Preseason 1: Ravens crush Tampa Bay; The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

They will be referred to as the defending Super Bowl Champions all year, but tonight’s Pre-season opener vs. Tampa Bay was a reminder that this is a new season for the Baltimore Ravens. Each season develops their own identity, and in tonight’s 44-16 win over the Buccaneers; we saw many of the new faces and names the Ravens will be relying on here in 2013.

(You can discuss this game on the BSL Board here.)

The Good:

1) Tucker started the game right, sending the kick-off out of the end-zone. With 1:49 left in the 4th Quarter, Tucker hit from 57 yards out, making it a 44-16 game.

2) Gang tackling from the Ravens on the Bucs first series. With Daryl Smith getting credit for the initial tackle. On 2nd and 11 they got Freeman moving with backside pressure. Chykie Brown almost had an interception. On 3rd and 11 the pocket collapsed for Freeman, and Chris Canty got the sack.
2a) D. Smith moved around well on his time on the field. He certainly looked like he would help this year.

3) The Ravens moved the chains twice on their first series, with Flacco finding Leach on a naked bootleg for 14 yards. On 3rd and 6, Flacco found Rice over the middle for another 1st down. Rice made a one hand grab, gaining 11 yards on the play.

4) On the Bucs 2nd series, Arthur Jones had a good play on Tampa Bay’s 1st down from the Baltimore 18. On 3rd and 9, the Ravens had good coverage and tackling from Corey Graham; as Baltimore would force a Tampa Bay FG attempt.

5) Baltimore picked up 3rd and 7 on their 2nd series, with Torrey Smith getting an 11 yard again across the middle. That was followed by pass out to Shiancoe for 8 yards.

6) Koch had a good first punt, with Juszczyk making the tackle.

7) Upshaw had a nice play to start the 2nd Quarter. Rookie Brandon Williams followed with one of his own. D.Smith got pressure and forced and an incomplete pass from Glennon. On 3rd and 6 from the Baltimore 17, the Ravens were able to bring pressure and force another incomplete. For a second time, Baltimore would force a FG attempt.

8) D.Thompson showed some of his speed and elusiveness on his Kick Return to begin the 3rd Ravens series. Tyrod Taylor came in, and immediately ran for 7 yards, and found Shiancoe for a 5 yard gain and a Ravens 1st down.

9) After the Ravens punted for a 2nd time, LaQuan Williams recovered the Tampa Bay fumble, getting the Ravens possession at the Bucs 20 yard line. Pierce immediately took the ball to the house for the TD, exploding on the 20 yard run. Nice block from Harewood. With the extra-point, the Ravens took the 7-6 lead.

10) Josh Bynes made a tackle for loss on TB’s first full offensive series of the 2nd Quarter, forcing a punt.

11) Juszczyk had a 4 yard reception on the Ravens 3rd series of the 2nd Quarter. In the middle of the 3rd Quarter, he had a 2nd grab.

12) With the Ravens trailing 13-7, Bobby Rainey made a play with a big KR – taking the ball 58 yards. Helped by a 15 yard TB penalty, the Ravens started their drive at the TB 26. Berry had a 10 yard reception on 3rd and 19, putting the Ravens back into FG position. Tucker would end that series, drilling a 43 yard kick on the wet field, making it 13-10 Bucs.
12a) Rainey ran for some tough yards in the 4th.

13) Following-up on his strong KR, Rainey had a nice PR on his next opportunity. Absorbing contact, and moving forward.

14) Running the 2 minute offense as the 1st half was ending, Taylor found D. Thompson on 3rd and 2 for a 1st down. On that same series, Berry ran up the middle for 14 yards. Taylor found time with his legs, finding Shiancoe for 13 yards. Shiancoe made a nice catch on the play, taking the ball to the 2 yard line. Anthony Allen would find the end zone with 34 seconds left in the half. The extra point made it 17-13. The Ravens went 58 yards over 8 plays for the score.

15) On TB’s second to last series of the 1st half, Asa Jackson had good coverage down the sideline, and Adrian Hamilton had a sack for an 11 yard loss. L.Williams recovered his 2nd ball of the game, scoring a TD on Brandon Trawick’s blocked punt. This put the Ravens up 24-13.

16) Furstenburg had a 24 yard catch early in the 2nd half. Later in that first series of the 2nd half, L.Williams gained a 1st down on 3rd and 7 with his 11 yard gain. On 2nd and 9, Taylor and Williams connected once more for a 21 yard TD over the middle. Williams leaping over his defender in the end zone. With the extra-point, Baltimore took the commanding 31-13 lead.

17) Late in the 1st half / early in the 2nd half; Cody and Williams were getting time together on the D-line. The Ravens announcers were talking about Cody’s improved play in camp.

18) Nice hit from Jackson on Hills in the middle of the 3rd. On the next play, he came up with a pick.

19) After his earlier sack, Hamilton added another positive play in the 3rd Quarter.

20) Matt Elam added a nice form tackle late in the 3rd.

21) Brandon Copeland was able to hold on, and make the interception early in the 4th. He returned the ball to the TB 10 yard line. Wide open, with the pass to him; the interception should have been made – but still gets credit for holding on. A FG from Tucker made it 34-16.

22) Moe Lee also had a 4th Quarter pick.

23) After dropping a pass earlier, Marlon Brown had a couple of catches in the middle of the 4th. The University of Georgia Rookie is a big target at 6’5, 205 lbs.

24) 7th round pick Aaron Mellette showed some hands on his TD, running the fade route for the 21 yard score. Baltimore’s lead moved to 41-16 with 8:02 left in the 4th.

25) Nigel Carr showed some physicality late in the 4th.

26) Taylor was able to get some extended time, and produce. He finished the game 13 of 23, for 153 yards, and 2 TD’s. He also ran for 27 yards.

The Bad:

1) The Ravens were backed up on their first series, when there was holding on the punt return.

2) On Baltimore’s first offensive series, Flacco was sacked for an 11 yard loss when McKinnie missed his assignment. On 3rd and 15, Flacco was picked off on the sidelines by former Raven Danny Gorrer.

3) Following the Gorrer interception, the Bucs took over from their 33. The Ravens forced TB into a 3rd and 7 which was converted when Freeman found Ogletree for 22 yards. From the Baltimore 42, Leonard gashed the Ravens up the middle for 13 yards. Dumervil picked up a neutral zone infraction, making it 3rd and 1 from the Baltimore 21. The Ravens had Leonard stopped, but Leonard moved the chains with his 2nd effort. The Bucs would end their drive with a FG, taking the 3-0 lead.

4) At 3-0 TB, D.Thompson took the kickoff 9 yards deep in the end zone, bringing it out to just the 14. Quite possible that he was instructed to just bring the ball out during the exhibition, but it had the Ravens backed up a bit to begin their 2nd offensive possession.

5) On the Ravens 2nd offensive possession, Osemele was called for clipping, negating a nice run from Pierce.  Baltimore faced 3rd and 2 from their 36 on that 2nd series. The drive would end, when Flacco’s attempted pass to Jones was a bit high.

6) D. Thompson dropped a ball on 2nd and 8 on the Ravens 3rd series. That was followed by a drop from Shiancoe. Rain had started on that series, but it appeared that both catches should have been made. Baltimore was forced to punt for a 2nd time.

7) Baltimore’s 3rd series of the 2nd Quarter was moved back on a holding penalty from Christian Thompson. Baltimore would go 3 and out.

8) With 5:15 left in the 1st half, Baltimore started a drive from the TB 26. They lost 10 yards when Joe Unga was called for a penalty, and would be forced to settle for a FG attempt (converted by Tucker). Berry was unable to come up with a pass on 2nd and 19.

9) Catching a 1st down late in the 1st half, D. Thompson left the field with an apparent ankle injury. On that same series, Taylor missed Shiancoe.

10) Jackson was back trying to avoid anything but a TD, but gave up a 41 reception to Owusu as the 1st half ended.

11) M. Brown dropped a catch over the middle, early in the 2nd half.

12) Marc Anthony was being picked on a bit by the Bucs.

13) Following the Copeland interception, Davis Mims was called for holding.

14) The odds were already against Streeter making the roster, and tonight did not help him at all.

The Ugly:

1) The Buccaneers third drive began at their 6 yard line. Graham went for the first movement from Glennon, and Glennon was able to find Tom Crabtree down the sideline for a huge 61 yard gain to end the 1st Quarter. The Bucs drive would ultimately stall, but Tampa Bay would kick their second FG for a 6-0 lead early in the 2nd Quarter.

2) Was hard to celebrate Pierce’s TD run, when he was immediately showed to be in pain.

3) Didn’t get anything out of Jones as a receiver, only increasing the feeling that the Ravens may need to make an external addition for a WR.
3a) Also a quiet night for Doss, who by many reports has been running behind D.Thompson on the WR depth chart.

4) Tampa Bay’s 2nd full series of the 2nd Quarter began from their 42. C.Brown was beat down the side, and committed a penalty. Brown would be beat for a 2nd time, again not looking back for the ball. This gave the Bucs 1st and Goal from the 5. Leonard would lean forward for a 3 yard TD run. On first glance, it looked like Williams was pushed back. With the extra point, Tampa Bay took the 13-7 lead with 5:25 left in the 1st half.

Notes:

1) Lardarius Webb, David Reed, Ed Dickson, Omar Brown, Chris Johnson, Ryan Jenson, Jameel McClain, and Marshall Yanda were each scratched from action tonight.

2) Shiancoe and Furstenburg combined for 4 catches for 51 yards.

3) Berry and Allen combined for 17 carries for 58 yards, and 1 TD.