QUARTERBACK

Consistency is what the Ravens hope for from Kyle Boller.  If the last two games are any indication, perhaps Brian Billick was right and the rest of the civilized world was wrong about his young QB.  While this game may not have been as dominant statistically as his effort against Green Bay, last night’s performance was arguably more impressive.  Suddenly Boller is finding his hot reads and making the right decisions when under duress.  His third down execution was nearly flawless.  He was called upon to make 11 third down throws and he converted 10 of them.  Eight of those third down throws occurred when facing third and 6 or better.  He connected on all 8 to stay on the field and helped the Ravens win the time of possession battle (33:06 v. 26:54). 

Boller showed great field awareness throughout the contest.  More specifically he dumped off a shovel pass to Ovie Mughelli for 6 yards on a second and 8 to set up third and short.  When flushed out of the pocket facing a second and 10 at his own 12 with 7:24 left in the game and the Ravens clinging to a 24-20 lead, Boller rolled left, squared his shoulders and hit a right to left streaking Derrick Mason for an important first down.  His command of the team was apparent during the drive at the end of the first half to set up Matt Stover.  With under 20 seconds, Boller delivered back to back key strikes to Todd Heap and Mark Clayton.  His location of secondary and tertiary receivers was solid and it helped him to be nearly perfect in third down conversions. 

And not that it means much in evaluating performance, you have to admire the way Boller willingly accepts blame but is quick to give the credit to his mates as evidenced by this quote: "We continue to fight.  There are some teams that come out there and things didn't go their way, they would give up. I'm really proud of our guys to go out there and continue to battle."

And battle effectively is exactly what Kyle Boller has done for the past two games.

RUNNING BACKS 1/2

The Ravens could get nothing going on the ground.  They managed only 88 yards on 32 carries.  Both Chester Taylor and Jamal Lewis contributed to the passing game, particularly Taylor.  On third and 10 from the Ravens 42 with 0:34 to go in the first half, Taylor converted a reception into a 19 yard gain and a first down, eventually leading to 3 points.  On third and 8 from the Ravens 27 with 11:14 to go in the third, Taylor caught a pass from Boller and went 18 yards, keeping an eventual touchdown drive alive.  Again on third and 12 from the Ravens 19 with 3:10 to go in the third, Taylor snared a pass from Boller and just got beyond the marker to keep yet another touchdown drive alive.  Taylor was also solid in blitz pickup, slowing down Raonall Smith once and Darren Sharper another time.  Ovie Mughelli picked up rush blitzers effectively.

RECEIVERS

Here’s a word to opposing defensive coordinators.  Pick you poison.  During the first Ravens drive, Boller found Heap 3 times including the touchdown.  After that point, Heap only touched the ball once and was shut down in the second half completely.  That left the field open for Mason and Clayton and the two certainly took advantage.  Each receiver demonstrated outstanding body control and hands when called upon throughout this contest.  Had it not been for a blatant hold by Darren Sharper (apparent to everyone except the back judge) Clayton may have had another long score.  All three are fearless in traffic and they suddenly have mastered down and distance and it manifests itself in third down efficiency.  Move those chains!!!  Whoomp!!!

OFFENSIVE LINE 1/2

The Ravens’ offensive front could do nothing to provide space for either one of their competent backs.  Pat Williams and Kevin Williams dictated the flow at the line of scrimmage in the running game, even when the Ravens tried to attack the edges.  They simply beat the Ravens interior offensive linemen save one long running play (19 yards) during the fourth quarter when Rimpf and Pashos sealed off a cut back lane for Jamal Lewis.  Ogden on a pitch early in the game to Lewis found the Pro Bowl linemen taking on three defenders one at a time.  First there was Antoine Winfield who elected to play opossum, then Ogden diverted Fred Smoot with Lewis still on his heels.  Finally, Ogden put the finishing touch on Darren Sharper to complete the 11 yard run.  Tony Pashos needs to get a better push in the future on the end when the Ravens run that quick flanker hitch/screen.  The end pushed upfield, blocked the pass and nearly picked it off.  Nice overall effort particularly on the many third and long situations. 

DEFENSIVE LINE

Except for a couple of plays when Jarrett Johnson and Maake Kemoeatu allowed Mewelde Moore to slip through their grasp, the defensive line played well supporting the run, yielding a total of 42 yards on 14 carries, 36 yards of which came on two carries by Moore off the Ravens’ defensive right edge..  They were stout at the goal line.  Kelly Gregg and Kemoeatu, much like the Vikings’ tackles, controlled the flow at the line of scrimmage.  The Vikings’ offensive front was a bit thin without starters Marcus Johnson and Melvin Flower.  Other than Terrell Suggs, Brad Johnson felt very little pressure from this group.  Anthony Weaver recovered a fourth quarter fumble but was seen very few other times.

LINEBACKERS

Bart Scott was menacing.  Three times Scott made nice tackles for a loss or no gain and one was of the open field variety against the speedy Michael Bennett.  Scott also made a nice submarine stop of Ciatrick Fason at the goal line forcing him outside where Jarrett Johnson finished off the 4 yard loss.  Adalius Thomas was all over the field and Tommy Polley was active at the point of attack (especially at the goal line) and adept in pass coverage.  Both Thomas and Polley missed tackles that kept Vikings drives alive.  Thomas' miss on Troy Williamson led to a 56 yard gain.  Thomas was able to drive the final nail into the Vikings coffin with his late sack and forced fumble of Brad Johnson.

SECONDARY1/2

Ed Reed looks to be back in near top form except for those Roberto Duran hands that couldn’t hold on to the ball during two more blown interception opportunities.  He jumped routes and demonstrated great anticipation.  He de-cleated Koren Robinson on a short pass over the middle and also made a nice break on a streak pattern to assist Chris McAlister at the goal line.  Samari Rolle was guilty of poor tackling on a couple of occasions and even allowed Travis Taylor to run him over.  Taylor normally falls to the ground as quickly as J-Lo falls for another husband.  Chris McAlister blew a coverage on Taylor that resulted in a score and he helped to keep two Vikings’ drives alive with costly penalties, albeit one of the very questionable variety.  Chad Williams bit on a pump fake by Brad Johnson and allowed the Viking QB just enough room to sneak in the 5 yard TD strike to Jermaine Wiggins (7 catches) in the second quarter.  Nice overall effort containing Robinson and Nate Burleson.

SPECIAL TEAMS 1/2

Dave Zastudil nailed his two chances paving the way for a 43 yard net on punts.  Stover’s kickoffs were very short and on average his 6 kickoffs landed at the Vikings’ 14 yard line.  The kick coverage team was decent at best, enabling the Vikings to start their drives on average from the 32.  B.J. Ward was active and delivered a couple of nice special teams tackles as did Darnell Dinkins.  The Vikings on average started their drives (excluding turnovers) at their own 34 compared to the Ravens who started on average at their own 22.  One could conclude that the Vikings won the battle of field position.  The Vikings started their drives from their own 25 or deeper only twice while the Ravens started 6 of their drives from their own 25  and in.  Matt Stover was 3 for 3 on field goals.  Chester Taylor’s kick off return fumble was inexcusable to start the second half.

COACHING1/2

For the second consecutive game, Jim Fassel called an outstanding game and attacked from all angles and utilized his personnel extremely well.  While it may have appeared at times that they were forcing the running game, balance is important and it helped the Ravens to win the battle of the clock.  Having said that, it did appear that the Ravens were a bit too conservative in the red zone late in the game when they had a chance to really put Minnesota away, choosing to run the ball three consecutive plays after a first and 10 from the Vikings 24 with 3:40 left.  They eventually settled for a 38 yard Matt Stover field goal with 1:58 to go.

Defensively the Ravens didn’t get after Brad Johnson the way that most thought they would, particularly with a nicked up Vikings’ offensive line.  The biggest contributor to the defense’s inability to stop the Vikings consistently was poor tackling.  For the most part, Ryan had his men in position to make plays.

Billick’s decision to go for the first down on fourth down in the first quarter helped the Ravens offense establish confidence and set the tone for the evening.  Billick again had his team playing with purpose in a relatively meaningless game for the Ravens.

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

* The Vikings inability to convert and stop third down opportunities was probably the biggest single factor contributing to their heartbreaking defeat.  Mike Tice concurs: "I think the two biggest things from the game were not staying on the field on third down and not getting off the field on third down.

* The Vikings’ Director of Marketing Mike Harmon filed a formal complaint with a NFL official against the Baltimore Ravens' band in the first half.  Under league rules, music is not supposed to be played while the play clock runs. But According to Harmon the band played when the Vikings' offense had the ball, until only a few seconds remained on the play clock.

* The officials made up for the blown call on a deep post to Mark Clayton.  On the play following the non-call on Darren Sharper for holding or interference in the third quarter, a blitzing Sharper was whistled for a late hit on Kyle Boller.  Ok, we’ll take it and call it even Gerry Austin….

* You’ve got to love Derrick Mason’s enthusiasm.  But Derrick, never show your coach up, particularly when you’re wrong.  Mason wanted Billick to challenge a pass ruled incomplete claiming that he did make the catch.  When Billick decided not to challenge, Mason was animated in his protest towards his coach.  Billick laughed it off.  Replays showed that coach made the proper choice.

* Now, can the Ravens finish with an elusive road win?