Why We Lost- An Objective Look

[Gtown Purple]

1. Webb penalty on first Patriots drive- takes 3 points off the board.

2. No offense whatsoever until 3 minutes left in the first quarter.

3. Better throw to Torrey on his first catch and its 7 and not 3

4. Boldin not getting that extra yard was another chance to turn point number 3 above into 7 and not 3.

5. Ellerbe facemask penalty allows a stalling Pats drive to turn into 7

6. Law firm had 4.5 ypc and ripped off at least 3 runs over 10

7. Missed oppurtunity to get points before halftime with poor throw\pass recognition

8. Settling for 3 after the woodhead turnover. Vonta was a better option on that 2nd down play.

9. 3rd and 3 playcall on 2nd to last drive drive was horrendous

10. No seperation on 4th and 6 following point above

11. Lee's dropped td

12. Billy's missed fg

13. Tomm nay yards after catch for Pats receivers.

14. Inconsistent OL play

15. Lack of pass rush at times.


The fact of the matter is Billy and Lee will take most of the heat but if you erase any 2 of these items and we probably win or at least force OT. I don't see many posts about Flacco but I think he played pretty well after the first few drives did nothing, which I chalk up to poor playcalling and poor line play. Joe had over 300 yards and 2 tds. His INT was a wash with Brady' second so it didn't hurt us except maybe a few yards of field position.

I'm proud of our guys for what they did this year. We have 13 wins and were part of the final 4 teams standing. We've found great potential in Torrey Smith, Jimmy Smith, and Pernell Mcphee. I think with some fine tuning of the roster we can be right back here next year.

[PatsFanNH]

Ravens could EASILY be back in the AFCCG next year, and could EASILY be in the SB. Was a great Game and IMO the Pats D played well and am I the only one thinks Sterling Moore STRIPPED Lee Evans of the ball in the endzone? It wasnt a drop but a great D play by a young CB.

But again GREAT GAME.. and see the Ravens next year.

[UD Ravens Fan]

Ok, as much as I love Joe and it is hindsight but they should have been running on the INt play. Ricky and Ray were running down hill and smash mouth was taking it to the Pats. Shoulda kept running.

Actually, the same in the next possession was working very well until Dickson false start. Hard to keep running when you take 5 yd back. In these two series, they pretty much had the Pats on the ropes and should have imposed their will all over them.

[Tank 92]

You can throw out the whole list, save #11.

A close game like this has an ebb and flow and we positioned ourselves to win at the end. The only play that you can actually say lost the game is Lee's reception(I still think he took 2 steps with the ball, TD). If that is a catch, game over. Cundiff's FG ties the game, but the game goes to OT and we don't know what would have happened.

[Ravenslifer]

Good effort, but you could make a list like this for every game in the history of the NFL. Bottom line is, we didn't execute when we had to, and so now we get to watch the Superbowl instead of playing in the Superbowl.

[grantkyle2003]

How about Evans brings his right hand around too real quick to secure the FREEEAAAKING ball like he is trained to do his whole career that way you force the refs to ethier rule it a TD or make them atleast go back and review it. Everyone wants to be a hotdog and one hand catch the crap and show off for the tv, how about you just catch and then gloat after you score. Completely undisciplined football. Thats 2 years in a row flacco threw perfect passes and the RECIEVERS drop the ball.

[Natty Joe]

Penalties overall were critical. We beat the Pats in every major category expect for this. I realize the intensity is high in the AFC CG but it is also the time to play your smartest football.

[Gtown Purple]

Yes, you can make a list like this for every game. Football is about mistakes and oppurtunities. Usually the team who takes advantage of the most oppurtunities and limits mistakes wins. The Pats won because they made fewer mistakes than us. The point I was trying to make is not to dump all the blame on one or two people. Did they make the most egregious mistakes yes but we had other oppurtunities to mitigate them.


[quote name='Ravenslifer' timestamp='1327324722' post='968183']
Good effort, but you could make a list like this for every game in the history of the NFL. Bottom line is, we didn't execute when we had to, and so now we get to watch the Superbowl instead of playing in the Superbowl.
[/quote]

[-Truth-]

Please add, "Leaving Dannell Ellerbe in coverage."

[Ravenslifer]

[quote name='Gtown Purple' timestamp='1327333107' post='968534']
Yes, you can make a list like this for every game. Football is about mistakes and oppurtunities. Usually the team who takes advantage of the most oppurtunities and limits mistakes wins. The Pats won because they made fewer mistakes than us. The point I was trying to make is not to dump all the blame on one or two people. Did they make the most egregious mistakes yes but we had other oppurtunities to mitigate them.
[/quote]

I agree, if everyone had played better, we would have won. But really that TD drop by Lee is what gets me. The defender made a play, but Lee has been in the league 8 years now - he's got to play more heads-up.

[JohnJohnson]

[quote name='Ravenslifer' timestamp='1327335976' post='968756']

I agree, if everyone had played better, we would have won. But really that TD drop by Lee is what gets me. The defender made a play, but Lee has been in the league 8 years now - he's got to play more heads-up.
[/quote]

I might need therapy to get over that drop/strip whatever. He should have caught it.

[rayrayven]

The line was not inconsistent - they were consitently bad. Wilfork had a field day pushing Ravens around like bags of leaves.

[flynismo]

The one thing you missed was most crucial of all. Rice's 67 yards on 21 attempts. We knew going into this game we absolutely had to do a good job running the ball.

[Ravenslifer]

[quote name='flynismo' timestamp='1327345099' post='969201']
The one thing you missed was most crucial of all. Rice's 67 yards on 21 attempts. We knew going into this game we absolutely had to do a good job running the ball.
[/quote]

Nah, he only had 60 yards on the same number of attempts last week. That's like 3.1 and 3.2 YPC. BTW, to back up my point about the line and Rice's size, Ricky Williams averaged 4.5 YPA against Houston and 3.7 YPA vs. New England, but only got 6 carries in each game. The man was seriously, seriously underutilized this season, but in the playoffs especially - I bet that those 4 runs by Rice vs. Houston where he got stuffed and we came away with nothing, if we'd given Ricky 4 carries he would have had the TD.

[1/28/01]

Draw on 3rd and 1
Dropped/stripped TD by Evans
Ed "The Drive Killer" Dickson
Billy

[flynismo]

[quote name='Ravenslifer' timestamp='1327346006' post='969251']

Nah, he only had 60 yards on the same number of attempts last week. That's like 3.1 and 3.2 YPC.
[/quote]


I'm confused...what are we disagreeing on?

[757RavensFan]

+ Torrey Smith not running full speed on Joe's bomb early in the game. If he runs full speed that ball is on the money.

[Dnyce215]

boldin should been targeted after the Lee pass because he was killin edelman all game, and that was a mismatch we should took advantage of at the end

[PurpleDrink]

[quote name='757RavensFan' timestamp='1327346599' post='969275']
+ Torrey Smith not running full speed on Joe's bomb early in the game. If he runs full speed that ball is on the money.
[/quote]

Word???......he had to stop running and wait for Joe to throw him the ball. No way in the world you going act like that didnt happen.

[i82much]

Let's face it. We didn't exactly go into the lions den screaming like a banshee. Way too timid. Couldn't believe the first few series where the handcuffs were on Joe - needed to take the lid off that defense.

Not going for it on the fourth down near the goal line was inexcusable. Yeah, didn't make it against Houston but so what? Did you go to New England to win, or just to try not to lose?

The draw play. I have no idea what can possibly be going through your mind to call a draw that takes you out of field goal range. No idea. Trying to be to effin' cute.

Essentially, this team was too conservative. We need to learn how to drop the hammer and put pressure on the other team. Too timid and cute. Nothing like the team we saw in week 1.

[PurpleDrink]

1- WRers cant catch TD passes.
2- Kicker cant kick.

[lowrider]

Theres always things that can be changed, but the truth is we didn't get it done. But how sick was that loss. What else do we need to do. Flacco got the winning pass to the endzone but Evans didn't hold onto it. And Cundiff missed a field goal in which virtually made everyone say "I think I could have made that kick". Theres ways to lose, and then there is that loss. I'm getting tired of having crushing losses like this

[CalvinSmoke]

I'm sure i'm not the only one that saw that miss coming. It sucks, but it's apart of football. We should be proud of the group of men that went out there and played their hearts out. L Webb showed that he's not to be played with lol, and Cary Williams is a great story for the season, he doesnt do anything greatly, but he does well in a lot of things.
Ray and Ed took a dip in the fountain of youth yet again, Joe Cool proved all of the doubters wrong yet again. The Ravens left it all on the field, yes it sucks to lose, but we should definitely be praising this team.

[ThePurpleWall]

[quote name='PatsFanNH' timestamp='1327323920' post='968173']
Ravens could EASILY be back in the AFCCG next year, and could EASILY be in the SB. Was a great Game and IMO the Pats D played well and am I the only one thinks Sterling Moore STRIPPED Lee Evans of the ball in the endzone? It wasnt a drop but a great D play by a young CB.

But again GREAT GAME.. and see the Ravens next year.
[/quote]

it was a strip by the defender,im not sure what everone ealse is looking at but it was a strip.

[-Truth-]

[quote name='1/28/01' timestamp='1327346130' post='969260']
Draw on 3rd and 1
Dropped/stripped TD by Evans
Ed "The Drive Killer" Dickson
Billy
[/quote]
The draw was a forgotten killer, in my opinion. Vince Wilfork was a monster last night. He's not exactly a supreme pass rusher, so when Flacco was in the shotgun, he was likely looking to just push the middle and eat up space, which led him directly to Ray Rice. Not one of my favorite calls.

[izvoodoo]

[quote name='-Truth-' timestamp='1327354439' post='969597']
The draw was a forgotten killer, in my opinion. Vince Wilfork was a monster last night. He's not exactly a supreme pass rusher, so when Flacco was in the shotgun, he was likely looking to just push the middle and eat up space, which led him directly to Ray Rice. Not one of my favorite calls.
[/quote]
Wilfork was possessed.
Absolutely possessed.

[-Truth-]

[quote name='izvoodoo' timestamp='1327355008' post='969620']
Wilfork was possessed.
Absolutely possessed.
[/quote]
Wilfork hungry! Wilfork like rice!