Ravens over Redskins; The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Baltimore Ravens beat the Washington Redskins 34-31 tonight in the third Exhibition game of the 2011 Pre-Season. Ultimately the only thing I cared about this game was avoiding any significant injuries. However, I also respected that the Ravens continued to play hard and find a way to win a game where they did not play particularly well – even if it was just an Exhibition.

The Good:

1) During the Redskins first possession, Cary Williams had nice pressure on 3rd and 8.

2) L. Webb was also used on multiple plays as a pass rusher – eventually getting to Grossman for a sack. In the 2nd half, he had a pick when challenged down the field.

3) I think it was important for Levoir to get time at RG tonight, as it should be easier to keep him on the roster if the Ravens have confidence in his ability to play in the interior.

4) Multiple nice looking slant receptions for Evans tonight. The first coming on the initial Ravens drive, and a second quality one coming on 3rd and 4 for a 1st down on the Baltimore TD drive to begin the 2nd half. The TD catch he had in single cover on the 9 route was pretty.

5) Ricky Williams had a nice block on a completed pass to Pitta.  Williams also picked up pressure on the bunch route formation, where Boldin picked-up a 1st down.
5a) Rice had good blitz pickup on the TD pass to Boldin.

6) Twice tonight Ed Dickson picked up 1st downs, with 2nd effort after initial contact from the defense. His 37 yard catch down the seam is an indication of things to come.

7) The Redskins were charged with running into the Punter, which gave the Ravens a 1st down – but there were impressive Special Teams efforts from D. Reed and M. Smith on Koch’s punt attempt.

8) Rice was having a lot of success running the ball with the zone blocking up front.
8a) Mattison had a solid block on the Rice rushing TD.

9) Cory Redding name was mentioned with regularity while he was in the game.

10) Johnson had great hustle, running across the field to make a play on the back end.

11) Pollard had a strong Special Teams hit on the Kickoff after the Rice TD.

12) A. Allen showed his burst with the 20 yard 3rd Quarter run.

12) T. Doss went up high, and showed strong hands ripping down the 20 yard pass to end the 3rd. He had another tough grab near the goal line.

13) Kruger, Kindle, and McPhee were active once again.

14) Taylor made good use of his TE’s, hitting Pitta and Wilson for 4 catches and 57 yards. I’m still not sold on Taylor as the backup QB, but there is no denying his ability to make plays.
14a) If there was any doubt, Wilson should have locked up his position as the Ravens 3rd TE tonight.

15) With under a minute to play, LaQuan Williams gave the Ravens new life with his 38 yard Punt return. In terms of making this team, the numbers are not great for Williams. On the other-hand, the Baltimore native and former Terp has done everything in his power to make the team. At the minimum, he has put enough plays on film that someone somewhere will give him another opportunity.

The Bad:

1) T. Smith had a poor night, and has had a bad Pre-Season so far in his Rookie year. He had an early drop, a 7 yard loss on a reverse, and another drop on the 2nd & 6 with under 30 seconds left in the 1st half. If I had not personally seen all of the plays he made at Maryland, and did not know of his intense work ethic – I would be concerned. Still, while I think he will ultimately be a very good WR (and helped a lot by going through this season, and Mini-camps next year), he has to currently be looked at as the 5th WR on this Ravens roster.

2) Beck beat Foxworth with a perfect 34 yard strike to Armstrong. Foxworth was being targeted a bit, and was obviously not running at his pre-injury speed. I do not expect Foxworth to be cut, but do think it is going to be into the season a bit before we see him reach his prior level of play.

3) J. Reid was overwhelmed by Ryan Kerrigan for a sack.

4) The second time Flacco was sacked tonight, came when Oher completely missed Orakpo.

5) On the Grossman TD to Moss, Jimmy Smith blew the coverage. During that drive, Smith was picked on a bit by Grossman.

6) Taylor’s accuracy was off on the 3rd and Goal to Harper, and Allen should have had the TD on the pass to him on 4th.

The Ugly:

1) Flacco was picked and taken to the house when Hall jumped the route. It appeared the playaction attempt at isolation was telegraphed by the Ravens offense.

2) The 37 yard Hightower TD, where he started to the right, and cut back to the left was embarrassing.

3) Defensive Coordinator Chuck Pagano attempted to bring extra pressure often, but the majority of the time those pass rushers were picked up. Baltimore’s defense had trouble defending the quick slant routes of Washington.

4) In the 3rd Quarter, Washington took over the ball on their 3rd yard line with 8:15 on the clock. Beck marched the Redskins 97 yards for the score.