thundercleetz

LETS GET IT!!!!!

Stallworth said today that his injury has a give or take of two weeks on the 8 week diagnosis. Stallworth said the rehab is going well and hopes to be back in six weeks as opposed to eight.

Harbaugh said that TJ is familiar with the system, so he has that going for him. Hopefully Flacco and TJ really put in the time this week to get used to each other. TJ is a smart guy who has been around the game for a long time, I don't think he will have much trouble schooling #2/3 cover guys with the looks he will be sure to get with Mason, Boldin, and our running game.

Here is the thing about the whole lack of deep threat on our team, I am not worried at all. Can Mason, Boldin, or TJ get open deep against an opposing team's #1 corner? Maybe on occasion. How about against an opposing team's #2 guy? I'm starting to like my chances! Matching Boldin, Mason, or TJ up against a team's #3 cover guy and I really like my chances of our guy getting downfield and making a play! Like Harbaugh said, playmakers find ways to make plays. There are going to be plenty of times where we will have Boldin, Mason, or TJ in the slot matched up against a team's #3 corner, safety, or OLB. You better believe that our guy is going to be able to get open down the middle of the field. In other words, Darrelle Revis might be able to cover Boldin, and Cromartie might be able to cover Mason. But can their number three guy really keep up with TJ? Sure, maybe speed wise. But TJ is a vet and will know how to use his body and other tricks of the trade to school a #2/3 corner to make a play downfield. Same with Mason and Boldin. And we are talking about the best secondary in the league, imagine what our receivers will do to #2/3 guys on lesser secondaries. Oh yeah, I haven't even mentioned our tight-ends stretching the field yet either... It's all up to Flacco to identify the mismatches and one-on-one situations to throw the ball to these guys where they can make a play.

The sad thing is that he will probably thrive in Philly's 4-3 defense where he will be a one-dimensional pass rusher.

That is not the point. Reed may be healthy enough to play. The point is that Ed all offseason complained about how important his long-term health is and that he wants a new contract to offset the risks of playing with this sort of injury. Then he tells the Ravens he is good to play even though he said earlier he was not sure if he'd be ready for the first game. No way Harbaugh and Ozzie were going to fall for that trap and let Ed play when he was not 100%. This is why Harbaugh stressed the word honest when he summarized his conversation with Ed. Because Ed was clearly not being honest and upright before about his injury. He just didn't want to go to training camp. Sure, Ed could play, but it would be no different than the end of last year.

How did this happen? Haha double post... six hours later.

Being that Hamlin is a vested veteran, I think he gets cut, same with Fisher. I think we are solid with Landry, Zibby, and Hakumara. Zibby and Hakumara can play both safety positions. So if someone goes down, one of them can fill in and we will just sign a guy next week. Hamlin has had a bad camp and preseason so he's no loss at all. We have too many solid players at other positions to carry Hamlin. Here's my theory on the Reed situation: Harbaugh has had enough of his crap! Reed ran his mouth all offseason with how hurt he was. Then we hear the other day how Reed told Harbaugh, Ozzie, and co. how he was good to play. Wait a second here, did Reed just want to miss training camp? Seems like Harbaugh was having none of that. Sure Reed may be good enough to play, but after all the talking he did on how hurt he was, no way Harbaugh was going to let him out there to push it. Sorry Ed, but Harbaugh called your bluff, you said you could miss the first six games, now you're actually missing them!

Bradford is a good QB. I like him a lot.

Can someone tell me what Ellerbe did? The game was too boring for me :P

The pass defense was hardly atrocious. We were eighth in the league and only had 32 sacks (tied for 18th in the league). Foxworth was not signed to be a shutdown corner, he was expected to be a solid #2 corner for us.

Fresh off of Schefter's Twitter feed: Wilson is a 2007 second round pick out of Maryland. Here is the Scouts, Inc. 2010 scouting report on Josh: This seems like a good move. In 2008 Wilson had 76 tackles, a sack, and four INTs for 135 yards and a TD. In 12 games in 2009 Wilson had 45 tackles, a sack, and 2 INTs for 126 yards and 2 TDs. It seems like he has some Ed Reed return skills with the ball in his hands. He also have experience returning kicks. In 2008 he averaged 25.4 YPR on 69 returns. He only had 11 returns in 2009. The guy has solid starting experience and should be an immediate contributor for our defense. Good job Ozzie!

I actually liked Zibby a lot on the PRs last night. He has that effortless, Ed Reed-like stride. He gets up field and has soft cuts that make defenders miss. David Reed also can return punts for us too.

What I loved was the way Flacco took command of the offense. He had that "look" in his eyes the whole game. He was scanning the whole field and throwing to multiple receivers all over the field. Most impressively though was the way Flacco was manipulating the defense. He was looking off the DBs one way and throwing to the other side. And he was making adjustments at the line to exploit mismatches. The adjustment on the Boldin touchdown pass was a thing of beauty. Flacco is going to have a huge year this season.

I'm loving what I am seeing out of Dickson and Pitta. They are both very athletic and can run all over the field. Heap looks like he is in Pro Bowl form.

This is definitely a big blow, but it is not season ending. Harbaugh said expects to get Stallworth back around the bye week. Clayton has played very well in the #3 receiver role and has had a good camp, he should be able to hold it down. Stallworth's speed was exciting though, and now we are going to have to wait to see it. The part I don't like is having to rely on D-Will, Marcus Smith, Justin Harper, or David Reed for the fourth and fifth receiver spots.

Ugh two very bad plays. First Flacco gets his clock cleaned by Tuck, then he throws a pass behind Boldin for an INT. Maybe Flacco's head was still spinning on that INT.

I LOVE the routes and sets I am seeing on offense. Receivers are running over the middle of the field, we have quick slants, timing routes on the corner, back shoulder passes, and seem routes up the middle. The Flacco touchdown to Boldin was a thing of beauty. Boldin's hands are money, the first catch was completely behind him and he adjusted, got his head around, and made the catch with his arms fully extended. For the record, Clayton needs to go for the ball with two hands. I am not only talking about the helmet-to-helmet hit, but on the deep sideline pass as well he only went for it with one arm. Even though we only got a field goal from the first redzone series, I loved the playcalling. The backshoulder pass to Mason was a pass we have not seen in over a decade. The timing was a little off, but it will get there. Then the pass to Mason over the middle would have been a touchdown if Flacco had the pocket room to step into that throw. Even so, Mason probably should have caught it. Flacco has complete control of this offense. He is making calls at the line taking advantage of the mismatches, he is hitting different receivers, he is scanning the whole field, and he is throwing the ball to every spot on the field. The defense looked shakey at first, but it has held. Pass coverage has been solid, run defense has been weak. Opposite of what we are used to. The corners are pressing and playing good coverage, I like that. On the flip side I am seeing a lot of arm tackles and lunging out of everyone on defense. We are penetrating and getting the first hit on the runningback at the line of scrimage, but we are not able to bring him down. The defense was shored up though in the second quarter. Ray Lewis has looked slow this preseason. That is understandable, he should still be very good for us he just has lost a couple of steps.

I am not worried about Flacco at all, he looked great in the first preseason game. Everyone is clamoring about Bulger but does anyone even remember last week? Bulger had a bad game and Preston then posted that article saying how Bulger didn't have the passion to play anymore. It is amazing what one week can do. So Flacco had one bad game, and it was not even bad either. The guy will be just fine provided the offensive line holds up.

I think the Ravens were experimenting with a lot of different stuff. Cam isn't going to call two reverses in one quarter. Ray Rice is going to be a huge part of this offense this season, he is going to be flexed out in the slot, catching screens, taking tosses, and much more. At this point in the preseason they are really simple with him trying to limit his touches. Pass protection this week was a lot better. That 21-yard pass from Flacco to Boldin was excellent. That's why we got Boldin, not many receivers in this league make that catch. It all comes back to penalties. The false start erased the long pass to Mason on third down. Now is the time to work out the kinks, Flacco is making strides with Boldin and Stallworth, it almost there. I am not worried at all, bring on the Jets! We will be ready!

Long snappers are a dime a dozen. Can anyone name the long snapper before Katula?

Double post :P

I don't see Clayton as the clear better option than Stallworth. Having both guys give us a lot of options as they are drastically different receivers. Neither guy is the clear #3 receiver in my opinion, both guys will be used in different situations.

I have been saying this all along, Clayton is not a bad receiver by any means, he is just not a primary target. He runs good routes, is a smart team player, can get open in crowded areas, is aggressive for the ball, and has excellent quickness. As we saw last night, he will take advantage of other team's weaknesses at corner. He will never be a #1 or #2 receiver, but with Boldin, Mason, Stallworth, and our group of tight-ends, Clayton should be able to give us good production out of the slot and matchups against the other team's #3 or #4 corners. He definitely has a place on this team.

Ugh I just got my power back. I lost my cable thirty minutes before the game, then an hour later I lose my power. The funny thing is that this is hours after the storm.