Ravens beat Cleveland; The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Baltimore Ravens overcame an ugly 1st half, beating Cleveland 14-6, to earn their first win of the 2013 season.

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In the 1st half, the Ravens offense was just completely inept. Matters were not helped by the two FG misses from Justin Tucker. By the 2nd series, it was apparent that the Ravens strategy was to throw, and hope that would open up the running game. However, it also became clear that after the first drive, Flacco was only looking in the direction of T. Smith.  That was partially understandable as the first drive saw Dickson miss a ball to start the game, and Brown miss a potential TD catch. Clark gained a 1st down, but had the wind knocked out of him; and was seemingly M.I.A. the rest of the half. The one time Stokley was mentioned in the 1st half, was when Flacco threw it several feet over his head on a missed 3rd down.

Boldin is not walking through the door. You have to go with the mindset now that Pitta will not be back. It will be weeks until we see J.Jones. You have to use the players who are here.

If you can force the ball to Smith in double and triple coverage, you should be able to find Brown, Clark, Dickson, Stokley, Bajema, and Doss in single coverage. Understandably, that is not an overwhelming collection of weapons – but that is what you have. You have to make them enough of a threat, to remove some of the extra attention on T. Smith and to help open up running lanes for Rice, and Pierce.  The return of D. Thompson (hopefully next week) could help with his speed making a difference. The overall point remains the same though. The players that are here are the players that are going to have to produce. Nobody should be expecting external additions to come and save the day.

If the Ravens brain-trust collectively decides that they lack the play-makers at WR/TE to attack defenses through the air 40+ attempts per game, than they will have to adjust. The adjustment is going with a heavy base set, and committing to more ground-and-pound. When defenses stack the box, you can still attack through the air. If anything you might get more single coverage on the outside.

In the 2nd half though, the adjustment made seemed to be making a larger commitment to getting the other guys involved. Brown has shown some real positives these first two weeks of his career. Stokley was able to move the chains a couple of times. Most importantly the Ravens had success on 3rd down in the 2nd half. It will be interesting to go back and look at the film, and see what adjustments the Ravens made to increase that conversion percentage.

The Good:

1) Today easily could have been a loss. The Ravens found a way to win, and each win should be celebrated. The Ravens as is are going to be a work in progress for some time. Doesn’t matter how ugly things are during this transition, as long as they find ways to win. It was a nice day overall from the Baltimore defense, certainly something to build on.

2) Following two plays for no gains, a penalty on the Browns’ Phil Taylor gave the Ravens a new set of downs to start the game. Flacco found Smith over the middle on a slant, gaining 10 yards on the play. Rice then broke through the line for 11 more, taking the ball into Cleveland territory. On 3rd and 8, Flacco and Clark connected for another 1st. Clark caught the ball a few yards short of the marker, and was able to pick up the necessary yardage on his own. Following a sack of Flacco, Brown’s 12 yard catch set up a manageable 3rd and 7.

3) After the Browns gained 1st and Goal on their first series, the Ravens defense did a good job to hold Cleveland to a FG attempt.

4) Baltimore allowed 1 first down on the Browns second series, before the Ravens defense forced a punt.

5) The Ravens 3rd drive of the game started with just over 3 minutes remaining in the 1st Quarter. It started on a positive note, with a roll out from Flacco, where he found Bajema for 18 yards.

6) Cleveland’s last drive of the 1st Quarter, bled into the 2nd Quarter. The Ravens defense again forced a punt, with the Secondary providing good coverage on the series. On the punt, Doss took the ball out to the Ravens 44 with a quality 22 yard return.

7) Koch, getting a lot of early punting attempts, had a good one following the Ravens 3 and out to begin the 2nd Quarter. Downed at the 7, Cleveland was again starting a drive deep in their own territory.
7a) Koch had another nice punt late in the 4th, having Cleveland start from their 1 yard line down 14-6, with 3:34 left.

8) After Cleveland had moved into Ravens territory on their first full drive of the 2nd Quarter, Suggs came up with a needed sack. On 3rd and 10, Dumervil came from the other side and dropped Weeden at midfield.

9) Later in the 1st half, Suggs, and D.Smith teamed up for the Ravens 3rd sack.

10) Baltimore’s offense finally had a positive play as the 1st half was coming to an end. Smith took the ball to the Browns 29 yard line with a 27 yard gain. With the Browns Secondary dropping deep, Smith used his speed underneath.

11) McPhee made a nice tackle behind the line of scrimmage on the Browns first series of the 3rd Quarter. That set-up 3rd and long, and Cleveland was forced to punt.

12) Rice gained 14 yards on his first carry of the 2nd half. On 3rd and 6, Smith ran a nice in-route and picked up 23 yards taking the ball to the Cleveland 39. On 3rd and 7, there was good pass-blocking from the line, allowing Flacco to find Brown underneath. On 3rd and 8, the Ravens picked up another 3rd down conversion with Flacco to Stokley. From the Browns 13 yard line, Pierce gained 8 on the ground with a good block from Leach. On the following carry, the Ravens had their first score of the game on another Pierce run. Some tough yards from Pierce on those carries, with good second effort on both. Tucker’s extra-point made it 7-6 Ravens with 5:13 remaining in the 3rd. Baltimore’s 12 play, 80 yard drive, took 5 minutes 50 seconds off the clock.

13) The 2nd Ravens drive of the 3rd Quarter began with Flacco under pressure. He was able to find Leach as his outlet, who used a stiff arm to gain 12 yards.

14) Rice’s 3rd Quarter fumble had Cleveland starting in Baltimore territory. A. Jones responded right away with a sack, for an 8 yard loss. D. Smith got his hand on the ball on 2nd down, with good coverage from J. Smith on the play. On 3rd down, Dumervil again beat Schwartz off the edge causing a deflection (caught by the Browns). Cleveland went for it on 4th and 4, and Baltimore came up with the stop – holding Cameron just short of the marker.

15) Nice play from J. Smith on the Browns first full series of the 4th, causing a deflection. D. Smith did not come up with the would be interception on that play, but did come up with a sack on 3rd down.

16) After Cleveland’s punt, Doss returned the ball 21 yards. This gave the Ravens 1st and 10 from the Cleveland 42 with 12:17 remaining. On 3rd and 10, Pierce picked up the blitz, and Flacco delivered a strike to Stokley for 16 yards. Standing in vs. pressure, Flacco found Brown who presented a large target. That 18 yard gain set-up 1st and Goal. On 2nd and Goal from the 5, Brown got his 2nd career TD with a slant rout over the middle. Baltimore went up 14-6 with 8:57 left.

17) Another good play from J. Smith in the middle of the 4th Quarter. He was matched-up vs. Greg Little. Little is a big physical WR, the type of guy Smith was drafted to defend. This was one of the first games in Smith’s career, where he made a consistently positive impact throughout the game. Good to see.

18) On 3rd and 3, Stokley gained 4 yards with under 5 minutes left in the 4th. This gave the Ravens a new set of downs, and kept the clock moving.

19) Cleveland had the ball with 3:34 left, down 14-6. After Elam’s pass interference, the Ravens were able to come up with a 4 down stop, and take over in Browns territory.

The Bad:

1) The first pass attempt of the game went incomplete over the middle to Dickson. Without a shown replay, it was not clear if it was a catch that Dickson should have had.  Later on that first drive, Rookie Barkevious Mingo beat McKinnie for a 9 yard sack of Flacco. On 3rd and 7, Flacco made a 2nd early attempt to get the ball to Brown down the field. This time Brown had a legitimate TD attempt go through his hands. That brought Tucker on to the field for his first FG attempt, which was missed.

2) Cleveland’s first offensive play of the game was a huge 53 yard gain to Cameron. No excuse for him to be that open, or for the yards he gained after the catch. That set-up 1st and Goal.

3) Baltimore was forced to punt to end their 2nd series when Flacco’s 3rd and 6 throw sailed high.

4) The Ravens were forced to punt for a 2nd time, when Flacco’s 3rd and 5 throw went over the head of Stokley.

5) Backed-up by penalty, Cleveland started their 3rd series from their own 4 yard line. Baltimore had the Browns facing 3rd and 2, but Weeden found Bess out of the shotgun for an 8 yard gain. That drive would eventually end with a punt, but it was a missed opportunity to give the Ravens offense excellent starting field position.

6) Baltimore’s first drive of the 2nd Quarter was another quick series that ended with a punt. Facing 3rd and 2, the Ravens went with an empty backfield. Flacco was quickly swallowed up, and not in position to even get a throw off.

7) Webb missed a tackle on Benjamin, allowing the WR to gain additional yardage on his 22 yard grab. That took the ball out to the Browns 30 on their first full drive of the 2nd Quarter. Later in that series, Weeden rolled out to escape pressure and found Little for 8 yard and another 1st down. On 3rd and 4, Bess cut underneath the Ravens defense and moved the chains.

8) The Ravens offense again went 3 and out on their 2nd drive of the 2nd Quarter. Facing 3rd and 4, the pass went to Smith short of the marker. It appeared on that drive, and on the last few drives prior that the only potentially available options to Flacco was short drop offs to Smith.

9) Cleveland took over from their 34 with 31 seconds left in the half. They were able to move to the Baltimore 34 and set-up Cundiff’s 51 yard FG. This had the Browns taking a 6-0 lead to the half. It was disappointing to see the Browns get another chance at points there.

10) J. Smith was shaken up on the Cleveland’s first drive of the 3rd Quarter.

11) The Ravens got extremely lucky when Weeden missed a wide open Ogbonnaya late in the 3rd Quarter. That would have been an easy 62 yard TD for the Browns.

12) Baltimore’s 2nd drive of the 3rd Quarter ended as quickly as it began, with Rice fumbling on the 2nd play. This allowed Cleveland to start in Ravens territory.

13) Dickson picked up a holding penalty to begin the Ravens first drive in the 4th. Baltimore would go 3 and out on that series.

14) Elam was charged with pass interference on Campbell’s first pass attempt late in the 4th.

The Ugly:

1) The first half could not have been uglier for the Ravens offense. After Tucker’s FG miss on the opening series, the Ravens would punt in each of their next 4 drives. The 6th series ended with Tucker missing his 2nd FG attempt. Baltimore had just 7 first downs for the half, and were 1 of 7 on 3rd down. In their 32 total plays, Baltimore gained 122 total yards. They had 9 rushing attempts in those 32 total plays, gaining 27 yards.

2) Rice went out of the game with a hip injury in the 4th Quarter. That did not look good.

Notes/Thoughts:
1) T. Smith had 7 catches for 85 yards. Brown had 4 catches for 45 yards, and 1 TD.
2) Baltimore’s defense limited Richardson to 58 yards on 18 carries. After Cameron’s initial long catch to begin the game, the Ravens limited him as a threat.
3) Baltimore was 8 of 16 on 3rd down overall, and held the Browns to 4 of 15.
4) Pierce was doing strong North/South running, even if it was not reflected in his yards per carry. One issue with him on the field vs. Rice, is that Pierce has not yet shown an ability to catch the ball out of the backfield.
5) The Ravens had 5 sacks today.