They Said, We Say: Ravens Talk December 15th

Yesterday, the Baltimore Ravens improved to 9-5 with a 20-12 victory over Jacksonville. Around the web we go to review the win, and to preview the remaining two weeks of the season.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

The links:

CSN Baltimore: Ravens Secondary suffers more injuries vs. Jacksonville

They Said: Rashaan Melvin – An undrafted rookie in 2013, Melvin saw his first NFL action Sunday after Jackson was injured. Melvin responded with five tackles and nearly made an interception. Melvin played with swagger, even raising his hands to the crowd on several occasions. “There’s nothing like the first real game,” Melvin said. “There’s nothing like Baltimore Ravens’ fans. I just want to give them excitement. I feed off the energy.”

We Say: The news on Terrence Brooks (torn PCL, possibly torn MCL) was disappointing. I had hoped that he was going to see some additional time to end the year. Fingers crossed about Asa Jackson, but that also did not look good. At-least there were some positives shown from Melvin (Russell Street Report’s Ken McKusick reviewed Melvin’s performance further here.). Antoine Cason was inactive yesterday. Not totally surprising there. Signed last Tuesday, he was dealing with new terminology, and schemes. The Ravens will need him to be ready this coming Sunday though.

Baltimore Ravens.com: Eisenberg’s 5 Thoughts vs. Jaguars

They Said: The Ravens are now 2-0 without Haloti Ngata, the centerpiece of their defensive interior, who is serving a four-game suspension for using a performance-enhancing drug. I thought they would have more trouble replacing their Pro Bowl tackle, but rookie Timmy Jernigan is filling in impressively. On Sunday, he was stout against the run and consistently brought pressure up the middle on passing plays. His stat line said it all – four combined tackles, two sacks, and five quarterback hits, the latter a team high on a day when everyone unloaded on Jacksonville’s Blake Bortles.

We Say: BSL Ravens Analyst Mark Bullock has looked prophetic in his recent proclamation that Jernigan was ready for an increased role. Ravens fans have to be excited about what Jernigan has shown, and the prospects of teaming him long-term with Brandon Williams in the interior. Having Jerngian being able to collapse the pocket from the interior, has only made the pass rush more ferocious.

Baltimore Sun: Ravens running back Justin Forsett encounters tough sledding against Jaguars

They Said: Ravens running back Justin Forsett encountered tough sledding against his former team.

We Say: With Forsett recently battling knee and ankle injuries, it was somewhat surprising to see Forsett active against Jacksonville. I’m sure the Ravens would have preferred to have rested Forsett against the Jaguars, but Taliaferro’s own ankle and knee injuries caused him to be the one made inactive yesterday. Baltimore has relied on Forsett’s breakout season for most of the year. During that emergence, the hope has been that Forsett could stay fresh the rest of the way; in-part due to the minimal amount carries he has had the past 3 years. The flip side of that is while he has not absorbed the typical cumulative punishment of a 29 year-old RB – he has now carried the ball 192 times this year vs. 115 carries over the past 3 seasons. It’s a tough position for the Ravens. A playoff position is still being sought, so he has to be used. If you get to the playoffs though, you want him to still have something left to give. It will be interesting to see if Fitzgerald Toussaint (recently promoted to the active roster) gets some carries these next two weeks.

Drew’s Morning Dish: Empty seats, empty offense in Baltimore

They Said: Over the years, there have been many of those “don’t ask questions, just take the win” games, but perhaps none of those outcomes were as fortunate as the one the Ravens scraped together yesterday in Baltimore.

We Say: Agreed with Drew Forrester here, it would have been a pretty horrific loss. You give some credit to Jacksonville which Drew did, acknowledge your own mistakes, and move on. Ultimately just the latest reminder of this being a week-to-week league. Who matches up with who? Who is available to play? How motivated / focused are the players? What caught my eye from this piece was the headline alluding to all of the empty purple seats yesterday. I’m someone who prefers to watch games at home. Yesterday’s crowd made me wonder if I’m no longer in the minority? My sense though is that it was more of an aberration. The fan-base apathetic about showing up against a poor and nondescript Jaguars team. That said, while yesterday was the extreme, some empty seats have been noticeable all year. The Ravens have been aware about the need to improve the stadium experience; one wonders if further investment is necessary?

ESPN: Breaking down Ravens’ season-ending scenarios

They Said: No. 3 or No. 4 seed and a home game in wild-card round: The Ravens have to win the AFC North to play host to a first-round playoff game. For that to happen, the Ravens need the Bengals or Steelers to lose this week. If they both win, the Ravens would be eliminated from the AFC North race, because the Bengals and the Steelers play in the regular-season finale. If the Bengals and Ravens win out, the Bengals would finish a half game ahead of the Ravens. If the Steelers and Ravens win out, the Steelers capture the AFC North based on a better division record. The Bengals play host to the Broncos (11-3) on “Monday Night Football” on Dec. 22, and the Steelers are home against Kansas City (8-6). In other words, the Ravens have to finish with a better record than the Bengals and Steelers to win the division. They don’t hold any tiebreaker advantage over either team.

We Say: Clearly all of Baltimore will be Broncos, and Chiefs fans this coming week. While winning the North remains a plausible dream, the focus remains on the Ravens controlling what they can control. Win these last two games @Houston, and vs. the Browns; and Baltimore will be back in the Playoffs for the 6th time in 7 years. As it is, I’d be pretty optimistic with the Ravens heading back to Indianapolis to face the Colts as the 6th seed in the AFC.  I certainly respect Luck (and Wayne, Hilton, Nicks, and Fleener), and I know the Colts are 2nd overall in Total Offense; but that is a very winnable game for the Ravens.

Football Outsiders: Audibles at the Line: Week 15

They Said: Ravens secondary is underwhelming, but I’m still surprised at how easily the Jaguars are moving the ball. At the half, the Jaguars have looked a lot better than the Ravens. The Ravens are lucky to still be within one score. 

We Say: Overall, you have to be pleased of where the Ravens are as a team. Despite the proliferation of passing offenses in the league – and the injuries and under-performance Baltimore has had in their Secondary; the Ravens are again in position to get back to the Playoffs. In the current NFL, it seems every team has some issue. The Ravens have a QB that typically makes good decisions, and an arm that always gives them a chance. A strong defensive Front 7. Plus Special Teams (aside from yesterday for those not named Darian Stewart and Kamar Aiken). An offensive line playing well to their scheme. A running game, and a number of offensive weapons capable of making plays (even if the offense lacks elite play-makers). It would be a shame if he Secondary eventually does in the Ravens, but what can you do? Hill has been playing well at Safety. Webb seems to be getting back into form here in the later stages of the season. We talked about Melvin above. We will see what Cason brings. We will hope for the best with Jackson. Levine has been useful. Would be nice if a light-bulb went off for Elam. Been a tough year for him, but you would like to see Elam show why he was a 1st round selection as he gets more time at his natural position.

Nationally, I don’t think the Secondary issues are recognized. Part of that is a lack of recognition about Smith’s abilities. We are starting to see Mocks for the 2015 Draft. It’s TBD of where the Ravens select, but have to think the Ravens will take a hard look at CB’s.

Bleacher Report: Mike Tanier’s Monday Morning Hangover

They Said: The Ravens’ offensive highlights were Torrey Smith drawing his 11th defensive pass interference penalty of the year (our calendar cover will be Smith clapping, with a bouncing football on his left, a yellow flag at his right and a complaining defender in the background) and a designed Joe Flacco sweep on 3rd-and-5 late in the fourth quarter to burn the clock.

We Say: Ha!

They Said: From the same Mike Tanier article.. Salvador Dali Melting Clock Trophy (Awarded for the strangest clock management of the week.) Instead of focusing on strange end-of-half or end-of-game decisions, let’s marvel at the Ravens, who managed to turn a 49-yard Justin Tucker field-goal attempt into a 54-yarder by committing a delay-of-game penalty on 4th-and-1 in the fourth quarter. Tucker’s slightly longer attempt bounced off the left upright. The Ravens cannot afford to get sloppy on long field-goal attempts, which historically make up much of their offense. They can remain as sloppy as they want in all other aspects of football.

We Say: That was brutal. I don’t watch enough other teams to know, but from watching the Ravens and their opponents – it typically feels like Baltimore’s clock management is an issue. Is this the bias of increased scrutiny, or a realistic observation?

Sports Illustrated / MMQB: NFL Week 15 Winners & Losers

They Said: For the Baltimore Ravens to be 9-5 this morning, and for the franchise to be in position to win its third AFC North title in four years, is a pretty amazing thing, considering 17 of the 22 starters from the team that won the Super Bowl 22 months ago are new. Usually when a winning team has turnover like that, the bottom has fallen out, or injuries have ripped the roster apart. Well, the Ravens are in the thick of the playoff race with this kind of turnover..

We Say: Turnover in the NFL is nothing new, but this is a testament to the leadership in the Ravens Front-Office, the Coaching staff; and the stability that comes with having a Franchise QB.