With a 24-10 victory in Cleveland, the Baltimore Ravens showed today they are capable of taking care of business on the road against an inferior team.

The win propels the Ravens to 9-3 on the season, with a home game against the win-less Indianapolis Colts next week. After that is a Sunday night trip to San Diego, the Browns at home, and a visit to Cincinnati to end the year. A 13-3 finish seems very possible, with a 12-4 record appearing to be the minimum.

The Good:

1) The Ravens did not convert, but I liked Harbaugh’s decision to go for it on 4th and 2 on Baltimore’s first possession. I really liked that after that stop, Harbaugh was willing to go for it again on 4 down on the next series.

2) Ellerbe closed in a hurry, making a great open field tackle on the Browns 2nd series.

3) Rice was carving up the Browns defense early in the game, ripping off 70 yard on his initial 7 carries. This just continued throughout the game. After Cleveland got a FG to pull within 10-3 in the 3rd Quarter, Rice got momentum right back for the Ravens with his long 67 yard run. Rice finished with 29 carries for 204 yards, and a TD.
3a) On one of Rice’s carries on the Ravens 2nd possession, the RB was helped by a quality block from Lee Evans on the outside.

4) The Ravens were committed to running the ball today, having 23 carries on their initial 26 carries. Baltimore finished with 79 offensive plays, 55 of which were on the ground. Baltimore had 290 rushing yards today, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. The running game featured a lot of pitches to Rice, and Williams; giving the RB’s the ball in open space.
4a) Williams had a solid game, finishing with 16 carries, 76 yards, and his TD gave the Ravens a two TD lead.

5) Nice to be able to bring in a player of Gurode’s caliber and experience when needed.

6) The first four completed passes were to the TE’s Dickson and Pitta. I really like the Baltimore offense, when they commit to running the rock, and utilizing the TE’s.
6a) Dickson finished with 3 grabs for 47 yards, and Pitta had 1 catch for 26 yards.

7) Jimmy Smith got another pick as he continues to come on down the stretch. Have to love his ability after the interception as well.

8) Big time sack from Suggs on the immediate play after Flacco’s 3rd Quarter fumble.

9) After the Williams TD, Johnson had a big tackle, and McPhee had the 5th sack of his rookie year. McPhee would later add his 2nd sack of the game. Cary Williams had a nice tackle driving through Greg Little in the 4th.

10) Webb had a great PR for a TD. I will not be a hypocrite here though. I said numerous times earlier in the year that I disliked having him return kicks and punts. Not because I doubted his return ability, but because I thought it was an unnecessary risk for one of your better CB’s. As the year has progressed, his coverage skills and value in the Secondary has only increased. I still dislike him returning, but as long he does – I appreciate that he is a weapon. Webb should be garnering Pro Bowl consideration.

11) Despite the big reception Hillis had, the Ravens were able to corral him overall. The big Cleveland RB had just 45 yards on his 12 carries.

12) The Ravens were 8 of 17 on 3rd down. The Baltimore defense held Cleveland to 233 yards. Baltimore held the ball for over 37 minutes.

The Bad:

1) It did not matter, as the Ravens would score on the subsequent play, but I did not see the need to bring in Taylor and split Flacco wide on Baltimore’s 2nd series. While it is true that by putting this on film, you give all other teams something else to review, it is also true that trick/gadget plays are not necessary to beat Cleveland.

2) Following Smith’s pick, the Ravens had another opportunity to deliver another body blow, if they could punch in the TD. It had to feel like a bit of success for Cleveland, that they were able to hold Baltimore to a FG in that situation.

3) You could argue that Evans should have had a TD to end the 1st half (I thought he should have had better positioning with his body to shield Haden), but he clearly should have had a pass that went through his hands in the 2nd half.

4) Boldin wanted pass interference on his 3rd quarter drop, but I think he should have completed the catch.

5) Flacco’s inner QB clock should have sensed the pressure, and allowed for him to get rid of the ball quicker.

6) Pollard either expected help, or just completely lost Hillis on the 52 yard 3rd Quarter reception. The only way Cleveland was going to get into the game at that point was with turnovers and big plays. You have to make that Cleveland offense go down the field.

7) Gorrer missed a pick 6, when he could not hold on to a sure-fire pick in the 4th.

8) Coverage was broken by the Ravens on Cleveland’s lone TD of the day.

The Ugly:

1) Cundiff has been very strong with his Kickoffs, and FG’s under 50 yards these past two years. Maybe the field impacted him today. Whatever the reason, his two misses allowed Cleveland to go to half-time, still in the game. He is just 26 of 34 for the year.

2) I expect we will hear from people all week who point to Joe’s numbers today as a problem. I think those people will be missing the point that it did not matter. The Ravens were going up a horrible rushing defense, and exploited the Browns over and over. We know that ultimately you want offensive balance, and that did not occur today. However, it was important to keep doing what is effective, until the other team shows they can stop it.

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

X