varaven45
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Posts posted by varaven45
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I'm more concerned with what Leonard is going to do when Santanio Holmes streaks down his side of the field. Hopefully Washington is streaking right with him.
BTW...Leonard is the only guy in the secondary who can tackle....that is a scary thought...what a team weakness.
Max,
Bingo. Our No 1 off season class will be tackling 101 !!!
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In the last loss to the Stealers Joe was 11 for 28 for 115 yards. That's 39.3% completion rate.....and he had 0TD's and 2 INT's.
Not good.
He was a little bit better better in the first loss. 16 for 31 for 19 yards...51.6%...and 1 TD.
Given the health of this team, their inability to run the ball against a good run defense Saturday and that they are facing an excellent run defense....Joe is the key if the Ravens hope to win.
He has to make more than a few plays...he has to be a consistant thorn in the Stealers side for 4 quarters.
Moving the chains rests on him.
He has to "WIN" this game.
The D is severely banged up. The secondary will be Reed, Washington, Walker and Leonard...with Ivy at nickle....minus pass rushing Suggs.
All the Stealers have to do is protect the ball and that well dries up for the Ravens.
My point is the Ravens must score points...a lot of them...to win.
Joe has to take over....I don't know where else to look.
Anyway you can do it Joe.
VMax,
I agree the Joe has to be "the man" for us to win. However, looming larger is the TO battle. The only conceivable way for us to win, like the Titan game, is we have to force 3-4 TOs and we cant turn it over. Only that and divine intervention will result in a W. Nothing else will have a greater impact in this game.
Its been a helluve run !!
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What an unbelievable game, guys !!!
Just a quick reflection on the game and the keys from an earlier post of mine:
On Offense
Running Game - Aside from the obvious need to control the LOS, we must have a good, not necessarily dominant,
running game with little of no miscues.
We didnt get the production but no miscues. We got it half right !
Passing Game- Bazooka Joe has got to take care of the ball and have an effiicent game and, unlike last Sunday, has to connect on 2-3 long plays downfield "this time". Mason will have to have another Mason game. Clayton and Heap can't disappear this game.
We got it right !!
On Defense
Run D - We need another repeat performance from earlier in the season. Cannot let Johnson and Lendale White take over at any point in this game. Must have a stellar performance for the Run D.
We stopped White but Johnson was stopped by an injury. We got it half right !
Pass D - My biggest concern. We have got to make Kerry Collins' life miserable the ENTIRE game. Our pass D has got to prevent the dunk and dunk to the Titans RBs and TEs (Crumpler and Scaife) - thats where they had most of their success in last game. Our CBs (esp Ivy and Washington) have got to WRAP UP the Titans runners and receivers or they will get burned. I still cringe watching replays of Washington trying to tackle Ronnie Brown's shoulders and helmet last week. Note to FWash: Ronnie Brown is half the runner of Lendale White or Johnson. Wrap up, dude !!!!
We didnt wrap up but we got the picks. We got it right !
Special Teams
We will need kickoff, punt and coverage at a high level again this week. Stover and Koch need to come up big and control the field position battle.
Stover and Koch got it right !
Summary
We got it just enough right; enough success on pass offense and pass defense to win it !
GO FLACCO, GO RAVENS !!!
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In my mind, our success is predicated on the following:
On Offense
Running Game - Aside from the obvious need to control the LOS, we must have a good, not necessarily dominant, running game with little of no miscues. This is a tall order but the 3 headed monster needs to have a statement game with 120 - 150 yds. Period.
Passing Game- Bazooka Joe has got to take care of the ball and have an effiicent game and, unlike last Sunday, has to connect on 2-3 long plays downfield "this time". The offense cant afford to get mired into many 3rd and long situations and simply "air it out" to spread out the Tenn "D". Mason will have to have another Mason game. Clayton and Heap can't disappear this game.
On Defense
Run D - We need another repeat performance from earlier in the season. Cannot let Johnson and Lendale White take over at any point in this game. Must have a stellar performance for the Run D.
Pass D - My biggest concern. We have got to make Kerry Collins' life miserable the ENTIRE game. Our pass D has got to prevent the dunk and dunk to the Titans RBs and TEs (Crumpler and Scaife) - thats where they had most of their success in last game. Our CBs (esp Ivy and Washington) have got to WRAP UP the Titans runners and receivers or they will get burned. I still cringe watching replays of Washington trying to tackle Ronnie Brown's shoulders and helmet last week. Note to FWash: Ronnie Brown is half the runner of Lendale White or Johnson. Wrap up, dude !!!!
Special Teams
We will need kickoff, punt and coverage at a high level again this week. Stover and Koch need to come up big and control the field position battle.
If we are effective in the above areas, I believe we can have some real success on Saturday.
Either way, it should be helluva game. Cant wait !!
GO RAVENS !!!
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The tribe has spoken.
Quadruple Amen !!!
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Today was the Ed Reed show from start to finish. Now if we expect to beat the Titans, Flacco and the OLine had better step up to the plate next week. I can't see Fisher's guys giving us 5 turnovers.
Despite the seemingly lopsided win, our offense sucked today. Flacco wasn't seeing open receivers and missing them when he did see them. That cannot happen from here on out, or we'll be out. The OLine's run blocking looked pathetic for much of the game and will have to improve as well.
On the defensive side I sincerely hope Suggs decides to show up next week because he was horrible today. Scott also did that let me knock you out but not wrap up imitation of tackling again and Ricky Williams made him pay for it. In fact, there were alot of missed tackles which is somewhat troubling to me. The best tackle I saw was when Washington tackled the receiver before the ball got there.
Go Ravens
Damn Been, and I thought I was the only "wet blanket" on this board. ;) I agree with you on many points.
The offense was pretty pathetic and a repeat performance against Tennessee aint going to make it. Other than Mason, our WRs did not show up. If Flacco connects on 1 of those deep balls to Clayton, maybe the offense would have taken off. Flacco will need to be sharper Saturday. Tenn dared Flacco to beat them last time. He will have to beat them this time.
Our D, esp the run defense and Reed's play, were outstanding. Meanwhile, our tackling was very suspect. One would think with such a dominating defense, our tacking would be more sound (for me, thats one of the biggest differences between the 2000 D and this one). Instead of wrapping up guys, we are trying to tackle ballcarrier's arms and shoulders. I distinctly recall Fabian Washington trying to tackle Ronnie Brown up high and being dragged 10-15 add'l yds. We whiffed on several other tackles in our attempt to pull down Bess, Williams and Cobbs. Maybe the Miami heat and humidity were getting to us. Regardless, we have got to wrap up.
The Titans game will be war and I suspect a lot like our 1st game and the last Steelers game.
GO RAVENS !!!
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Crav and Max,
This is all flattering but again this is not the 2000 team. Hopefully, the same end result but a different team, esp on defense. The biggest concern, which is probably shared by everyone on this board, is our secondary. Does anyone know how we stand with our starters; Washington, Rolle, Reed and Leonard ? Will they all start ?
It needs to come up big on Sunday. Remember, Pennington torched (yes, I mean torched~ 30 yds passing) in our previous game with a rather mediocre WR corps. These WRs and TE Fasano have improved since October, are playing well now and our secondary is beat up.
I really think the game really boils down to how well are D, esp secondary, contains Pennington.
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Time for Ray Ray to step in shut up his fellow brother (loose cannon) from the U
Ray Rice, get better... quick
Off season: let him walk, eat the $. pick up another RB (if needed). Dont want another Dallas/ TO debacle
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Offense - Mason
Defense - Ray Ray
Special Teams - Koch
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Hope this helps Va
Harbaugh optimistic about Washington, Rice and Barnes
"Hopeful" was the word of the day for coach John Harbaugh, who spoke to the media the day after the Ravens clinched a wild-card berth in the AFC playoffs with a 27-7 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Asked about the availability of cornerback Fabian Washington and his injured toe for Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins, Harbaugh said, "He’s doing well. I don’t know that we can expect it, but we’re hopeful that he will be there."
A little later, Harbaugh said rookie running back Ray Rice's left shin contusion was improving. "But again, I was hoping that Ray would be back last week, I was hoping that he would be back the week before," Harbaugh said. "So we continue to hope that he’ll be back this week."
Harbaugh also said the team does not intend to place linebacker Antwan Barnes (pectoral muscle) on injured reserve. "We’re going to take a shot at trying to get Antwan back," he said. "We feel like there’s a chance we can get Antwan back."
Thanks Crav !
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Looking ahead to Sundays game, do we know:
Whether Fabian Washington plays on Sunday ?
We need Washington big time. A beat up and battered Samari Rolle and Corey Ivy/Frank Walker leaves us extremely vulnerable at corner. Its been our achilles heel all season and could be our downfall this game. Pennington threw for 295 yards in our previous game, and Miami had 359 yards of total offense. As I recall, there were times in that game where Penington was absolutely slicing and dicing our secondary and we looked helpless. Hopefully, that was then and this is now.
If Ray Rice is still out ?
We will need a healthy three headed monster and big running game against the Phins. McClain and Willis are running hard, but a third changeup runner would be nice. Either way, McClain and Willis need to have huge games.
Who is our KO/punt returner ? I assume Figurs is done (healthwise and otherwise) and Leonard is the PR for the duration.
Thanks to anyone who can shed some light here !
GO RAVENS !
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Unfortunately the nod goes to the Colts..They are on fire.
Yep, thank God they are in a different bracket. If we meet, we are in the AFC championship game.
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BALTIMORE-11½ vs. Jacksonville (35½)
Max, We need to bring the hammer, early and often, then nail the coffin shut.
As bad as they might seem, on and off the field, we can't let Jax up for air for a single moment.
GO RAVENS !!
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Yo Va..Come on man, get on!!!
Crav,
After Jax. Its a superstition, I guess.
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In the famous words of Jim Mora, "playoffs" ?! We haven't even beat Jacksonville yet. Look what happened at Dallas last Saturday (and there wasnt a football pundit on this planet that picked us in that game). VMax was the only poster that picked us.
Look, if we can shock Dallas in their house, Jax is certainly capable of beating us in our house. Remember, Jax has played Indy, Tennessee and Pittsburgh tough and are capable of beating anyone. They have had a horrible year but Del Rio and company would love nothing better than to ruin our playoff run.
Lets first take care of business then talk playoffs.
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Ed Reed- no explanation needed
My Man Willis-came up big in our biggest game of the year.
Lo'Train McClain same
Ed Koch-Just wow.
Derrick Mason-Supermanesque yesterday.
O-Line-265 yards rushing. Great job
Defense-Still no 100 yard rusher.
Crav,
Ed Koch, Wasnt he a mayor (of NY ?).
Just kidding , good picks and hell of a game !! ;)
Go Ravens !!!
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VMax,
I dont know, I guess we'll see in about 5 hours.
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Joe will have a good night...they're playing man coverage.
Nobody, anywhere, is picking the Ravens to win.
This is the "Next Level" game for the Harbaugh Ravens. If they go into Dallas, with the playoffs on the line for both teams, with all the Texas stadium closing hoopla,...and find a way to win, then they have arrived as a playoff caliber team.That's the door these 2008 Ravens are knocking on. To get through tonight they'll have to kick it in.
You hit the nail on the head, VMax. If we win this game, we deserve to be in the playoffs. If we lose, we dont deserve to be in it.
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Cowpokes are 7-11 in the month of December in the past 5 years..
That dosent make me feel any better.
Eh, wouldn't a 7-11 record make you feel better ?
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Ravens 9
Cowpokes 31
We cant score on 3 posessions inside the redzone in our backyard, what makes us think we are going to do it on the festivous ocassion in Dallas?
Crav,
Thats about right. If Fabian Wash is out, we are toast and Romo and Co (Witten, Roy Williams, TO, Barber, etc) will have a big party on us. They may have it anyway and Jerry Jones will be lighting up cigar by halftime. Anything short of this, would be huge upset in my mind.
If for some crazy reason we make this game close (w/i 7 points) and Joe Flacco comes away w/o an injury, that will be a victory. Dallas' only weakness is their secondary, so....this might be a good game to try a litlle razzle dazzle, Suggs package, Troy Smith, you name it. Go ahead Cam, liven it up dude !
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You really have to look at the Steelers defense in this game if you are looking at the Ravens offense.
Joe over-throwing Mason in the endzone. Joe throwing to Heap instead of a wide open Mason in the endzone. Mason not catching the floater that Joe put up in the endzone. There were a few other drops, like Willis for a first down.
I can't see pointing at Cam over this stuff. Steelers D did their job. I think the biggest let down was Joe and a few balls that hot the ground.
BINGO !!!!!
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Vmax,
You are spot on. I dont see any scenario by which we can beat the Cowboys. None. We just pooped away a winnable game to our biggest Division rival. We will carry this hangover game to Saturday night where I predict a offensive performance similar to the Colts and Giants games
In spite of their recent implosion and locker room issues, Dallas has way more talent at skilled positions. And if Fabian Washington is out, our pass D will be lit all night by Romo & Co.
I do see us bouncing back stonger against Jax and hopefully finishing 10-6.
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I know everyone is in love with what he's done this season but...
Did we just see history repeat itself and is this a typical Cameron strategy when playing good defenses? I gotta' tell ya' I don't like what I've seen offensively in our games against the good teams this year. Not to mention last weeks Redskins game.
Here's the question; Who was the O Coordinator for the Chargers the year they played ultra conservative against us and allowed McNair to take us down the field for the game winner in the last minute? I know Charger's fans kept blaming it on "Marty Ball" but who was calling the plays? Wasn't it Cameron?
Been,
Cam was the Chargers OC in 06 and, yes, I do remember the conservative play calling against us in that game.
You may be on to something here with Cameron and the tough D's. However, I watched (in agony) a replay of Sunday's game and clearly saw some interesting stuff.
First, Flacco made some horrible throws, even when he was not under pressure. He badly overthrew Heap in the 1st Q, he overthrew Heap in the endzone late in the 1st half (when Mason was open on the left side of the endzone), and he overthrew Mason in the endzone in the 2nd half. To Joe's defense, he threw a pefect ball to Mason in the 1st half that Mason misjudged his leap in the endzone. For what its worth, I am convinced the game outcome is different if Flacco connects on just one of the TD attempts.
At the same time, however, our play calling in the last 2 games has lacked the element of surprise, creativity and diversity that we had as most recent as the Cincy game. No Troy Smith, no Wildcat/Suggs packages, no trickery.
Trickery may not have worked against the Stealers but the playcalling was too damn vanilla and Billick-like.
Maybe Cam is just afraid to open it up against the top guns (Steelers) but only thinks outside the box for the weak sisters (Bengals). And maybe his apprehension is mostly based on the concern about overwhelming Flacco (too much, too soon).
I dont know but this team is now backed into a corner and has to win this week (cant count on help). If we run the same offense this week, we will get the same results and get torched big time in big D.
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After we let last last night's game slip through our hands, I expect our guys to have a hangover game against the Cowboys. There is no way on Gods green earth we win one in Big D. Aint going to happen!
So, we need to go 10-6 and hope the Jets, Dolphins and Pats all lose 1 game.
A Toast to a Colts/Ravens Fan
in Baltimore Ravens
Posted
Crav,
My condolences over your loss. I lost my Dad earlier this year. My they rest in peace !
Its interesting, my Dad also took me to my fist Colts game in 1968, too. It was the playoff game vs the Vikings (the Joe Kapp days). He also took me to the Golden Arm and had Johhnny U sign my first football. What memories !
Maybe the football Gods and our Dads will smile on us and our team this Sunday !
Sincerely
VARAVEN