After-Game Thoughts

[KillaBirdTJ]

[quote name='ravensorioleshoyas522155' timestamp='1313134094' post='747208']
Although I am always a very optimistic guy myself, I am getting really annoyed by people calling out others' fanhoods when they say one negative thing. And in this case the negative things said we're simply the truth.
[/quote]

[Gtown Purple]

What I liked.

1. Dennis Pitta- Probably the most notable performance in my mind. That first catch was sick and his continued presence stood out.

2. Flacco identifying the blitz and hitting Ray Rice for a 20 yard gain.

3. Run defense looked solid

4. LaQuan and Doss looked good at receiver. Doss made a nice tough catch over the middle and hung on after a tough hit.

5. Cundiff hitting from 53

6. Good QB pressure even with vanilla defense

7. Bernard pollard punishing people


What I didn't like

1. Offensive line not on the same page. Way to much pass pressure and some run plays over before they started.

2. Torrey did not do anything to stand out. He needs to understand that you work back to the QB when he is under pressure. He also needs to complete his routes. The INT Taylor threw over the middle could have been avoided had Smith not stopped.

3. Webb and Carr looked bad in coverage. How does Chad Hall get that wide open?

4. Jameel McClain needs to work on his pass coverage skills. He got beat for a 20 yard gain on the Eagles first play and on the TD Celek was his responsibility.

5.To many false start penalties

6. Poor tackling


The Funny-

1. Terrance Cody's nightgown....


General Thoughts-

1. Offensive line looks really weak right now. I'm expecting a much better performance next week after having another more practice time.

2. Not going to jump on the "Lets Bash Cam" bandwagon just yet. This is preseason and vanilla play calling is in order unless you want to give opposing teams our playbook.

3. Defensive front line is getting me excited with all the QB pressure.

4. The ILB spot next to Ray is up for grabs but nobody really impressed me with their play. McClain stood out as a poor performance.

5. I expected some sloppy play after having a week of practice. I expect to see better things next week against the Chiefs.

[KillaBirdTJ]

@ RAVENSORIOLSHOYAS; Well stated bro! Ya know some people need to just chill out... just because the disagree or dont like what they hear justifies questioning another fan! It takes courage to speak the truth, and i know the truth hurts people!

I want this team to act like theyre bilding to win now a ittle bit... finish ngatas deal and get samuals, evans, mckinney and a center in here, NO excuses this year!

ED and RAY lets go get this! The time is NOW!!!

[joemak]

Chris Carr gave me headaches everytime he was on the field. I dont want him anywhere but the locker room right now. Hes terrible. Bring Josh Wilson back or something. And the WRS looked decent. Tandon Doss did good, Torrey wasnt that impressive and Damien Barry made solid plays before he got hurt. On D all we need is better tackling and someone besides Chris Carr trying to play corner. Please. AJ Green would have a career day against chris carr playing like that

[izvoodoo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaWgjQWO1x4

At :57 Torrey beats nnamdi, so just give him some time.

[Ravens549]

[quote name='im always drunk' timestamp='1313117621' post='746734']


Reed wasn't giving it his all. (thank god)


[/quote]
How do you know this?
That play, or lack of by Reed, was embarrassing.

[3-4 Assault]

I liked Pollard's intensity.

[jimmypowder]

Chris Carr looked horrible . Cousins looked like he doesn't
Belong in the NFL .

We need a veteran wide receiver , qb and OT badly .

[1/28/01]

[quote name='RBates' timestamp='1313126764' post='747140']
This might come as a surprise, but the little things draw concern when you are taking over a team's defense. You can't get your players to tuck in their shirts. Its a part of being in uniform, but i don't expect everyone to understand that.
[/quote]
Bro, you are an absolute riot! Is this something that us "normal folk" wouldn't understand?

[Militant X 1]

i am rewatching the game now and will make my assessment of it later.

~Mili

[T-ray]

Wow, we couldn't get Cody's shirt tucked in.... whew, big popper, overshadows the mistackles and horrid coverage vastly. Don't know if we can ever recover from that one!

Sarcasm end.

Well, last night was a learning experience, not only for the players, but also us as fans. Here's the players who stood out to me the most:

Offense: Pitta, Williams, Parmele, Berry (we're loaded in the backfield haha, well at least RB)... I would even mention Kris Wilson's name as well, though he's likely to be cut at the end of Preseason

Defense: Kruger, Kindle, McPhee, Pollard, Williams, Nakamura, Jones

[T-ray]

[quote name='joemak' timestamp='1313146865' post='747310']
Chris Carr gave me headaches everytime he was on the field. I dont want him anywhere but the locker room right now. Hes terrible. Bring Josh Wilson back or something. And the WRS looked decent. Tandon Doss did good, Torrey wasnt that impressive and Damien Barry made solid plays before he got hurt. On D all we need is better tackling and someone besides Chris Carr trying to play corner. Please. AJ Green would have a career day against chris carr playing like that
[/quote]

Yeah, we definitely made the wrong choice of corner to stay for us. We should've kept Wilson and got rid of Carr. We then would've had a potential electrifying playmaker at corner, and a potential shutdown corner, starting for us.

[Suggs Package]

Some under the rader players I thought played well:

Ryan Mahaffey - Made Jalen Parmele look like Adrian Peterson

Brendon Ayanbadejo - Looked good in coverage and run support

Tandon Doss looked good receiving, but also got to the 25 on a kick-off return. That's nothing to scoff at when the ball is being kicked from the 35.

Haruki looked pretty solid in run support although Pollard got all of the highlights.

Another thing about the corners: watching from TV with the limited angles, its hard to come up with a general assessment. Corners get beat for a variety of reasons, varying from bad coverage, to miscommunication from the LBs and Safeties, and bad coverage scheme shell calls. I'm positive that Carr and Webb aren't as bad as they looked.

Like that play form Vick to Cooper, to me it looked like Carr was supposed to bump the receiver and stay in a flat zone and let Reed take the receiver. But he realized that there were no receivers in the vicinity and Vick started to eyeball Riley so he pursued although he's not the fastest corner. I'm positive in the regular season, Reed defenses that play or intercepts that ball 100% of the time but he didn't want to sacrifice his body in the pre-season.

[acranfor]

[quote name='izvoodoo' timestamp='1313147082' post='747312']
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaWgjQWO1x4

At :57 Torrey beats nnamdi, so just give him some time.
[/quote]


I noticed the same thing. People are complaining that Torrey did not do well...he was not targeted. But look at the above example. He easily blew by the best cover CB in the league!

They still have a month to practice together. I played a team sport at the D1 varsity level in college and then professionally in Europe and a month can do a lot. I remember how sloppy everyone was in our first few practices. It is funny to me how this happens every year and people start freaking out when its preseason...its preseason...short memory on this forum.

Dline looked great. Oline needs some work. Coverage was alright...imagine if we made tackles. Hard to judge run game and pass game with so many changes. The first preseason game I think we can even start to judge for real is maybe Washington.

[jus'_crAzy]

[quote name='joemak' timestamp='1313146865' post='747310']
Chris Carr gave me headaches everytime he was on the field. I dont want him anywhere but the locker room right now. Hes terrible. [size="5"][b]Bring Josh Wilson back or something.[/b][/size] And the WRS looked decent. Tandon Doss did good, Torrey wasnt that impressive and Damien Barry made solid plays before he got hurt. On D all we need is better tackling and someone besides Chris Carr trying to play corner. Please. AJ Green would have a career day against chris carr playing like that
[/quote]
Yes, because that's possible.

I gotta ask, did yall seriously think after just 2 weeks of training camp without OTAs or minicamps that we'd look radically different from last year? Still can't get off the field, still lookin below average on offense, [b]but we're working on it[/b].


Anyways, some points:

- I'm giddy about Cary Williams. Even though he was up against the 2nd and 3rd teamers, that was some solid tackling when there weren't any from the rest of our defense.

- That sick cut made by LaQuan after catching that quick pass. Made everyone go WOOOO!!! Starting to like him a lot.

- Damien Berry! The hands, man! Work on your hands!!! And I hope he's okay after taking that brutal hit. I wanna see some more from him.

- I wanna see Pollard with the ones this week against KC. Lets see if his production last night with the 2nd/3rd teamers translates to the starters.

- I thought the running game with Rice was okay. Sure liked it better than the pass game. Then again, we were up against something like $25mil/year in the Eagles starting corners.

- That hit on Flacco on his first pass took me back to the Jets game last year on MNF.

- Tyrod Taylor. Like.

- Jah with the ones, please.

- D-line (like Kruger and Mcphee) impressed. There's gonna be some awesome rotations this year.

- Loved Sergio's mindset. Couldn't get around some blocks, but kept going at it. Excellent motor. It's what we always need.

- Wanna see what Ray Rice is gonna do after Ray Lewis poured water on his head.

[1/28/01]

Well, Jamie Dukes is still a moron!!!

Just said "and that was Sugar Ray right there" when referencing the TD from Vick. Uh, no idiot! It was Jameel McClain!

[The Raven]

[quote name='1/28/01' timestamp='1313154099' post='747409']
Well, Jamie Dukes is still a moron!!!

Just said "and that was Sugar Ray right there" when referencing the TD from Vick. Uh, no idiot! It was Jameel McClain!
[/quote]

Oh good, I wasn't the only one that noticed that. I don't even care what he says anymore, he just provides some comic relief. He's a joke.

[dirtybird10]

[quote name='Mount-Cody' timestamp='1313117339' post='746700']
Well after the Ravens loss to the Eagles, what are you guys POSITIVE and NEGATIVE thoughts about what happened.

Positive
1: TE's did a really good job, I don't Think losing Heap was a big deal.
2: Solid group of running backs doing work is what I like to see
3: Paul Kurger and Arthur Jones were great, Kurger has showings of improvements.
4:Pass rush was superb.

NEGATIVE
1: Tackling was kinda off a lot of missed backfield tackles.
2: Blocking was very bad on the left side we need more O-Line dept.

OK what are your thoughts.
[/quote]

I would agree to all of that. Kindle, Kruger, and Jones looked very excellent, but come one man! finish your tackle! Way too many missed tackles for all the pressure we were getting on D. Cody did look much more fit IMO and had some good push. Very happy with the D line and OLB's except some major missed tackles.

Offensive line- aweful! I wished they would had drug Cousins off behind Heinz field two years ago and beaten him with a rubber hose. This game just re affirmed my belief that he is not even a bad backup, but aweful. Jah Reid, from what I saw, seemed to play pretty well. Let up a little pressure, but usually swallowed up his man at least long enough to get the ball out of the Qb's hands.

-Doss and Pitta looked awesome, but a key drop by Pitta was a downer.

- Running game was pretty good, Leach really laid the wood a few times, and Parmalee had some nice runs.

- Pollard!!! That guy looked really good. Hard hitter, and was better in coverage than I was expecting.

- As for the rest of our coverage, very shaky. Why on earth did it feel like everytime they went to the air, even with tons of pressure, they could find guys wide open. I'm talking about no Ravens within 5 yards of receivers. Total lapses in coverage at times. Cary Williams looked good, Smith looked good the one time I saw him, Car... aweful, Webb... pretty bad.

[1/28/01]

[quote name='dirtybird10' timestamp='1313154684' post='747416']
I would agree to all of that. Kindle, Kruger, and Jones looked very excellent, but come one man! finish your tackle! Way too many missed tackles for all the pressure we were getting on D. Cody did look much more fit IMO and had some good push. Very happy with the D line and OLB's except some major missed tackles.

Offensive line- aweful! I wished they would had drug Cousins off behind Heinz field two years ago and beaten him with a rubber hose. This game just re affirmed my belief that he is not even a bad backup, but aweful. Jah Reid, from what I saw, seemed to play pretty well. Let up a little pressure, but usually swallowed up his man at least long enough to get the ball out of the Qb's hands.

-Doss and Pitta looked awesome, but a key drop by Pitta was a downer.

- Running game was pretty good, Leach really laid the wood a few times, and Parmalee had some nice runs.

- Pollard!!! That guy looked really good. Hard hitter, and was better in coverage than I was expecting.

- As for the rest of our coverage, very shaky. Why on earth did it feel like everytime they went to the air, even with tons of pressure, they could find guys wide open. I'm talking about no Ravens within 5 yards of receivers. Total lapses in coverage at times. Cary Williams looked good, Smith looked good the one time I saw him, Car... aweful, Webb... pretty bad.
[/quote]
The only drop I saw by Pitta was the little swing pass that would have net zero yards. Was there another drop since you mentioned it was a "key" drop? I dont remember.

[stormie]

The game was exactly what I thought it would be. It's a scrimmage at best. I am looking forward to see what they improve on and adjust for next week.

Concerns, IMO:

The O line isn't solid enough, we need a Veteran WR (Boldin is good and the Rookies will be good) but it isn't enough in this league.

We need a back up Veteran QB. I like Taylor but he won't take us through any kind of successful season if he had to. He needs time to develop some.

I want to see Jimmy Smith and Ricky Williams on the field soon to see what they can do.

Was great to see Kindle out there, love Pollard's agressiveness and Pitta did a great job.

What the heck is with the returns? Seriously, just put it on the 20 yard line for each team and forget kicking. They shouldn't have changed it.

[itscbm5042]

Changes that MUST be made:


- Ozzie MUST sign or trade for a #2 WR - preferably Lee Evans or Johnny Knox (Smith needs too much work, Doss is a possession guy)
- We need to sign a minimum of 2 OL (1 tackle and 1 center/guard - see if McKinnie can pass a physical and bring Rabach back in)

Encouraging Signs:
- Kruger looked FAST, made open field adjustments, and got good penetration
- Jones was getting penetration every play, just needs to work on tackling
- Kindle flew to the ball and responded well to contact

Depth Chart Changes:
- Push Cousins as far back as he can and cut him as soon as quality depth is brought in
- Cary Williams is our 3rd best corner - Foxworth (ugh), Smith, Williams, Webb
- Pollard right now has the upper hand on the safety competition. He is big, fast, and loves to hit
- Ellerbe is a much better playmaker than McClain, Harbs needs to swallow his pride and let him out of the doghouse because he helps this team more than McClain
- Let Jones start with Ngata and Cody - see what he does with the first team

[callahan09]

Horrible offensive line play. The worst I've ever seen, truth be told. QBs getting no protection all night long, and an unbelievable amount of penalties. They need to tighten up their play and now.

The receivers weren't impressive... Doss was OK. Everybody else was worthless. Dennis Pitta impressed me most of the time, but that dropped pass was frustrating to see. The running game was awful.

The defense was getting great pressure on some snaps, which was good to see, but the secondary wasn't doing a good job and all positions were failing miserably at tackling. I couldn't even keep count of how many missed tackles I saw, it was incredible.

So, my biggest thoughts are:

1) O-line can't block
2) Defenders can't tackle
3) Receivers can't get open.

Let's hope this stuff gets resolved, or we're in big trouble.
I'm actually shocked we kept them to only one TD all night.

[dirtybird10]

[quote name='1/28/01' timestamp='1313154865' post='747418']
The only drop I saw by Pitta was the little swing pass that would have net zero yards. Was there another drop since you mentioned it was a "key" drop? I dont remember.
[/quote]

I might be thinking about something else now that you mention it. Because the only one I can seem to remember was that swing pass and if I remember Pitta had to leave his feet for, which yes you are right, would have netted next to nothing.

[Runnin Raven]

I think everybody has pretty well summed up a lot of the issues. I'll just comment on a couple things:

T. Smith:
- first NFL start, he's matched up with Asoughma (sp?)
- should have been hit for a TD by Taylor

Pass rush:
- looks MUCH improved, good penetration
- need to learn to not overpursue (run themselves out of the play). Benji KILLS us when we do that. Collapse the pocket inward so QB can't move around/step up. Easier said than done, I realize.

Kindle:
- somebody said it earlier but damn he is just huge. Didn't quite realize that. He was definitely NOT fearful or hesitant.

Cousins:
*slaps forehead*
- his ceiling has been reached and its just not very high. I do not see him getting better, just like J. Harper (regrettably)

Pollard:
- should have been a Raven a long time ago

[dirtybird10]

[quote name='acranfor' timestamp='1313152681' post='747377']
I noticed the same thing. People are complaining that Torrey did not do well...he was not targeted. But look at the above example. He easily blew by the best cover CB in the league!

They still have a month to practice together. I played a team sport at the D1 varsity level in college and then professionally in Europe and a month can do a lot. I remember how sloppy everyone was in our first few practices. It is funny to me how this happens every year and people start freaking out when its preseason...its preseason...short memory on this forum.

Dline looked great. Oline needs some work. Coverage was alright...imagine if we made tackles. Hard to judge run game and pass game with so many changes. The first preseason game I think we can even start to judge for real is maybe Washington.
[/quote]

Yea Torrey seemed to get open a few times, one time he was targeted would have been a very nice sideline completion but was over thrown by taylor.

[SecretAgentMan]

Cut Cousins, hope Casey Rabach can pass his physical, move Yanda back to tackle and put Rabach at guard. or sign Nick Kuczar.

[dirtybird10]

Did Chykie Brown play last night? I never did notice him on the field. How about our other centers Bartholomew and Barnes? I never noticed if they played either I guess since the O line was so ugly I just blocked it out of my memory.

[GrimCoconut]

I don't know about anyone else but I am really happy with what little I saw from Joe Flacco.

[PuRock]

[quote name='GrimCoconut' timestamp='1313157947' post='747522']
I don't know about anyone else but I am really happy with what little I saw from Joe Flacco.
[/quote]

He looked ready and poised. What I didn't like to see was all the time he spent getting hit.

[SecretAgentMan]

Look, move Reid to first team, he will do better than Cousins. Than try signing Nick Kuczar, relible right tackle, who is coming off an injury. He will come cheap.