Ravens lose in Philly; The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Baltimore Ravens dropped a physical game in Philadelphia, losing to the Eagles 24-23. Over the course of a 16 game regular season, there are going to be games where you do not play particularly well, with today being one such example. I’m pleased that the Ravens were positioned to win, without playing their best – especially on the road against a talented team – but disappointed in the overall performance.

The Ravens, now 1-1, will go home to prepare for the New England Patriots next Sunday night.

The Good:

1) On the Eagles 1st series, McClellan made a nice play in space. Upshaw, starting in place of the injured Kruger, made a good play as well. Of course the biggest play, was Pollard’s interception in the end zone.

2) After Flacco’s 1st Quarter fumble, the Eagles were able to take over from the Ravens 15 yard line. While the Ravens would ultimately allow the Eagles initial TD here, Jones did a good job against the run, and the Baltimore defensive line overall was getting push. Vick was getting rid of the ball, but he was getting hit. Ngata noticeably delivered a smack.

3) Baltimore’s 2nd offensive series started with a perfect pass from Flacco to Dickson in tight coverage for 23 yards. That was followed by back-to-back quick carries from Rice, an 8 yard pass to Pitta, and another Rice run. Just like that, the Ravens were at the Philadelphia 12 yard line, with the Eagles struggling to substitute against the no-huddle. A 7 yard pass to Boldin brought the Ravens to the 5 yard line, and Leach put the the Ravens on the board with a game tying TD run. Just a great series of plays, and the ideal answer to Philadelphia’s initial score. Leach walked into the end zone with outstanding blocking in-front of him. Yanda just blew-up Jenkins.

3a) That drive was set-up by a 49 yard Kick Return from Deonte Thompson, which put the Ravens in strong field position.

4) Give credit to Celek for holding on to his 21 yard catch to start Philadelphia’s 3rd drive, because Pollard delivered a huge hit.  That series, and the 1st Quarter, ended with Pollard getting a sack on 3rd and 7. Ellerbe and Upshaw were also all over Vick.

5) In the 2nd Quarter, Philadelphia had a 3rd and 1 from the Ravens 20. McClellan came up with the Philadelphia fumble, giving possession back back to the Ravens.

6) After McClellan’s recovered fumble, Rice raced to the Eagles 27 yard line with a 43 yard gain. On that drive we got a Tandon Doss sighting, as made his first career catch. The 6 yard grab over the middle, also included some 2nd effort to keep his legs moving after the catch. From the Philly 21 yard line, the Ravens converted 3rd and 4 with Flacco finding Jacoby Jones for a beautiful TD pass. Great route from Jones as well, who used a double move on Asomugha. Jones’ first Ravens TD, put Baltimore up 14-7 and culminated the Ravens 4 play, 70 yard drive.

7) Good kickoff coverage from the Ravens after their 2nd score.

8) Trailing the Ravens by 7, the Eagles had reached the Baltimore 9 yard line, when Webb caused a McCoy fumble late in the 2nd Quarter.

9) A good punt, and special teams coverage from Ayanbadejo had the Eagles starting their last drive of the 1st half from their own 6 yard line. When the Ravens defense forced a 3 and out, Baltimore got an additional chance at points. A 10 yard PR from Jones had the Ravens taking over from the Philadelphia 38, and Tucker ending the half by nailing a long 56 yard attempt, putting Baltimore up 17-7.

10) The Ravens would give a TD on the following play, but on 2nd and 1 from the Ravens 21 yard line; Ihedigbo made a good tackle for loss.

11) Ngata and Kemoeatu combined for a good play in the 3rd Quarter. Ngata brought pressure, and Kemoeatu got his hands up to knock away a Vick pass attempt. That series ended with Lewis and Ellerbe doing just enough to prevent Vick from rushing for a 1st down, and forcing a FG attempt.

12) Ellerbe came up with a 7 yard sack, as Philadelphia began their 3rd series of the 3rd Quarter. On the following play, there was good pursuit from several players including Lewis.

13) Reed picked of a deflection from Celek, getting the ball back for the Ravens in the last minute of the 3rd Quarter.

14) Flacco ended a brutal 3rd Quarter on a positive note, connecting with Smith for a 40 yard gain down the sideline. As the 4th Quarter began, the Ravens brought in McKinnie to run their Jumbo package. Great to see the Ravens bring that back, they had so much success with Willie Anderson in that formation in 2008, but have not run it much in the time sense. Tucker would end that drive hitting from 51 yards out, giving the Ravens something positive from a drive that could have brought more. The FG gave Baltimore a 20-17 lead with 11:28 left in the game.

15) On the subsequent Eagles series, McPhee just missed a sack, but delivered a hard hit on 2nd and 17. Smith had good coverage on the sideline on 3rd down, and Philadelphia was forced to punt.

16) Leading 20-17, the Ravens took over from their 22 yard line with 9:26 left in the game. Baltimore would move the chains several times, including a 37 yard pass and run from Flacco to Rice.  After the Jones penalty wiped out the apparent TD, Baltimore was able to add additional points on Tucker’s 3rd FG of the game.

17) The Ravens were carved up in the air, but did a good job of limiting McCoy on the ground.

18) Rice had 99 yards on 16 carries, and 53 yards on 6 receptions. Pitta had 8 catches for 65 yards.

The Bad:

1) The Eagles 1st series started with Vick connecting with Celek for 23 yards, followed by 17 more to Jackson. On 3rd and 10, Vick delivered a bullet, with Avant making a great catch for 16 yards, and another Eagles 1st down. Philadelphia’s opening drive went 9 plays, and covered 68 yards over nearly 5 minutes. Prior to the interception, Vick had completed his first 5 attempts.

2) With Philadelphia starting their 2nd series at the Ravens 15 yard line, the Baltimore defense was put in a poor position. Despite that, the defense had the opportunity to make a play on 4th and 1 from the Ravens 6th, and allowed a 1st down. Several plays later, Ed Reed was charged with a late hit. That was followed up with a McCoy TD run, giving Philadelphia the 7-0 lead.

3) Leading 14-7, the Ravens took over the ball from their 43 yard line with 7:03 left in the 2nd Quarter. However, the Ravens went 3 and out, giving the Eagles the ball back as the 1st half ticked down. Taking over from their 9 yard line with 2:34 left in the 1st half, Flacco and the Ravens were again forced to punt.

4) Jimmy Smith whiffed on a tackle attempt of McCoy, helping spring McCoy to a 20 yard gain late in the 2nd Quarter. Vick would follow with a 18 yard connection to Jackson, and another big gainer (28 yards) to Celek. While the Ravens would be bailed out by yet another Eagles turnover (the McCoy fumble), the Eagles were moving the ball effectively.

5) Baltimore began the 2nd half with possession, but on 3rd and 2 from the Ravens 47, Flacco was picked off.

6) Philadelphia capitalized on the Flacco interception, with Maclin making his first catch of the day – a 23 yard grab all alone in the end zone. The Eagles TD made it a 17-14 game. Maclin could not have been more open, illustrating that there was a breakdown in the Ravens coverage. Replays showed Williams left Maclin believing he had Safety help from Reed.

7) After the Eagles had closed within 3, the Ravens went 3 and out on the following series. Though it should be noted there was a fairly obvious defensive holding penalty not called on a pass attempt down the sideline to Smith.

8) Celek had 5 catches for 96 yards in the 1st half. He got going in the 2nd half with a 24 yard gain, which saw him hurdling over Reed. I’m sure the injury to Pollard did not help in defending him, but was surprised by how many big plays he was making. He finished with 8 catches for 157 yards.

9) On 2nd and 7 from the Ravens 11 yard line, McClellan did a good job of defending Celek off the line. However, you would have liked to see him complete the play and come up with interception. During this drive, the Eagles started at their own 35 yard line, and moved 60 yards over 11 plays, and nearly 5 minutes. This set up a Henery FG, tying the game at 17.

10) In the last minute of the 3rd Quarter, the Eagles flipped the field position on the Ravens. Their drive had started on their own 9 yard line. Vick found Jackson for 49 yards, as Jackson beat J. Smith in man-coverage, and survived a big hit from Reed.

11) A bad holding penalty on Birk, on the Ravens first series in the 4th Quarter, forced the Ravens into a 3rd and 18 situation. The Ravens were able to get past the holding penalty on Birk, due to the multiple infractions on the Eagles during the following play. The Ravens were able to get past the holding penalty on Birk, due to the multiple infractions on the Eagles during the 3rd and 18 play. Taking one of the fouls, the Ravens gained a 1st down on Philadelphia 16 yard line. However, Flacco and the offense would be called for a delay of game on 3rd and 9 play. Moved back to 3rd and 14, Flacco was then sacked, leaving Tucker with a long FG attempt.

12) The Ravens challenge of Vick being down in the 4th should not have occurred.

13) On 3rd and 12 from the Eagles 25 yard line, Flacco dealt with a lot of pressure but was still able to connect with Jones for what appeared to be a TD. However, the play was wiped out, when Jones was called for a push off. Besides not getting the TD, the penalty backed the Ravens up, and made for a longer FG attempt.

14) The Ravens took over on their 20 yard line, down 1, with 1:55 left in the game. On 3rd and 10, Flacco found Pitta for a 1st. Illegal contact from the Eagles gave Baltimore another 1st. Another Pitta grab, set up 3rd and 2. 3rd and 4th down passes to Pitta and Rice went incomplete.

The Ugly:

1) The Ravens first offensive series ended with Trent Cole beating Oher on the edge. This caused Flacco to be stripped, and gave the Eagles the ball back at the Ravens 15 yard line when Cullen Jenkins recovered the fumble.

2) Ending the Ravens first drive of the 2nd Quarter, Baltimore was facing 4th and 4 from their own 43 yard line. The Ravens elected to go for it on a fake punt. Considine tripped, and the Ravens turned the ball over, giving the Eagles great field position. I did not like the decision there. If Baltimore was going to go for it, I would have rather avoided trickery, and provided Flacco and the offense another opportunity. I think a punt was the right call.

3) Tempers flared in the 1st half between the teams, but there were matching penalties. As the 2nd half began Rice compounded Flacco’s interception with a penalty. The penalty had the Eagles beginning their first series of the 2nd half at the Ravens 42.

4) The Ravens entered the 2nd half with a 10 point lead. With 5 and 1/2 minutes left in the 3rd Quarter, Baltimore’s lead had been erased, and the Ravens had held the ball for under 2 minutes. Getting the ball back for their 3rd series of the Quarter, the Ravens faced 3rd and 2 from their own 28. Baltimore could not move the chains, and again had to punt. After their defense forced a quick 3 and out, the Ravens began their 4th series of the Quarter from their own 41. Rice set up 3rd and short, rushing between the tackles for 8 yards on 2nd down. Again, the Ravens failed to convert 3rd and 2, with Flacco again missing his passing attempt. Overall, in the first four 3rd Quarter series, the Ravens held the ball for just over 4 minutes with a total of 14 offensive plays, gaining just 41 yards.

5) The Eagles began their last series with 4:43 remaining, and trailing by 6. Starting on their 20 yard line, they went on 10 play 80 yard drive for the score. They were helped out, when Jones was called for roughing the passer, moving Philadelphia to the 3 yard line. Vick’s QB draw, put the Eagles up 24-23 with 1:55 left.

5a) Philadelphia had nearly 500 yards of offense, with Vick passing for nearly 400. Jackson, and Celek both had over 100 yards receiving. The Eagles were 7 of 15 on 3rd down.