positive note, he finished with 12 straight scoring blocks, administered 2 pancakes, and pulled successfully on the Ravens’ 2nd play.  Scoring: 25 plays, 22 blocks, 2 missed, ½ pressure, 1 false start, 18 points, (.72 per play).

Grubbs:  He allowed 1.5 pressures and Oher had a part in both plays (see above).  Other than those I score him as making all 23 blocks including 4 in level 2 and 1 successful pull.  That was a nice recovery from an awful first game, but he and Oher need to learn to play together.  Scoring:  23 blocks, 1.5 penetrations, 20 points, (.80 per play).

Birk:  He played just 17 snaps before Chester entered at center.  Matt may have benefitted from playing against the Redskins backup interior DTs and avoiding the late-entering Haynesworth.  His only markdown came when Orakpo knocked down a pass at the LoS while doubled by Birk and Yanda.  Scoring:  16 blocks, ½ PD, 15 points (.88 per play). 

Yanda:  Marshal had an up and down night.  He registered a tough missed block when London Fletcher evaded him to tackle Stallworth on his 2nd reverse (Q2, 10:28).  He otherwise had trouble keeping his feet at times.  The best example I can give is (Q2, 7:14).  Since he’s continually asked to pull, his score suffers from the fact that my system does not recognize the high value of those plays.  He connected on 4 of 5 pulls Saturday.  He also tried to get out too quickly on a screen pass to McGahee (Q2, 7:25).  He pushed Carriker to the ground, but in so doing gave away the screen.  Carriker got up right between McGahee and Flacco and disrupted the pass.  Scoring:  20 blocks, 4 missed, ½ PD, 19 points (.76 per play).

Moll:  I scored only Tony’s first 25 plays, but he played the entire game, including a stint at RG when Tyler entered (Q3, 0:54).  He played well with the first teamers, connecting on 23 of 25 blocks.  Moll showed good positional skills and gave much less ground in the pocket than we have seen before.  He also got a little Michael Oher feedback from Rocky McIntosh who thought he stuck with his block a little too long (Q2, 2:23).  His 2 misses both came on attempted pulls (Q1, 9:23 and Q1, 8:41) where he failed to find a block.  Scoring 23 blocks, 2 missed, 23 points (.92 per play).

As last week, I gave each new player and those with an unclear role a grade (+3 to -3) that represents change in expectations for 2010.  I’ve also given their cumulative total for the preseason:

Boldin (+1/+1):  We saw a glimpse of what the Ravens are paying for with a fearless leaping completion between 2 defenders (Q2, 14:15).  He also delivered some effective blocks in the running game (Q1, 4:20, for example).

Bulger (+1/0):  Bulger’s results were greatly improved in his 2nd outing.  While I still don’t like the way he throws off his back foot, he had some decent zip on his outs.  He also was the beneficiary of some fine plays by his receivers.  In particular, Donte Stallworth made good adjustments to consecutive underthrows (Q2, 1:34) and (Q2, 1:28) for gains of 25 and 17.  On the very next play (Q2, 1:21), he recognized Clayton as the hot read as Rogers blitzed.  It was a gain of just 5, but that is the sort of play that can go for a sack or turnover if the QB can’t adjust quickly.    

Clayton (0/+1):  He had just 2 catches for 7 yards with the Ravens assortment of screens and other sort passes, but I liked the connection with Bulger on the slant that beat the blitz (Q2, 1:21).  

Dickson (0/+2):  He didn’t do anything terribly wrong, but did not get his head turned in time for Bulger’s quick throw (Q3, 14:21).  I’m guessing by the Ravens play selection that they have a clear idea of what he can provide and are waiting to unleash him on the league.

Harewood (-1/-3):  I think the Ravens might try to sneak him onto the practice squad given how clearly he’s demonstrated he can’t help an NFL team this season.  He was beaten by Wilson for the pressure that caused a sack (Q4, 15:00) although Haynesworth cleaned up.  On the bright side, he was very persistent in applying multiple blocks on Smith’s 7-yard run (Q4, 11:03) and he didn’t display the same tendency to move to level 2 indiscriminately.

Harper (-2/-2):  His time as a Raven is coming to a close with his drop and reversed fumble on Saturday.

Moll (+3/+3):  See notes above.  In the desert that is the Ravens tackle situation, let’s hope this is not another mirage.  Moll could be the backup the Ravens need and they seem intent to make him a swingman.

Oher (0/-3):  See review and scoring above.  His score wasn’t good and he may have gotten away with 3 penalties, but he had a tough draw.  He remains an effective run blocker.  I think the conditions are unlikely to be met, but despite his difficulties this preseason, I’d take even money on him making the Pro Bowl this year if he plays without interruption on the right side.

Parmele (0/-3):  He still has the upper hand over Steele due to his kick return role, but if Reed makes the team, that could change.

Pitta (+2/+3):  Dennis had a nice seal block on Wilson as Parmele ran left (Q3, 9:31).  On the very next play he found the soft spot in the zone, watched the ball all the way into his hands, and picked up some YAC for a gain of 24.  It’s great to see a young receiver who shows little sign of fear in traffic.  He had a similar reception for 22 over the middle (Q4, 3:33).   

Reed (+1/+1):  Unlike Harper’s drop, Reed’s TD drop would have been a fine catch while well defended.  He showed some elusiveness to get by Barnes (Q3, 8:13) by the right sideline.  He showed the deep threat skill to go up strong for a ball in single coverage vs. Doughty (Q3, 12:07) along the left sideline.  He could make the team either because the Ravens put a value on him as a kick returner or because they like his long-term value since Williams is in his 5th season and the Ravens will have the rights to Reed for at least 2 more seasons.

Stallworth (+1/+1):  It’s never good to fumble, but Stallworth demonstrated some elusiveness on 2 reverses and made 2 very fine adjustments on consecutive plays late in Q2 (see Bulger).  In each case Bulger delivered the ball to a spot where the defenders couldn’t reach it, but Donte was forced to slow, make a complete turn for the reception, and still picked up some YAC.  I won’t make a judgment about his speed, but he hasn’t lost his receiving skills.

Steele (0/0):  He had only 3 carries on Saturday.  The Steele/Parmele battle may not be decided until the last exhibition game and the key players might be McGahee and Reed.

The Ravens and Redskins were playing the game at 2 different speeds on Saturday.  The Redskins looked like they were playing to endure the preseason unhurt and without disclosure of their playbook.  The Ravens unapologetically blitzed the Redskins into submission while utilizing a fake punt to generate some needed offense.  As usual, the team playing harder and faster came out with fewer health concerns.