By Derek Arnold 

Maybe former Baltimore radio personality Anita “Sports Chick” Marks was right all along about the whole “Ravens need a big-name WR thing.”

Excuse me while I rinse the vomit from my mouth

While I’d still maintain that the addition of just one player cannot take an offense instantly from mediocre to dynamic and dangerous, Anquan Boldin made quite an argument for himself Sunday afternoon in Charm City. Boldin hauled in 8 passes for 142 yards and 3 touchdowns from Joe Flacco, the last of which put the Ravens ahead for good. For “Q,” it was his second 100+ yard performance in three tries for the Ravens, and his best game since a spectacular 13-catch, 186 yard game in week 11 of 2008.

As far as Flacco, the 22/31 262 yard day should help erase the memories of the debacle in Cincinnati, and for a week anyway, quiet the moronic calls of some Baltimore fans for Marc Bulger. However, things could have started a whole lot worse, as Joe’s very first pass (a back foot floater while he was getting crushed, of course) should have been picked off and taken to the house by T.J. Ward for an early 7-0 deficit. After that one though, Flacco got his act together.

Boldin’s second touchdown grab, a 12-yard strike from Joe Cool, put the Ravens up at a seemingly comfortable clip of 14-3 with just under six minutes to go in the first half. With a defense that was working on their tenth consecutive quarter of not allowing a touchdown to start the 2010 season, and facing a Browns offense that was without their starting quarterback, running back, and one wide receiver, the rout appeared to be on in B’More.

That’s when things started to get interesting, though.

The Browns took possession and methodically marched 83 yards, most of them on the legs of running back Peyton Hillis. The drive culminated in a touchdown with only a few ticks left on the clock, pulling Cleveland to within 14-10, and the halftime feeling was quite an uneasy one at M&T Bank Stadium.

Things didn’t get much better in the second half, as the Ravens offense stalled in the third quarter, twice going three-and-out, and seeing a Billy Cundiff 51-yard field goal attempt clang off the left upright. The Browns took advantage early in the fourth, scoring again on a 1-yard pass from Seneca Wallace to tight end Ben Watson on the first play of the quarter.

Now trailing 17-14, the Ravens’ offense put together arguably their most impressive drive of this young season. They drove 69 yards (+20 of offensive penalties) on 10 plays, culminating in a beautiful rainbow of a 27-yard touchdown pass from, of course…Flacco to Boldin. The Ravens went up 21-17, and would never relinquish the lead again. Only an uncalled pass interference in the end zone prevented Flacco-to-Boldin from hooking up for the FOURTH time on the afternoon, and Baltimore settled for a Billy Cundiff field goal to round out the day’s scoring.

Speaking of Cundiff, he was much more than just a 1 or 3-points at a time kind of typical kicker weapon against the Browns. Cleveland boasts one of the best return men in the NFL, Joshua Cribbs, but Cundiff drilled both of his fourth quarter kickoffs so far into the end zone that Cribbs had no choice but to down them for touchbacks. After hearing that Cundiff won the kicking job over Shayne Graham mainly due to his kickoff strength, it was good to see the evidence of that on full display. With the game as close as it was, a big return by Cribbs there in the fourth could have resulted in a much different final score.

It wasn’t the blowout that many, including this blog, had predicted, but a win nonetheless. The Ravens are now 2-1, and more importantly 1-1 in the AFC North after two of their early season three-in-a-row against division foes. Since it wasn’t a blowout though, many fans are all too happy to search out the negatives, and there were a few to pick apart on Sunday.

First, the run defense was gashed by relative unknown Peyton Hillis (maybe it’s just something about guys named Peyton?), who racked up 144 yards on 22 carries, and carried Ravens defenders with him for a good chunk of that 144. Kelly Gregg and even Haloti Ngata were pushed around up front, and the linebackers didn’t do much better. Browns’ offensive linemen Alex Mack and Joe Thomas had great days, and made big lanes for Hillis. The Ravens’ defense also failed to force a turnover for the second straight game, and still has only one on the year. When it finally seemed like the offense was finding a rhythm and could move the ball at will, the D couldn’t get them the ball back, either by forcing a 3-and-out or getting a turnover. Had the D put the ball back in the hands of Joe Flacco to end the first half, rather than allowing that long touchdown drive, it probably would have been a much less stressful second half for Ravens fans. And, although Seneca Wallace appeared to have all day to survey the field on many of his dropbacks, Greg Mattison’s defense did at least record two sacks on the day.

The run defense should immediately improve once Terrence Cody finally gets on the field, but at this point who knows when that will be? Despite practicing all of last week, Cody was a game-time scratch, and has still yet to see the field in his pro career. Fellow tackle Cory Redding suffered a concussion though, and his availability for next Sunday is unknown. Brandon McKinnie played well in his stead, but no Redding in Pittsburgh could force the coaching staff’s hand a little bit on “Mount” Cody.

A much more troubling injury occurred with about 10 minutes left in the game when Ray Rice caught a short pass for a 4-yard gain. It would be Rice’s last action of the day, and the early diagnosis is a “significantly” bruised knee. While Rice and John Harbaugh seem optimistic at the moment, Ray Rice’s knee is sure to be a hot topic of conversation all around B’More (and Pittsburgh, for that matter) all week. There is no chance the Ravens will come out and say that Rice is definitely out (if that is indeed the case) until they absolutely have to, so that kind of gamesmanship in a critical division rivalry such as this could lead to us not really knowing #27’s status until right up at 1:00 PM Sunday.

Let’s hope it really is just a little bruise that will heal quickly. Against that Pittsburgh defense, the Ravens are going to need all offensive hands on deck.

http://www.bmorebirdsnest.com/ 

9/3/11: Holy crap Mike Shanahan has turned Rex Grossman into a passable signal caller. He’s done this before with Jake Plummer and while quarterback isn’t their only problem, I won’t pick them to be a laughing stock anymore. 

Rex Grossman predicts the Redskins will win the NFC East. Rex Grossman is wrong. Don’t get me wrong, I love that he made that prediction. I love unfounded confidence in sports. I love when a team down 3-0 in a series predicts a series win. I love when a team currently out of the playoff race predicts they will win the championship. I love when an underdog predicts a big upset. What else are they going do to? Admit defeat?

However, Grossman is wrong. Hell, he might not even be the team’s starting quarterback if he gets beat out by John Beck. If that happens, that would be the most embarrassing moment of Rex Grossman’s career and that’s saying a lot. When Mike Shanahan first called Beck his starter in the offseason, before the team resigned Grossman, I assumed that Beck was only going to start to give the Redskins a better chance to get Andrew Luck. I mean if you were trying to get the #1 pick, starting John Beck would be what you would do right?

However, the Redskins spent a lot of money this offseason so it appears as if they’re not going to just throw the season. They didn’t really overpay anyone like they normally do and they added a lot of talent, adding guys like Barry Cofield, Josh Wilson, OJ Atogwe, Stephen Bowen, Chris Chester and resigning Santana Moss and Jammal Brown. However, given their quarterback situation, they won’t make the playoffs. All those signings can do is get them to 6 wins and blow their chances at getting not only Andrew Luck, but maybe Matt Barkley as well.

Of course, if they can get a quarterback next April, he is going to have a good supporting cast to work with after all of these financially smart signings. Moss, a veteran receiver, is 32, but had 1115 receiving yards last year when they didn’t have the best quarterback situation. He’s dealt with crappy to mediocre quarterbacks his entire career so this year will be nothing new for them.

Moss will line up across from either Anthony Armstrong, a decent player and their #2 receiver from last year, Jabar Gaffney, the Broncos’ #2 last year, acquired in a trade from Denver, or rookie Leonard Hankerson, drafted in the 3^rd round. Hankerson has the worst shot as getting the job, based on what I’m hearing right now. At tight end, Chris Cooley is a talented veteran, but he could miss the start of the season with an injury which means Fred Davis, who played well in Cooley’s absence in 2009, would get the start.

At running back, another offseason acquisition, Tim Hightower, is expected to be the lead back. Hightower is not a great running back or anything, but he fits the scheme and I think he’s very underrated. He’s also a good pass catcher. Behind him, the Redskins have Roy Helu, a 4^th round pick rookie, and Ryan Torain, the incumbent starter who can’t stay healthy. Keiland Williams, who started some games last year, is also in the mix.

On the offensive line, they resigned Jammal Brown to start opposite Trent Williams. Williams, the 4^th overall pick in 2010, allowed 11 sacks in 2010, but figures to be better in his 2^nd season. He’ll once again be the left tackle, while Brown, who played better down the stretch as he recovered from a hip injury that cost him all of 2009, will start on the right side. Chris Chester is a solid free agent signing at center, but they once again figure to get poor play from their guards, Kory Lichtensteiger and Will Montgomery.

On the defensive line, two more free agent acquisitions, Barry Cofield and Stephen Bowen, will play next to Adam Carriker. Carriker, after struggling for 3 years in St. Louis in a 4-3, after being drafted high in 2007, did alright in a 3-4 in Washington last season. However, like Cofield and Bowen, he doesn’t offer much pass rush. Bowen and Cofield are studs against the run, though. They will both be upgrades over Albert Haynesworth and Vonnie Holliday.

However, there are questions with each. Bowen played well last year, but only has 11 career starts. Meanwhile, Cofield has never played in a 3-4 and players often have trouble adjusting to a new scheme, particularly at first. He won’t be helped by a shortened offseason as he tries to adjust to a new scheme.

The pass rush will be coming primarily from the rush linebackers. Brian Orakpo had 8.5 sacks last year after 11 sacks as a rookie in 2009. However, the Redskins only managed 29 sacks as they couldn’t get a consistent pass rush besides Orakpo. No one else on the team had more than 2.5 and their other starting rush linebacker Andre Carter really struggled in their new 3-4. The Redskins will hope Ryan Kerrigan, the 16^th pick in April’s draft, can be an upgrade, but he’ll be hurt, at least right away, by the lockout and the fact that he’ll have to learn a completely new position, rush linebacker. He also wasn’t graded as a good fit for a 3-4 coming out.

Inside at linebacker, the 36 year old London Fletcher is an ageless wonder. He had 136 tackles last year and should post a similar total this year. However, Rocky McIntosh really struggled in their new 3-4 last season. He was still resigned and is expected to once again start next to Fletcher, a questionable move. 2010 4^th round pick Perry Riley was supposed to step into the lineup this season, but he’s apparently disappointing. He’s listed as a 3^rd stringer.

Another free agent acquisition is Josh Wilson, a cornerback. Wilson came out of nowhere to become one of the best cornerbacks in the league last year. I’m curious to whether or not he can keep that up now that he’s switching teams and now that he’s gotten paid. Wilson allowed just a 46.9% completion percentage and 3 touchdowns to 3 interceptions.

He’ll start opposite DeAngelo Hall, whose 2010 stats are inflated by a 4 interception game against Jay Cutler. He allowed 8 touchdowns and a completion percentage of 73.7%. At safety, another free agent signing OJ Atogwe, a solid free safety, will start opposite LaRon Landry, an overrated player who struggles against the pass, though he’s a beast against the run.

As I said earlier, the most all of these free agent signings can do is get them maybe 6 wins and blow their chances at Andrew Luck. They were, for the most part, financially smart deals, but in the grand scheme of things, they could end up looking very stupid. Rex Grossman and John Beck at quarterback are both terrible and they don’t protect their quarterback or get after the opponent’s quarterback very well either. They also lack continuity with a new starting quarterback and so many new free agents coming in. Their defense will be better, but not that great this year and the offense will be stagnated by poor quarterback and offensive line play.

Quarterback: C-

Running backs: C

Receiving corps: C

Offensive line: C

Run defense: C+

Pass rush: C

Pass coverage: C+

Coaching: B

Projection: 6-10 4^th in NFC East

Updated 4/4/12

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