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

Mercifully, the Ravens NFL Exhibition season ended with a 21-7 victory in Atlanta. The most significant story of the game, was the early injury to QB Tyrod Taylor.

The Good:

1) Completely agree with Coach Harbaugh’s decision to hold back nearly every starter from playing. There was nothing to be gained by putting those veterans on that hard turf field.

2) Paul Kruger had an early sack (and later additional pressure) on Redman.

3) On Kruger’s sack, Pollard recovered Redman’s fumble.

4) McPhee again showed an ability to bring pressure.

5) LaQuan Williams had a 33 yard Punt Return, and made a strong Special Teams tackle.

6) Just one grab for Doss, but his plus hands and route running are apparent.

7) On the Julio Jones end around, Ellerbe had a big hit.

8) Allen showed burst and 2nd effort on his one carry for 11 yards. Also had two catches for 10 yards, one of them would have been far longer had his the RG got out on the screen.

8a) Parmele averaged just 2.1 yards on his 10 carries, but I thought he ran hard. He also had a 25 yard reception. Should be remembered how poor the blocking was in front of him.

9) Jimmy Smith was making his presence felt tonight. He had a couple of Special Teams tackles, broke up a couple of passes. The interception for Phillips was tipped by Smith. On 3rd and 4 with just under 6 minutes left in the 1st half, Smith came on the ball and prevented Weems from picking up the 1st down.

10) I liked seeing Cory Redding provide some ‘coaching’ to David Reed as the 2nd year WR came off the field.

11) We mentioned above that Smith tipped ball that Phillips picked off, but give credit to the LB for completing the play. Phillips also picked up a fumble on McAdoo’s sack.

12) With 3 minutes left in the 1st half, Cantwell hit Torrey Smith for a 9 yard gain to move the chains.

13) While he would be called for Offensive Pass Interference, I thought Reed did a good job to try and make a play on his ‘would be’ Touchdown reception.

14) I’ve had Wilson making the team as the 3rd TE for sometime, and almost entirely due to his blocking. His 18 yard grab tonight could only have helped his chances.

15) In my projected 53 man roster, I’ve also been including Chykie Brown as the 6th CB. His interception and return for TD should secure a roster spot for him. His tackle on the Atlanta RB in pass coverage was also impressive.

16) The Ravens have been excited about LB Josh Bynes this entire Pre-Season. His two second half sacks gives him a chance to make the roster over Gooden as the last LB.

17) McAdoo had a sack, and showed why he some buzz about him at UNC, and what the Ravens see in him potential wise. I don’t see how he makes the team though.

18) The Ravens got 8 carries for Berry, and also gave him two receptions. Berry had 31 yards rushing with a TD, and 18 yards receiving. It was classy of the Ravens to give the RB a chance to put some plays on film, and the RB showed some of his ability. It would surprise me if the Ravens kept him over Parmele, but it would not shock me either.

The Bad:

1) I agreed with not playing the starters, but if anybody was going to play tonight – you would have liked to have seen the O-line starters get some additional reps.

2) Harewood had a lot of trouble blocking Biermann. The Sun’s Jamison Hensley noticed Harewood’s limp and suggested that IR might be in his future.

3) Kruger is looking much better as a pass-rusher, but the way he was juked in open-space reminds he still has room to go whenever used as an OLB.

4) D. Reed had a couple of drops, and that push off in the end zone. For a guy that went into tonight as the projected 3rd WR, you would have liked to have seen a bit more.

5) Parmele missed a block, blowing his assignment.

6) Phillips had the interception, but twice was out of position in run defense. The 46 yard Antone Smith TD run was helped by Phillips not being in position to make the play.

The Ugly:

1) A contusion was pretty much the best possible scenario for the injury to Tyrod Taylor. Still, it was significant enough to end Taylor’s night after 3 pass attempts, which included an interception. Tonight was a missed opportunity for Taylor and the Ravens, as both the QB and the Team were robbed of the chance to see the Rookie get extended snaps.