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Rearview Mirror/Post Game Analysis - RAVENS REPORT CARD IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR: RAVENS 29 EAGLES 3
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Posted On: 8/14/07
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Before an announced crowd of 71,060 (essentially a sold ticket count) and under partly cloudy skies that featured 90 degree temps and 38% humidity at kick off, the Ravens had their way with the Philadelphia Eagles – a team that in many ways looked like they were convening for the first time. The Ravens were far more prepared to play and their bench was clearly the superior of the two teams.
RAVENS OFFENSE: Steve McNair led a very well orchestrated drive consisting of 12 plays (8 pass, 4 run) covering 93 yards in 6:05 and ending with a 6 yard scoring toss to back-up TE Quinn Sypniewski. The drive’s success meant the rest of the night off for Steve McNair and Willis McGahee.
McGahee made his Ravens preseason debut contributing 20 yards on 4 carries, 16 of which came on a first down run from the Ravens 32. McGahee darted through a gaping hole created by rookie Jared Gaither on a stretch play to the left that featured some solid zone blocking…The interior of the Ravens offensive line played well, particularly the first and second units although Ben Grubbs did whiff on a block in the open field on a screen play that had potential…Chris Chester held his own. Something to observe with Chester going forward – he may be tipping pass plays with his upright stance. We’ll play closer attention going forward…Adam Terry had both good and bad moments. He seemed to hold up well against Jevon Kearse but failed to keep his man grounded a few times during 3-step drop passes. Batted passes at the line of scrimmage ensued.
Corey Ross ran hard and played small much to the chagrin of opposing linemen and linebackers trying to find him. The diminutive (5’6 ½”) second year back from Nebraska posted 65 yards on 11 carries…Musa Smith looked sluggish and could struggle to make the final roster unless he picks it up over the next 3 games…The same could be said for P.J. Daniels who needs to show up and play. Daniels tweaked his hamstring during pre-game warm-ups…Curiously Justin Green started at fullback when it looked like McClain was a notch above him on the depth charts judging from camp. Green is a solid special teams player…McClain played decently and is a few adjustments away from providing what Ovie Mughelli did last season…Greg Pruitt, Jr. also ran hard and effectively when called upon (8 carries, 34 yards)
Todd Heap may be zeroing in on his best season to date. He and McNair appear to be building an outstanding rapport despite McNair’s overthrow to an open Heap 20 yards downfield from the Eagles 30…Sypniewski played well filling in for the injured Daniel Wilcox. Reserve TE’s Marcus Freeman (2 catches, 41 yards) and Kendrick Ballantyne (1 catch, 33 yards) answered when called upon.
The big three receivers played as expected during their brief appearances and all supported the running game with efficient blocking, particularly Derrick Mason. Pound for pound Mason is an outstanding blocker. Keeping him engaged in the passing attack will help maintain Mason’s focus in the ground attack…Williams helped to keep the Ravens opening scoring drive alive selling a go route and then coming back towards McNair for an easy 11 yard pick up and a fresh set of downs…Devard Darling had a catch and dropped another. He also failed to work his way back to the ball when Kyle Boller was under extreme pressure. He needs to make a better effort and attack the football…Clarence Moore is Clarence Moore – no more, no less. His only catch for 10 yards took place along the left hash on an in route. It’s a start but he still looks about as comfortable as a seal pup in shark invested waters when navigating traffic over the middle of the field. He missed on a red zone opportunity drawing double coverage and getting away with offensive pass interference on a poorly thrown pass from Kyle Boller…Yamon “Butter” Figurs dropped a couple of passes.
Drew Olson was the best of the reserve quarterbacks, looking rather comfortable after an unforced fumble in the pocket that nearly cost the Ravens a possession in Eagles’ territory…Troy Smith looked a bit amped up and misfired on several passes. He did look very fluid on designed rollouts…Kyle Boller was very like the Kyle Boller we’ve seen far too often and not the player who has performed solidly in camp. He still doesn’t seem to have a great presence of mind running the two minute offense which at times wasn’t far removed from a Chinese fire drill. His pass to Clarence Moore in the end zone was well short of the mark. No excuse there – it’s a play the Ravens practice repeatedly.
OFFENSIVE GRADE: B
RAVENS DEFENSE: The defensive line was stout with very solid play from Haloti Ngata, Justin Bannan and Dwan Edwards. Edwards recognition of the screen and his open field ability to sniff out the ball carrier was impressive on two occasions. Haloti Ngata is dominant in the middle and Justin Bannan’s high motor and ability to chase plays down the line is encouraging. He was able to re-establish the line of scrimmage on a couple of running plays enabling the linebackers to come in and clean up. During OTA’s, Antwan Barnes was tagged by some players as “The Natural.” His quickness, burst and healthy repertoire of moves at the line of scrimmage will certainly make opposing defensive coordinators stand up and take notice.
One of the linebackers who took advantage of the front four's play was Prescott Burgess who can be explosive in short spaces. His body lean doesn’t suggest the thumper that he appears to be…Dennis Haley was active and emotional. He played like a man on the bubble looking to show up on film. He did…Ray Lewis missed a sack on A.J. Feeley…Bart Scott looked out of place at times perhaps adjusting to new assignments and Jarret Johnson was solid in run support but lacked polish in coverage.
Speaking of coverage, the game opened with many immediately wondering about Samari Rolle as he gave WR Kevin Curtis a big cushion to start the game…The starters for the most part were not tested although momentarily Reggie Brown was open deep down the right sideline on the Eagles’ first series. Ed Reed was a bit late rolling over in support of Chris McAlister. Feeley’s pass was overthrown. McAlister is normally a sure tackler but he wasn’t when he missed Brian Westbrook in the open field on a screen…As for the reserves, Gerome Sapp (sack for 16 yard loss, 1 hurry), Ronnie Prude (sack, hurry, forced fumble, fumble recovery), Jamaine Winborne and Derrick Martin were all solid…Evan Oglesby was a step slow.
DEFENSIVE GRADE: A-
SPECIAL TEAMS: The two biggest questions as they entered the preseason games relating to this unit were: 1) Will the Ravens keep a kickoff specialist; and 2) Who will emerge as the team’s top punt/kick returner? Those questions remain unanswered but the data to make those tough decisions is being assembled beginning with last night’s game.
Matt Stover relinquished kick off duties last night and if his field goal performance is an indication, the move could pay dividends. Stover easily connected on a pair of 50 yard kicks and added three others in a five for five performance easing any remote concerns about minor camp inconsistencies from the 18 year vet…Sam Koch took the first half kickoffs and his 3 kicks on average reached the 6 yard line. Reserve punter Brendan Carney a rookie out of Syracuse hit his 5 kickoffs on average to the 4 including one kickoff a yard deep in the end zone and a touchback. Carney missed on a knuckler to the 16 yard line, otherwise a solid effort from Carney…Sam Koch punted fairly well averaging 42 yards and forcing 3 fair catches with lofty punts. However the punt coverage team needs some work allowing 29 return yards on the 2 punts that weren’t fair caught…Yamon Figurs lost 4 yards on one punt return but managed to average nearly 17 yards on two other returns. His only kick return was for 28 yards ending when he stumbled over one of his blockers. If not for that, he could still be running…Dennis Haley and Prescott Burgess showed up well in kick off coverage.
SPECIAL TEAMS GRADE: B
COACHING: Brian Billick had his team ready to play. They only had 3 inconsequential penalties and outside of some confusion during Boller’s two minute drill, the team’s sub packages and efficiency were as good as could be expected for the first preseason game. The opening offensive series was well structured and delivered the desired balance and degree of unpredictability that most had hoped from the offensive unit. They attacked in much the same way that they did against the Steelers in ’06…A bit curious as to why the underutilized Mike Anderson remains that way, but willing to give the benefit of the doubt to it being the first preseason contest…Rex Ryan continues to find ways to enable his athletes to make plays. He does have to guard against over-aggressiveness at times, particularly when playing a team like the Eagles that can execute screens with precision.
COACHING GRADE: A-
PLAYERS ON THE BUBBLE: Devard Darling: 1 catch, 1 drop; needs to be less tentative (BUBBLICIOUS)…Clarence Moore: not much has changed; will he be the ’04 Clarence Moore going forward or the ’05, ’06 vintage when he accumulated only 5 catches in total? (BUBBILICIOUS)...B.J. Sams: Team may not want to hamstring itself with inefficient return game as it did in ’06 when Sams went down. Sams is likely to become an insurance policy should rookie Figurs fail (BUBBLE EVAPORATING)…Keydrick Vincent: still looking around for someone to block at times; $2 Million cap figure sticks out like a sore thumb (BUBBLE ABOUT TO BLOW)…Brian Rimpf: Nothing has changed; (BUBBLE ABOUT TO BLOW)…Jared Gaither: Definitely sticks with team; initially thought he would experience a mysterious hand injury like Tony Pashos in ’03; that could still happen but doubtful (BUBBLE EVAPORATING)…Jamaine Winborne: Has played well but undersized when covering tight ends; stay tuned (BUBBILICIOUS)…Prescott Burgess: fuggedaboutit…he’s in (BUBBLE GOING, GOING, GONE)…Edgar Jones: Very solid in run support; not much pressure on QB v. Eagles; (BUBBILICIOUS)…Anthony Bryant, Keyonta Marshall & Atiyyah Ellison: Bryant was the most noticeable of the three; Bannan’s and Edwards’ play make these DT’s less relevant; (BUBBLE ABOUT TO BLOW).
* See BUBBLING DICTIONARY below.
OTHER OBSERVATIONS: P.A. Announcer Bruce Cunningham stated that it was third down after referee Gerry Austin had already signaled for a first down on the Eagles first possession and just after their second play from scrimmage. The announcement seemed to confuse the officials working the chains. It also revved up the crowd (thinking it was third down) leading to a first down delay of game for the Eagles. Give Cunningham an inadvertent assist on that one…MASN game analyst Moose Johnston needs to be a bit sharper when doing his homework. He mentioned that Adam Terry was returning to his comfort zone of right tackle. Think you got that backwards Moose…Was it me or did the stadium lights seem a bit dimmer?...Just an opinion but last night’s game should have started at 8 to avoid the rush hour traffic jams that certainly plagued Hanover Street. Sunday’s game gets a 8PM start and is the NBC featured game. Wonder if Cris Collinsworth will reverse his position on the Ravens who he predicts will relinquish the AFC North crown to the Steelers this year.
* BUBBLING DICTIONARY
BUBBILICIOUS ~ Stays on the bubble
BUBBLE ABOUT TO BLOW ~ Long shot to make team
BUBBLE EVAPORATING ~ Improving chances to make team
BUBBLE GOING, GOING, GONE ~ Player off bubble and on final 53 man roster
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Posted On: 8/14/07
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