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ExtremeRavens: The Sanctuary

One Winning Drive: Ravens Knockout Bengals


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If you want to talk about one-sided games, the Ravens-Bengals match-up today is a perfect place to start. The Ravens came out strong and never let the question of the “trap game” enter the picture. With the exception of one, late first half drive, the Bengals never even came close to changing the feel or tempo of the game.

 

Here are a few points to consider as we enjoy our celebration…

 

* The Ravens defense was at its very best once again. Jim Leonhard’s 4th quarter interception, the only forced turnover in the game, was a nice surprise to round things out. But the Ravens defense was strong all game long. While they were not creating turnovers or racking up a ton of sacks, the pressure on quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was evident all game. Fitzpatrick completed just two passes through the first 25 minutes of the game, with most of the incomplete attempts being knocked down and swatted by Ravens defenders at all levels.

 

* Le’Ron McClain was glad to take advantage of a battered Bengals defensive front. The best part about watching McClain is how happy he looks going up the middle and dishing out as many hits as he takes. In my mind, McClain looks more and more like Jerome Bettis every week he gets to carry the ball. That’s not a bad thing. The biggest McClain worry, however, has to be the sudden development of some slick fingers. Rain contributed, but Le’Ron lost the ball a number of times today and that cannot happen against better opponents.

 

* Joe Flacco had perhaps his best game of his short career. Flacco, despite being sacked multiple times and feeling the pressure on a regular basis, was able to really show off his arm strength and his touch. Flacco had two touchdowns and nearly 300 yards passing while completing nearly 70% of his passes. Quite the day for the young gun, who mixed short and long throws together nicely. Flacco even found Todd Heap a few times, including one pass for a touchdown.

 

* No, I did not forget about Mark Clayton. Clayton had his second huge game of the season, but this game was certainly his biggest ever. Clayton not only corralled a few big catches, but threw for a touchdown as well. It was his one-handed 70-yard reception, though, that we will be watching and talking about for weeks. Cheers all around to Mr Clayton.

 

* Defensively, the Ravens effort was strong all game long. The unit appeared to lose focus in the winding moments of the first half, but still only allowed a field goal. There was no singular stand-out, but a few players deserve mention. Fabian Washington had Chad Johnson locked down most of the game. Bart Scott scored big in protecting the run. Jarrett Johnson and Haloti Ngata both had great games pressuring the entire Bengals line. And of course Jim Leonhard deserves a sentence all to himself for doing his best Ed Reed impersonation - it was spot on.

 

* The only downside for the Ravens today? Their offensive line struggled to protect Flacco throughout the game. Again, against stronger opponents, such mistakes will not be tolerable. Flacco survived on his own wits, but not by much. The other down side? The Browns were unable to upset the Colts, leaving the Ravens in a tight playoff battle. Perhaps the Pats can help the Ravens, though.

 

* Gameballs: Mark Clayton and Jim Leonhard.

 

More to come this week as there is plenty to discuss from Frank Walker’s benching to Willis McGahee’s disappearance… and yes, we can even talk special teams and coaching…

 

Original Link: http://blogs.extremeravens.com/ravens/2008...k-thoughts_146/

 

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Something that impresses me is that this was a trap game but Harbaugh had this team ready and focused. There was no "escaping with a win". They stood on the Bengals throat all game.

 

Thoughts???

I'll join Ray and Ed here as I now see the Ravens making the playoffs.

43662036.jpg

 

The D hasn't given up a TD in the last 3 games.

The offense scores...period.

34-3...Hey! That's a 'real NFL score'. The Ravens are putting up NFL scores that reflect more than conservative defensive struggles.

I mean...it's very nice to see a Ravens offense putting the ball in the endzone with regularty! :)

 

This team has hit the next level.

8-4!

GO RAVENS!!!!!!!!!

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The Ravens made the Eagles look sick last week and this week...the Bengals.

Conclusion...Ravens are playing really good football at this point in the season.

 

 

“They rubbed it in our face,” Bengals right guard Bobbie Williams said.

 

The Bengals tied a single-game franchise low with six first downs, last reached in 1992.

 

The Bengals’ 155 offensive yards were their second lowest total of the season, only one more than in the opener at Baltimore. The 451 yards gained by the Ravens were the most against the Bengals this season in a game.

 

They forced the Bengals to tie a club record with 11 punts.

 

On 10 of their 14 possessions, the Bengals failed to get a first down.

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I'm a little worrie about our run blocking. I know i'm nit picking here, but I didn't see the push I thought I would see. They were stacking the box the whole game, I was saying early in the first qrt to my bengal g/f that we had to throw the ball deep on the single coverage.

 

great game though and continue to take care of business.

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I'm a little worrie about our run blocking. I know i'm nit picking here, but I didn't see the push I thought I would see. They were stacking the box the whole game, I was saying early in the first qrt to my bengal g/f that we had to throw the ball deep on the single coverage.

 

great game though and continue to take care of business.

If you observed that they were stacking the box, why would you be concerned with our run blocking, considering the performance?

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If you observed that they were stacking the box, why would you be concerned with our run blocking, considering the performance?

 

 

b/c it was the bengals and they were on the field for 38 minutes. I've seen our line control the 4th qrt a few times this yr when everyone knows were running. I just thought I would see a bigger push, pass blocking was ok, still think our wrs don't get open alot. Flacco looks for mason SOOOO much, especially on third down, there were a few times where marcus smith and wilcox were open but he tried to force to mason.

 

We dominated today against a terrible team, but I just feel like were still missing something out there. I wasn't really happy with 13-3 at half considering the field position we had and the TOP, against good teams we have to make them pay.

 

 

I think this is the reason why we havent beat a playoff team yet, we play solid, but our offenses stall and we don't get the pts we should. Or we let teams hang around, until our D or ST make a mistake.

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