The Good, Bad, & Ugly of Ravens Week 1

The Baltimore Ravens moved to 1-0 today, with their 38-24 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

As I said before the game, it ultimately would not matter if you were unexpectedly tested, as long as you came away with the win.

Looking at the action, there was plenty of Good, some Bad, and even Ugly results to talk about.

The Good:

1) Flacco went over 300 yards passing for the first time as a professional. It is important for the Ravens to put this on game-film, and make the opposition at-least respect the passing game. The last touchdown to Clayton was on a full-out blitz, and Flacco showed again he relishes the opportunity to make plays down the field, when that pressure comes. I was happy to see Flacco show a willingness to attack the middle of the field.

2) The Ravens established some weapons in the passing game today outside of Mason. In total, 7 Ravens had receptions, most notably Heap who had 5 catches, for 74 yards and a TD, and Clayton who had 5 catches for 77 yards, and a TD. Washington who had 20 catches combined the past 3 years, had 3 big grabs of his own.

3) Rice went over 100 yards rushing, and McGahee and McClain added 3 touchdowns. McGahee looked better today, than he did at any point last year.

4) KC finished with 24 points, but the Ravens defense held KC to 174 total yards. Larry Johnson was held to 20 yards on 11 carries.

5) Fabian Washington made a nice tackle on Johnson in run-support. I have wondered what Washington, and Foxworth will be able to do to help the run defense, so I enjoyed seeing him make that play.

6) The Raven offensive-line was strong in pass-protection today, and opened up running lanes late as they wore down the Chief defensive-line.

7) The Ravens made the necessary plays at the end of the game to avoid an upset and gain the win. A mentally weak team may have lost today when the pressure started to build, the Ravens made plays.

The Bad:

1) If you want to establish a passing-attack, you have to deal with the consequences. When Flacco throws the ball 43 times, that is going to increase your chances of turnovers, and possibly limit the time of possession. Flacco only had 1 pick, but he easily could have been picked several-times as he forced the action over the middle.

As I said above, I thought the Ravens offensive-line wore down the Chiefs d-line today, but I wonder if that will always be the case. Meaning if you were to have a number of 3 and outs with the passing attack early in games, will the opposition be fresher later in games than they would be if you remained committed to pounding the ball from the beginning?

2) As expected, the Chiefs responded to their limitations on their offensive-line, by lining-up 4 and 5 wide-receivers. Why were the Ravens not able to get to Croyle more often? Johnson and Pryce combined for 3 sacks, but 2 of them were coverage sacks on the last Chief possession.

3) Overall, the Raven Secondary played well (especially when factoring in the lack of pass-rush), but Bowe and Bradley were able to make some plays in the 2nd-half, using their height against the Ravens smaller CB’s. If Cassell had been behind Center, I get the feeling this could have been a different game.

4) Before getting hurt, Gooden was a non-factor. Gooden talks a lot. I would like to see him stay on the field and consistently make some plays before he talks again.

5) The blocked punt that led to the first KC Touchdown was obviously poor. This was a gift 7 points, that could have come-back to hurt you.

6) Carr averaged 21.7 yards per Kick Return, but for a guy billed as a weapon, I thought he looked less than confident catching the ball.

7) The Defense had a good day overall, but if you want to be considered elite, you can not let Brodie Croyle march down the field, and tie the game at 24, when you had taken the lead.

The Ugly:

1) Hauschka missed his 2nd FG attempt (41 yards), which of course cost the Ravens 3 points. Worse than the missed-kick, was the feeling of apprehension I had in the Ravens potentially needing Hauschka to kick a Game-winner, before Clayton’s catch.

2) Flacco is throwing the ball all over the field, and Demetrius Williams does not end up with 1 catch? Did I miss Williams being deactivated for the game? It is imperative to establish Williams.