Week 2 Pre Season Game Thoughts

[vmax]

Now...it was sweet to see the Ravens beat the Skins 23-3 and knock their air headed fans back to reality.

 

But...

 

I'm going to start out hard on the offense although I thought there were some good individual performances and players who showed they will make this team deeper, stronger and better. I know.... there's no game planning and a lot of 2's and 3's are on the field against 2's and 3's....

 

1. The Ravens are not ready for the Jets. Well...maybe because Sanchez and the Jets are struggling. I guess the Ravens could kick their ass if things stay the same...

 

2. The Offense has no rythmn, momentum...it's not in sync or firing on all cylinders. They are not scoring. Flacco has nothing with Stallworth and Bouldin who are the upgrades to take them to the next level. Joe took a step back from a solid pre season week 1 outing. Now fumbles are a new concern. They stunk on 3rd down....1 for 10!...against the hapless Redskins.

Oher, who looked good on Orackpo, killed the opening drive by being offsides.

Stallworth kills a drive with a fumble after the D gave them great field position with an INT.

On a night where Cam wanted to throw, at least the running game was there. 4.9 ypc. That's a good sign because they have not focused on running in pre season games.

 

Only Special Teams kept it from being a 6-3 ball game at half time.

 

The Good...

 

Bulger continues to impress me (against 2's). Watch his eyes and reads. He's lightning fast at scanning the field and knows exactly what he has before he plants. Nice clinic he put on with Stallworth vs the cover 2. Joe struggles with that defense.

 

Reed had a nice game....I see Mason, Bouldin, Stallworth, Clayton and Reed as the WR's. That's a small group but the tall guys are not making the plays.

 

I really like Harewood. He has all the goods to develop into a solid tackle in a year or 2. He plays nasty and is very powerfull and fast. Just needs to learn the technique.

 

Palmerle redeems himself...he's a keeper.

 

Troy Smith played better because he didn't have much to work with. Unfortunately he wants to run rather than throw.

 

Pitta has a great set of hands...he looked very good.

[thundercleetz]

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!

[millz58]

I liked Reed, kind of a 'go-getter'. Are the Jets ready for us, that's what I'm thinking. bulger looked good, but he should, he's got a good job right now.

[varaven45]

Max et al,

 

Finally watched game tape last night. My thoughts (though I dont much stock in pre season):

 

1. Offense flat, sluggish, out of sync.

 

2. Flacco still looks tentative,uncomfortable

 

3. OL looks crappy. we need Gaither back big time and soon. Yesterday was too late !

 

4. Bulger has na unbelievable release, accurate arm. Damn lucky to have em !

 

5. WR corps looks good. Boldin and Stallworth look as good as advertised.

 

6. DL is tough, will stuff run all yr (barring major injuries).

 

7. LB corps looked slow,disorganized, confused and overmatched. Coverage stunk. Maybe Ray is pacing himself.

 

8. Pass rush was there, will need more intensity and consistency.

 

9. Secondary play - outside of Cary Williams, Zib and Nak - was embarrasing. I'll say it for the 1000th time: Ozzie has screwed up two years in a row by not drafting a CB in the first few rounds. L Webb was a mid -late round stroke of luck. Our CB play will haunt us another year and may yet again prevent us from taking thge next step.

 

10. ST Play looked solid. Cundiff looks better (than Graham), Parmele looks good. Koch isa beast on the punting game. What was up with the fake punt/Nak run ? It was awesome but maybe could hav ebeen saved for reg season ?

 

 

Like all 32 teams, we've got work to do. Looking for a better showing against G-men on Saturday, esp on Offense and secondary play. Oh, and no injuries ( esp to the OL and secondary ).

[geo]

Max et al,

 

Finally watched game tape last night. My thoughts (though I dont much stock in pre season):

 

1. Offense flat, sluggish, out of sync.

 

2. Flacco still looks tentative,uncomfortable

 

3. OL looks crappy. we need Gaither back big time and soon. Yesterday was too late !

 

4. Bulger has na unbelievable release, accurate arm. Damn lucky to have em !

 

5. WR corps looks good. Boldin and Stallworth look as good as advertised.

 

6. DL is tough, will stuff run all yr (barring major injuries).

 

7. LB corps looked slow,disorganized, confused and overmatched. Coverage stunk. Maybe Ray is pacing himself.

 

8. Pass rush was there, will need more intensity and consistency.

 

9. Secondary play - outside of Cary Williams, Zib and Nak - was embarrasing. I'll say it for the 1000th time: Ozzie has screwed up two years in a row by not drafting a CB in the first few rounds. L Webb was a mid -late round stroke of luck. Our CB play will haunt us another year and may yet again prevent us from taking thge next step.

 

10. ST Play looked solid. Cundiff looks better (than Graham), Parmele looks good. Koch isa beast on the punting game. What was up with the fake punt/Nak run ? It was awesome but maybe could hav ebeen saved for reg season ?

 

 

Like all 32 teams, we've got work to do. Looking for a better showing against G-men on Saturday, esp on Offense and secondary play. Oh, and no injuries ( esp to the OL and secondary ).

 

Agreed on 1-9. And yes the ST did great. The fake punt.. I love it! In the preseason too, the opponents now know we could use Koch (Cows 08) or Nakamura as a RB and most important it will only help our gunners to make their plays, and btw they did a good job too!

 

I still take Graham over Cundiff.. Not really sure how you can tell Cundiff looks better? Cundiff had at least one shaky FG, and Graham a +50 yards miss, KOs both have had 5 and they have been basically identically.. only two return yards seperates them btw in Grahams favour. Anyway they have both been in the league since 2001/2 and I take Grahams 85%FGs over Cundiffs 75%. Overall from the 30-39: Graham kicks 9/10, Cundiff 7/10. This is a kick you need to do.. Last year Cundiff was 4/7 at that distance, simply not impressed, why should Cundiff suddenly improve?

 

Yeah Graham had a bad PO game, Cundiff had a terrible game in week 17 when we needed a win.

 

And I do believe more GT only helps, there is a reason why Graham has been the starter, while Cundiff most of the time has not.

[thundercleetz]

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.

[vmax]

I'm watching the Jets/Skins game...I take my comment back about week 1. The Ravens will do fine against the Jets. Sanchez and their passing game suck. Thomlinson looks good...they can run some but they can't score. Chance for the Ravens to pitch a shutout.

[geo]

I'm watching the Jets/Skins game...I take my comment back about week 1. The Ravens will do fine against the Jets. Sanchez and their passing game suck. Thomlinson looks good...they can run some but they can't score. Chance for the Ravens to pitch a shutout.

 

Even Beck with what.. ten days, looked better than Sanchez.. And at that time Jets still played their starters.