Tag: Baltimore Ravens (Page 42 of 46)

      Ravens jobbed by blown call in loss to Titans

      October 5, 2008 /

      Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun writes that the Ravens were screwed in Sunday’s 13-10 loss to the Titans after Terrell Suggs was called for a personal foul penalty late in the game.

      John HarbaughIt has been my policy for a long, long time — long before I became a blowhard blogger — to avoid any discussion of officiating that might appear partisan unless the situation is so impactful that it cannot be left out of any meaningful conversation about the game.

      I think the personal foul call on Terrell Suggs late in today’s game rises well beyond that standard. Suggs was rushing Kerry Collins and was batting at the ball when his right arm came down on Collins shoulder pad. The supposed helmet contact that basically turned the game around was ridiculously incidental and should never have been called.

      “I was nowhere near his head,” Suggs said afterward. “We just hit arms. I’m guilty of playing physical football. They said I hit him in the head. I wasn’t anywhere near his head.”

      Perhaps the strangest thing about the call was the revelation after the play that the officials had called a false start on the Titans, but it was outweighed by the personal foul because the NFL’s 5-15 rule. I understand the rule and agree with it. In cases where there is a minor penalty and a major personal foul, the personal foul is penalized instead of offset. In this case, however, I’m trying to figure out why the play continued long enough for the second foul to be called.

      There was no flag visible at the beginning of the play and no attempt by the officials to stop the play. Frankly, I’m surprised they even mentioned it after the play, since the result would have been the same without it. It simply made them look even more inept.

      That’s two weeks in a row that personal foul penalties played a huge role in Raven losses. Good teams overcome those calls and still find ways to win, but momentum swings can have such a damning effect for teams, especially young ones like Baltimore.

      Small change of subject – how clutch is Tennessee’s defense? They remind me a little of the 2000 Baltimore Ravens defense, not necessarily for how dominant they are, but how they always seem to come up with the big play at the end of the game. And just like those ’00 Ravens, the Titans’ D isn’t getting a ton of help from the offense.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      NFL Week 5 Primer

      October 3, 2008 /

      Donovan McNabbSunday’s Best: Redskins (3-1) at Eagles (2-2) 1:00 PM ET FOX
      Who would have thought after four weeks that the Washington Redskins would be right in the thick of things in the NFC East? Especially after they bombed in the opener against the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants. But they are, and a big reason for that is the maturity of QB Jason Campbell, who has looked comfortable running Jim Zorn’s West Coast Offense the past three weeks. But he’ll get a major test this weekend against Jim Johnson’s blitz-happy defense. The WCO is predicated on short timing routes and getting the ball into the hands of receivers so they can get yards after the catch. If Campbell can’t get the ball out of his hands quickly, Philly is sure to produce plenty of sacks and turnovers. Whether or not the Eagle offense converts those turnovers into points remains to be seen, however. In their loss last week to Chicago, Donovan McNabb struggled getting the Eagles into the end zone without the threat of Brian Westbrook in the backfield. Westbrook will be a game time decision, although he has seen a fair about of practice time this week, which might be a good sign that he’ll play. Expect another physical matchup between NFC East rivals.

      Upset Watch: Bills (4-0) at Cardinals (2-2), 4:15 PM ET CBS
      I’m not fooling oddsmakers by calling this a potential upset because they’ve already established the Cardinals as 1-point favorites. But considering how well the Bills have played this year and how Arizona surrendered 56 points in last weeks loss to the Jets, a Cardinal victory would be an upset. The fact of the matter is that the Cards just flat out play better in the desert than they do on the road. They’re a completely different team and while dynamic wide out Anquan Boldin is not expected to play after suffering a nasal injury last Sunday, the Cards have more than enough offensive weapons to pull out a win. The key will be Kurt Warner not turning the ball over and for the team to play all four quarters. Buffalo has trailed in the second half of three of their four victories this year, which means that they’ve been outstanding in the clutch. Arizona will have to play a complete game to earn a win, but an upset could be in the making.

      Ben RoethlisbergerIntriguing Matchup: Steelers (3-1) at Jaguars (2-2), 8:15 PM ET NBC
      The Steelers may be 3-1, but they can’t feel too good about the way things are unraveling as injuries continue to mount. Not only will Pittsburgh go into this game without their top two backs in Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall, but Ben Roethlisberger is also dealing with shoulder and hand injuries and OT Kendall Simmons is now lost for the year. The Steelers had offensive line issues coming into the season with Simmons in their lineup. Now they have to play without him, which isn’t good news for Big Ben and the rest of the offense. The Jaguars started the year 0-2 but are now gaining confidence after beating the Colts and Texans in dramatic fashion over the past two weeks. The running game has opened up the passing attack for David Garrard, who is starting to play like the quarterback who led the Jags deep into the playoffs last season. We’re going to see what Pittsburgh is made of, because Jacksonville is starting to show signs of the Super Bowl contender that everyone that they’d be in preseason.

      Other Notable Games:
      Titans (4-0) at Ravens (2-1), 1:00 PM ET
      Tennessee is one of only two teams still undefeated and perhaps is playing the best defense in the AFC. Rookie Joe Flacco looked like he was starting to come into his home against the Steelers, so it’ll be interesting to see how he fares against a tough Titans’ defense.

      Buccaneers (3-1) at Broncos (3-1), 4:05 PM ET
      This is one of the best matchups on the Week 5 schedule as it pits Monte Kiffin’s defense against the Broncos’ offense, which has been one of the best units in the league so far. Can Denver bounce back from its embarrassing loss to the Chiefs last week? Can the Bucs further convince people that they’re a contender with Brain Griese under center?

      Bengals (0-4) at Cowboys (3-1), 4:15 PM ET CBS
      Ocho Cinco vs. Grab Your Popcorn. Should be a good one.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Willis McGahee upset with Suzy Kolber

      October 2, 2008 /

      SPORTSbyBROOKS.com notes that Baltimore’s Willis McGahee isn’t too fond of NFL sideline reporter Suzy Kolber’s latest work, which had her stating on Monday Night Football that maybe part of the reason why he got hurt against the Steelers was because he missed OTAs this summer.

      Willis McGaheeThe CARROLL COUNTY TIMES reports that Willis McGahee didn’t take too kindly to Kolber’s suggestion of why the RB got hurt in the Ravens’ 23-20 loss to the Steelers. McGahee went down in the first half after suffering a bruised rib, and his status is still uncertain for this Sunday’s game against the Titans.

      Kolber had reported that McGahee skipped out on almost all of the Ravens’ voluntary organized team actvities, or “OTA’s”, during the offseason – and such an absence may have been to blame for Willis’ wounds.

      But McGahee didn’t like hearing that:

      “Yeah, that bothers me,” McGahee said. “I’m not here for OTAs, so I get hurt? If I was at OTAs and I got hurt, then it would be, ‘He worked so hard. It’s a shame.’ No, it doesn’t work like that. Things happen in football.

      “I got hit in the ribs. Would my ribs have been stronger if I had been at OTAs? I guess I’m not drinking enough milk. I’m very disappointed that once again the reason I got hurt is because of OTAs. That was garbage.”

      Hey, watch what you say, Willis – Joe doesn’t like it when you mess with his women. Then again, if McGahee had bothered to practice with his teammates in Baltimore instead of by himself down in South Florida, the subject never would have been brought up in the first place. Don’t blame Suzy for your poor judgment.

      I agree with Brooks in that the subject wouldn’t be open for debate had he been with his teammates this summer, but McGahee does have a point. What does a rib injury have to do with him missing OTAs while trying to recover from a knee procedure? And his comment about not drinking enough milk was pretty funny.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      NFL rookie head coaches have solid first month

      October 2, 2008 /

      Only four weeks have past in the 2008 NFL Season, but as Don Banks of SI.com writes, the four rookie head coaches are already off to a respectable start.

      Jim Zorn— Washington’s Jim Zorn has his confident Redskins at 3-1, on a three-game winning streak, and coming off a head-turning 26-24 upset of the previously undefeated Cowboys in Texas Stadium, where no new Redskins coach had ever won before.

      — Baltimore’s John Harbaugh and his scrappy Ravens are 2-1, and on Monday night in Pittsburgh came within a play or two of going to 3-0 within the AFC North despite starting a rookie quarterback in Joe Flacco.

      — Atlanta’s Mike Smith has brought 2-2 respectability to his rebuilding Falcons, who are only a game behind NFC South co-leaders Carolina and Tampa Bay (3-1). Atlanta, too, is doing just fine with a rookie quarterback in Matt Ryan.

      — And even Miami’s Tony Sparano made us sit up and take notice, with his 1-2 Dolphins pulling off the NFL’s upset of the year, that imaginative 38-13 Week 3 thrashing of New England in Foxboro — a loss that snapped the Patriots’ league-record 21-game regular-season win streak. Miami, in case you forgot, finished a cool 15 games behind New England last year.

      All four of these head coaches have done a wonderful job, but the one that has most impressed is Zorn. We always hear that the West Coast Offense takes two to three years to learn and yet QB Jason Campbell has already shown how comfortable he is in the new system. That’s a testament to Zorn’s coaching and getting his players up to speed with a rather complicated offensive system.

      It’s not uncommon to see a team with a rookie head coach start the year winless for the first couple weeks. But considering all of these teams except Miami have two wins, it’s fair to say that these first-year head coaches are off to solid starts.

      NFL

      Steelers edge out Ravens in overtime

      September 30, 2008 /

      Steelers-RavensIt was a tale of two halves Monday night in Pittsburgh as the Steelers slipped past the Ravens 23-20 thanks to Josh Reed’s 46-yard field goal in overtime.

      Baltimore took a 13-3 lead deep into the third quarter but following a Nate Washington 8-yard reception on a 1st and 10 play from Pittsburgh’s 33-yard line, LB Jarret Johnson was flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty that set up the Steelers at the Raven 44-yard line.

      Up until that point, Pittsburgh was lifeless and Heinz Field resembled a morgue. The Steelers wound up scoring three plays later on a Santonio Holmes 38-yard touchdown reception, which trimmed Baltimore’s lead to 13-10. Then on the Ravens’ first play following the kickoff, Pittsburgh LB James Harrison crushed rookie QB Joe Flacco, causing a fumble that was scooped up by LaMarr Woodley at the 7-yard line and taken into the end zone for a Steelers’ touchdown. Suddenly, two and a half quarters of solid play went out the window for the Ravens and they found themselves trailing 17-13.

      After the Steelers pushed their lead to 20-13 on Reed’s second field goal of the night with just under 10 minutes to play, Flacco led Baltimore on a nine-play, 76-yard drive which ended with Le’Ron McClain scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run that tied the game at 20. It all went for naught, however, as the Steelers forced the Ravens to punt on their opening possession of overtime, then won the game seven plays later on Reed’s third field goal.

      Baltimore flat out blew an opportunity for a big win. Before Johnson gift-wrapped momentum for the Steelers thanks to his penalty, Pittsburgh looked lost. For the second straight week Ben Roethlisberger was playing like crap, they had no running game and outside of finding some success running the no-huddle, the Steelers’ coaching staff appeared befuddled on how to move the ball on the Ravens’ nasty defense. But that’s why teams have to play all 60 minutes, especially when they’re on the road and playing in a tough environment. There’s no doubt Baltimore will look back at this game and think about what could have been.

      Side Note: Is it just me or did anyone else get the impression that ESPN commentator Ron “Jaws” Jaworski was flat out rooting for the Ravens during the game? I know Tony Kornheiser mentioned that Jaws’ son went to Delaware (same school as Flacco), but man, most of his comments seemed aimed at how good Flacco is/could be. I like Jaws, but he seemed a little biased tonight.

      Also, it was great to hear that Andre Frazier was up and walking around the Steelers’ locker room after the game. Frazier was taken from the field on a stretcher after injuring his spine on the opening kickoff of the game.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑