MERGED: Loss To The Titans - General Observations

[--RaVeNs 4EvER--]

This wasn't the real ravens offense. Then, against the Steelers wasn't our offense either. I'm thinking somewhere in between. Another concern, we blitzed on several occasions and still Hasselbeck could have eaten a picnic. Its no wonder he shredded us. Its not the end of the world though. I'm hoping there will be improvement next week. If not, then I might worry.

[ratedr]

[quote name='wizard1' timestamp='1316382364' post='796913']
Then why is it we have these same discussions every year regarding Flacco. I'm sorry his good days DO NOT over-shadow his bad days. I was embarrassed of my team and Flacco today. I can understand having an off day every once in a while, but Brady,Rivers,Manning et.al have bad days EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE. I'm tired of hearing the excuses for Flacco-I can't even remember the last 300 yard game he had. He Has happy feet, he holds the ball to long, he can't elude pass rushers and will throw interceptions under pressure. He has an annoying tendency to throw 3 yard passes when we need 5 yards and when he said "I'm pretty damn good" I still haven't figured out exactly what he was referring to?
[/quote]
The problem is that you're comparing Flacco to Brady, Manning, Rivers, etc. Flacco is NOT them, and frankly, in year 4, it's ridiculous to expect him to be.

Flacco doesn't need consistent 300 yard games. We have a run-first offense. He is not Rivers, who is basically that entire offense. A game like he had last week would've been fine.

QBs throw INTs under pressure, NEWSFLASH. Ben did it last week, Brady did it vs. the Jets, Brees did it vs. the Packers. That's why it's called a pass rush. Not many QBs look fantastic under pressure.

I don't need to make excuses for Flacco. He played a terrible game. But to blame the entire loss on him tells me that you probably didn't watch the game and only checked the box scores.

[Npane171]

[quote name='scrock' timestamp='1316379918' post='796765']

yes it was...not a good day, u know they are a proud bunch and will be out for blood next week...Suggs will get some sacks next week, their OL isnt that good....and their top WR got injured..Stephen Jackson is banged up...Bradford hurt his hand last week but should be good to go

the Ravens will bounce back, dont hang onto the loss for long...the team will look at what happened and make corrections, the team didnt play well and the coaches didnt do a good enough job of making adjustments
[/quote]


Easy now...just last week we were all talking about the "identity crisis" the Titans were having, their loss to the Jags, and a lucky catch by Britt making that game look closer than it was...then BAM...Ravens get shot down out of the sky.

I say lets not look at their flaws and count on them but look at their strengths and attack them there.

[K-Dog]

no one was getting open. Rice was not getting ample holes.

Titans D had our number. Simple reality.

[Npane171]

[quote name='Militant X 1' timestamp='1316382464' post='796918']

we own it bruh! no need to try to avoid it! we (Ravens fans) were out rejoicing over our blasting the steelers last week and now, we got to take out lumps! it goes with the territory in football. but, now, our focus must be getting a win over the Rams next week!

~Mili
[/quote]


True, true.

[theFRANCHISE]

[quote name='wizard1' timestamp='1316382364' post='796913']
Then why is it we have these same discussions every year regarding Flacco. I'm sorry his good days DO NOT over-shadow his bad days. I was embarrassed of my team and Flacco today. I can understand having an off day every once in a while, but Brady,Rivers,Manning et.al have bad days EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE. I'm tired of hearing the excuses for Flacco-I can't even remember the last 300 yard game he had. He Has happy feet, he holds the ball to long, he can't elude pass rushers and will throw interceptions under pressure. He has an annoying tendency to throw 3 yard passes when we need 5 yards and when he said "I'm pretty damn good" I still haven't figured out exactly what he was referring to?
[/quote]
These conversations about Flacco are had because Ravens fans have never known what it's like to properly develop a QB. This isn't a situation like Green Bay where the fans have had the luxury of three Super Bowl-winning franchise QBs in the team's history.

The reality is, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady didn't happen overnight. Drew Brees faced criticism during his entire run in San Diego, even when he started to play well. Joe Flacco will take time. Flacco doesn't have to be the next Manning. He just has to be good enough, and frankly, when you look at most other QBs around the league, Flacco is more than good enough.

[armchairlineman]

Sorry been lurking for a while, but finally had to join to comment on this game. The one thing I haven't seen brought up yet, but that bothered me the most, is that last week we ran all over the Steelers by running Rice behind Leach on Mckinneys side so he had plenty of blocking. All I saw today was us trying to run Ray by himself out of the ace formation right into the line. It looked like our running game from last year. Why when we had so much production out of the Power I did we decide we didn't need a full back today?

[kiwi_raven]

i dont understand how our receivers were never open, flacco had a ton of time in the pocket,
the O line played well, yes there were some sacks, but each play we were buying 3 to 5 seconds for joe to throw, the receivers just werent open.

defense in general played flat, way to many 3 man rushes and really vanilla blitzes, hardly any disguised moves just bull rushing.

[wizard1]

Well I'm sorry I just don't agree. Flaccos hot and cold play makes me think he might be bi-polar. Whatever the issues may be when you talk about the NFLs elite quarterbacks you never seriously hear Flaccos name mentioned and in order for us to ever be serious SB considerations we have to have a consistently good quarterback. and don't throw Trent Dilfers name out there he had that amazing defense that won 6 games for him by themselves.. Now look at Stafford, Bradford and Cam Newton even they are playing consistently better than Flacco. We are going into St. Louis next week and I'm pretty sure Bradford will outplay Flacco. How long do we keep trying to make excuses for Flacco? Is there a time limit or is going to play out like Boller where one day he is just gone?

[ratedr]

[quote name='wizard1' timestamp='1316384307' post='796996']
Well I'm sorry I just don't agree. Flaccos hot and cold play makes me think he might be bi-polar. Whatever the issues may be when you talk about the NFLs elite quarterbacks you never seriously hear Flaccos name mentioned and in order for us to ever be serious SB considerations we have to have a consistently good quarterback. and don't throw Trent Dilfers name out there he had that amazing defense that won 6 games for him by themselves.. Now look at Stafford, Bradford and Cam Newton even they are playing consistently better than Flacco. We are going into St. Louis next week and I'm pretty sure Bradford will outplay Flacco. How long do we keep trying to make excuses for Flacco? Is there a time limit or is going to play out like Boller where one day he is just gone?
[/quote]
Neither Cam nor Stafford has played a full season and they're already consistently better? And Bradford hasn't been great thus far this year.

Rivers has 2 INTs today against a less than stellar Pats D. I guess he's terrible. [img]http://content.boards.baltimoreravens.com//public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif[/img]

I'm all for constructive criticism of Flacco, believe me, but I'm not here for lies.

[BohBalmerOsbohs]

somthing is pretty wrong with lee evans

[ratedr]

[quote name='codizzle' timestamp='1316382089' post='796901']
lol i can tell but a lot of times u jump the gun a little early.. not hating just stating an opinion
[/quote]
True, but I'm right more often than not.

[K-Dog]

[quote name='wizard1' timestamp='1316384307' post='796996']
Well I'm sorry I just don't agree. Flaccos hot and cold play makes me think he might be bi-polar.
[/quote]
I know this is beside the point but bi-polar disorder would have nothing to do with inconsistant play.

[heapitup247]

[quote name='wizard1' timestamp='1316384307' post='796996']
Well I'm sorry I just don't agree. Flaccos hot and cold play makes me think he might be bi-polar. Whatever the issues may be when you talk about the NFLs elite quarterbacks you never seriously hear Flaccos name mentioned and in order for us to ever be serious SB considerations we have to have a consistently good quarterback. and don't throw Trent Dilfers name out there he had that amazing defense that won 6 games for him by themselves.. Now look at Stafford, Bradford and Cam Newton even they are playing consistently better than Flacco. We are going into St. Louis next week and I'm pretty sure Bradford will outplay Flacco. How long do we keep trying to make excuses for Flacco? Is there a time limit or is going to play out like Boller where one day he is just gone?
[/quote]

We don't need an elite one to win a superbowl (see 2000). The steelers win with ben, who played terribly last week. He has alot of new people on offense (Boldin and Rizzle being the only two returners hes throwing to), give him time. I thought last week was more of a fluke, and I was surprised they did so well. I figured they'd grow throughout the season. Sure, we're alot faster, but the chemistry just might not be there yet. Don't jump the gun on one bad performance by a very young offense without arguably its best lineman (Grubbs is elite).

On a side note, i find it real hard to believe kindle can't help us with the pass rush. I know i'm not at practice, but it seems like all throughout preseason and now we havn't even let him rush the passer. Now, with kickoff coverage lessened in significance, i feel like i'd love to just give him a shot and see how it turns out. Maybe the injury has affected his ability to play.

[Blex64]

[quote name='BohBalmerOsbohs' timestamp='1316384824' post='797018']
somthing is pretty wrong with lee evans
[/quote]

I don't follow this. His foot was still in a boot this week, he obviously wasn't fully healed. I expect him to be fine next week.

[izvoodoo]

[quote name='Blex64' timestamp='1316386750' post='797059']
I don't follow this. His foot was still in a boot this week, he obviously wasn't fully healed. I expect him to be fine next week.
[/quote]

He came up gimpy on his one route.

The one thing that really stood out to me was finnigan.

He lined up across from Torrey Smith 2, and just abandoned him and played safety. once forcing the pick and once stopping a touchdown.

[gametyme]

A few of my humble observations are Lee Evans appears to be limping even when he walks. The team had no heart and intensity today, which is disturbing. Ray Rice is our best offensive player, no question.

[Blex64]

[quote name='izvoodoo' timestamp='1316387029' post='797066']

He came up gimpy on his one route.

The one thing that really stood out to me was finnigan.

He lined up across from Torrey Smith 2, and just abandoned him and played safety. once forcing the pick and once stopping a touchdown.
[/quote]

I'm assuming he handed Torrey off to a LB or something, but I didn't personally notice this. Otherwise coulda just played dink and dunk.

[ravensdfan]

[quote name='SteelerEmpire' timestamp='1316376038' post='796184']
Don't feel bad at all Ravens. The better team lost today. Steelers are notorious for showing up for one game and then not the next. The Ravens will be back... it's all about being patient.
[/quote]

Thanks for the support. I'm hoping the Rams will be our Seattle lol They can play tough though. Good win today.

[ravensdfan]

[quote name='wizard1' timestamp='1316384307' post='796996']
Well I'm sorry I just don't agree. Flaccos hot and cold play makes me think he might be bi-polar. Whatever the issues may be when you talk about the NFLs elite quarterbacks you never seriously hear Flaccos name mentioned and in order for us to ever be serious SB considerations we have to have a consistently good quarterback. and don't throw Trent Dilfers name out there he had that amazing defense that won 6 games for him by themselves.. Now look at Stafford, Bradford and Cam Newton even they are playing consistently better than Flacco. We are going into St. Louis next week and I'm pretty sure Bradford will outplay Flacco. How long do we keep trying to make excuses for Flacco? Is there a time limit or is going to play out like Boller where one day he is just gone?
[/quote]

Rivers threw 2 INTs and lost a fumble today. He's awful. After all, the Patriots are not known for their D. They let Henne throw for 400 yds on them (or close to it). Yep, no way Rivers can be considered an elite QB. Cam Newton. He's played 2 games man. How can you consider that consistent yet? Stafford? The man is injured more games than he's started. Hardly consistent. Bradford? Not yet. Which one of them has led their team to the playoffs the last 3 yrs? Which one of them is tied for the most # of playoff wins on the road? (and was the first to hit the mark). No QB is perfect. Brady has played very badly when it mattered the last 2 seasons, in the playoffs. Guess he isn't elite either.

[GrimCoconut]

I've done a lot of thinking about why we lost this week, when last week we dominated. Nothing has really changed, except one thing: we cut All-Pro linebacker Jason Phillips. Easily the biggest mistake we made. We need to call him back quick.

Outside of that, not sure what happened today. Very disappointed, but still love my Ravens.

[Kwothdaraven]

Last year the laid a dud in week 2 against a team with 2 good corners. They did the same this week. Hopefully,like last year, they can play great football for the rest of the season.

[Militant X 1]

ok, sure, the Ravens made bad plays and not enough plays to win the game and got the loss. BUT...to keep it real....after rewatching the game (yep..i recorded it...lol) i know exactly why the Ravens loss to the Titans today. nope, it's not Cam's, Joe's or the WR's and even the D's fault. it had something to do with the Titans as well. what was it?

bottomline....they showed [b]NO FEAR [/b]of the Ravens!! like us with the steelers last week...they wanted to beat us badly because of 2008. they had been holding that in for a few years now and here is how it manifested today:

1. on one particular deep ball that Hasselbeck threw in the 3rd qrtr to Washington the play was designed to bring Ed Reed up closer to pick up the WR running the crossing route while the actual target ran deep up field in the zone that was vacated by Ed. awesome play design!

2. Hasselbeck threw a TD to Britt who was one on one with Foxworth. what is so special about that? Britt was the target and no one else. Hasselbeck eyed Britt the entire time. wow!

3. they ran the ball regularly on our defense. and even though we focused heavily on not allowing CJ to beat us, we forgot about Ringer who ran for a TD off of a pitch untouched.....on a 4th &1

4. their CBs were hitting and talking smack the entire game! i love that!

5. their pass rush was relentless

6. they attacked the Ravens offensively....especially with their passing attack. pass after pass after pass!

just my take!

~Mili

[Mount-Cody]

You know what, they shut down Suggs (our best pass rusher), which means without him our pass rush is just nothing, on top of that Foxworth did horrible in coverage, I mean, I know they moved Kenny Britt around all game, but at least, give him a little contact at the line, he backed too far (hope Jimmy will get well so we can pair him up with Cary), and Matt Hasselbeck just threw it up there even while Foxy was in coverage. Another thing, if I don't see Kindle in the next game I'm going to be mad, they said there was no spot for him......well It would be a good idea to let JJ and Kindle swap out every few snaps.

[Raving_Heathen]

[quote name='scrock' timestamp='1316377834' post='796493']

yeah u have to hold the ball longer when your WRs arent getting open...funny how that works, the offense and defense didnt look good, and because of that Joe doesnt look good

this is a TEAM Game

its amazing how some ppl just single guys out, Ed Reed got beat by a TE on a big pass play, Ray Lewis had 1 tackle after halftime..the DL got zero pressure for most of the game

flip that and the Titans did everything that the Ravens did not
[/quote]

And sometimes it IS the QBs fault. I'm a Flacco apologist, but some people go too far in protecting him by always shifting the blame to the OC, OL, or receivers. It's funny how no matter who's lined up wide for this team the last 4 seasons, the Ravens have never seemingly had a single receiver who can "get open" or "get separation". Yet the Steelers don't have that problem. The Pats certainly don't. Neither do the Packers nor the Saints nor the Colts (with Manning) nor the Chargers. I don't know what some people's definition of an open receiver is, but it's not 5-10 yards of separation. And there's no receiver in the league who's just going to blow by their man on a 9 route any time they feel like it. A step or two is as open as most guys are going to get, and I think Flacco needs to be more [b][u]consistent[/u][/b] in these situations. Hasselbeck didn't have huge windows to throw to. Most of the time, a Raven was right on the heels of his receivers, yet he still got them the ball and moved the team up and down the field. And of course, you're going to say that his OL played really well, and they did, but he also helped them by getting the ball out quick.

The season is still young though, and I still have hopes that Flacco will take that next step this year. This was only one bad game, but the disappointment was magnified because of the way he played last week where he looked like Aaron Rodgers. But I know it was still only one game.

[Guest RBates]

[quote name='Blex64' timestamp='1316378622' post='796625']

Falcco haters coming out of the woodwork? He had all day to throw the ball and didn't because nobody was open. The times he tried to force it it got picked off. You're going to criticize him regardless.

This game was poorly coached on both sides, and poorly executed on both sides. I'd say the offense was worse on the coaching, and the defense on the execution, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter because the whole team played terribly.

Why the hell was LeVoir starting at guard over Gurode? He was terrible all game.

Not to blame the officials, but they weren't helping by ignoring PI all day long.
[/quote]
Flacco haters or truth tellers. If every fan insists on defending Flacco then please do so with facts. The fact is you give the kid all these weapons and he still stinks it up when rattled, forcing the ball in tight windows, starring down receivers, and just being an overall bad game manager, When the defense is playing bad, and we need Flacco to win a game. it doesn't happen. Just not sold on him. or Harbaugh for that matter, Really not hating on Flacco, im hating on Zibby though please get this guy off the field.

[izvoodoo]

[quote name='Blex64' timestamp='1316387826' post='797094']

I'm assuming he handed Torrey off to a LB or something, but I didn't personally notice this. Otherwise coulda just played dink and dunk.
[/quote]

No he left him wide open. It's what revis did in the playoffs against pitt. Knowing no one would look at a #1 corner against a rookie #3 receiver, he just left him there. It's not a terrible idea, but it's a huge gamble.

[Guest RBates]

[quote name='GrimCoconut' timestamp='1316388617' post='797121']
I've done a lot of thinking about why we lost this week, when last week we dominated. Nothing has really changed, except one thing: we cut All-Pro linebacker Jason Phillips. Easily the biggest mistake we made. We need to call him back quick.

Outside of that, not sure what happened today. Very disappointed, but still love my Ravens.
[/quote]
lol cut zibby next

[Deep6again]

I agree with the fans who say Cam made several mistakes today. One big one is that Gurode should have played left guard and not LeVoir. Gurode is a pro bowler who has played LG before and should not have sat on the bench. The regular season is not the time to see how an untested player like Levoir would perform. Ozzie did a great job of filling many positions and we should use our assets. We will be back and this team will click.

[RavensAllTheWay]

[quote name='RBates' timestamp='1316389723' post='797188']
Flacco haters or truth tellers. If every fan insists on defending Flacco then please do so with facts. The fact is you give the kid all these weapons and he still stinks it up when rattled, forcing the ball in tight windows, starring down receivers, and just being an overall bad game manager, When the defense is playing bad, and we need Flacco to win a game. it doesn't happen. Just not sold on him. or Harbaugh for that matter, Really not hating on Flacco, im hating on Zibby though please get this guy off the field.
[/quote]
Do you think Flacco plays like he did today more often than he plays well? He most certainly doesn't. This was an exception. Do you see him trying to force the ball into tight windows every week? Do you see it often? No because Joe typically doesn't do that. This game was an EXCEPTION. Almost anyone who's watched Flacco since he took over here in Bmore will tell you the same thing. That's not an opinion. That's a fact. Anyone who's watched Flacco over the years will tel you that he almost always comes back [i]very[/i] strong after a bad game. That's a fact. Would you rather him have a game like this NOW or later in the season?

70 TDs, 36 INTs in his career in the regular season. 25 TDs, 10 INTs last season. The yardage has gone up every season. The TDs have also gone up every season, and the INTs have dropped (12 in 08, 12 in 09, 10 last year.) Those are not opinions. Those are facts.

Some people out there think Joe is an average QB. They either don't have their facts straight or they like to hate.