In one of the most entertaining pre-season games in recent memory the Baltimore Ravens beat the Washington Redskins 34-31. Brandon Jones took a Tyrod Taylor pass and scored the game winning touchdown with twenty two seconds left as he leapt in the air and pushed the ball across the pylon.
Even though the game meant nothing to the standings it did highlight issues that the Ravens must continue to work on such as getting the offense to start quickly, an issue that plagued the unit much of 2010.
Joe Flacco made the first mistake as he threw an interception that was picked off by DeAngelo Hall and returned 52 yards for a touchdown within the first few minutes of the game. For the rest of the quarter Baltimore was ineffectual moving the ball and looked out of sync.
Chuck Pagano’s defense didn’t fare much better. With three minutes left in the First Quarter the Redskins Tim Hightower blasted through a big hole and sprinted 37 yards for a score to put Washington up 14-0.
The Ravens fortunes changed drastically in the Second where Joe Flacco led successive touchdown drives to tie the score at 14. On the first drive, Flacco found Anquan Boldin twice setting up a Ray Rice touchdown run and on the second Flacco threw a gorgeous 35-yd bomb to Lee Evans who beat Hall to the endzone.
Before the half was over the Ravens weren’t done with defensive miscues as on third and fifteen Rex Grossman found a wide open Santana Moss for a score with less than a minute left. On the replay it was clear that Rookie Jimmy Smith was confused on his assignment and blew his coverage.
Flacco (17-27, 219 , 2 TD, 1 INT) and his offense kept the momentum going as they scored one final time on the first series of the Third Quarter. He zipped in a pass from 12 yards out to Boldin in between two defenders to tie the game up again at 21.
Former Ravens John Beck answered with a touchdown of his own and hit Terrence Austin a 13-yd score that ended the Quarter with a 28-21 Redskins lead.
Ravens back-up Tyrod Taylor looked strong in relief and was able to deliver the winning score that was set up by a LaQuan Williams 38-yd punt return.
The Ravens will finish the Pre-Season against the Atlanta Falcons next Thursday, September 1st.
POINTS TO PONDER- Joe Flacco was debated to death over the off-season and it will probably continue until either he wins a championship, signs with another team, or retires. He struggled to get going early (again) and looked bad staring down Boldin that led to the pick six by Hall. But for as bad as he looked in the First Quarter he looked impressive the remainder of the game. He extended plays with his underrated mobility and showed off his arm strength with a beautiful toss to Evans and a laser strike to Ed Dickson in traffic.
- Lee Evans is the type of the player that hasn’t been on this roster since the late 90s. A vertical threat that stretches defenses and can make plays. He hasn’t been here long but he’s seemingly developed an instant rapport with Joe Flacco. He could prove to best acquisition of 2011.
- To be fair to Flacco the Offensive Line is a patchwork group to say the least. No Matt Birk. No Marshal Yanda. Your starting Tackle hasn’t taken any snaps yet with his teammates. You need consistency to build a strong line and I’m concerned about all the changes. There is talent there on paper but you need people to get out there and gel. Keep this is in mind Ravens fans if the offense is slow out of the gate when the season begins.
- Torrey Smith had a rough night. I’ll cut the guy some slack since he is a rookie but I was never excited about the Ravens drafting him. I watched enough Maryland games during his time there to see his hands were a question. He dropped two easy ones last night and he’s had issues in practice as well. I don’t expect much from him this year. Tandon Doss on the other hand looks more polished. I would have loved to have seen Taylor go to him around the goal line late in the game to see if he could haul one in.
- I still think the Ravens need a vet to back-up Flacco but I will say that Tyrod Taylor makes me like him more and more each time I see him run a pro huddle. He’s confident and athletic and finds ways to make plays. He’s Troy Smith with better accuracy and poise.
- Even though Anthony Allen dropped a sure touchdown he’s definitely outplayed Jalen Parmele. He’s got good size and always keeps moving forward.
- It sounds almost sacreligious but the tag team of Dickson and Pitta may soon make Ravens fans forget Todd Heap. Each has a unique skill set and can be utilized depending on the situation. I love Dickson being able to get out on intermediate and long throws and Pitta shows toughness in his blocking assignments and could become a red-zone threat with sure hands.
- The secondary had a tough outing. Foxworth looks slow recovering from surgery. Cary Williams came back to the pack a bit and seemed a step slow too. Jimmy Smith blew his coverage for a touchdown but he did not bite on a double move and almost nabbed an interception. He is still a rookie so expect growing pains. Lardarius Webb had a nice pick and looked strong when blitzing but was beaten early and often due to poor technique.
- I’m still confused why the media still says that there is a competition at Safety. It’s Bernard Pollard’s job to lose.
- The first Unit Defensive line didn’t seem into it and got manhandled most of the time. Ray Lewis was flattened on the Hightower run. The Second wave brought energy with Pernell McPhee getting to the quarterback once again.
- ESPN did a nice job with the broadcast and Mike Tirico summed it up best – “This was a very watchable pre-season game”. As far as fake games go he was right. I love listening to Ron Jaworski because the guy actually prepares while Chucky appears to there more for comic relief. I’ll admit I’m warming up to Gruden’s act more though as the goofy Madden-esque QB guru. I’d hate him more if he wasn’t making me laugh several times during the telecast.
- The Ray Lewis interview with Suzy Kolber during the last five minutes was pure gold. There was Lewis stopping mid-sentence as he jumped around cheering his teammates on and then clarifying the new rule on Brandon Jones’ touchdown. He’ll have no trouble with a new career once he hangs up the cleats.
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