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 27^th 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

What a difference a week makes in the National Football League. This time last week, the Giants looked invincible at times, the Patriots offense looked to be out of sync and the Denver Broncos were still more of a feel good story to most people as opposed to being viewed as an actual contender.

3 For the Money:

1)  The Denver Broncos are a very good football team. They aren’t simply OK or lucky, they are a force to be reckoned with in the AFC. Over the course of the season, they have allowed a grand total of 3 points in the second half of games. If that’s not a championship type of stat, I don’t know what is. Those 3 points didn’t even come until this week off of the foot of Nate Kaeding. For those not already on the Broncos Bandwagon, it may be too late for you because tickets are potentially sold out.

2)  Here are 2 quarterback’s stats going into Week 7: (13 TD’s, 2 Int’s), (12 TD’s 2 Int’s). Can you guess who either of these gentlemen are? Drew Brees has the 13 TD’s and Brett Favre (yes that Brett Favre) has the 12 TD’s. For all the offseason hoopla and all the critics saying he needs to hang them up, Favre can still sling the pigskin around with the best of them. He’s easily in the MVP conversation as we speak and, has probably helped save Brad Childress’ job. As Herm Edwards once said, “you play to win the game”. You may not like how the Vikings went about bringing Favre in (Mr. Tarkenton), but the NFL is a business and, the best way to affect your bottom line for the better is to win. Brett Favre gives the Vikings a chance at winning the Super Bowl (see below) and, as much as a coach would like to cultivate a young talent, like Tarvaris Jackson, he wasn’t going to bring them much further than the first or second round of the playoffs. We’ll see how Favre looks down the stretch where he has notoriously fell off over the past couple of years. The positive thing is the way the Vikings schedule plays out down the stretch. Other than the much anticipated November 1^st game in Green Bay, he gets 5 home games (in the dome) to finish out the year and, of the 3 remaining road games at that point, only a cold December Night in Chicago is in a cold weather stadium. If the Vikings navigate the schedule the way they should, they will also get their home playoff games in a dome and, when looking at some of the other contenders in the NFC, you have the Saints (dome), Falcons (dome), Cardinals (retractable dome). The stars may be aligned for Brett and company.

3)  The Giants are in big trouble if they can’t overcome some injuries on the defensive side of the football. I don’t want to hear excuses about not having 4 starters on that side of the ball. Get over it. There isn’t a team in the league who isn’t dinged up. There isn’t a team in the league who doesn’t have at least 2 starters on IR. The teams that go far into the playoffs and ultimately win the Super Bowl, are the ones who can overcome injuries. Heck, the 2007 Super Bowl Championship Giants team had injuries to Jeremy Shockey, Derrick Ward, Gibril Wilson (for much of the year) and Eli playing with a separated shoulder. They overcame. You want to be a champion in this league, win with the talent you put out there or get someone else (this goes for C.C. Brown, Michael Johnson and Terrell Thomas). This is your chance guys. You can either make a name for yourself and pull your careers out of obscurity or, you can be part of a defense that couldn’t hack it once your starters got injured. It’s your call. Maybe some of you need to give a guy like James Harrison, who knows what it’s like to step in and step up, a call.

NFC:

1) Saints (14-2)…NFC South Winner
2) Vikings (13-3)…NFC North Winner
3) Giants (11-5)…NFC East Winner
4) Cardinals (8-8)…NFC West Winner
5) Falcons (11-5)…Wild Card
6) Cowboys (10-6)…Wild Card

Last 4 out: Eagles (9-7), Bears (9-7), 49ers (7-9), Packers (8-8)

AFC:

1) Colts (14-2)…AFC South Winner
2) Broncos (12-4)…AFC West Winner
3) Patriots (11-5)…AFC East Winner
4) Steelers (10-6)…AFC North Winner
5) Ravens (10-6)…Wild Card
6) Texans (9-7)…Wild Card

Last 4 out: Dolphins (9-7), Bengals (8-8), Jaguars (8-8), Chargers (7-9)

Playoffs:

NFC:
Round 1: Giants over Cowboys, Falcons over Cards
Round 2: Saints over Falcons, Vikings over Giants
NFC Title Game: Vikings over Saints

AFC:
Round 1: Patriots over Texans, Steelers over Ravens
Round 2: Steelers over Colts, Broncos over Patriots
AFC Title Game: Steelers over Broncos

Super Bowl: Vikings 20 over Steelers 16

~ Tim Rescigno, JAS NFL Correspondent

I hope Brandon Marshall’s most recent antics during Broncos’ practice will quiet down the cries from those who think the Ravens need to trade for the disgruntled wide receiver.  An overwhelming amount of time has been spent this offseason discussing the Ravens perceived lack of a game-breaking wideout.  Some members of the Baltimore media and a contingency of Ravens fans seem to be obsessed with bringing in a marquee name.  Little consideration has been given to how signing a prima donna will affect team chemistry, the salary cap, or the future wellbeing of the squad. 

Windows of opportunity in the NFL are slim, but at some point a player’s attitude outweighs his contributions on the field.  Football is the ultimate team game, so all the clichés are true…there’s no ‘I’ in team, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, practice makes perfect, blah blah blah.  Give me a less talented, hard working team player like D. Mason over a guy like Marshall any day.

Josh McDaniels suspended Marshall for the two remaining preseason games for “detrimental conduct”.  Way to lay down the letter of the law Josh…Vince Lombardi is probably turning over in his grave.  I’m not a big disciplinarian type, but I would have at least slapped him with a two game (regular season) suspension.  The Broncos are going to suck with or without Marshall, so you might as well send a message.  As a coach you can’t let a guy disrespect you like that, especially if you’re a 33 year old rookie head coach.  “Can’t do it”, in the words of Mike Singletary. 

So what do you do if you’re Josh McDaniels?  Do trade Marshall knowing you won’t get equal value?  Do you stay pat and hope that he tries when the regular season begins?  If McDaniels ever wants to win his locker room he’s going to have to man up and take control of the situation in Denver.  I’m just glad this guy isn’t a Raven.