It has been discussed numerous times, that for the Baltimore Ravens to get where they want go; that hosting home playoff games needs to occur. The 26-13 loss to the Tennessee Titans today is the type of game that could force the Ravens to be on the road in January.
The Good:
1) After 3 sacks last week, Suggs added an interception today.
2) Helped by a penalty, the Ravens were able to hold the Titans out of the end zone (and off the scoreboard all together when Bironas missed a FG attempt), after Tennessee had reached the Baltimore 14 yard line towards the end of the 1st Quarter.
3) Following the Williams fumble, the Ravens defense was able to limit the Titans to 3.
4) Superior effort from Rice on his 2nd Quarter TD. He was waiting for blockers, and was able to fight through traffic, and contact before finding the end zone.
5) The 77 yard Kickoff Return from David Reed was huge, helping allow the Ravens to enter half-time tied.
6) Webb made a strong play, defending a pass on 3rd and 4 in the 3rd Quarter. He also had another good 3rd down play, coming up with a crucial tackle in the 4th.
7) I always respect players that attempt to play through injuries, but I spent a lot of the the game wondering if Lee Evans could have used a week of rest today. In the 4th Quarter, Evans answered my thoughts with an important 32 yard reception.
The Bad:
1) The Ravens went two and out on their first two offensive series, and Flacco was picked off on the third. On the fourth series, Baltimore had 5 plays for 29 yards before having to punt.
1a) Answering the Titans TD to start the 2nd half, Baltimore again went 3 and out, which included another Ravens penalty.
2) The Titans started their 4th offensive series on their 19 yard line, but quickly advanced down the field on a 37 yard pass to Britt. Britt got behind Williams, who appeared to be looking for Safety help. On the next play, Britt had another 16 yard game, with Lewis being asked to defend the WR.
3) Ricky Williams had the ball stripped, fumbling the ball early in the 2nd Quarter, allowing the Titans to take over at the Baltimore 34.
4) On the heels of the Rice 2nd Quarter TD, Tennessee marched right back down the field, going 75 yards for a score of their own to take the 10-7 lead.
4a) Starting the 2nd half, Tennessee again goes 75 yards for a TD, and the lead.
4b) After the FG to close the game to 23-13 with just under 7 minutes remaining, the Baltimore defense was not able to get the Titans off the field.
5) Kruger and Webb missed an open-field tackle on Britt, when both over pursued the WR.
5a) Starting a drive with 8:54 left in the 3rd, Hasselbeck completed a pass to Ringer for 18 yards, where nearly 1/2 the Ravens whiffed on possible tackles.
6) There was zero pass rush from the Ravens today. The Titans have good Tackles, but it was disturbing that Hasselbeck was able to regularly throw from a clean pocket.
6a) Pagano needed to make adjustments during the game to bring additional pressure.
7) Suggs did a great job dropping back into coverage, but he needed to make his 2nd interception of the day.
8) With under 2 minutes left in the 3rd, Baltimore faced 3rd and 2 on their 48 yard line. Just an abysmal play call on the incomplete pass.
8a) Which was followed up by a punt of less than 30 yards from Koch.
9) The Offensive Line had plenty of trouble opening wholes, which can partly be attributed to Grubbs being out. I would have liked to have seen additional usage of Jumbo packages, with extra blockers brought in.
10) Baltimore was 3 of 10 on 3rd down offensively. On defense, the Ravens allowed the Titans to gain an average of 6.2 yards per offensive play, and over 400+ yards of total offense.
The Ugly:
1) I disagreed with the inactive list for the Ravens today. I think Kindle, and Doss are guys that Baltimore needs on 3rd down on both sides of the ball. Doss was a spectacular Special Teams player at Indiana, and should be used in the KR team with the Ravens. I would have liked to have seen Chykie Brown over Danny Gorrer, and with LeVoir starting at LG (with Gurode on the bench), I would have kept McKinney active on the D-line, as opposed to activating Mattison on the O-line.
2) With Carr, and Jimmy Smith inactive today with their injuries, I think using Webb in the return game was an unnecessary risk.
2a) Without Smith, none of the Ravens CB’s could physically match-up with Britt.
3) McCourty’s 4th Quarter pick of Flacco was the result of a poor decision from the Baltimore QB. His receiver (Dickson) was blanketed with the Titans CB in-front of him. The throw was not a play where you are giving your receiver a chance to make a play, but an example where nothing good can happen from the attempt.
4) Down 23-10, the Ravens faced 3rd and Goal with just over 7 minutes remaining. A delay of game penalty in that situation can not occur. Baltimore also needed to be running their offense with a greater sense of urgency during that entire possession.
Up-Next:
The Ravens will be on the road again next week, facing the Rams in St. Louis.
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.