It’s been a long and dreary month, but it’s finally a “Purple Monday” in Baltimore again. Jimmy the Juice and most of Baltimore was calling this a must win game for the Ravens. I generally hate the phrase ‘must win’ when it’s used to describe non-playoff games, but in this case I’ll have to concede the fact that it was a must win game. No team has ever qualified for the NFL playoffs with just five wins (the total for both the Steelers and Bengals), but the Ravens couldn’t survive a fourth consecutive loss even in a close game. No, the Ravens had to lay down their marker and beat a good team at home to gain some confidence and keep their season intact.
What was the key to the Ravens convincing win on Sunday? To break it down in simplest terms I think it was their ability to get Denver’s offense off the field on third down coupled with the Ravens’ ability to convert their own third down opportunities. The Ravens were able to convert 61% of their third down chances against the Broncos 23% conversion rate. Furthermore, the Ravens third down success came against the NFL’s fourth best defense who had given up just two second half conversions coming into the game.
I watched the game with my brother in section 518 and pre-kickoff I was bending his ear about how poor our special teams had been. I went on and on about how terrible our kick and punt coverage was and how nervous I was about our ability to stop Eddie Royal as a returner. It figures that after the opening kickoff, which Royal returned to the 31 yard line, the Ravens turned in their best special teams performance of the year. Their kick and punt coverage was outstanding. Prescott Burgess especially has stepped up his game to fill the void left by special teams ace Brendon Ayanbadejo. I’d be remised if I didn’t mention the Lardarius Webb 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to open the second half. After a first half that saw the Ravens come up with only six points after two trips to the redzone that return was huge. I think it’s safe to say that we’ve found our kick return guy. Now why do we still have Chris Carr returning punts? He’s like a fair catch machine. To be fair Carr showed great hands when fielding some of those kicks in heavy traffic and he turned in a good performance playing nickelback.
Speaking of the secondary…how was that for a bounce back performance? I thought Fabian Washington did a tremendous job going up against Brandon Marshall. Denver’s offensive play calling was a bit suspect, but the Ravens secondary completely shut down the their passing game. Domonique Foxworth had himself a game as well. Despite the big plays I’ve seen fundamentally sound defense from Foxworth all year, but on Sunday he elevated his game a couple notches and made plays at the point of impact.
The defense as a whole played very well. After the last three games I kept waiting for the Broncos to string together a couple long scoring drives (aided by penalty flags), but that didn’t happen. Take out the Broncos first offensive possession of the second half and they were pretty much a non-factor. I think the tone was set on the first play from scrimmage when Jarret Johnson came free and planted Kyle Orton on his back. The Ravens only generated two sacks, but the pressure was much improved. I think part of it was Orton’s indecision, but credit should also go to the Greg Mattison’s defense.
This is not the complex Rex Ryan defense of years past that would often times confuse and terrorize opposing offenses, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be effective. The Ravens defense can be dominant, but it will require sound play from top to bottom.
We also saw a bit more from LeRon McClain this game. McClain rushed the ball only three times, but at a 10 yard per rush rate. The Ravens have become a pass-to-setup-the-run team with Ray Rice as the lead back, but with McClain they can actually establish the run early. I love the way Ray Rice plays and I’m not advocating a switch at tailback, but it would be nice to see McClain as the featured back when the Ravens play smashmouth teams on the road. I’m thinking the Pittsburgh Steelers here. When we go into Heinz Field on December 27th I hope we are battling for an AFC North Championship and I hope McClain gets 25 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns.
~ Pat Cary
Filed under: Football, NFL, Ravens Tagged: | Brandon Marshall, Denver Broncos, Eddie Royal, LeRon McClain, Ray Rice, Rex Ryan
Two things…
Ed Reed had a great game. He laid the lumber to cause that fumble, had another tackle for loss, and came an eye lash from blocking a punt. He doesn’t have to take a TD to the house to have a good game. In goal line they put Ed on Brandon Marshall in man coverage. I don’t think people realize how impressive it is that Ed is playing at such a high level when he’s never 100% healthy. His neck/shoulder condition prevents him from being the best player he can be and he’s still the best safety in the league.
The officiating…I very briefly mentioned this in the blog. I hate talking about bad calls…woulda, shoulda, coulda stuff just drives me crazy. I think the NFL alters their rules almost every year to in favor of offense/scoring and protecting the QB. I have more a problem with the modern incarnation of the rules than I have a problem with the refs. My main criticism of the officiating Sunday was the lateness of the flags…it seems that star players can look at the ref, make a hand signal, and out comes the flag 30 seconds after the play has ended.
The kickoff return at the start of the second half was electric. The stadium must have been deafening from the roar of the crowd. Even though Denver scored on the ensuing drive, the performance was relatively comprehensive for all 4 quarters. The Ravens were clearly the better team in all phases and looked much more prepared than McDaniels Broncos. Looking ahead to the Bengals game, the Ravens are already 3 point favorites on the road. What does that tell you about Vegas’s impressions of the Raven’s potential? If the Ravens can continue to minimize giving up big plays and play with a bit more discipline on the penalty front, the sky is the limit.
It’s funny you mention the crowd Ryan, because I thought that the weather toned the crowd down a bit through much of the game. I got up on every Broncos’ third down to create as much noise as I could, but most of the time I was one of only a few people in my section standing. Don’t get me wrong, I think we have the best fans in football, but it wasn’t the normal mad house until John Harbaugh signaled the crowd to make some noise. The Ravens put the camera on Harbaugh as he appealed to the crowd and projected him on the jumbotron and the place when nuts. In fact Bruce Cunningham, voice of the Ravens, said the NFL called the Ravens and told them to take Harbaugh off the jumbotron immediately.