[News] Game Recap: Ravens 27, Eagles 26

[PurpleReign3]

  57 minutes ago, callahan09 said:

  1 hour ago, JamesA119 said:

I don't buy your attempt at one more excuse for an underachieving QB

It's not an excuse, it's a search for an explanation on a ball that had no chance of being anything other than an interception.  And if you were to think honestly and look back at history, you'd have to acknowledge that this not a typical Joe Flacco type of interception.  He'll throw interceptions where a route got jumped, or he'll have an over/under/behind/in-front of off-target throw, right?  But this throw was none of those things.  It was just completely targeted to a spot where no receiver was running a route to.  These are typically what we call "miscommunications" so that's the most obvious explanation, right?  If you re-watch the play, you can see how if Waller ran a horizontal cut on that route instead of diagonal, then the throw actually starts to make sense.  So, that's *a possibility* for what happened on that play.  Rather than just calling it an "underachieving QB" why don't you watch the play and come back at me and explain how there is no possibility that this was anyone's fault but Flacco's, for X/Y/Z reason(s)?  I'd love an actual discussion, rather than dismissal with no actual argument.  I think that's fair.

flacco has reached his peak in bmore. he is below avg. until proven otherwise. he had a great 4 game run and that is all. receivers are weak as well

How many QB's has had as many OC's that Flacco has had in his career? Name one true number 1 WR he has had to throw to? That INT today should have never happened, should have run the ball three times and kicked a FG if they didn't score. One of the dumbest play calls all year. We were up 10 with a little over 6 minutes remaining. Run the damn ball!

[JamesA119]

  45 minutes ago, law215 said:

Oh stop it! I see 3 defenders converging on the route.

Joe is a dumb QB. Just because it was a bad call does not excuses his poor execution. Marty did call interception as the play.

Joe is dumb and only looked good with vets surrounding him. He's the same guy that on 4th and 29 with the playoffs on the line, he threw a 6 yard pass to Rice. Same guy that consistently saw Polamalu line up on the outside and did not adjust protection.

After 9 nine years and 5 OCs he's run out of people to blame.

Ummmmm, it was a schemed play, called by Morninhweg.  Even Harbaugh admitted he should have vetoed it.

They called the play they didn't call interception. He could have thrown it away or thrown it to Waller.

[Ravens8383]

In case some people here forgot this isn't the NCAA. It's the NFL. Winning by 35 doesn't mean any more then winning by 1. At the end of the day the team with the best record will get into the playoffs. There isn't a bunch of guys sitting in a room saying well Flacco didn't play well in 4 of there wins and they only won by one score 5 times but the Chargers have less wins and blew teams out when they did win.

[Ravenboss]

1 hour ago, btfan2 said:

Lets get honest this is not a good team. Once again they showed up completely unprepared. Really bad.

We need an "O" line coach. I know, guys hurt, people moving around but; come on this was pathetic.

Joe was hot and cold mostly cold, the "D", was horrible and Pees and Morningwig go right back to horrible play calling.

I can't imagine any team losing to this team. They are so Vanilla, you don't even have to game plan for us. Every week just the same thing over and over. We didn't beat Philly. They embarrassed us in every phase except kicker. They did us one big favor. They knew even if they won they weren't going to the playoffs so why not practice.

Disgusting!

Well let me just say this...We've had 4 different offensive coordinators since Harbaugh has been here and our offense has been the same boring offense for 9 years. Now if the coordinators are truly the ones running the offense, why hasn't the offense changed? When Kubiak came to the Ravens, Harbaugh said it wouldn't be Kubiaks offense... it would be the Ravens offense. And you know what?????? It is the Ravens offense!! And who runs the Ravens?? HARBAUGH!! So that tells me that Harbaugh (Horri-ball) runs the offense. It has shown that for 9 years. Unless of course Steve and Ozzie allow Harbaugh to hire FRIENDS without a REAL plan. The Ravens had no adjustments for the Patriots. So you play the WHOLE GAME the same way? Try adjusting your offense to where they don't know what you're going to do. Unless you totally ignore in-game adjustments. Or maybe you're not experienced in making adjustments! Forget next week!! Theres no way we beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh! I HOPE I'M WRONG!!

[Swift 1]

1 hour ago, ravens4life86 said:

Couple things
1) What in the world happened to the Run Defense?!!! Unacceptable.
I dont know maybe Pierce isnt getting enough reps or the fact Zdarius Goid run stopper/edge setter has been on the bench for more versatile player and pass rushers like Dum and Judon, but activate Z.Smith, activate Urban., get those big boys up front clogging gaps no reason with our depth and talent up front teams like Jets&Eagles should be cracking 100 rushing on us.

2) Same old story just a different week, Marty&John..
Im glad John took responsibility for awful pass call in redzone with 4-5 minutes left.. run the ball. At worst kick FG and ice the game being up 13

I agree except I think run ball two more times take at least sixty seconds off clock and  make them drive the field with only 2 mins left. Nobody in thier .rght mind throws at that point. I suspect WWE. BS.

 

[scottsdaleazravensfan]

To think we almost lost this game is unbelievable . We threw away the Redskin game and probably the Jet game as well . Not playing your best against the Patriots is understandable . I put the blame on the coaches for the almost debacle today . I know a win is a win but I'm not at all comfortable going into Pittsburgh . But then again I wasn't confident when we lost several games at the end of the 2012 regular season .

[Swift 1]

14 minutes ago, JamesA119 said:

They called the play they didn't call interception. He could have thrown it away or thrown it to Waller.

There is no way a real QB throws that ball . There is no way a real oc calls for play to throw that ball there is no way a real hc allows any of the above to hppen

[law215]

  43 minutes ago, davy_861 said:

Harbaugh will coach next weeks game as though his job were on the line. He feels really bad about how the game almost ended and I can assure you that he will do everything in his power to make up for what happened.

If there is any silver lining in the way we struggled today against a sub 500 team, it's that we will go into Pittsburgh on edge. What worries me is that nearly the whole team would be playing with a chip on its shoulder except the QB.

I thought they were "cranky" this week. So why did the defense fail to stop the run? Flacco's turnovers ruined at least a 13-point victory.

[JamesA119]

  1 hour ago, btfan2 said:

Lets get honest this is not a good team. Once again they showed up completely unprepared. Really bad.

We need an "O" line coach. I know, guys hurt, people moving around but; come on this was pathetic.

Joe was hot and cold mostly cold, the "D", was horrible and Pees and Morningwig go right back to horrible play calling.

I can't imagine any team losing to this team. They are so Vanilla, you don't even have to game plan for us. Every week just the same thing over and over. We didn't beat Philly. They embarrassed us in every phase except kicker. They did us one big favor. They knew even if they won they weren't going to the playoffs so why not practice.

Disgusting!

Well let me just say this...We've had 4 different offensive coordinators since Harbaugh has been here and our offense has been the same boring offense for 9 years. Now if the coordinators are truly the ones running the offense, why hasn't the offense changed? When Kubiak came to the Ravens, Harbaugh said it wouldn't be Kubiaks offense... it would be the Ravens offense. And you know what?????? It is the Ravens offense!! And who runs the Ravens?? HARBAUGH!! So that tells me that Harbaugh (Horri-ball) runs the offense. It has shown that for 9 years. Unless of course Steve and Ozzie allow Harbaugh to hire FRIENDS without a REAL plan. The Ravens had no adjustments for the Patriots. So you play the WHOLE GAME the same way? Try adjusting your offense to where they don't know what you're going to do. Unless you totally ignore in-game adjustments. Or maybe you're not experienced in making adjustments! Forget next week!! Theres no way we beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh! I HOPE I'M WRONG!!

In game adjustments are a novel idea for thus offense. They draw up a game plan sometime during the week and it seems as though they take an oath to never deviate from it whether it's working or not. The New England game was a glaring example.

[Swift 1]

14 minutes ago, Ravens8383 said:

In case some people here forgot this isn't the NCAA. It's the NFL. Winning by 35 doesn't mean any more then winning by 1. At the end of the day the team with the best record will get into the playoffs. There isn't a bunch of guys sitting in a room saying well Flacco didn't play well in 4 of there wins and they only won by one score 5 times but the Chargers have less wins and blew teams out when they did win.

With all due respect it looked more like the WWE tha  the NBA

[JamesA119]

  53 minutes ago, JamesA119 said:

  1 hour ago, davy_861 said:

Harbaugh will coach next weeks game as though his job were on the line. He feels really bad about how the game almost ended and I can assure you that he will do everything in his power to make up for what happened.

If there is any silver lining in the way we struggled today against a sub 500 team, it's that we will go into Pittsburgh on edge. What worries me is that nearly the whole team would be playing with a chip on its shoulder except the QB.

I thought they were "cranky" this week. So why did the defense fail to stop the run? Flacco's turnovers ruined at least a 13-point victory.

You forgot that he also lost a fumble.

[JamesA119]

  55 minutes ago, JamesA119 said:

  1 hour ago, davy_861 said:

Harbaugh will coach next weeks game as though his job were on the line. He feels really bad about how the game almost ended and I can assure you that he will do everything in his power to make up for what happened.

If there is any silver lining in the way we struggled today against a sub 500 team, it's that we will go into Pittsburgh on edge. What worries me is that nearly the whole team would be playing with a chip on its shoulder except the QB.

I thought they were "cranky" this week. So why did the defense fail to stop the run? Flacco's turnovers ruined at least a 13-point victory.

You forgot also that Flacco lost a fumble inside our own 30 yd line that led to their first TD. So how many points was that?

[CQ1]

Seems to me everyone is forgetting we have to win at the Bungles place or the Pittsburg game doesn't matter.

Its in the back of our minds Sami.....dump and vent first, then Pittsburgh, then Cinncy. BOTH of these are road games- where the 120 million dollar man has issues (more than usual)

[TheConquerorWorm]

  8 hours ago, TheConquerorWorm said:

  8 hours ago, sami said:

Seems to me everyone is forgetting we have to win at the Bungles place or the Pittsburg game doesn't matter.

Ravens win out = Division win.
Ravens beat Squealers, Squealers lose to Browns = Division win.

squeelers lose to browns? hahahahahahahahaha how about flacco playing like a 120 mil man and beating the raiders skins giants and jets. brady would have put up 45-60 against the eagles today

Flacco did beat the Raiders & the Giants (game winning TDs in the final minutes). It was the DEFENSE that choked and lost those games. Just like it almost did today. Funny how everyone wants Joe's head for an INT but nobody is talking how Weddle got punked 1-on-1 by a rookie QB. INT was a bad play but the Eagles only got to the 35. The defense let them march 60 yards down the field. Then let them march 50 yards downfield for a touchdown.

[sizzlingdoom]

  7 hours ago, The Mom Gene said:

  8 hours ago, law215 said:

Oh stop it! I see 3 defenders converging on the route.

Joe is a dumb QB. Just because it was a bad call does not excuses his poor execution. Marty did call interception as the play.

Joe is dumb and only looked good with vets surrounding him. He's the same guy that on 4th and 29 with the playoffs on the line, he threw a 6 yard pass to Rice. Same guy that consistently saw Polamalu line up on the outside and did not adjust protection.

After 9 nine years and 5 OCs he's run out of people to blame.

Ummmmm, it was a schemed play, called by Morninhweg.  Even Harbaugh admitted he should have vetoed it.

They called the play they didn't call interception. He could have thrown it away or thrown it to Waller.

exactly

[sizzlingdoom]

We should have run the ball on that play obviously. But why did Flacco throw into triple coverage as well!?!?!?! Waller was WIDE OPEN!

[stampedehero]

Joe's interception direct to the hands of an Eagle disturbed me. With little time left and in FG range he should have snapped out of his day dream. He checked down to an Eagle or he didn't follow progression at all. Waller knows.

[The Mom Gene]

14 hours ago, JamesA119 said:

They called the play they didn't call interception. He could have thrown it away or thrown it to Waller.

EXCEPT...  that after watching the play again several times, it was clear that Steve didn't make a crisp break on the ball... He slipped a little, you can see that if you watch it again.  It put him directly behind the defender instead of out in front.   You're right, they didn't call "an interception".  The play wasn't called for that....  LMAO...  But had Steve Smith been able to crisp out that route???  Joe would have looked like a hero.  They got greedy and pushed for another TD right away instead of pounding the ball in. 

[callahan09]

1 hour ago, The Mom Gene said:

EXCEPT...  that after watching the play again several times, it was clear that Steve didn't make a crisp break on the ball... He slipped a little, you can see that if you watch it again.  It put him directly behind the defender instead of out in front.   You're right, they didn't call "an interception".  The play wasn't called for that....  LMAO...  But had Steve Smith been able to crisp out that route???  Joe would have looked like a hero.  They got greedy and pushed for another TD right away instead of pounding the ball in. 

In my opinion that ball would have been intercepted regardless of how well Steve ran his route.  Even if Steve ran his route perfectly, the linebacker was still in position to jump the ball after Flacco threw it, well before it got to the point where Steve could have made a play on it.  Steve's poor route only makes it look like a poor decision to target Steve in terms of Steve's openness, but it does nothing to assuage the fact that the linebacker was sitting on it and Joe just didn't see him.  But I say, it doesn't matter.  I get fed up with all the fans calling for Joe's head because he makes a mistake.  Tom Brady threw an equally bone-headed INT while his team was also up double digits when we played there on Monday night.  And ultimately, we ended up storming back in that game and had a chance to win it.  Why is it that it's an inexcusable mistake that automatically makes Joe Flacco a garbage quarterback when he makes that mistake, but for Tom Brady nobody would ever say that?  The fact is simply this, every QB, even the greatest of all time, can make a bad decision or a bad read or a bad throw that costs his team from time to time.  Just because it happens, it does not indicate that there is an insurmountable problem with the QB, unless it happens all the time and the QB fails to ever make enough plays that helps the team.

 

The facts are also this: Joe Flacco has routinely made plays that help this team.  We are 8-6.  Since the bye week, we are 5-2, while having one of the most difficult schedules in the NFL.  We've had to play the Patriots and Cowboys in that span of time, the two best teams in the NFL, and the only two teams we lost to over this span of time.  We played 4 out of 7 games against teams that would be in the playoffs if the season ended today.  

 

Check this out, 6 out of those 7 teams are in the top half in the league in defensive points allowed (including #1 New England), and YET we are the #5 offense in points scored over the past 7 games.  We are #7 in offensive yards over the past 7 games (and 3rd in passing yards).  Flacco's got a 95.4 QB Rating over those 7 games, which is almost identical to Tom Brady (96.0).

 

So despite all the criticism, statistically we have Flacco playing well, the offense playing well, and we're winning games, against one of the toughest schedules in the league.

That's why I am not concerned that Flacco made a mistake similar to the one Tom Brady made against us on Monday night.  Because while I recognize that this was not Joe's best game, and that this particular play was likely his worst of the season, it's not emblematic of his ability or what he does bring to this team, and that mistakes are not the defining feature of Joe Flacco.  Everybody makes mistakes.

That we are statistically humming along since we had our bye week in terms of Flacco's passing stats and the offense as whole against some really good teams & defenses, that speaks a lot to me in terms of his ability to make plays and limit mistakes, when you consider that so many of this team's problems are objectively not his fault.  We have had a lot of instability on the offensive line, we have a maddeningly inconsistent receiving corps (particularly Mike Wallace and Breshard Perriman, our big play guys who both drop a ton of passes and lead to interceptions that a better, more consistent receiver would not allow to happen), we have an interim offensive coordinator and an obvious lack of balance in play-calling and questionable play designs.  We have a weak running game.  And yet we can point to a lot of areas in the statistics where this offense is vastly improved over the one that existed prior to the bye week.

[BiggMack91]

it was a gut wrenching game but in the end we won now on to the squeelers and I'm confident we will beat them on match ups alone go ravens

[sp3ctor]

I feel like a lot has been said about Flacco recently and a lot of it is justifiable based on his performance, but I would like to add my two sense for those who think Flacco is done and will need replacement moving forward.

1. Flacco has an incredibly high ceiling. For those who think he's over-the-hill, or just middle of the pack, you need to reevaluate Flacco's abilities. Accuracy isn't something that can't be fine-tuned, say, during an off season where you're not rehabbing a major knee injury. With that being said...

2. Flacco is coming off of a major knee injury. The nay-sayers do need to take a step back and realize that QBs don't typically return from tearing the knee of their plant leg right away. What a lot of people seem to forget it that making it back onto the field is a far-cry from being healthy. Flacco is still wearing a knee brace because the injury is still relatively fresh. It explains a lot of his woes this year, including his inaccuracy and tendency to throw off of his back foot. Not to mention he missed an entire training camp and basically the whole preseason.

3. Flacco needs weapons. We built a #1 defense by throwing money at a lot of great off-season free agents (Weddle is the best free safety in the league and that's just alllllright by me). But here's a thought: give Flacco a weapon. Big Ben has a weapon. In fact, he has two. Gingersnap over in Cinci has AJ Green. Heck, even the Browns have had better wide outs than us. And as much as it may have upset SSS, Rodney Harrison was right. This team should not rely as much as they do on a 37 year old WR.

4. 5 OCs in 5 seasons...soon to be 6 in 6 seasons. That is not a recipe for success. Jim Caldwell continued to run basically the same offense as Cam Cameron. Kubiak came in and installed just an amazing offensive system, then packed his things for the mountain top. Trestman was a bad hire and he has basically forced the team to abandon Kubiak's offensive system and revert back to the one used during Cam Cameron's tenure, only with an extreme focus on Flacco throwing the ball...a lot.

5. Finally, as I mentioned already, Flacco has been expected to do a whole lot more than he ought to coming off of an injury. Hey, tore your ACL, how's bout we get you to drop back and throw 50+ passes in a game, when you didn't do that before the injury. A lot of why this offense has been ineffective is because the offensive gameplan doesn't utilize Flacco's strengths and feels that 1 or 2 runs that go nowhere is cause for concern and thus the run game must be abandoned. Pound the rock. Let Flacco capitalize on one-on-one matchups when teams are forced to stack the box. Wallace isn't a #1 receiver, nor is SSS, or Perriman, or anyone else on this team, but we shouldn't need to worry about that because all of the names mentioned (plus some others who are good but not great in the passing game) could easily beat one on one coverage should teams start stacking the box.

Basically to sum up this long-winded rant, people shouldn't complain as much about Flacco's performance this year because Flacco wasn't set up to succeed this year. It's like a teacher not telling you what's on the exam, then punishing you for failing. More weapons, offensive stability, a solid off-season workout + training camp, and a dedication to the run game will turn the ship around. Don't be like the guys on Russel Street Report, who are the very definition of the spoiled fan, and prep Flacco idols to burn at the stake. Just take a few deep breaths and look forward to a Christmas day showdown, and win or lose Ravensnation will still fly high. There's a lot to look forward to next season. We'll be alright.

And if there's one thing to take away from this extremely long post: we aren't the Browns anymore, but we could be if we decide to move on from a Super Bowl winning QB and Head Coach.

[WordProphet]

It was just a messed up bonehead play, we had the game in hand and almost gave it away, they should have ran the ball simple as that!!! Stupid mistakes will have you on the outside looking in!!! This Sunday we will see, because the Eagle tore up the run defense and now we have to stop Bell, and if we could just stop all the stupid penalties we will have a good chance to win this game coming up!!! Can't we do anything besides grabbing people face masks, pushing in the back, and holding people, the refs always seem to catch us for some reason and hardly ever catch the other team, but I think that's done on purpose!!! And I think its a bonehead player who can't tell they are hurting and not helping the team, what's wrong with these folks is beyond me!!! But through it all GO RAVENS!!!

[stampedehero]

17 hours ago, BiggMack91 said:

it was a gut wrenching game but in the end we won now on to the squeelers and I'm confident we will beat them on match ups alone go ravens

Unfortunately, it's Christmas day in Pittsburgh with every fan wanting a gift.  I hope our players take an attitude away from home on the most blessed day of the year.