Sponsor
Columns
Rearview Mirror/Post Game Analysis - RAVENS REPORT CARD: Ravens 26, Cardinals 23
Enlarge Text
Decrease Text
Print this Article
send this article to a friend
comment
Add This
bookmark
facebook
twitter
rss
Posted On: 9/24/07
Written By:
QUARTERBACK: B
After his first pass sailed well over the head of an open Derrick Mason, Steve McNair settled down and delivered a very solid performance in the first half. The opening drive of the game was effective and time consuming and exactly what the Ravens wanted on a very warm September afternoon. The Ravens marched 77 yards in 14 plays while consuming 7:46 of the first quarter game clock. Unfortunately the drive stalled at the three yard line after McNair rushed his throw to Demetrius Williams. Had he waited a bit (he did have time to throw) Derrick Mason was working his way to the back of the end zone from the right slot. Uncharacteristically McNair lacked patience at times. He threw a few times to receivers short of the sticks instead of allowing the plays to develop downfield where he had a better chance to move the chains. McNair for the half was 17 of 21 for 164 yards and a touchdown. His first half rating was 115.1.
McNair struggled in the third quarter and looked sluggish in the pocket. Before being lifted he went 3 for 6 for 32 yards. He also failed to take care of the ball, fumbling it away at his own 35. Later McNair narrowly escaped another fumble that was ruled an incomplete forward pass.
Boller started the fourth quarter with the Ravens leading 23-13. Brian Billick said that McNair was favoring his injured groin and limping a bit while McNair claims that he was fine and ready to go. Boller started off a bit shaky sailing his first pass over the outstretched Mark Clayton and his second toss was nearly intercepted by Cardinals’ CB Eric Green. Boller then settled down connecting on his next 8 passes for 82 yards. He engineered the drive that set up Matt Stover’s walk off field goal.
RUNNING BACK: B+
Willis McGahee demonstrated patience, solid vision and a nice burst to run for 98 yards on 21 carries. He used seal off blocks particularly to the right behind Marshall Yanda and cut back to navigate his way past the Cardinals’ front seven. He also showed why the Ravens need to isolate him more in the flats. His elusiveness helps turn short passes in to first downs particularly when matched against linebackers. He also was solid in pass protection when called upon to pick up a blitz. Musa Smith was decent on occasion and looked good on screens. He nearly broke one run in the first quarter if not for a very nice tackle by MLB Gerald Hayes. Smith was inconsistent in pass protection holding his own well at times and then being manhandled by Calvin Pace and failing to pick up blitzing linebacker Karlos Dansby who sacked Boller to end a drive and put the Ravens out of field goal range late in the fourth. Le’Ron McClain is improving as a lead blocker and he was solid in pass protection. His lead blocks led to a couple of McGahee’s longer runs from scrimmage.
RECEIVERS: B+
Derrick Mason had a very good day chipping in 8 catches for 79 yards and a score. Five of his catches were third down conversions. Demetrius Williams made the catch of the day beating Roderick Hood on a 26 yard pass from McNair to convert a third and eight. Mark Clayton started to establish a little rhythm catching 5 balls for 34 yards while Todd Heap hauled in 4 passes for 60 yards. Clayton and Mason were both effective as blockers while supporting McGahee runs. It appeared as though Clayton ran the wrong route bringing traffic over to a post pattern from McNair to Mason. McNair tried to throw away from the converging defenders and behind Mason. Mason was unable to make the very difficult adjustment in time.
OFFENSIVE LINE: B
The Ravens offensive line seems to be developing a better understanding on screen passes and that’s something that could pay dividends later in the season. Chris Chester and Adam Terry were solid attacking down field off the screen. Even Mike Flynn showed surprising agility in the open field. Flynn struggled at times with Cardinals’ DE Antonio Smith when he rushed up the middle. Smith blew by Flynn on the Ravens first possession to drop McGahee for a three yard loss to put the Ravens in a second and 18 situation. Marshall Yanda held up well
most of the game but was beaten badly by Bertran Berry on McNair’s fumble. Yanda’s limited reach worked against him on that particular play. Chris Chester was beaten equally as badly on the same play by DT Darnell Dockett.
most of the game but was beaten badly by Bertran Berry on McNair’s fumble. Yanda’s limited reach worked against him on that particular play. Chris Chester was beaten equally as badly on the same play by DT Darnell Dockett.DEFENSIVE LINE: C+
Haloti Ngata and Kelly Gregg held up well at the point of attack on running plays, eating up blockers for Ray Lewis and Bart Scott to come in and clean up. They contributed 3 tackles apiece. Dwan Edwards was a non-factor as was Justin Bannan. When the Cardinals went into a no huddle attack, all four of these players failed to make an impact and weren't used all that often. Antwan Barnes had a few hurries and if not held no less than three times, he may have registered the team’s second sack from a defensive lineman. This group really needs to bring more pressure without the aid of a blitz.
LINEBACKERS: C-
The heart and soul of the Ravens defense is the linebacker corps. But when teams get away from traditional offensive sets and run the no-huddle offense, this group loses its effectiveness when asked too often to drop back into pass coverage. Bart Scott and Ray Lewis were non-factors and both were blown off the ball on the same 27 yard run by Edgerrin James midway through the first quarter. Suggs recognized a flanker screen and attacked quickly but missed on a tackle of Anquan Boldin. Jarret Johnson hustled in pursuit of receivers chasing them down from behind at times but that’s hardly what you want to see from Johnson. Amazingly, this group has only 1 sack among them in three games despite the multitude of blitzing assignments. Ray Lewis was sent on a blitz one time and stopped about 7 yards from the quarterback and well in front of the first line of receivers. He took himself completely out of the play when he ended his pursuit of Matt Leinart.
SECONDARY: C-
Chris McAlister was the best of this bunch on Sunday, just as he has been the entire season to date. McAlister nearly picked off two Leinart passes when reading Larry Fitzgerald’s cuts and jumping his routes. Corey Ivy had a tough assignment – Anquan Boldin (14 catches, 181 yards, 2TD’s). Boldin is just too physical for Ivy and it’s a bit of a mystery why the Ravens didn’t bracket Boldin and let McAlister stick Fitzgerald all over the field. The feisty Ivy despite his physical shortcomings competed well, contributing a sack and a strip of Fitzgerald. Ed Reed was late a few times when rolling over to support his corners. Dawan Landry looked a bit lost and was trucked by Boldin on his 37 yard TD reception. Ronnie Prude, welcome to the school of hard knocks. Taking on the hot hands of Kurt Warner and Boldin was his baptism by fire as a nickel. He did make a very nice play on James dropping the Cards’ back for a 1 yard loss at the Ravens 6.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A-
Yamon Figurs is a threat to go the distance any time he touches the ball. He scored on an electrifying 75 yard return out-running the favorable angle that a would-be tackler had on Figurs during the last 20 yards of his return. He nearly broke a kick return for a score as well and if not for a nice tackle by Cardinals kicker Neil Rackers, he may have struck pay dirt twice. Matt Stover was money connecting on four of four field goal attempts including the game winner. Stover’s kick offs were decent but one has to wonder why the Ravens even bother to carry Rhys Lloyd when they have needs at D-Line. He’s yet to be active on game day. One only has to look at Rackers and his consistently deep kicks to recognize the potential value there.
Two of Sam Koch’s three punts were killed inside the 20 but he netted only 27 yards per punt due to a partial block of a fourth quarter punt that helped set up an Arizona touchdown drive. Koch did a great job of placing the ball for Stover’s game winning kick. Matt Katula’s snap was slightly behind Koch.
COACHING: C
Brian Billick’s game plan on offense was effective early but as is usual with the Ravens, they run out of steam in the red zone. The Ravens used misdirection very well to boost the running game early in the contest and they mixed in some screens to keep the Cardinals pass rush honest. The Cardinals don’t have top end corners and it’s disconcerting that the Ravens didn’t test them more. Todd Heap was easily beating linebackers assigned to him. The Ravens should have used play action a bit more to draw in the overeager safeties and then throw beyond them to Heap. The Ravens threw three passes beyond 20 yards and completed two of them. Those are percentages that work, particularly early in the down sequence. The Ravens need to employ more 3 wide sets, particularly against a not so savvy secondary.After the game Kyle Boller admitted that the Ravens goal on that last drive was to get to the Cardinals 30 yard line to set up Matt Stover. It would be nice if the Ravens set the bar just a little higher. The dependency on Stover is borderline ridiculous at times and it seems to influence Billick to play a bit scared. On third and 7 from the Cardinals’ 23, maybe they can come up with something a little more innovative than a draw to Musa Smith.
Rex Ryan was outsmarted. His team looked very unprepared and they were fortunate that Ken Whisenhunt didn’t go to Warner earlier in the game. After failing to defend the no-huddle attack v. the Jets, you would expect a Rex Ryan unit to be more prepared. The secondary looked lost often and failed to adjust to Anquan Boldin’s dominance across the middle of the field. They have little pass rush when the opponent runs a no huddle. As Kurt Warner would later explain, the no huddle prevents the Ravens from employing various defensive sets, sub packages and exotic blitzes. They need to be prepared for more of the same, especially on the road.
OTHER OBSERVATIONS: Ronnie Prude played the nickel position and struggled at times. Ivy, a more natural nickel played corner. Perhaps the Ravens should have given Derrick Martin on David Pittman a shot. Both were active and both had better summer camps than Prude. Prude has however shown a nose for the ball in the past…When the game officials went to the replay booth to review the challenge by Whisenhunt on the questionable forward pass by Steve McNair, instead of showing the play on the Smartvision screens, the scoreboard control guys opted instead to show highlights of previous Ravens v. Cardinals encounters. Note to said control guys…save that stuff for a regular timeout…Another note to said control guys – don’t show that Willis McGahee has 100 yards rushing when the Ravens are on offense. The cheers distract the hometown team…The delay of game penalty against Demetrius Williams was an absolute joke and while the rules might say that Devard Darling can’t join Yamon Figurs for a Lambeau Leap, does it really matter? It wasn’t as though they interrupted the flow of play. I’ll be paying close attention when I watch the next Packers’ game in Green Bay…Antwan Barnes must be a lovable guy. Cardinals offensive linemen were hugging him all afternoon…It’s clear to me that the Ravens need more depth at defensive line. I’m wondering why they filled the roster spot that opened with Dennis Haley’s release with a journeyman linebacker/special teams player…As I was leaving the stadium with my son, he wondered aloud, “Dad, why try to ice Stover when he’s already frozen?” That tells you all you need to know about the Ravens money man – No. 3.
Photo by Sabina Moran
Post your comment
«Go back to the previous page.
Enlarge Text
Decrease Text
Print this Article
send this article to a friend
Add This
bookmark
facebook
twitter
rss
Posted On: 9/24/07
Written By:
Sponsor
Polls
Press Feeds
Check us out on Twitter
- 5/23/12: @cacaw410 @masnroch I agree. Pinch hitting could have helped. Oh and their fundamental ineptness on the bases didn't help either. Next time!
- 5/23/12: Somebody hit me up...at O's game and Flaherty can't hit his way out of a wet paper bag...is something wrong W/ Hardy?
- 5/23/12: #Ravens Beach Bash details here >>> http://t.co/sFoLuPe2
- 5/23/12: Details of #Ravens’ Rookie Contracts and the basement bargains they've signed = #UDFA's: http://t.co/e9J2pfFm
- 5/22/12: There's a Betemit Sandwich!
View all tweets & follow us!
E-News
Sign up for Email Alerts and get the best deals and news in your inbox.
Copyright © 2012 24x7 Network, LLC, All Rights Reserved
Website Design by D3Corp Ocean City Maryland
Website Design by D3Corp Ocean City Maryland