Ravens fall in Pittsburgh; The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Baltimore Ravens were not able to overcome 11 penalties, 4 sacks, 2 fumbles, and 1 interception in their 23-20 loss today to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

With the loss, the Ravens fall to 8-7 overall heading into next week at the Oakland Raiders, where Baltimore will still have an opportunity to head to the post-season. However, even if they were to make the playoffs, there is now a season worth of evidence indicating they would be likely to hurt themselves if they advanced.

Fool me once shame on you, fool me 7 times, shame on me.

The Good:

1) After the Flacco interception on the Ravens Opening Drive, the Steelers took over at the Baltimore 8 yard-line. The Raven defense stood-up, and limited Pittsburgh to a Field Goal.

2) Flacco immediately shook off that interception, and took the Ravens from their own 27, to the Pittsburgh 9, before the drive stalled and they settled for a FG. After the interception, it was good to see Flacco come right back and show he was not rattled.

3) 4 sacks today for the Ravens Defense, with Gregg, Ngata, and Barnes each making big-plays.

4) Parmele had 5 Kickoff Returns today, and averaged 29 yards. His last return in the 4th Quarter gave the Ravens a chance to tie the game.

5) Pittsburgh had not allowed a 100 yard rusher in 32 games. Rice did have 30 carries today, but his 141 yards were still good enough for a 4.7 yard per carry average.

6) Todd Heap caught 2 passes, and both were for Touchdowns. The 30 yard play was a glimpse back to Heap in his prime. After 4 TD’s combined during the past two years, he has 6 TD’s in 2009. After playing today, he has now played in the Ravens last 31 Regular Season games. When he plays next week, he will have played all 16 games in a season for the 6th time in 9 years.

7) Foxworth’s interception was a big play, that should have put a TD on the board.

8) Give the Ravens coaching-staff credit for the adjustments they made at half-time.

9) Chris Chester came into the game several times today in the Jumbo package, lining-up as a 2nd TE. He made a difference with his blocking, as did Marshall Yanda.

10) Landry made a nice play, knocking the ball out of the hands of Moore on a pass down the field.

The Bad:

1) Trailing 3-0, with the Ravens facing 3rd and 2 on the Steelers 9 yard-line, the Ravens called for a throw. Flacco threw incomplete, and the Ravens had to settle for a FG. Rice had just run off 7 yards on 2nd-down. Put the Jumbo package in, and give your running back a chance to make the play.

2) After the Ravens tied the game at 3, they allowed Pittsburgh to return the ball 49 yards on the ensuing kickoff. Pittsburgh took over on the Ravens side of the field, and only had to move 28 yards for another Reed FG.

3) When Mendenhall fumbled, Landry made a mistake trying to scoop the ball-up. The ball was already in Pittsburgh territory, the first thing required was to secure the turnover. He was bailed out by Ray Lewis coming in and smothering the ball.

4) Ray Rice has had a huge season, and had a good game today; but his fumble on 1st and 10 on the Steelers 30 yard-line, likely cost the Ravens points.

5) In the 3rd Quarter, the Ravens faced 3rd and 3 on the Steelers 17 yard-line, and again decided to pass the ball. Flacco was again incomplete, and Baltimore settled for a FG. That should have been 4 down territory, and you should have made Pittsburgh avoid you picking up 3 yards rushing on two attempts.

6) Flacco was sacked 4 times today, and Cousins and Oher had problems all day. There were times where Flacco did not have time to do anything, and there were times he was to indecisive with the ball. Obviously we will discuss the penalties more below, but the penalty Cousins picked up after the whistle was worthy of him being cut. It was a play out of frustration, that simply can not occur.

7) Foxworth had a solid-game, but it was poor attempt he made at tackling Holmes in the 4th quarter. The Steelers eventually kicked what would be the winning FG on that drive.

8) The last Baltimore possession will receive a lot of discussion. You started that drive in Pittsburgh territory, with 5:17 on the clock. You go into that drive knowing you need at-least a FG. You advance to the 35 yard-line, and face 3rd and 7. Kicking FG’s in that direction at Heinz Field is very difficult, everyone would acknowledge that. Still, the conditions were fair, and a 52 yard attempt is make-able. You could have choose to run the ball, and hoped to pick up a few yards to give Cundiff a better chance. Instead, you again decide to pass. So what you are saying there is that at that distance, at Heinz Field, in that situation you do not have confidence in Cundiff. Ok, fine. On 3rd and 7th, you have to know Pittsburgh is blitzing, right? If you are going to pass, you have to get the ball out of Flacco’s hand quickly. If you already have in the back of your head you will be going for it on 4th down, then you have to accomplish the minimum goal of not losing any yards, and hopefully shortening the distance. Instead, Flacco is sacked and loses 3 yards. So, now it is 4th and 10. Clearly you are not going to attempt the FG then, but you do have the option of punting. The Ravens go for it, do not pick it up, as Flacco is sacked again and fumbles. A very poor sequence of decisions from the Ravens coaching staff.

9) Roethlisberger did not throw for 500 yards this week, so the Ravens pass-defense deserves some credit. Especially when you remember that there is no Charles Woodson playing CB for Baltimore, and that Harbaugh had chained Ed Reed to the bench. Still, the pass interference by Carr early in the game, and Frank Walker’s penalty at the end of the game were hard to watch.

10) With the Ravens CB depth as thin as it is, please explain to me why Carr was allowed to return two punts today? If he gets hurt playing CB, that is one thing. If you lose Carr due to injury from playing Special Teams, that would be unacceptable.

11) Mason’s TD drop is clearly in the ‘bad’ category, but killing him for that would be wrong. He simply missed a physical play, it happens. He also caught 7 balls for 77 yards, and was back on the field for the Ravens, a series after being dragged off the field.

The Ugly:

1) 11 penalties, for 113 yards? Wow, just wow. The penalty on Foxworth’s interception, the penalty on McGahee’s run, the penalty from Cousins, the penalty from Walker.

I do not understand the Ravens fans that believe there is a league conspiracy against Baltimore. The Ravens are an undisciplined team, and the players and Coaching staff are accountable.

2) The Ravens are a talented team. They have played 15 games, and they have scored a total of 370 points, while allowing just 254 points.

They played the AFC East Champion, and lost by 6, dropping an opportunity to take the lead.
They played the AFC North Champion twice, losing by 3, and 10 points.
They played the NFC North Champion, and lost a game they could have won at the final-gun.
They played the undefeated AFC South Champion, and lost by 2.
They lost games to the Packers, and Steelers today that they could have won; but did not.

The Ravens beat the AFC West Champion on the road, and beat the defending Super Bowl Champs at-home in OT, while the Steelers were missing their starting QB, and All-Pro Safety.

So after 15 games, we can say that Baltimore has played a total of 9 close games. They showed an ability to play against anyone, but they are 2-7 in those 9 close games. You are what your record says you are, and the Ravens record says they are unlikely to make the plays necessary to win a close game against good competition.

Up-Next:

The Ravens will travel 3,000 miles west with an opportunity to finish the 2009 season with a winning record, and possibly make the playoffs.

Oakland, who lost today at Cleveland to fall to 5-10, is a team incapable of consistency, but has shown an ability to rise up one game at a time. The Raiders have beat Philly, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Denver; and would love nothing more than to knock Baltimore out of the playoffs.

The weather should be nice enough, and the Baltimore players will have enough pride to take out Oakland.

Bonus:

I need to hear more about why Ed Reed was not activated today. He told numerous outlets that he intended to play today, and it was reported this morning that he would be playing. Coach Harbaugh made the decision to keep him on the bench. Ed Reed at 75% still has to be accounted for, and would have changed the play-calling of the Steelers. If the HOF game-changing talent says he is ready to play, I think you use him.