Quarterback  1/2 

At the 12:50 mark of the second quarter Anthony Wright was 3 of 4 for 22 yards.  Unfortunately 2 of his completions were to the Lions and 17 of those yards were interception return yards.  His performance up to that point can be summarized as follows: Quarterback rating 0.0.  Wright did rally later and the Ravens did get back in the game at halftime and looked like they might take the lead during their first possession of the third quarter.  But the drive stalled despite a first and 10 at the Detroit 31.  The Ravens came away with nothing from that drive.  The balance of Wright’s day amounted to nothing more than whip cream on prairie oysters.

Running Back

Both Jamal Lewis and Chester Taylor ran hard and very determined and both were productive despite the Lions attempt to choke off the run (5 yards per carry).  Unfortunately the Ravens didn’t manage the game in a way that allowed this pair to exert their will upon the Lions more often (only 26 carries.)  Ovie Mughelli had a costly fumble in Detroit territory during the second quarter when the Ravens were trying to respond to an early 14-0 Lions’ lead.

Receivers  1/2

Derrick Mason is a force on a team that has little force in its passing game.  He brings attitude to the offense but please leave the childish theatrics for the locker room or practice field.  Todd Heap is an underutilized weapon.  Clarence Moore finally caught a pass in traffic.  Mark Clayton looks like he could be a Mason clone.  Randy Hymes remains underutilized and performs when called upon.  Yet with the exception of Mason, the Ravens repeatedly fail to place this improving unit in position to make the most of their talents.

Offensive Line

The left side of the offensive line seemed to be developing a little rhythm in the running game and for the most part, they controlled the formidable tandem of Shaun Rogers and Dan Wilkinson (3 tackles combined) and yielded just one QB sack despite dropping back to throw 38 times, most of which were obvious passing situations.  Of all the people who lost their collective and individual heads yesterday, Orlando Brown of all people did not.  Maybe the refs were afraid to call holding on him.

Defensive Line

This unit was very solid in choking off the run.  Before Shawn Bryson busted the game open with his 77 yard TD run, the Ravens had limited the Lions to 92 yards on 36 carries (2.56 yds/carry).  The Lions caught the Ravens in a blitz on third and 5 from their own 23 with 7:16 left in the game and the score at 28-17.  The blitz left the Ravens left side of the line exposed paving the way to the touchdown.  The defensive line put very little pressure on Harrington particularly after Suggs was tossed out for bumping Referee Mike Carey “with malice in his heart.”  Terrell Suggs and Maake Kemoeatu should be fined by the team for their childish and street punk behavior.

Linebackers  1/2

The Ravens entered this contest fully prepared to play physical football and they did exactly that from the outset.  Ray Lewis played his most physical game of the season although he was smacked in the mouth on one attempted tackle by a very physical Kevin Jones.  Adalius Thomas was a force off the edge in the running game and Bart Scott was solid, particularly during the goal line stands.  Scott is deserving of more playing time.

Secondary

Chris McAlister thug behavior aside, he remains a perplexing player who gets schooled by crafty veterans who know how to get inside his head.  Add Kevin Johnson to that list.  McAlister failed to hold containment on Kevin Jones 15 yard scamper to open the day’s scoring.  Will Demps was very solid in run support although he too ran into the freight train called Kevin Jones and was tossed aside like a rag doll.  The unit did provide solid coverage at times and if the defensive line could have pressured Arrington, they may have been responsible for a few coverage sacks.  But keep in mind the Lions were missing their two top receivers for most of the game.  Ed Reed looked uninspired trying to tackle Bryson on his TD run.

Special Teams  1/2

Dave Zastudil hit a bomb when the Ravens really needed one and the coverage downfield by Justin Green was solid to net 53 yards on a punt with 2:00 left in the second quarter.  However his low line drive punt from the Lions 33 was fielded by R.W. McQuarters at the 9 and returned to the 28, netting the Ravens a gain of 5 yards on the exchange.  The punt coverage teams lacked discipline at the end of the third quarter when McQuarters returned a punt to the Ravens 19.  After the face masking penalty against Chester Taylor, the Lions were set up well for another touchdown to put the game out of reach at 28-10.

The kickoff coverage was solid and the field goal team is limited.  If Elling can’t even attempt a 50 yard field goal, he doesn’t deserve to have a roster spot despite his improved kick offs.

Coaching

"The last thing I told them as we left the (halftime) locker room was that I did not want anyone talking to the officials,"  That’s Brian Billick who apparently has little influence on his team.  His defense on their first series after the “pep talk”, drew six penalties in seven minutes, had two players ejected which for the most part, served as an end zone escort for the Lions.   

This was a game that was very winnable if the Ravens could only have exercised restraint and composure.  When the children start to lose it, it’s up to the parents to get them in line.  The children only got worse after the apparently less than stern suggestion from Billick.

As for the game itself, the Ravens still do not use play action to set up the pass.  It does very little for you when you use it on third and 8.  They also fail to put their playmakers (Heap and Clayton) in position to make plays until it’s too late.

The decision not to go for points in the third quarter when the Ravens had the ball on the 33 yard line on their first second half possession was a bad one.

On the plus side, the Ravens did use a rarely seen shovel pass to Jamal Lewis for a score. 

Final Thoughts

* Ray Lewis….while he played well against the Lions, please do the city and its fans a favor and ditch the dance this week against the Browns.  It seems highly inappropriate given the behavior of the defense this week. 

* While the loss can’t be pinned on the officiating, you would be hard pressed to find a worse officiated game.  Mike Carey and his crew were absolutely inept and they appeared to commit a cardinal sin of officiating – letting emotions get in the way.  At least once I wondered if this was the league’s way of settling the score for the Lions overturned touchdown last week against the Bucs. 

* The forward pass that wasn’t, the bad roughing the passer call, the defensive line holding calls and the flagrant face masking against Chester Taylor should be enough to draw the attention of Johnny Grier and his NFL officiating head honchos.  The officials need to be accountable also.  But don’t count on it….

* It’s time to give the young guys a shot just to see what they’ve got.  Devard Darling, Adam Terry, Jason Brown and Justin Green all need to see the field.  Let’s see what they’ve got.  And no matter how bad it hurts the Ravens, Suggs and McAlister need to sit.

* Twenty one penalties is embarrassing...but apparently not to the Ravens who were laughing and carrying on along the sidelines late in the game.  I must admit, I wanted them to get two more to tie and then break the league record.  I want the embarrassment to hurt yet the Ravens seem to have no remorse and discard their thug behavior as just pure emotion.  They seemingly are not embarrassed.

* Hey, are the Ravens 1-1 now?

* Was the Ravens meltdown Kyle Boller’s fault?