The Ravenous Blog

Ravens dealing with injuries

The regular season in the NFL is quickly winding down and the injuries are piling up. This week, several Ravens are either limited, or not practicing at all.

Among those not practicing, five are starters. Ed Reed, Jarret Johnson, Terrell Suggs, Mark Clayton and Jared Gaither all didn’t practice. I don’t expect Reed,Clayton or Gaither to play Sunday.

Reed is resting his hip, neck and foot. In Week 16 the Ravens have Pittsburgh and I think he’ll come back for that game. Clayton is nursing hamstring and knee injuries and could be out for the year. I would like to see Clayton back for the Steelers game because his last game against Pittsburgh was a good one. I wouldn’t expect to see Gaither this week either. Michael Oher filled in fine at left tackle and Oniel Cousins was solid at right tackle last week.

I would expect to see Suggs and Johnson however. Suggs played last week and is rounding back in to shape after injuring his knee against Cleveland. Johnson also played last Sunday until the game was out of hand and he was removed.

Most of the other players practiced. I fully expect most of the starters to be removed from the game again after a few Jay Cutler interceptions.

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Three Ravens lead positions in Pro Bowl voting

Good news for Baltimore Ravens fans Tuesday. Three Ravens lead their positions in Pro Bowl voting.

Middle linebacker Ray Lewis is the top vote-getter at his position in the AFC. I’m not really surprised by this. Lewis is a perrennial Pro Bowler and the Ravens are having a solid year.

Ed Reed is leading at safety. Reed is still an excellent safety even though he has been playing through injuries the last couple of years. If Reed continues to miss games I don’t see hm being voted to the Pro Bowl this season, but if he comes back and helps the Ravens get in to the playoffs, he will be in Miami on Jan. 31.

Le’Ron McClain leads fullbacks in voting. McClain made the Pro Bowl last season because of his stat line. This season, he has taken on more of a traditional fullback role and doing a great job of it. McClain is definitely deserving of a Pro Bowl selection for his 2009 performance.

One Raven I would like to see in the Pro Bowl is Ray Rice. Rice is having a fantastic season, gaining yardage in both the passing and rushing attack. If there’s one Ravens player that deserves it, it’s Rice.

Ravens roll over Lions 48-3

The Baltimore Ravens finally looked like a playoff against a lesser opponent. Baltimore ran through, over and around the Detroit Lions to cruise to an easy 48-3 win Sunday.

Joe Flacco was removed from the game after the third quarter as I thought he would be if the Ravens were far enough in front of the Lions. Flacco was efficient and didn’t turn the ball over. That was great to see. Flacco has been turning the ball over with regularity and it was good to see him take care of the football Sunday. Troy Smith came in to relieve Flacco and got in to the end zone on a broken play. Smith did a nice little dance to cap off the scoring for Baltimore.

Cam Cameron finally took the air out of the ball and had the Ravens offense wear out the Detroit defense. Ray Rice ran for over 100 yards in the first half, also cracking the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career. Rice left the game early in the third quarter because of a chest injury, but could have come back in if the game was closer.

Since Rice was knocked out, Willis McGahee replaced him and scored two touchdowns. He also had a field day against the Lions defense. McGahee rushed for 76 yards before giving way to Jalen Parmele in the fourth quarter. The other part of the Ravens backfield, Le’Ron McClain, was able to get in on the fun, scoring a touchdown in the third quarter.

On the defensive side of the ball, the secondary played well shutting down Calvin Johnson and picking off two passes.. However, the defensive line didn’t get any pressure on Daunte Culpepper. It wasn’t an issue against Detroit, but with Pittsburgh coming up in Week 16, and then maybe the playoffs, the Ravens need to do something to get pressure on the quarterback.

So, after rolling over the Lions the Ravens are now 7-6 with three teams under .500 on their schedule coming up. If they run the table and win out the will earn a wild card berth. The other interesting part of the Ravens winning out is if Cincinnati loses out. If the Bengals somehow lose out they will go 9-7 and finish in second place in the division giving the Ravens the division title. Although the second scenario is unlikely, anything is possible in the NFL.

Ravens Release Ali, Promote Harper

In a move that's not surprising, but a little unexpected this late in the week, the Ravens have signed wide receiver Justin Harper off of their practice squad and released fullback Charles Ali.

Ali was a mid-season signing for the Baltimore Ravens. They plucked him out of the UFL. I thought with the Ali signing that Baltimore would use more heavy packages, but it never happened and as soon as Ali was in Baltimore, he's now gone.

Harper is a receiver that has big size. His biggest problem is he had trouble holding on to the ball. Harper is the perfect fit for Cam Cameron's offense which values speed and size from receivers. Harper has these two qualities. If Harper learns how to hold on to the ball he has a very good chance at being a solid receiver.

The other reason this move is interesting is because it indicates that injured receiver Mark Clayton probably will not play Sunday. I thought it would be a good move for Clayton to sit this week against Detroit and get healthy for the stretch run. Look for Harper to come in in four-receiver sets and play special teams.

How do the Lions and Ravens stack up?

The Baltimore Ravens are coming off of a loss against the Green Bay Packers. Baltimore was dominated in every phase of the game Monday night and is coming in to Sunday’s game with Detroit reeling from injuries. If there’s a week that the Ravens should rest their injured players for the stretch one, it’s this week.

It’s not that Detroit isn’t improving, they are, but they are still brutally bad. The Lions were beat up by Cincinnati last Sunday and are going as far as resting rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford this week. This game is shaping up very badly for Detroit. The Lions are choosing to start Daunte Culpepper who hasn’t been on his game in years. Although the defense is getting better, they still may have trouble keeping up with the Ravens.

On Baltimore’s side, starters like Ed Reed, Jared Gaither, Jarret Johnson and Mark Clayton are all battling injuries. If I was John Harbaugh, I’d rest them for at least this week, possibly next week as well. Reed is dealing with a leg issue, Clayton has a pulled hamstring, Johnson and Gaither are just banged up. Terrell Suggs is also trying to come back from a knee injury. Suggs, in my opinion, should rest another week  unless it is totally necessary for him to return. If Clayton doesn’t play, I’m going to be looking for Kelley Washington and Demetrius Williams to get the bulk of the time in Clayton’s slot.

The other player battling injuries, but continues to play and practice through it, is Joe Flacco. Flacco has been battling a hip and ankle injuries for some time now. If Baltimore gets up by enough, I say Harbaugh should take him out and put Troy Smith in. For one, it’ll give Flacco’s body a little more time recover for next Sunday. Secondly, just in case something does happen to Flacco, Smith will have had some playing time with the team and can knock off some rust.

Better defensive play and, hopefully, better red zone decisions and conversions, well lead to a 31-10 win over Detroit.

Ravens Injury Report

The Baltimore Ravens are coming off of a short week after having played Monday night. Of course this means that their bodies have a short week to get ready for their opponent Sunday. Luckily, the opponent is Detroit.

So, the injury report included starters Ed Reed who has a strained hip, Jared Gaither, Jarret Johnson and Mark Clayton. Those four players did not practice.

I fully expect Clayton and Reed to sit on Sunday because it's Detroit. Clayton hurt his hamstring against the Packers on Monday night. His absence should get Kelley Washington and, possibly, Demetrius Williams more looks in the offense. If Reed sits, Tom Zbikowski should get his second consecutive start.

Other names on the injury report are Terrell Suggs, Billy Cundiff and Joe Flacco. Suggs and Cundiff were limited in practice, however, it's looking more and more like Suggs will play after missing the last three weeks with a knee injury. As for Cundiff, how a kicker gets a concussion I have no idea, but he will play. Flacco has been dealing with a bum hip and ankle, but hasn't missed practice at all, so he is expected to play.

One note about Suggs, the woman who filed charges against him is now suing him for $70 million. He can't talk about it until he has his day in court.

About the penalties

Watching the Ravens-Packers game on Monday night was very frustrating because of all of the yellow on the field. No, it wasn’t Green Bay Packer yellow, it was yellow flags from the referees.

Every time the Baltimore Ravens made a good defensive play it was marred by a penalty. I don’t think everything the Ravens did to Green Bay was a penalty and certainly not the first pass interference call on Domonique Foxworth. Foxworth played textbook man coverage and was whistled for a penalty. It seems that the secondary, especially Frank Walker, has been penalized all season long. 

The problems didn’t start with Green Bay, and I’m sure they won’t end this week with Detroit. Part of the problem with the Ravens is their reputation. For years Baltimore trash-talked their way through games and made the rest of the NFL despise them. Not so much the league, or the refs, but the teams. Since John Harbaugh took over last season, the Ravens have stopped with the extra activities after the plays. The reputation, however, has stuck.

Maybe the Ravens can work on this perception in the last four games of this season and keep it up next season, but it might be a little rough at times until there is a noticeable change in the attitude of the Ravens players.

Ravens let ball, playoff chances slip away

Monday night represented a crucial game for both the Baltimore Ravens and Green Bay Packers for their respective playoff lives. However, Green Bay, not Baltimore, was able to get the job done in winning 27-14.

The game started out fine with the Baltimore defense only yielding three points in the first quarter. It appeared that the Ravens would score in their first drive, but Ray Rice inexplicably and uncharacteristically fumbled Baltimore’s first scoring chance away. End of drive, and before anyone really knew it, a microcosm of the entire game.

Aaron Rodgers then got real hot in the second quarter, scorching the Ravens defense for 14 points. Rodgers was able to find Jermichael Finley in a mismatch for a touchdown. Then, right before halftime, Rodgers connected with Driver to give the Packers a 17-0 lead.

Somehow Baltimore came out firing in the third quarter and was able to drop 14 points on Green Bay’s defense. That was it for the night though. The Packers dominated the fourth quarter on both offense and defense to round out their scoring.

So let’s go inside this game.

As I mentioned, Rice started the ugly game with a fumble in the first quarter. Then there were the penalties on both sides. Baltimore and Green Bay combined for 41 first downs, 10 of which came on penalties. The most costly penalties for both sides were the pass interference penalties. Domonique Foxworth was called for a penalty that no one knows why it was called. Frank Walker of course was called for pass interference. It just went on and on with penalties for Baltimore.

When the Ravens finally had momentum on a second pass interference call by Tramon Williams, Willis McGahee lost yardage. The next play was crucial. Joe Flacco rolled to his right and there was no one open, but he threw across his body, against the grain, right in to the hands of Williams. Baltimore’s defense held, but then Flacco threw another interception on the next play pretty much ending the game.

Baltimore’s offense was putrid. The ball wasn’t getting moved in the first half. It seemed like Green Bay knew the play that the Baltimore offense was running. Cam Cameron schemed to pass the ball when, I think, running the ball may have been a better option. Why not use Le’Ron McClain, McGahee and Rice? It was apparent early on that the team needed to run the ball because Flacco possibly had his worst game as a pro so far.

Another flaw that showed through Monday night was the offensive line. There are future Pro-Bowl players on that line and they were pushed around all night long by the Green Bay defensive front. Part of the reason Flacco had such a poor performance was because he wasn’t getting much protection from his line. Ben Grubbs was getting beaten badly in the first half and Grubbs is a potential All-Pro player. The blitzes up the middle confused the line and made Flacco hurry passes or scramble out of the pocket to buy time. Also, the offensive line didn’t set up blocks well for the screens the Ravens like to run.

Now for the defense. Rodgers lit up the secondary which was expected. Baltimore played the run well, but had problems getting to Rodgers. Jarret Johnson continued his fantastic season with solid play stopping the run and dropping back in coverage, even intercepting a pass. Dannell Ellerbe, Antwan Barnes and Paul Kruger did a nice job filling the void left by the injured Terrell Suggs. However, the secondary was playing without Ed Reed and it showed. Tom Zbikowski filled in for Reed and had a mixed bag in his first start. He intercepted Rodgers, but also gave up chunks of yards in the passing game. All of these issues added up to a defeat for the Ravens.

If Baltimore is thinking about making the playoffs they must win out. Out of the wild card contenders left, Baltimore has the easiest schedule. That schedule starts with Detroit on Sunday. Hopefully, the Ravens can bounce back from the NFC North road woes and take care of business at home against that division. Chicago comes in the following week to round out Baltimore’s home schedule. The toughest game is going to Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh would love to knock the Ravens out of the playoff hunt with a victory over them in Week 16. For the Ravens to win out, they need to demonstrate toughness against the Steelers and Oakland Raiders. As of now, the playoffs don’t look promising for this team.

Restraining order taken out against Suggs

Multiple local media sources are reporting that a temporary restraining order has been issued against injured Ravens defensive end/linebacker Terrell Suggs.

This is not good news for the Baltimore Ravens, but it could be worse. Suggs apparently wasn't arrested and will have his day in court.

Since Suggs became a Ravens player he has shown more and more maturity each year so this is out of charatcter for him, in my opinion. When Baltimore drafted him he was a brash 20-year-old that thought he was excellent at everything. He has since humbled himself, grown up and become a leader on a defense that may soon be very young.

We'll see how this plays out Suggs and the Ravens.

Ravens prepping for frigid Lambeau

The Baltimore Ravens will play their third prime-time game in four weeks Monday night against the Green Bay Packers in a game that has playoff implications for both sides. At the moment, Baltimore is out of the playoffs in the AFC while the Packers are in the NFC playoffs.

Green Bay is an ultra-rested squad after playing Detroit on Thanksgiving. For the first three quarters that game was close. The Green Bay defense, which is now the number one defense in the NFL, took control in the fourth quarter and some starters got some rest.

On the other hand, Baltimore played a super physical game against the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday night and some of their players are banged up. However, their secondary has slowly gotten better all season.

So how do these two match up?

The Packers offense is a high-flying offense with Aaron Rodgers at the helm. Green Bay has a decent running game with Ryan Grant, but their real strength is Rodger’s arm. All four of Green Bay’s wide receivers can catch the ball and their tight ends do a good job over the middle too. Baltimore’s secondary will be without an injured Fabian Washington, but Lardarius Webb is starting in his place. Webb has played well all season and I expect him to do well against either Donald Driver or Greg Jennings all night. However, because Domonique Foxworth has been average at best all year, either Dawan Landry or Ed Reed will have to shade over to his side on most pass attempts. I give the edge here to the Packers.

Baltimore’s offense was finally able to score a touchdown in the first quarter Sunday night. Joe Flacco and Ray Rice have been solid all season long. Flacco started to spread the ball around more against Pittsburgh so that’s very positive for the Ravens offense. Rice continues to make plays when called upon. The use of Willis McGahee and Le’Ron McClain on Sunday night is very important as the weather gets colder, though. I would expect a heavy dose of the running game on a Packers defense that has been very good against the pass. Without Al Harris, Charles Woodson has picked up the slack and has been excellent. There is no edge of the Ravens offense over the Packers defense, nor does Green Bay’s defense have an edge over the Ravens.

This game will be a close one, but I think the more desperate team will pull this one out. Ravens 24, Packers 20.