Ravens lose in OT to New England; The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Ahead 20-10 in the 4th Quarter, the Baltimore Ravens coughed-up their lead and lost in overtime to the New England Patriots.

Visiting Foxboro for the third time in a calendar year, the Ravens held the ball for 40 of the game’s 73 total minutes and manged to lose. Instead of moving to 5-1, and grabbing the head-to-head win against the Pats; the Ravens fall to 4-2 and will potentially have to come back to New England a fourth time in a year plus this January.

As I write this Damon Yaffe of 105.7 FM is screaming in the background of the Ravens offense being a Ferrari, with a driver (Cam Cameron) who is not comfortable behind the wheel. There is plenty to critique about the offense down the stretch and in OT, but for me that discussion only occurs after discussing the non-existent pass rush. The Ravens had 3 sacks today, but far too often Brady was allowed to step-up in the pocket with nobody in his face.

The Good:

1) Flacco threw for 285 yards, 2 TD’s, zero picks, and found 7 different receivers. The post-game shows are receiving calls and emails from people that want to see more emotion from Flacco. The comments are just a result of the game ending as a loss. There was no difference between the Flacco we saw today, and the Flacco that led the Ravens to the winning drive at Pittsburgh. The result was different, so the perception also changes for many.

2) Another favorite whipping boy locally has been Todd Heap. Even though he has played in every game of 6 of his 9 previous seasons (including every game of the past two years), Heap is often referred to as Mr. Glass. Not only did Heap have a tough TD grab today, he came back into the game after receiving a crushing personal-foul. Dickson and Pitta were lucky to have joined the Ravens, and have Heap as a mentor.

3) Cundiff had good kickoffs again today, and eliminated Tate as a return weapon for New England.

4) Mason had a good day with 8 grabs, for 100 yards.

5) Ngata had two sacks, Carr had an INT, Landry had good-pressure on a blitz, and Ellerbe showed some athleticism.

The Bad:

1) Rice had 28 carries for just 88 yards. I like that the Ravens committed to running the ball. I do not know why McGahee received zero attemps, after averaging 12 carries the previous two weeks.

2) Danny Woodhead is generously listed as 5’9, 200 lbs. He showed good quicks, and elusiveness, and I am sure he is difficult to locate due to his height. There is no way the Ravens should have allowed Woodhead to run for 63 yards (11 carries), and get another 52 yards as a receiver.

3) Zbikowski and Parmele are not turning the ball over as return men, but neither one is giving the Ravens additional yards and positive field-position. Josh Wilson was unable to play today with his hamstring. After the bye I expect he is going to be given the opportunity to help in the return game.

4) Lamar Divens and Arthur Jones were inactive today. Kruger was obviously inactive and physically unable to play. Terrence Cody either did not touch the field, or made zero-impact today. Did Brandon McKinney play today? (EDIT, I see McKinney actually got the start – my error) Cory Redding is 31 next month. Kelly Gregg is 35 next month. That seems like incentive to me to want to rotate bodies in on the line, and limit some of their snaps. While Ngata had another strong-game, he came into the game having been limited all week. You would think based on that, the Ravens would have wanted some additional depth ready to play this week.

5) Flacco had a 3rd down and 6 yards to go in OT, and forced a pass to Heap against double-coverage. The pass went incomplete, and replays showed he had other options. If you run plays with Boldin, Housmandzadeh, Mason, and Heap on the field together; you should never be in a position to have to throw against double-coverage, as there should always be a receiving option working against a single defender.

6) You come out on the first-drive, and hit back-to-back passes to Housmandzadeh. The second reception came with 12:52 left on the clock in the 1st Quarter. That was Housmandzadeh’s last reception of the day. How does that happen?

7) After the Patriots scored a touchdown in the 4th Quarter to close the gap to 20-17, the Ravens took over on offense. 18 yard pass completion to Boldin. 7 yard run for Rice. McClain for 2 yards, setting-up 3rd and 1 on the Ravens 47. Baltimore needed to convert that 1st down. Flacco was stopped on a QB sneak, and Baltimore punted. I think that one of the RB’s needed to run that ball, with McClain as my choice.

8) Baltimore takes over with 1:51 left on the clock in the 4th Quarter, and eventually has to punt on 4th down with 45 seconds left. Welker is allowed to return the ball 22 yards, allowing the Patriots to start their drive on their 47 yard line. New England did not score there, but the Special Teams miscue was inexcusable.

9) Michael Oher continues to have difficulties with penalties on the road.

10) I personally like Suggs, and find myself defending him a lot. Today, I found his sack-dance annoying. Perhaps that annoyance was after seeing him blown-up several times at the line, and also out of position when New England ran a reverse.

The Ugly:

1) McClain’s penalty can not happen in a battle of field position.

2) Between 1:51 left in the 4th Quarter, and OT; the Ravens had four different offensive possessions. They managed two first-downs.

Up-Next:

Buffalo, already 0-5 and on a bye this week, will be the sacrificial victim next Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens will be motivated to get the taste of this game out of their mouths, and enter the bye with a win. It is hard to imagine any scenario where the Bills (currently minus 74 in point differential) will actually be able to challenge Baltimore.