Ravens Unbe-freakin-lievable Loss
Scruffy Dan and Breanne at Flickr
The 2007/2008 Baltimore Ravens look for ways to lose. Against the 0 -13 Miami Dolphins they did just that. When things go wrong, they go wrong. When a team can not seem to get a break, they always go wrong. A team that came into this game knowing that this was their best chance to avoid being in the record books as the first 0 -16 team against a team that was on a 7 game losing streak and with this game being the best chance to avoid ending the season with a 10 game losing streak. This was the Super Bowl of the bottom dwellers. In the end it was the big hole in the Baltimore Ravens secondary that rightfully gave the Dolphins their first win of the season, 22 - 16 in overtime.
OFFENSE: Again nothing spectacular, a mix of goodness with a lot of inconsistencies. Kyle Boller was 10/19 for 159 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT (that should have been a Darling reception). Willis McGahee had 29 carried for 104 yards. The game-plan was there with a 63/37 split towards the run. But all this led too was one TD. It did not even win the game clock battle. The bright spot again was Troy Smith coming in and leading the offense down the field twice for the game tying FG in regulation, and the game winning FG attempt in overtime. The offensive line failed in protecting the QB again. Lawrence (oops Jason) Taylor put on a one man show. What bothered me was that he was beating people. It was that no one was covering him. But where Boller went down, Smith was able to miraculously get out of the way and keep plays alive. I love his energy level, and the power in his arm. His throws look effortless and accurate. I also loved the look of Kyle Boller on the bench. You had to wonder what he was thinking. Oh my aching career maybe?
DEFENSE: Another football game, another mediocre offense, another QB passing for 300+ yards, and another receiver with 100+ yards in receptions. This backup secondary plain sucks. They give too much cushion, they are too often out of place, and are more times than not no where near the receiver when he catches the ball. This hole in the defense has been exploited over and over this season. This will be one thing that really needs to be addressed this off season. It is the lack of pass rush, is it the talent on the field, or is it a combination of both.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A blocked field goal by the aforementioned Jason Taylor, and a bad snap on the game winning field goal attempt. No one will ever remember what the special teams unit does right, but they will always remember when they mess up. I told my son at the time that the blocked FG would come back and haunt the Ravens, and it did. Matt Stover did make 3 field goals, but the game winner was wide left.
Well we did it again. Just when you think the team could do no worse they lose to what is arguably the worst team in the NFL. Now I know the Dolphins are not as bad as their record suggests, but 0 - 13 was still 0 - 13. I will not take anything away from their victory, they wanted to avoid 0 - 14 more than the Ravens wanted to avoid 4 - 12. The battle for the lowest draft pick was won by the team with more pride, bottom line. Now with nothing else to lose, I think Troy Smith gets his shot against the Seahawks.
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12 Responses to “Ravens Unbe-freakin-lievable Loss”
December 16th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
Mike,
Did we not see it coming? I’ve decided to stop beating my head against the wall over what this team does, or doesn’t do. It becomes just too much to take sometimes.
Now please excuse me, I have to go blow my brains out.
December 16th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
I knew this eas are only chance to break the losing streak i’m glad that we had to play the ravens this year the worst coached team in the nfl bar none .
December 16th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
how do we not go for the win 4th and 1 with 8 seconds left to play? Our season is already over. We can at least have some pride and shove the game winning TD in. Why leave it to chance of going to OT??
December 16th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
What happened, chums?
You were in the lead, you were well in the lead, but you ended up losing.
I know you’re all rather annoyed at the minute and more than a tad disappointed, but, fear not, as I’ve said before, you supporters just have to make the best of a bad job; search for the silver lining.
And there is one.
This enables one of the great pleasures of being a supporter of a team, you get to loose your invective against a hapless coach and scream for his head. It’s something we Newcastle United supporters are past master at. And sooner or later we always get our way.
December 16th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
at least the steelers are proving to be pretenders too.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:47 am
At this point I just hope we see a lot of Troy. I love the way he moves, throws… I’m nor even too worried about the Ws for this season (but I sure wouldn’t complain).
We need to see if Troy can handle prolonged play with the big boyz, see if we have any diamonds in the rough waiting to be starters.
Get an Offensive Coordinator for the love of POE! and some more CBs. CMac is awesome, when he is on the field, and with Rolles new medical problems (and age creeping up) who knows how long they will last.
December 17th, 2007 at 11:55 am
Kevin,
I totally agree with you. This decision still pi**es me off.
Just another great call.
December 17th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Oh dear, what happened? We are officially a bad team now! It’s hard to believe it happened so fast! We are a cartoon of a team, like a bad skit in Andrew Farrar’s world of Benny Hill and Monty Python and the Goonies. What the heck happened to this team in the space of less than a year?
December 17th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
Actually, I never thought much of Benny Hill or Monty Python (except, of course, for Life of Brian) and the Goon Show (as opposed to Goonies, which was an American film) was a little before my time.
But, perhaps like Blackadder, your team are in need of a cunning plan?
December 17th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
Don’t nobody shoot at me just yet, but I saw some good players on that Miami team, guys that were a lot better than I ever knew— guys like Jason Taylor. How is that team only 1-13 ? Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to review the game tape while drinking—heavily.
December 17th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
I don’t know about the team needing a cunning plan, but I sure know a lot of fans who need a good stiff drink after getting through that game! And then you can shoot me for saying so, but that Jason Taylor is good! How the heck is Miami a 1-13 team? They’ve got some good players.
December 17th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
Like Mike Brown said in his preview to the game Miami has been bitten by the injury bug like the Ravens have, if not worse. I never thought they were the worst team in the NFL, they just have the worst record. Jason Taylor was a one man recking crew Sunday.
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