vmax Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 That's all that matters. Win and Advance. This game reminded me of the 2000 playoff game against the Titans #1 D who won the statistical battle but lost the game. Only that game was very exciting for me and it is my second all time favorite Ravens game next to the Super Bowl win. The Ravens beat a very good football team today.When you have 2 great D's on the same field it gets ugly. Raven Ugly...and they know how to win those kinds of games. In the playoffs you need all 3 phases to play well and win. The Ravens won today because Special Teams made a big play (thank you Jacoby Jones!), the offense capitalized by scoring Touchdowns and the D got 4 turnovers. The Ravens did not turn the ball over and they did not commit one single penalty. In wars like this that is critical....it's the difference between advancing or going home. Hand it to Houston...they are a very solid team and will be a AFC South powerhouse for the next few years at least. Their defensive line was faster and controlled the line of scrimage. The Ravens O line couldn't get anything going all day. Lethargic...that's how they looked compared to the Terxans high moter D.The Texans were not going to let Ray Rice beat them and Ray basicly had no where to run (21 for 60 yards 2.9 ypc). So Joe was hamstrung. His line wasn't getting the job done. Generally his receivers were too slow to get open and they dropped some balls. On a day when the O appeared to be playing in slow motion compared to the Houston D, Joe was patient. He didn't make the costly turnover. Foster had a great game but Yates sunk them (28.8 QB rating )...."I knew you'd screw up so I made sure I didn't make any costly turnovers. Thanks." The truth is that the Ravens D pitched a shut out for the second half. They had to do to get the win. The Ravens made the big plays. The turnovers (great game Webb!), Evans spectacular catch and Boldin's solid 4 for 73 and 1 TD day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutsideRzAcE Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Excellent points. I thought Joe did ok for what he had to work with - receivers that couldn't get open, a terrible Oline performance (even Yanda and Grubbs looked human), and some key drops. Dickson has solidified himself as the #2 in my mind. I want Pitta out there when it matters (like now in the playoffs). Overall, yes. Win and advance is all that matters. What I will like about this upcoming week is that no-one will think the Ravens can win after the way they won vs the way NE won. They play the underdog role so much better than the role of the favored team. Big props to Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. For those wondering if all the talk about them needing to sit would motivate them - I'm thinking it did. The only better player on the field for the Ravens was Lardarius Webb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmax Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 "I always say there is a right way to do things, there is a wrong way to do things and there is just the Ravens' way of doing things," linebacker Terrell Suggs said. "It wasn't pretty but we're not really a pretty team. We got the W and now it's on to the AFC Championship." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spen Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 It was a win in the playoffs and I will take it. For the most part the defense was very good. On two drives they didnt look good but that was it. And really Foster is a tremendous player so he earned those yards. The offense was terrible. If Schuab or even Leinart played I doubt if we win. Really if Jones does not fumble the punt I am not sure we win even with Yates as the QB. I wont say Joe was bad because he didnt turn the ball over and he made some good throws but I also do not think he was good. He was sacked 5 times but three of them he held onto the ball far too long, his 'reads' were so slow today. One day one of his panicked dumps to Rice is going to get Rice killed. Ricky seemed to be hitting the holes better than Rice was today. But it was a win and we have another week of Ravens football. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenMad Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I have to give props to the Texans. They have been drafting very well the last few seasons on D. JJ Watt was one of my favs in the draft and he is looking like a beast for them. They have great depth on that front 7 too as they have hardly missed a beat when Mario Williams went down and Connor Barwin stepped in. He has had 2 really good games against the Ravens this season. They obviously have a good team as not many teams can survive losing their top 2 QBs and starting a 5th round rookie for half the season. Anyway, we are now 7-0 against playoff teams and 9-0 at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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