Ravens beat Buffalo in OT; The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

After beating Buffalo 37-34 in Overtime at M&T Bank Stadium, the Baltimore Ravens will head to their bye with a 5-2 record.

There is plenty else to talk about, but that is the most-important take away from today. This is the National Football League, and a win is always something to be enjoyed. That is still true even when things do not go according to plan.

The Good:

1) The Ravens celebration of the 10th anniversary of their Super Bowl championship was first-class. The organization should be commended for this. Seeing the players return to Baltimore and allowing everyone (fans and plays alike) to reminisce to that season was fun. Seeing Ray run out of the tunnel meeting up with his former teammates, and hearing the ovation Brigance received at half-time were the highlights for me.

2) As we said above, a win is a win. There is plenty we will critique about today, but the Ravens ended today with the win. When they were down 24-10, they could have folded. When the Bills forced OT, the Ravens could have folded. Give credit to the Ravens for finding a way to win when they obviously did not play their best.

3) There were negative aspects of Flacco’s game we will discuss below, but overall it was another home-game with good results for the 3rd year QB. Anyone overly critical about Flacco today (after he passed for 250 yards, 3 TD’s, and zero picks) is missing all the positives that he brings to the table.

4) Ed Reed returned and provided 2 picks. The interceptions did not surprise me, but I was surprised by him being able to play as many snaps as he did.

5) One week after getting zero carries, McGahee had 11 carries for 64 yards (5.8 yards per carry) and a TD.

6) I did not expect Kruger to play this week, so I was pleased to see him on the field. The Ravens pass-rush was again not existent, but Kruger was helping some by the end of the game.

7) Josh Wilson fumbled a Kickoff Return, which lead to a Buffalo TD. Many players have the tendency to mentally shrink-away after something like that, but Wilson came back and recovered CJ Spiller’s kickoff fumble, and also made a couple of plays in pass-defense late in the game. This was a good example of staying focused after adversity.

8) Heap not only took the field this week, he made plays catching 2 TD’s.

9) I called out Kelly Gregg the other day stating he had yet to make a play this season. I thought Gregg was active today, and made several positive plays against the run.

10) The fumble that Ray Lewis forced was fairly remarkable. Bills fans are probably wondering where the whistle was, but give Lewis credit for making yet another play.

The Bad:

1) Ryan Fitzpatrick has been playing well since replacing Trent Edwards as the Buffalo starter. The Bills established their run offense early, and then opened-up the offense with numerous 4 and 5 WR sets. Fitzpatrick got rid of the ball quickly, and made plays. I have no problem with tipping the cap to him, and giving him some credit. While giving Fitzpatrick and the Bills credit, it was embarrassing that group of offensive players carved-up the Ravens for 506 yards.

1a) Buffalo dominated the time of possession 38:36 minutes to 25:30 minutes. The main reason for this is that the Bills were 11 for 17 on 3rd down. The Ravens are having trouble getting teams off of the field because they are not able to bring pressure.

1b) The Ravens held the Bills to 3.8 yards a carry, but Buffalo was successful enough running the ball that it helped open up their passing game.

2) One of the reasons the 2000 Defense was so exceptional was that they were a great fundamental tackling team. They did not miss tackles in the open-field. The Ravens of 2010 are better than most, but have to improve their tackling to become truly elite.

3) With the Ravens unable to get any pass-rush (against a pretty limited Buffalo offensive-line), Fitzpatrick was able to attack the Baltimore Secondary. Tomorrow Fabian Washington will be public enemy number 1 on the Baltimore sports talk air-waives. Some of that will be deserved, as Washington had a very rough day in coverage and was constantly beat by Lee Evans, and Steve Johnson. When people criticize Washington, I hope there is at-least some acknowledgment of how hard it is to be a DB when the opposing QB is allowed to step-up in the pocket repeatedly.

3a) Washington overall is a decent Corner, with good speed and solid cover skills. He does not help much against the run, and there will be some days like today when he can be exposed. There is no reason to get overly worked-up about him.

4) Like I said above, overall it was another good home game for Flacco. There were again instances of him missing (not even looking at) open receivers, and seemingly being uncomfortable at attacking the middle of the field. In the 2nd Quarter, Flacco was sacked on 3rd and 8 for a 18 yard-loss. Cundiff converted the FG, but Flacco not throwing the ball away could have cost the Ravens points.

5) If you look back in the archives, I was not overly enthusiastic when Houshmandzadeh was signed. Six games into his tenure as a Raven, I now feel compelled to argue on his behalf. It seemed like every-time he was on the field today, he was used as a decoy during a Ray Rice run. The man had 92 catches with the Bengals in 2008, and 79 with Seattle last year. He has 9 receptions in 7 games with Baltimore. The Ravens did not bring him to the organization to be a decoy, they need to figure out how to get him the ball during the bye.

6) Ray Rice has had one 100 yard rushing game this season, and is having similar issues as a receiver out of the backfield. Every-team that faces Baltimore commits to stopping him first. If teams are overly concerned with stopping Rice, it seems like it would open up other opportunities for the receivers.

7) With the Ravens up 10 points in the 4th Quarter, Baltimore obtained a Buffalo fumble and started their possession at the Bills 9 yard-line. The mishandle by Flacco and McGahee cost the Ravens points, and allowed the Bills to again gain some momentum.

The Ugly:

1) Earlier this week I wrote a blog asking why Ray Lewis was playing today. I stated that if Lewis (and other vets like Heap, Gregg, Mason, Birk) needed to be on the field today to beat Buffalo, than the Ravens were not a legit contender.

I am stubborn (and some might correctly say dumb) enough to believe I may have been partly correct. If those players were all needed to beat the Bills, you can rightfully question how much of a contender this Ravens team is.

I think overall though, the results today showed my premise was flawed. As much rest as possible for the veterans on this team is important. It is not as important as making sure you beat teams you are supposed to beat. Even bad NFL teams are still professionals. Today’s game (and the Cleveland at New Orleans game) were good reminders of ‘On Any Given Sunday.’

2) Giving up 10 point leads in the 4th Quarter on back to back weeks was hard to watch.

Up-Next:

The Ravens will be off next week, as their bye comes at a good time. There is enough talent on this Baltimore roster for the Ravens to achieve their ultimate goals. Right now though you have to say this is a very capable team, not exactly an elite team. How the Ravens use their bye to improve will be important.