With the first week of the NFL season not quite over yet, Ravens fans can take great solace in knowing that they absolutely dominated the Cincinnati Bengals defensively. The media and pundits alike doubted the ability of the Ravens to pull out a win due to the unknown health of Joe Flacco, but it turned out Joe Flacco would not be needed today as the defense and running game carried the Ravens to a 20-0 win.
Without further ado, let us take a look at this week’s “Good, Bad, and Ugly.”
The Good
The Defense: I really cannot single out a single player here who really stood out more than the others because the defense as a whole played so incredibly well. Count me as one who came in with high expectations for the defense and might have walked away feeling more impressed than expected.
The Bengals gained just 221 net yards of offense and converted on a paltry four of 13 third down attempts. Even better, the Bengals failed to convert any points on three red zone trips. With five sacks, three hits, and five turnovers forced (four interceptions, one fumble) against a Bengals offense that looked like it would be one of the better in the NFL, the Ravens really took control and prevented the Bengals from ever getting momentum.
One player I will point to as a star performer was Brandon Williams. Williams was a natural force in the middle of the Ravens defense against the run and collapsed the pocket well in the passing game. One game into the season and Williams gives us one damn good performance that justifies the Ravens massive contract.
The Running Game: The Ravens said that they wanted to remain committed to the running game and not average 40 passes a game like they did in 2016. How do you accomplish this? You run the ball 42 times, of course.
Terrance West and Buck Allen were nearly even in carries, receiving 19 and 21 respectively. They rushed for a combined 151 yards. On the surface, that sub 4.0 YPC number may appear a bit pedestrian, but do consider that the Ravens ran the ball 14 times to simply close the game out and the Bengals knew the Ravens wanted to run the ball. In those 14 carries, the Ravens gained just 40 yards, meaning that in the other 26 carries, the Ravens gained 111 yards between West and Allen and averaged roughly 4.2 YPC.
Both West and Allen ran with purpose and with urgency and did everything in their power to silence the critics that questioned whether or not this Ravens running game might be the worst in the NFL.
The Bad
Penalties: The Ravens finished the 2016 NFL season ranked fourth in the NFL in terms of penalties per game, averaging 8.5 per game. The Ravens again looked like an undisciplined team, committing 11 penalties for 85 yards with nearly half coming from the offensive line and three from Ryan Jensen at the center position. If the Ravens want to be a better team than the 8-8 team they were in 2016, they cannot afford to give up penalties that give free first downs to opposing offenses and cannot continue to commit several holding penalties on what would amount to long gains in the running game.
Discipline, discipline, discipline needs to be the message from John Harbaugh this week.
Kamalei Correa: On the surface, a stat line of 5 tackles, four solo, and a tackle for loss on a well pursued swing pass to a running back may look pretty good. And hell, even this inclusion may be a little bit harsh. However, I think that the amazing pieces around Correa allowed him to play better, or have a better stat line, than he otherwise would.
To me, Correa still appears hesitant to come downhill and attack running lanes. He does not attack blockers head on and will wait for the running back to hit the hole before he commits, limiting his ability to make tackles for no gain or a loss and instead allowing the running back to pick up three, four yards before they are actually tackled.
For example, look at Gio Bernard’s 23-yard run. Correa clearly wants to attack the play and come downhill, but he hesitates, freezing and not reacting. To make matters worse, Correa is so out of position that Bernard is able to apply a little shake and bake and blow by Correa and leave Correa grasping at air.
It is not a good look when you hesitate to make plays and your backup is out aiding in game changing interceptions.
The Ugly
Injuries: The game off football is pretty violent and injuries are pretty well expected, but you cannot help but feel a sense of disappointment and agony when a player who was contributing goes down.
Danny Woodhead was making huge catches in the passing game to convert first downs before he went down with a hamstring injury. Za’Darius Smith had registered a first quarter sack before he was rolled up on and sprained his knee.
Injuries at any stage hurts, but ones to key players are always going to sting a particularly large amount. For a team as snake bitten as the Ravens, any game they come away healthy should now be considered a win.
Joe Flacco: To be fair to Flacco, the expectations really should not have been that high. He had missed the entire preseason with a back injury and had lost what appeared to be his top target when Woodhead went down in the first half with a hamstring injury. Still, this was far from Flacco’s best game and it appears he has more rust to knock off than I initially expected.
According to Pro Football Focus, only 27 of Flacco’s 121 yards came through the air. He completed just one pass beyond 10 yards in the air. Had it not been for a superb and legal pick set by Benjamin Watson, the long touchdown to Jeremy Maclin may not happen and the Ravens may not even reach 100 passing yards as a team.
More disappointing, though, was the fact that Flacco still does not drive through throws. Flacco plants and throws without pushing the ball and it resulted in several passes that came up low and short on throws that could have very well gone for long gains and aided in more Ravens touchdowns. On the one interception thrown, Flacco threw high and behind West and gave West little chance to make a play on the ball, resulting in a popped up ball that was an easy interception for Nick Vigil.
The defense can likely keep the Ravens in games to begin the season with a relatively weak offensive schedule, but sooner or later, the Ravens will need Joe Flacco to step up and justify his massive contract.
Writer Note: I realize we have a thread with the same exact title, but this was actually an old segment I used to do on a website I owned many years ago. I’m hoping that we can all still enjoy both threads and that this may provide a little more discussion due to the more in depth nature of the article.
Without further ado, let us take a look at this week’s “Good, Bad, and Ugly.”
The Good
The Defense: I really cannot single out a single player here who really stood out more than the others because the defense as a whole played so incredibly well. Count me as one who came in with high expectations for the defense and might have walked away feeling more impressed than expected.
The Bengals gained just 221 net yards of offense and converted on a paltry four of 13 third down attempts. Even better, the Bengals failed to convert any points on three red zone trips. With five sacks, three hits, and five turnovers forced (four interceptions, one fumble) against a Bengals offense that looked like it would be one of the better in the NFL, the Ravens really took control and prevented the Bengals from ever getting momentum.
One player I will point to as a star performer was Brandon Williams. Williams was a natural force in the middle of the Ravens defense against the run and collapsed the pocket well in the passing game. One game into the season and Williams gives us one damn good performance that justifies the Ravens massive contract.
The Running Game: The Ravens said that they wanted to remain committed to the running game and not average 40 passes a game like they did in 2016. How do you accomplish this? You run the ball 42 times, of course.
Terrance West and Buck Allen were nearly even in carries, receiving 19 and 21 respectively. They rushed for a combined 151 yards. On the surface, that sub 4.0 YPC number may appear a bit pedestrian, but do consider that the Ravens ran the ball 14 times to simply close the game out and the Bengals knew the Ravens wanted to run the ball. In those 14 carries, the Ravens gained just 40 yards, meaning that in the other 26 carries, the Ravens gained 111 yards between West and Allen and averaged roughly 4.2 YPC.
Both West and Allen ran with purpose and with urgency and did everything in their power to silence the critics that questioned whether or not this Ravens running game might be the worst in the NFL.
The Bad
Penalties: The Ravens finished the 2016 NFL season ranked fourth in the NFL in terms of penalties per game, averaging 8.5 per game. The Ravens again looked like an undisciplined team, committing 11 penalties for 85 yards with nearly half coming from the offensive line and three from Ryan Jensen at the center position. If the Ravens want to be a better team than the 8-8 team they were in 2016, they cannot afford to give up penalties that give free first downs to opposing offenses and cannot continue to commit several holding penalties on what would amount to long gains in the running game.
Discipline, discipline, discipline needs to be the message from John Harbaugh this week.
Kamalei Correa: On the surface, a stat line of 5 tackles, four solo, and a tackle for loss on a well pursued swing pass to a running back may look pretty good. And hell, even this inclusion may be a little bit harsh. However, I think that the amazing pieces around Correa allowed him to play better, or have a better stat line, than he otherwise would.
To me, Correa still appears hesitant to come downhill and attack running lanes. He does not attack blockers head on and will wait for the running back to hit the hole before he commits, limiting his ability to make tackles for no gain or a loss and instead allowing the running back to pick up three, four yards before they are actually tackled.
For example, look at Gio Bernard’s 23-yard run. Correa clearly wants to attack the play and come downhill, but he hesitates, freezing and not reacting. To make matters worse, Correa is so out of position that Bernard is able to apply a little shake and bake and blow by Correa and leave Correa grasping at air.
It is not a good look when you hesitate to make plays and your backup is out aiding in game changing interceptions.
The Ugly
Injuries: The game off football is pretty violent and injuries are pretty well expected, but you cannot help but feel a sense of disappointment and agony when a player who was contributing goes down.
Danny Woodhead was making huge catches in the passing game to convert first downs before he went down with a hamstring injury. Za’Darius Smith had registered a first quarter sack before he was rolled up on and sprained his knee.
Injuries at any stage hurts, but ones to key players are always going to sting a particularly large amount. For a team as snake bitten as the Ravens, any game they come away healthy should now be considered a win.
Joe Flacco: To be fair to Flacco, the expectations really should not have been that high. He had missed the entire preseason with a back injury and had lost what appeared to be his top target when Woodhead went down in the first half with a hamstring injury. Still, this was far from Flacco’s best game and it appears he has more rust to knock off than I initially expected.
According to Pro Football Focus, only 27 of Flacco’s 121 yards came through the air. He completed just one pass beyond 10 yards in the air. Had it not been for a superb and legal pick set by Benjamin Watson, the long touchdown to Jeremy Maclin may not happen and the Ravens may not even reach 100 passing yards as a team.
More disappointing, though, was the fact that Flacco still does not drive through throws. Flacco plants and throws without pushing the ball and it resulted in several passes that came up low and short on throws that could have very well gone for long gains and aided in more Ravens touchdowns. On the one interception thrown, Flacco threw high and behind West and gave West little chance to make a play on the ball, resulting in a popped up ball that was an easy interception for Nick Vigil.
The defense can likely keep the Ravens in games to begin the season with a relatively weak offensive schedule, but sooner or later, the Ravens will need Joe Flacco to step up and justify his massive contract.
Writer Note: I realize we have a thread with the same exact title, but this was actually an old segment I used to do on a website I owned many years ago. I’m hoping that we can all still enjoy both threads and that this may provide a little more discussion due to the more in depth nature of the article.
Last edited:
