The Good, Bad and the Ugly

[TBird]

Just four days prior to Thursday night the Ravens played poorly against a tough Cincinnati Bengals team yet hung around long enough to nearly force overtime. Before they could even let the loss soak in the Ray Rice elevator video surfaced a little over 12 hours after the defeat.

It took the world and the Ravens by storm.

No one was quite sure how the team would respond. An 0-2 start was certainly a possibility and thoughts of an implosive season weren’t far behind.

A convincing team win certainly put those thoughts to rest.

 

THE GOOD

Joe Flacco was extremely efficient and a well-balanced attack designed by Gary Kubiak certainly showcased how tough the Ravens can be to beat if they can move the ball on the ground. Give Flacco his due also for possessing uncommon toughness (see video below) that has to be respected and appreciated by his teammates…The offensive line was outstanding when grinding it out on land and in pass pro when Flacco went to the air. The push up front during quarterback sneaks was particularly impressive. Rick Wagner and Eugene Monroe were the standouts on line coach Juan Castillo’s unit.

Nice to see Owen Daniels get into the flow. Whatever the reason for his inactivity during the preseason now seems like a distant and insignificant memory…Steve Smith, Sr. was born to play in Baltimore. It’s early but Senior is on pace for a 104 catch, 1500 yard season…Bernard Pierce in the face of enormous criticism chipped in with a very solid bounce back game (22 carries, 96 yards). Justin Forsett (8 carries, 56 yards) was extremely effective as a change-of-pace back, a role he is perfectly suited for.

On defense the Ravens were able to keep the Steelers out of the end zone and snap Ben Roethlisberger’s streak of 30 consecutive games with a TD pass. In the front seven the standouts were Elvis Dumervil (2 sacks) CJ Mosley (9 tackles) and Brandon Williams. Dumervil overpowered Steelers right tackle Marcus Gilbert who has 75 pounds on the Ravens rush linebacker…Brandon Williams clearly earned more playing time.

On the back end Matt Elam arguably had his best day as a pro. He was solid up in the box as a run defender (team leading 10 tackles) and he was on time as a pass defender forcing Roethlisberger to redirect two third down passes that sailed incomplete…Jimmy Smith is going to be expensive to re-sign. He’s playing with confidence and did a tremendous job on the elusive Brown who padded his stats late in the game when the game’s outcome was a foregone conclusion…Sam Koch netted 48.5 yards on two punts.

 

THE BAD

The Ravens red zone offense needs work as they were just 2 of 6 on the night…Torrey Smith is in a contract year and if his rather pedestrian play continues, the team might be better off waiting before extending a new long-term deal. He doesn’t seem to be maturing as a receiver and has just 4 catches for 60 yards on the season so far…Haloti Ngata disappeared for the first 58 minutes of the game and didn’t register a single defensive statistic until the 2:00 mark of the fourth quarter. That stat is highlighted below.

 

THE UGLY

The polarizing emotions stemming from the Ray Rice domestic violence case paved the way to some not so desirable debate amongst fans. A win over the Steelers certainly helps to tone that down.

 

THE MEGAN FOX

Since his arrival John Harbaugh has continually reinforced the concept ofTEAM. Thursday’s win was a complete team victory. Props go to the coaching staff for keeping the team’s focus inside the lines and not upon the tsunami-sized distractions outside the lines. From Joe Flacco’s efficient performance, to the running game, to protecting the football, to taking it away and to managing field position and the clock, the Ravens were nearly flawless. THIS is their blueprint for success. Let’s hope the roll it out each week.

GIF’s courtesy of Gordon Dixon

[papasmurfbell]

Just four days prior to Thursday night the Ravens played poorly against a tough Cincinnati Bengals team yet hung around long enough to nearly force overtime. Before they could even let the loss soak in the Ray Rice elevator video surfaced a little over 12 hours after the defeat.

It took the world and the Ravens by storm.

No one was quite sure how the team would respond. An 0-2 start was certainly a possibility and thoughts of an implosive season weren’t far behind.

A convincing team win certainly put those thoughts to rest.

 

THE GOOD

Joe Flacco was extremely efficient and a well-balanced attack designed by Gary Kubiak certainly showcased how tough the Ravens can be to beat if they can move the ball on the ground. Give Flacco his due also for possessing uncommon toughness (see video below) that has to be respected and appreciated by his teammates…The offensive line was outstanding when grinding it out on land and in pass pro when Flacco went to the air. The push up front during quarterback sneaks was particularly impressive. Rick Wagner and Eugene Monroe were the standouts on line coach Juan Castillo’s unit.

Nice to see Owen Daniels get into the flow. Whatever the reason for his inactivity during the preseason now seems like a distant and insignificant memory…Steve Smith, Sr. was born to play in Baltimore. It’s early but Senior is on pace for a 104 catch, 1500 yard season…Bernard Pierce in the face of enormous criticism chipped in with a very solid bounce back game (22 carries, 96 yards). Justin Forsett (8 carries, 56 yards) was extremely effective as a change-of-pace back, a role he is perfectly suited for.

On defense the Ravens were able to keep the Steelers out of the end zone and snap Ben Roethlisberger’s streak of 30 consecutive games with a TD pass. In the front seven the standouts were Elvis Dumervil (2 sacks) CJ Mosley (9 tackles) and Brandon Williams. Dumervil overpowered Steelers right tackle Marcus Gilbert who has 75 pounds on the Ravens rush linebacker…Brandon Williams clearly earned more playing time.

On the back end Matt Elam arguably had his best day as a pro. He was solid up in the box as a run defender (team leading 10 tackles) and he was on time as a pass defender forcing Roethlisberger to redirect two third down passes that sailed incomplete…Jimmy Smith is going to be expensive to re-sign. He’s playing with confidence and did a tremendous job on the elusive Brown who padded his stats late in the game when the game’s outcome was a foregone conclusion…Sam Koch netted 48.5 yards on two punts.

 

THE BAD

The Ravens red zone offense needs work as they were just 2 of 6 on the night…Torrey Smith is in a contract year and if his rather pedestrian play continues, the team might be better off waiting before extending a new long-term deal. He doesn’t seem to be maturing as a receiver and has just 4 catches for 60 yards on the season so far…Haloti Ngata disappeared for the first 58 minutes of the game and didn’t register a single defensive statistic until the 2:00 mark of the fourth quarter. That stat is highlighted below.

 

THE UGLY

The polarizing emotions stemming from the Ray Rice domestic violence case paved the way to some not so desirable debate amongst fans. A win over the Steelers certainly helps to tone that down.

 

THE MEGAN FOX

Since his arrival John Harbaugh has continually reinforced the concept ofTEAM. Thursday’s win was a complete team victory. Props go to the coaching staff for keeping the team’s focus inside the lines and not upon the tsunami-sized distractions outside the lines. From Joe Flacco’s efficient performance, to the running game, to protecting the football, to taking it away and to managing field position and the clock, the Ravens were nearly flawless. THIS is their blueprint for success. Let’s hope the roll it out each week.

GIF’s courtesy of Gordon Dixon

The draft pundents said the same thing about Ngata. Some of it is him keeping blockers busy.

[RavenMad]

The draft pundents said the same thing about Ngata. Some of it is him keeping blockers busy.

While I somewhat agree with that, I can't explain away the fact that when Ngata is out of the game Williams or Jernigan or someone else on the D-Line seems to make a play in his place.

[papasmurfbell]

Week 1 nobody was making plays.

[oldno82]

While I somewhat agree with that, I can't explain away the fact that when Ngata is out of the game Williams or Jernigan or someone else on the D-Line seems to make a play in his place.

Ngata needs show more. A lot more if he wants to escape being cut next year because of his cap number.