SB Nation - Willis McGahee

Opponent History: Buffalo Bills at Atlanta Falcons

sireric — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:00:30 -0000

Buffalo Bills (5-9) at Atlanta Falcons (7-7)
Sunday, December 27, 2009 at 1:00 PM EST
Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA

The Buffalo Bills' 2009 season is mercifully close to an end, with our favorite team needing to win out in order to meet their yearly quota of seven wins. I, for one, am rooting for a fourth straight 7-9 season. How many times has a team finished with the same record four straight years? Not often - if ever - I would say. At least we'd have that.

This will be the tenth meeting ever between these two teams, with Atlanta holding a 5-4 advantage, including two consecutive wins. This will also be the fifth meeting to happen in Atlanta, where the Bills are 1-3. The first ever meeting between the Bills and Falcons occurred in 1973, the year O.J. Simpson ran for 2,003 yards. The Juice ran the ball 24 times for 137 yards that day, and Jim Braxton added 23 carries for 80 yards and two touchdowns in a 17-6 Bills win. The most recent five meetings are detailed after the jump.

Sunday, November 5, 1989: Falcons 30, Bills 28
This game was very back and forth, as eight separate lead changes will attest to. James Lofton opened the scoring by hauling in a six-yard pass from Jim Kelly. Paul McFadden hit a 54-yard field goal and Keith Jones plunged into the end zone from a yard out to give the Falcons a 10-7 lead. Keith McKeller caught an 11-yard pass from Kelly to put the Bills up 14-10, but Floyd Dixon's 26-yard touchdown catch from Chris Miller and another McFadden field goal put the Falcons back into the lead. Two touchdown runs that totaled three yards combined - one by Thurman Thomas and one by Larry Kinnebrew - sandwiched another Jones score to give the Bills a slim 28-27 lead. McFadden hit his second field goal over 50 yards, this one late in the fourth quarter, to give the Falcons the win.

Sunday, November 22, 1992: Bills 41, Falcons 14
The Bills literally ran all over the Falcons in this one, rushing for 315 yards on just 44 attempts. Thurman (13 carries, 103 yards), Carwell Gardner (8 carries, 34 yards, TD) and Kenneth Davis (20 carries, 181 yards, 2 TD) all enjoyed great days for the Bills. In fact, Buffalo was so dominant that day that they scored the first 38 points of the game, including 28 in the first quarter alone. When the Falcons did get on the board, it was via a Deion Sanders 75-yard kickoff return, which when you think about it, is pretty darn short for a kickoff. That is even before the kickoff line was moved back from the 35 yard line to the 30.

Sunday, November 12, 1995: Bills 23, Falcons 17
Craig "Ironhead" Heyward opened the scoring for the Falcons with a one-yard plow into the end zone. Kelly answered by finding Billy Brooks twice for scores - the first time for 30 yards, and the second time for 14 yards - to put the Bills out in front 14-7. Morten Anderson then showed off his leg by hitting a 50-yard field goal, only to be matched by Steve Christie. "Ironhead" pushed in another TD from a yard out, knotting the score at 17. Two more Christie field goals put the Bills ahead for good. Bryce Paup and Bruce Smith each sacked Jeff George twice.

Sunday, December 23, 2001: Falcons 33, Bills 30
Shawn Bryson had probably his best day as a pro, finishing with 130 yards on 16 carries and two scores; he also added another 31 yards on 3 catches. Larry Centers even added a 50-yard rush. The Falcons countered with 489 total yards, 422 of which came through the air. Chris Chandler picked the Bills apart while finding nine different receivers. After an Eric Moulds touchdown catch tied it in the fourth quarter, Jay Feely hit a 52-yard field goal to give the Falcons the win.

Sunday, September 25, 2005: Falcons 24, Bills 16
J.P. Losman was a pathetic 10/23 for a whopping 75 yards with an interception. Oh, and he was sacked four times. Willis McGahee was a bright spot for the Bills, rushing 27 times for 140 yards and a score. Losman was too much for Willis to overcome, however, and T.J. Duckett put the nail in the Bills' coffin with a 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to give the Falcons the win.

The Eric DeCosta Scorecard

John Morgan — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:32:25 -0000

More photos » by Rob Carr - AP

Eric DeCosta's living resume, in repose.

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(What follows is over seven pages and 2,500 words long. If you're interested in the gist of it, scroll down to the end.)

I did an overview on Eric DeCosta, but think I can do better and think you deserve better. Here's an attempt to hold DeCosta by the same standard I held Steve Keim. First I will look at his work as a Midwest scout for the Ravens from 1998-2002, and then his work as the director of college scouting from 2003-2009.

Baltimore did not draft a talent from the Midwest until 2001.

2001

3) 92 Casey Rabach C Wisconsin

4) 126 Edgerton Hartwell LB Western Illinois

7) 231 Dwayne Missouri DE Northwestern

Casey Rabach might remind some of Seattle's Chris Spencer situation. Rabach was drafted in the third round by the Ravens but struggled to break through early in his career. He then signed with the Redskins and became the most consistent player on their offensive line.

Hartwell was a pretty good value for the round he was taken in. He started his second season and from 2002-2004 before leaving in free agency. His approximate value in those seasons is 9, 8 and 9. Atlanta signed him to a six-year, $26.25 million contract before 2005, but injuries sapped his ability and he was cut in 2007.

Missouri is a seventh round pick that never broke through.

2002

2) 52 Anthony Weaver DE Notre Dame

4) 112 Dave Zastudil P Ohio U.

4) 123 Ron Johnson WR Minnesota

6) 206 Javin Hunter WR Notre Dame

6) 207 Chester Taylor RB Toledo

We see the rising influence of DeCosta in this draft, his last as a regional scout before being promoted. Weaver was a solid pick in the second. He was able to start his rookie season and started 16, 15 and 15 games before a host of injuries sidelined him in 2005. DeCosta scores twice on Weaver: For drafting him in the second and acquiring a Lawrence Jackson like end and for not re-signing him after injuries took their toll. Weaver looked like a stud back then, but fizzled away from Baltimore.

If you draft a punter in the fourth, he better stick and he better be great. Zastudil is not, by all accounts. His rookie season with Baltimore, the Ravens were below average punting the ball, and over his four season, he was twice below average and twice above average - almost in equal degrees. I am starting to think it is very hard to evaluate a punter from an outsider's perspective. I disagree with drafting a punter so early, but it seems Zastudil is, if nothing else, a competent punter that can be good.

Johnson never developed as a receiver or returner and was last a linebacker and receiver for the Cleveland Gladiators.

Hunter's career peak was a 63 yard kickoff return in 2002. He is not the same kind of flat bust as Johnson. Hunter started strong in the preseason and started three regular season games as a rookie. He ruptured his Achilles before the start of 2003 and was never the same player. Push.

Chester Taylor started his career as a third down back, but slowly worked himself into the running back rotation. Taylor was buried behind Jamal Lewis, but still produced, was signed by Minnesota in 2006, rushed for 1,200 yards, and was then buried behind Adrian Peterson. Taylor has been valuable throughout his career and is a huge win on DeCosta's resume.

Starting in 2003, we must assume DeCosta took a leadership position in the Ravens entire draft.

2003

1) 10 Terrell Suggs OLB Arizona State

1) 19 Kyle Boller QB California

3) 77 Musa Smith RB Georgia

4) 109 Jarret Johnson DE Alabama

4) 134 Ovie Mughelli FB Wake Forest

5) 146 Aubrayo Franklin DT Tennessee

5) 173 Tony Pashos T Illinois

6) 182 Gerome Sapp DB Notre Dame

7) 223 Trent Smith TE Oklahoma

7) 250 Mike Mabry C Central Florida

7) 258 Antwoine Sanders - Utah

Suggs has been a baller from snap one. He was a situational pass rusher as a rookie and recorded 12 sacks. He has 56.5 for his career, 5 interceptions, 32 passes defended and 18 forced fumbles. Suggs is an elite player, still only 27, and a young 27, and a grand slam pick for DeCosta.

Boller is everything I said about Suggs, applied to a quarterback, inverted and intensified. A complete bust that looked the part of a bust, my only tempering of this massive misstep by DeCosta is that Brian Billick pushed hard for Boller, and in those days, Billick was a respected coach, and a force slapdicks shouldn't defy.

Musa Smith looked like a talented back on his way up before Roy Williams effectively ended his career with a horse collar tackle. Smith suffered a compound fracture of his tibia. The play directly led to the banning of horse collar tackles, but the damage was done for Smith. He played sparingly the next two seasons and could never reestablish himself. Push.

Jarret Johnson took a slow path to success, but has been a regular starter in four of the last five seasons. A very good pick that is still paying dividends for the Ravens, notably, Johnson's AV in 2008 was 10, better than Bart Scott.

Mughelli didn't break through right away with the Ravens, but is now considered one of the best fullbacks in football. He was good in his final two seasons in Baltimore, but lured away when Atlanta offered him big bucks. A minor success for what they got.

The hits keep coming: Franklin was a valuable rotational player for Baltimore, even starting once, and is now a starter for San Francisco. Mike Nolan targeted Franklin, which says something about his perceived value, and though he never fully broke through with Baltimore, he was playing behind Kelly Gregg. Not a horn-blowing success, but very good value for the pick.

Pashos is what a right tackle should be: cheap and good enough. A good player for Baltimore and eventually Jacksonville, Pashos is a good run blocker that was a great value for the Ravens.

Gerome Sapp couldn't stick with the Ravens, signed with the Colts and then signed again with the Ravens. He played nickelback. Neither a bust nor hit, but a pick spent on a semi-talented player that just didn't fit on the roster.

Smith, Mabry and Sanders had no noteworthy NFL career.

2004

2) 51 Dwan Edwards DT Oregon State

3) 82 Devard Darling WR Washington State

5) 153 Roderick Green LB Central Missouri State

6) 187 Josh Harris QB Bowling Green State

6) 199 Clarence Moore WR Northern Arizona

7) 244 Derek Abney WR Kentucky

7) 246 Brian Rimpf T East Carolina

Edwards is still a sometimes starter, sometimes rotational end for the Ravens. He is neither a bust nor a hit, but a semi-valuable player acquired with a semi-valuable pick.

Darling never produced for Baltimore, and that's quite an achievement, because the 2004 Ravens leading receiver was Travis Taylor. Taylor had 421 yards receiving. Darling was last in Kansas City. His current whereabouts are unknown, but, presumably, not in Kansas anymore.

Green struggled to produce, was stabbed July 2006, subsequently released and is now out of the league.

The rest of the draft barely made an impact and all four are now out of the league. After ruling draft day, DeCosta's second draft produced no starters, and only one regular.

2005

1) 22 Mark Clayton WR Oklahoma

2) 53 Dan Cody LB Oklahoma

2) 64 Adam Terry T Syracuse

4) 124 Jason Brown C North Carolina

5) 158 Justin Green RB Montana

6) 213 Derek Anderson QB Oregon State

7) 234 Mike Smith LB Texas Tech

Clayton had a strong rookie season, an even better sophomore season and has since spun his wheels into the mud. The 22^nd overall pick, Clayton is not a prize, but surely a value, still young, and maybe has better seasons ahead of him.

Cody was a fine prospect whose career has been eaten by injuries. He started 42 games in college. Best to call this a push, as the injury seemed unpredictable and traumatic.

Terry was a second round selection that never fully broke out of spot starter duties. Terry has not played in 2009. This is another pick muddled by injuries and therefore hard to evaluate.

Jason Brown started his second season and is a highly regarded center. St. Louis threw smarts to the wind and signed him to googolplex dollars this past offseason, but, for three seasons, he was a cheap and very good center for Baltimore.

Justin Green was a special teams contributor.

Anderson was waived his first season and claimed by the Cleveland Browns. He then had one of the great fluke quarterback seasons of all time, before retreating into his well furnished mansion of suck.

Smith contributed briefly for the Ravens on special teams.

2006

1) 12 Haloti Ngata DT Oregon

2) 56 Chris Chester C Oklahoma

3) 87 David Pittman DB Northwestern State-Louisiana

4) 111 Demetrius Williams WR Oregon

4) 132 P.J. Daniels RB Georgia Tech

5) 146 Dawan Landry SS Georgia Tech

5) 166 Quinn Sypniewski TE Colorado

6) 203 Sam Koch P Nebraska

6) 208 Derrick Martin CB Wyoming

7) 219 Ryan LaCasse LB Syracuse

Ngata is considered one of the best 3-4 linemen in football. He has played end and tackle, is just entering his prime, and should the conditions be right, could be entering a lengthy run of Pro Bowl appearances.

Chester was recruited as a tight end, drafted as a center, converted to guard, converted again to tight end and then converted back to guard again. He has 32 starts in his NFL career, and if never a stand out on his own, has been a good part of some very good offensive lines.

Pittman had two interception in 2007 and a forced fumble. That about summarizes his NFL career. He now plays in the UFL.

Williams is a field stretcher that has never come into his own as an actual receiver. He is not a bad player, and is valuable for his draft position.

Daniels was put on injured reserve prior to his second season and never recovered.

Dawan Landry has started three of the last four seasons, and, apart from 2008, has been a very solid starter for Baltimore since his rookie season. He used to noogie LaRon Landry.

Sypniewski was primarily a blocking tight end, but received some in 2007 after Todd Heap and Daniel Wilcox suffered injuries. He tore his ACL prior to this season.

Koch is the Ravens current punter. This season the team is slightly above average punting.

Martin is a talented young defensive back that was buried in Baltimore and now plays in Green Bay. Baltimore traded Martin for offensive tackle Tony Moll.

LaCasse never factored.

2007

1) 29 Ben Grubbs G Auburn

3) 74 Yamon Figurs WR Kansas State

3) 86 Marshal Yanda T Iowa

4) 134 Antwan Barnes LB Florida International

4) 137 Le'Ron McClain FB Alabama

5) 174 Troy Smith QB Ohio State

6) 207 Prescott Burgess LB Michigan

Supplemental

5) Jared Gaither T Maryland

Baltimore built their left side with this draft and in impressive fashion. Grubbs is a promising young starter and on the short list for best young offensive guards in football.

Yamon Figurs returned a kick and a punt for a touchdown in his first season, but could never stick as a receiver. Once the Ravens found a better return man, Figurs was cut, and is currently a free agent.

Yanda is a spot starter at guard and tackle that may have outright won the right guard position this season after starting the last four games and playing ably. I'm a big fan of Yanda.

Barnes is a rotational linebacker and special teams player for the Ravens.

McClain is a fullback better known for his rushing than blocking, but so what? He was astonishingly valuable in 2008 and the 11-5 Ravens leading rusher. This season he is buried behind Ray Rice and Willis McGahee. McClain's is a curious story to say the least. I am not sure he will ever repeat his 2008 performance, and certainly some of that performance must be credited the Ravens line, but for that year alone, we must credit DeCosta with another fullback find.

Smith was a member of the jobbers row of quarterbacks Seattle fattened against in 2007. He is now a Wildcat quarterback.

Burgess has split time between the Ravens and Patriots, and is, essentially, depth and a special teams player.

Gaither is the crown jewel of this class. DeCosta got Gaither for a fifth round pick in the supplemental draft, and now he is their starting left tackle, and franchise tackle of the future. Gaither isn't in the class of young Turk left tackles taking over the NFL, but he's close, a rare physical specimen (the tallest man in the NFL), a powerful drive blocker with developing pass pro skills. He was available in the supplemental draft because of bad grades, and available in the fifth round of the supplemental draft because a lot of other GMs didn't do their homework.

That leads us to the last draft we'll look at in detail.

1) 18 Joe Flacco QB Delaware

2) 55 Ray Rice RB Rutgers

3) 71 Tavares Gooden OLB Miami (Fla.)

3) 86 Tom Zbikowski FS Notre Dame

3) 99 Oniel Cousins T Texas-El Paso

4) 106 Marcus Smith WR New Mexico

4) 133 David Hale G Weber State

6) 206 Haruki Nakamura FS Cincinnati

7) 215 Justin Harper WR Virginia Tech

7) 240 Allen Patrick RB Oklahoma

Joe Flacco is a franchise quarterback.

Ray Rice is one of the best young running backs in football.

Bart Scott's replacement doesn't fill a stat sheet, but Tavares Gooden is starting for a top ten defense in his second season. It's premature to pass judgment on T-Good.

Everyone's favorite boxing white safety is mostly a special teams force, but in three starts this season, he has two interceptions and four passes defended. I liked this pick when it was made, but it's, again, a little early to project his future value.

Cousins has started the last two games at right tackle, but through force of attrition rather than eminent skill. Nevertheless, one injury ravaged offensive line to another, Cousins seems more capable than some of Seattle's replacements.

The next three players are special teamers, and Allen Patrick was cut.

2004 was a hot mess, and, tellingly, occurred after DeCosta swept the 2003 draft. So, all GMs and potential GMs have their highs and lows, but DeCosta's highs certainly seem to outnumber and more than compensate for his lows. If we wanted to put a stamp on his career in Baltimore, I would stamp it a success, but let's attempt something a little more nuanced.

He seems to excel at drafting offensive line talent. He has never invested major resources into the offensive line but still acquired Rabach, Pashos, Terry, Brown, Chester, Sypnewski, Grubbs, Yanda, Gaither and Cousins. He also has had several successes drafting defensive linemen, linebackers, running backs, fullbacks and safeties. His run of backs is particularly impressive. He doesn't trend towards a specific region and seems to have no major leanings towards small schools or big schools. His success at drafting quarterbacks is mixed. Kyle Boller was an inexcusable failure, but Anderson and Smith were decent value for their pick position and Flacco is a young stud. Truthfully, I'm not wild about Flacco's profile, and though he's stepping into this own, the big bodied, big armed profile DeCosta seems to favor is notorious for producing busts.

What excites me most about DeCosta is not his drafting record, but the prolific picks he secures. Few teams enter draft day so consistently stocked with picks throughout the draft, and unlike other GMs that will burn those picks to move up and select their guy, DeCosta stands pat and picks many players. He has benefited immensely from trawling the draft and seeing what value shakes out.

His high profile and history of finding offensive line talent should make him a favorite for the Seattle position. I don't know that DeCosta is the "Z" we desire, but on second inspection, he is a young, well connected executive with a diverse portfolio of success.

Ravens/Steelers: Best Rivalry in NFL?

Bruce Raffel — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:32:47 -0000

Even if you don't root for either of these teams, when they're on the tube, football fans everywhere tune in for an example of what real, old school football is really like. Hard hitting, violent action defines this rivalry and records or stats don't matter when these two teams face each other. First off, the players seem to dislike each other as much as their fan base does, as especially evidenced by the comments in the posts on both SB Nation sites when they come up on the schedule. The Pittsburgh Steelers SB Nation site, Behind The Steel Curtain, has a huge and loyal following who travel to other teams' site as well as their fans do to opponents' stadiums around the league. Conversely, Baltimore Beatdown has a passionate following that knows their football pretty well and can talk smack with any other teams' fans in the league as well.

The fact that this game has playoff implications for both teams is a plus to the tenseness of the game, but that really doesn't matter. These two teams would probably agree to meet in a sandlot and play without pads if they could. They don't care about the weather, the stats, the cameras (well they probably do care about the cameras), they just want to get out there and hit someone. Some of the most vicious hits I've ever seen in a football game have come from these games. Who won't soon forget the hit that Bart Scott put on Ben Roethlisberger that Big Ben says was the hardest he's ever been hit. Same for the shot that Hines Ward gave to Ed Reed, Ray Lewis to Rashard Mendenhall, Limas Sweed to Corey Ivy and Ryan Clark to Willis McGahee. You could keep listing other ones that made you wince when you saw and heard them live, and that doesn't include what must be going on in the trenches and the scrums after tackles.

There are other rivalries in the NFL but most of them are based on long standing history, not the specific hard hitting action that this one thrives on. The NFC East has some good rivalries and great fans, but are they the equal of the Ravens/Steelers right now? Nothing comparable in the NFC North, despite the switching of allegiance of Brett Favre from Green Bay to Minnesota. The NFC South or West? Uhhh, no. Over in the AFC, the Raiders/Chiefs was a great one, but the key word is "was." San Diego/Denver isn't even close and nothing else there is worth mentioning. The AFC South's teams haven't been around long enough to warrant inclusion in this discussion even with the hated Indianapolis Colts there. Over in the AFC East, there are some good rivalries between the New York Jets, New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins (sorry Buffalo) but nothing to compare.

So that makes this weekend's Ravens game in Pittsburgh the best of not only the weekend, but perhaps the best of the season. Hopefully the game will live up to the hype, which it usually does, but nevertheless, it will have all the action, hitting and trash talking in advance of Sunday- and that is just with the fans!

Poll

What NFL rivalry is the best in the league right now?

Week 15 Preview: Bears (5-8) @ Ravens (7-6)

SackMan — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:00:26 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

Hey, wait a second... that's the wrong Devin!

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Lovie Smith, Ron Turner and Co. escape from the Chicago microscope for one weekend and head to Baltimore. The Ravens are a team fighting for a wild card birth, but the only wild card on the Bears is: which player will throw the coaching staff under the bus next? 3:15pm CT on FOX.

Week 14 Recap

The Ravens played host to the Lions last week... who were more than gracious guests, as they brought plenty of party gifts for the holidays. Detroit hand wrapped a 48-3 victory for their hosts, allowing the Ravens to score 6 TDs... including a 59 yard TD run by Ray Rice, and a 62 yard TD reception by Derrick Mason. Nearly all of the damage was done on the ground, as Baltimore racked up an incredible 308 yards rushing (I loved every bit of it, as I had Ray Rice in my fantasy lineup... and McGahee on my bench).

The Bears put themselves in a position to play spoiler and beat Green Bay at home, but ultimately fell short in a 21-14 loss. The highlights of the day were 13 penalties, two timeouts wasted on one lost challenge, and a team leading 8 catches and 1 TD for Devin Aromashodu... who basically wasn't allowed onto the field all season prior to this game. The long list of penalties, repeated mis-communication issues, bizarre coaching decisions and poor clock management have become a staple of the Chicago Bears 2009 season.

Quick Numbers:

3: Consecutive seasons without a playoff birth for the Bears
10: Million dollars remaining on Lovie Smith's contract through 2011.
2: Active roster game days for the Bears top draft pick, DL Jarron Gilbert
0: Active roster game days for the Bears 2nd highest draft pick, WR Juaquin Iglesias

Key Injuries:

CHI HC Lovie Smith (bruised ego) P
CHI LT Orlando Pace (way too old) Q
CHI DE Gaines Adams (missing in action) P

BAL - Half the roster is listed as questionable, most noteworthy are

S Ed Reed (hip/foot)
WR Derrick Mason (finger)
LB Terrell Suggs (knee)

When the Ravens have the ball.
The Ravens are a little similar to the Bears, in that they've been looking for a QB for forever, and finally got one in Joe Flacco. They also don't have a WR who's really worth a crap on their entire roster. However, this team can run the ball with the best of them. The Ravens are averaging 4.6 ypc, and have 19 rushing TDs. In comparison, the Bears are averaging 3.4 and how a lowly 6 TDs on the ground. RB Ray Rice is the center piece of the whole offense... leading the team in both rushing and receptions (ala Matt Forte version 2008). And, Willis McGahee vultures many of Rice's TDs in the red zone. When Flacco's looking anywhere but Rice's direction, he finds trusty veteran WR Derrick Mason, who wasn't even going to play this season, save for a last minute decision to push off retirement.

The key match-up for the Ravens: RB Ray Rice vs MLB Hunter Hillenmeyer
Rice is the Ravens #1 receiving option, and Hunter will have to shadow him in pass coverage all day. Considering that Hunter couldn't keep up with TEs during his career on the strong side, this should be interesting to say the least. Maybe Hunter can slow him down with savvy investment talk.

The X factor on offense for the Ravens: WR Mark Clayton
No... this isn't Dan Marino's Mark Clayton, but considering Derrick Mason's age, that wouldn't be impossible. Clayton is the Ravens best deep threat, and with the Bears atrocious safety combo, deep route runners are always a problem.

When the Bears have the ball.
In between the finger pointing from the players to the coaching staff, the offense will actually be be asked to run some plays as well. Perhaps this is the week that Cutler says "F" it, and starts calling his own plays in the huddle. Anything would be an improvement at this point. Will Devin Aromoshodu see continued action, after his career game last week? Or will he return back to his seat on the bench? Will some more changes happen on the offensive line? Or will the coaching staff stick to the crappy status quo? Sadly, these are the things we have to look forward to on Sunday.

The key match-up for the Bears: LT Chris Williams vs DE Trevor Pryce and OLB Jarret Johnson
All eyes are on Chris Williams, as we watch to see if he's really our LT of the future. Pryce and Johnson each have 6 sacks on the year, and should provide a decent test for the young tackle.

The X Factor on offense for the Bears: Contract Incentives
Who's got bonuses to make? Who's looking forward to testing the FA market? We'll see on Sunday.

Side notes from the NFC North:

The Bears season is lost, but the Vikings and Packers are fighting it out for the division crown, and both are likely to make the playoffs. That's sickening to me. I'll just leave it at there.

Ravens Offense Remains Predictable

Bruce Raffel — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:36:29 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

11 days ago: Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice (27) leaves Detroit Lions linebacker DeAndre Levy (54) and cornerback Phillip Buchanon (31) in his wake as he carries the ball during the first quarter of the NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

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Despite the Baltimore Ravens recent success that has them right in the middle of the playoff race, their offense not only remains predictable, but it hs even been more so in the last five games than ever before. Look at this trend specifically about the team's reliance on RB Ray Rice during this period.

I noticed that it appeared that whenever Rice ran the ball or caught a pass for a long gain (19 yards or more), rather than bring in one of the other bigger running backs to give Ray a breather, then almost always gave the ball right back to him on the very next play, sometimes two or three plays in a row after that long gain. Not only was Rice obviously winded, but so was the opponents' defense, which seems like the perfect time to pile on with the fresher and heavier legs.

But no, look at these numbers:

Since week 9 at Cleveland, Ray Rice has had 10 plays, either rushing or receiving, of 19 yards or more. One of those resulted in a TD, so that one is out of the equation, leaving nine plays of that length. Seven of those nine times, the very next play was a run by Rice, only two of them gaining over three yards and those were both only 5 yard runs. Once, they gave the ball right back to Rice two straight times, for gains of five, then -1 yards. Even more questionable, twice they actually gave the ball three more times in a row to Rice right after those long gains! Never did he gain more than 3 yards on a play. Furthermore, in this past week's Detroit Lions game, Rice ran 52 yards on the opening drive deep into the Red Zone. Inexplicably, the Ravens ran Rice for two yards, then again for no gain, and then Flacco passed to him for a six yard gain but Rice fumbled the ball and Detroit recovered to end that scoring threat. Think that his fatigue from being the target three straight times after a 52 yard run had anything to do with not being able to hold onto the ball?

Predictability should have very little to do with just one single player on a football team. Perhaps the QB can be marked with trends based on play calling, but the RB position on the Ravens has been one of strength based on numbers and the three-headed monster that had the team in the AFC Championship Game last year and all teams afraid of our running game. While Ray Rice has been a major reason fro our success this season, we have actually had more success the less he runs the ball and the more the carries are spread around to Willis McGahee and LeRon McClain.

Prior to the Lions game, I said the Ravens needed to run the ball at least 40 times and I wanted to see Rice with a maximum of 20 carries, McGahee with 12 and McClain with eight. I came pretty close as Ray had 13, Willis 12 and LeRon six. The remaining nine carries were spread around to others to total the 40 I had hoped for. Forty rushes and 23 passes is more like the Ravens team of last year, when we controlled the ball and the time clock. This should be a lesson to the team as its future recipe for success, as the next opponent, the Chicago Bears, are ranked 24th in the NFL against the run.

However, the predictability, especially giving the ball right back to Ray Rice after long gains, needs to stop and they need to bring in fresh legs when they have the other team winded and down in the dumps. The stats don't lie in this case, and as good as Rice has been this year, those plays after the big gains have not added to his reputation and will only add unnecessarily to the wear and tear on his smaller body.

Top 10 Buffalo Bills draft picks: 2000-2009

Brian Galliford — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:14:32 -0000

More photos » by David Duprey - AP

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I don't get into the whole "Hey, a decade's about to end, let's make lists!" culture. It's fun, but it's repetitive and boring. Still, those types of lists engender some fun discussions, so while I won't go overboard and do best/worst lists for every possible topic concerning the Buffalo Bills, I figured we'd knock off the most important aspect of the team: drafting.

This past decade has been a brutal one for Bills football. But even in bad times, a few (random and ultimately meaningless to the win column) good decisions are made. What follows is my list of the Bills' ten best draft selections of the past decade.

10: Travis Henry, RB, Tennessee (2001, Round 2, No. 58 overall)
We start our "best of" list with one of the more controversial figures in the NFL of the past decade, and he only played four seasons in Buffalo. That should tell you a lot. However, as a second-round pick, the Bills got three highly productive seasons out of Henry - until he was usurped by a man who will appear a little higher on this list.

Henry finished his Bills career with 3,849 yards and 29 touchdowns. He played in three more seasons with Tennessee and Denver, but his career was cut short thanks to off-field troubles. Henry is currently serving a one-year NFL suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, but that's made irrelevant by the fact that he's nearly a year into a three-year prison sentence for financing a cocaine trafficking operation.

9. Angelo Crowell, LB, Virginia (2003, Round 3, No. 94 overall)
He got his start as Takeo Spikes' replacement, and when he got into the lineup, he hung onto a starting job for a number of seasons. Not a flashy performer, Crowell nonetheless put up solid stat lines in three seasons as a key defensive contributor, tallying 233 tackles, 7 sacks and 5 interceptions in his brief Bills career. He spent the 2008 season on IR (controversially, I might add), and is now out of football after being cut by Tampa Bay prior to the start of the 2009 season.

8. Marshawn Lynch, RB, California (2007, Round 1, No. 12 overall)
He's only in his third season - and his third season isn't going so well - but Lynch has been a consistent performer on some bad football teams, to his credit. He's rushed for 2,489 yards and 17 touchdowns to this point in his Bills career, and you can add a Pro Bowl berth to his resume as well. Off-field issues have plagued him early in his career, but if he can lay those issues to rest, Lynch is in line for a solid career.

7. Willis McGahee, RB, Miami, FL (2003, Round 1, No. 23 overall)
Before he became the hated son of Buffalo, McGahee was one of the bolder and smarter picks of the Tom Donahoe era. Drafted in spite of a knee injury, McGahee rewarded the Bills for their risk in the form of 3,365 yards and 24 rushing touchdowns in three seasons as a Bill. Still one of the more productive scoring backs in the game with Baltimore, McGahee also makes the list because the Bills were able to trade him for three more draft picks. He wasn't a need pick, but the Bills got production and tripled their draft selections with this investment.

6. Nate Clements, CB, Ohio State (2001, Round 1, No. 21 overall)
The Bills have had a lot of "whoops" moments with their first-round draft picks in recent seasons, but Clements decidedly does not fit that criteria. In six seasons with the Bills, Clements picked off 23 passes and scored 7 touchdowns (5 on interceptions, 2 on punt returns) while establishing himself as one of the best corners in the game. He has spent the past three seasons in San Francisco, where he has added a further 7 interceptions to his resume as the cornerstone of a re-building defense.

5. Lee Evans, WR, Wisconsin (2004, Round 1, No. 13 overall)
With Drew Bledsoe in town, Buffalo needed a speedy receiver to complement Eric Moulds. They got a good one - and an immediate contributor, which is rare for rookie receivers - in the form of Evans. He caught 24 touchdown passes in his first three seasons, including 9 as a rookie, and since then Evans has established himself as one of the more under-appreciated receivers in the game. His production has slipped, but as he's been catching passes from awful quarterbacks, that's not overly surprising. Furthermore, Evans is one of the few draft-day investments the Bills have made at the receiver position in the past decade that actually panned out as planned.

4. Jairus Byrd, S, Oregon (2009, Round 2, No. 42 overall)
It's tough to put a current rookie on this list, but we'll make an exception for a guy who is still leading the league in interceptions (8) as a rookie making a position switch. Byrd has dealt with nagging injuries all season, and he's very much a one-dimensional player. But his ball skills and ball-hawking presence has been a tremendous boost to Buffalo's pass defense, and for his flaws, he's still a heck of a football player with a bright future.

3. Kyle Williams, DT, LSU (2006, Round 5, No. 134 overall)
I love it when teams find excellent, underrated contributors in the middle rounds. Williams has been a very nice find for the Bills, emerging as a very solid run defender as a fourth-year starter out of LSU. He'll never be a dominant player, but he's the type of guy that can find work on any NFL team thanks to his overall ability, his attitude and his work ethic. He's started every game he's ever appeared in as a Bill, and picked up 127 tackles and 7 sacks in the process.

2. Terrence McGee, CB, Northwestern State (2003, Round 4, No. 111 overall)
McGee is decidedly the "one who did NOT get away," as he's the only big name corner the Bills haven't allowed to leave via free agency in recent memory. A no-name draft pick out of Northwestern State, no one was really sure what to make of the McGee selection when it happened, but he's proven to be the steal of the decade for the Bills. A contributor since a rookie and a defensive starter for the last four years, McGee 390 tackles, 16 interceptions, 4 fumble recoveries and a defensive touchdown to his name. He's also widely regarded as one of the best kick returners of the past decade, with a 26.3-yard average and 5 return touchdowns. He made a Pro Bowl appearance in 2004 for his return efforts, as well.

1. Aaron Schobel, DE, TCU (2001, Round 2, No. 46 overall)
Clements was the big name draftee in 2001, but Schobel has given the Bills the most production and the most longevity of any draft pick made this decade. In his ninth year as a Buffalo Bill, Schobel ranks second on the Bills' all-time list with 75 career sacks, trailing only Hall of Fame end Bruce Smith. He's also got 19 forced fumbles, 8 fumble recoveries, 30 tipped passes, 3 interceptions and a defensive touchdown on his resume. Schobel has never been flashy and he makes a bit more money than he probably should, but he's been one of the most respected pass rushers in the league over the past decade, and as a second-round pick, he's also by far been the Bills' best draft pick of the past decade.

Flacco's Progress?

Bruce Raffel — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:35:58 -0000

More photos » by Gail Burton - AP

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All we've heard through the Castle and all across the football media is how Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco has progressed from his rookie year to his sophomore season. After Monday night's career worst performance, where he "earned" a 27.2 QB rating, I decided to look back at the stats to see how both seasons measured up against each other to determine his real progress.

Everyone knows that the Ravens have reversed their offensive tendencies to be more of a passing team this year than last year's run oriented offense. Yes, the type of offense that wore teams down, dominated the time of possession and got the Ravens to the AFC Championship Game with a the first rookie QB to ever win one, much less two road playoff games.

Now we are a pass first offense and sit at 6-6 with the need to sweep the remaining four games to even get a sniff of the post season. So how much better has Joe been this year compared to last year? Well, the stats don't lie and here they are:

It is ironic that we are doing this now and you will see why that is. Flacco accumulated his 2008 stats in 16 games last year but we are comparing all 16 games of 2008 to the first 12 of 2009 because due to the re-focus of the game plan this year, Flacco has virtually the same passes attempted and completed through 12 games this year compared to 16 games last year. What does that mean? Basically, it shows that the Ravens are having Joe throw 25% more often in 2009 than he did in 2008. Regardless of his success, it goes away from the way this team has been defined and achieved success from the Super Bowl year of 200 through even last season.

Let's look at the amazingly similar passing stats:

Year Games Att. Comp. %-age Yards Avg. TD INT Long Sacked Rating

2008 16 428 257 60.0 2971 6.9 14 12 70 32 80.3

2009 12 406 257 63.3 2881 7.1 14 11 72 26 84.6

Less important, but noteworthy are his rushing stats comparison:

Year Att. Yards Avg. Long TD 1st Downs Fumbles

2008 52 180 3.5 38 2 16 5

2009 28 51 1.8 10 0 7 2

The stats show very similar numbers, including the exact same number of completions both years, and almost the same numbers the rest of the way around. The rate of throwing picks is actually up from last year, as he's thrown almost the same number in less attempts. His yards per completion are surprisingly down, most likely due to the recent reliance on Rice Rice out of the backfield rather than throwing downfield. While his sacks are down, the season still has four more games left and those numbers, as well as his TD and interceptions, will surely increase.

While obviously less important, the noticeable difference in his rushing stats tell a tale themselves. He is staying in the pocket or throwing the ball more on the run rather than running this year much more than last. He scrambling last year that resulted in many more first downs may have defenses sitting back waiting for the late release and possible interceptions, many of what we have seen in the Red Zone this season.

Most fans would have said he has made huge strides this season before they read this. Now we have to possibly scratch our heads and say what were we thinking? Better yet, we need to ask the coaching staff if they've seen these same stats and what are they thinking? Isn't this the best evidence presented to make a case for returning to our success by running the ball as the first option and passing as the second option? Utilizing all three running backs like we did last year and not putting Flacco in the position of having to carry this team at a point in his development that he is obviously just not ready to do after only one full season in the NFL. While I accept the fact that he had a pretty good year last season as a rookie, there was too much read into that success and the next step the team expected him to make was just too big of a jump from year one to year two.

Now is the time to say the stats on paper tell the true story and let them be a reminder of what we were able to do with Flacco not being the one to lead the team to success with the weight of the offense on his young shoulders. Go back to what we did and still do well and that is run the ball as Flacco is on pace to make close to 600 passing attempts which could put an unnecessary strain on his young shoulder and arm. I have no problem featuring Ray Rice as the feature back, but give Willis McGahee 10-12 carries a game an LeRon McClain 8-10 as well.That would also limit the wear and tear on the smaller Rice, who should still get 20 touches a game combined rushing and receiving.

Is the possibility of Flacco throwing for close to 4000 yards true progress? Not in my opinion, as the reason is that this team is just relying on him way too much and while the stats are showing the same results as last year, the team as a whole is not.

Packers-Ravens Retroactive Live-Blog

Mitchell_M — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:13:49 -0000

It's been two months since I've really been active on the site. For some of you, that is a terrible tragedy. For many, many more, it is a source of endless joy. But today I decided to cater to the minority and make my presence known by throwing a mini-fiesta with my DVR, a bowl of Reese's Puffs, and a strong pot of coffee.

Before we get going with the retroactive live-blog, let me just share some of the knowledge I've gained over the course of working for 80 out of a possible 168 hours in a week:

There are few things more traumatic than the transition from college-life to real-life. I imagine it's somewhat like being born, except you're slightly more conscious and slightly less sticky.

Unlike most co-eds, I worked my way through and avoided drinking my way out of school, but nothing can truly prepare you for the real world. There's chores? You have to do them, otherwise you're living in filth. There's bills? You have to pay them, otherwise a large Italian gentleman will break your ribs. There's family gatherings you'd rather not attend? You have to go to them, because you don't have the homework excuse anymore.

Real life blows, I'm going to grad school.
Trying to keep in shape? Don't work overnights. You will have no energy whatsoever during the daytime hours. I play basketball to keep myself in shape and satisfy my over-competitiveness, and I love it. But I haven't played in two months, and I've gotten noticably soft. Amazing, considering I've lost weight.
Dry spells. Guys, when women say that they're too tired, it's generally a toss-up between them actually being tired and not wanting to deal with you. When a guy says it? Definitely tired.
Caffeine has an odd effect after consuming too much for it. The most noticeable symptom is when you're lying down after finally getting home and you get the ringing in the ears. It keeps me up for at least half an hour, and my mom (who worked 3rd shift for over a decade) says it doesn't go away. Awesome.
Watching sports is a major hassle. Not only do I miss the majority of my Sunday NFL-watching, but working nights has ruined any chance I have of watching any NBA games during the week. DVR has been my best friend, but it somehow isn't enough.

On to the live-blog! I DVR'd this last night and watched it immediately as I got home. I did not check the score at any time on Monday night, and I have no knowledge whatsoever of the outcome. Enjoy!

Pre-game observations:

I forgot how cool of an environment Lambeau is on national TV at night. Other cities have their stadiums surrounded by other big buildings with big, bright lights, but Lambeau sort of stands alone in the still-tiny Green Bay. It's kind of cool, even though it's quaint.
Another thing I forgot? Jon Gruden and Ron Jaworski are still in the MNF booth. Let's put it this way: it took roughly two minutes for Gruden to make the first (of what I predict will be many) "Mr. Rodgers' Neighborhood" jokes. Ugh.
Ed Reed is announced as inactive for the game. Good timing to get the Ravens without their ball-hawk extraordinaire, not to mention good time by ESPN's cameras, who immediately cut to Reed spitting an enormous loogie. Between that and the beard, he looks like a homeless guy (who makes roughly 100,000x my salary).
Ray Lewis may have lost a step or four, but he's still quite the motivational speaker. It's like if Lil' Jon was coherent and dread-less.
The Nike Kobe and LeBron puppets are back. Frowny-face.
And here comes the Ray Rice love. Am I pleasantly surprised by my alma mater's best football product? Yes. Am I ecstatic to have drafted him (against my then-better judgement) in the ninth round of my keeper league? Yes and yes.

Alright, enough of that. Let's play some ball, gentlemen.

First Quarter!

15:00 - Green Bay receives, and Jordy Nelson avoids both tacklers and fumble-itis all the way to the 43-yard line. Decent start.

14:34 - A play-action draw pass? Sounds terrible, but it gained 7.

13:59 - So that's why we still have Brandon Jackson. Excellent scramble by Rodgers to find Jackson in the flat for the first down.

12:44 - Ravens call a timeout (symptom of missing Ed Reed #1), and the next thing we see is Jimmy Football. If someone were to kick him in the groin, I would not object. Extra points for wearing a Billy Mays mask and demanding royalties from Budweiser.

12:32 - ESPN shows a graphic illustrating Aaron Rodgers' awesomeness on 3rd down, and he promptly finds James Jones for a first down. Outstanding blitz pickup by both Chad Clifton (the blocker) and Scott Wells (the center).

11:22 - Korey Hall and Josh Sitton pancake Ray Lewis, opening a hole for Grant to gain a first down. In other news, Did you know that Ryan Grant is 8th in the league in rushing yards? When did that happen?

10:08 - ESPN continues the Rodgers love-fest by displaying his red-zone stats. Apparently, he has 30 TDs and 0 INTs over the past two seasons when inside the opponent's 20-yard line. Yikes.

9:17 - Mark Tauscher comes up with a tipped pass and gets tackled for a loss. I'd criticize his decision to catch it versus batting it down, but whenever linemen get the ball, they seem so damn happy. I can't ruin it for him.

8:41 - Mason Crosby nearly shanks a 28-yarder. The Green Bay offense stalls in the red zone again, settling for the "easy" 3. Sadly, neither are surprises this season.

8:30 - Le'Ron McClain's smile is hilarious. Mark Clayton looks like 50 Cent. I can't wait to see the offensive linemen.

8:30 - And for good reason. Not only is Marshal Yanda's name funny, but he looks like an uncomfortable 7th grader who hasn't gotten used to his new body yet.

7:40 - Good containment on Ray Rice in the flat, but not good enough. First down, Baltimore.

7:01 - Flacco tightropes for a just-barely first down after being flushed out of the pocket. He may have looked like an idiot doing it, but it was probably better than getting pasted by Cullen Jenkins. I'll make fun of him either way.

5:05 - Bad decision by Nick Collins to go for the pick instead of batting down the ball. Another first down for Baltimore.

4:18 - Well, a fumble recovery certainly absolves Collins of any wrongdoing on the previous play. Clay Matthews is closing in on the "if a huge defensive play happens he must've had something to do with it" status currently held by Charles Woodson.

4:08 - Ryan Grant tries to return the favor, but his right knee looked like it could be down. Maybe. Possibly. Could go either way. This time, it goes the Packers' way.

3:48 - A great play by Dominique Foxworth that was (un)fortunately flagged as interference. The replay shows a grab or two, but probably

3:39 - No matter, Rodgers throws it directly to Tom ~~I-can't-spell-his-last-name-unless-I-check-the-recap-which-will-ruin-the-ending~~ Zbikowski.

2:06 - Now that's how you commit pass interference! Thanks ~~Atari Bigby~~ Tramon Williams! /facepalm

1:52 - Nick Collins makes everyone forget about Williams' transgression by picking off an ill-advised flea-flicker pass into quadruple coverage. Yeah, Flacco shouldn't have done that.

0:00 - An underwhelming first quarter filled with above-average defense and one boneheaded interception for both sides. 3-0, Green Bay.

Second Quarter!

14:52 - B.J. Raji sheds a block and drops Ray Rice for a big loss. Lucky he didn't get called for face masking, but a good play nonetheless.

14:12 - Derrick Mason just barely misses a catchable ball to force 4th down. I thought veteran receivers were supposed to make that play? I guess having Donald Driver on your team gives you a skewed expectation for aging wideouts.

13:14 - Great adjustment by James Jones to come back and grab the ball for a first down. He's definitely taken control of the 3rd WR spot on this team lately.

11:59 - By my count, that's three catches in this game that Jennings should have had but failed to come up with. This troubles me.

11:55 - Punting inside the 50-yard line? Greg Easterbrook would be appalled, then proceed to write a 10,000 word article about it. Shoot, if I included random interstellar factoids, referred to certain teams by ridiculous self-coined nicknames, and added superfluous cheerleader facts that allowed me to post their photos, I'd be Greg Easterbrook.

11:13 - Trey Wingo informs us that Jimmy Clausen will be entering the 2010 NFL Draft. Brady Quinn advises him to stay in school.

11:06 - Charles Woodson gets busted for mauling Derrick Mason. The groping wasn't necessary, Chuck.

11:01 - Clay Matthews asserts himself all over Joe Flacco. Jared Gaither doesn't know what just happened.

10:21 - Offsides on Clay Matthews? Jared Gaither claims to know what happened on the previous play.

9:48 - I know Jordy Nelson was dynamite at Kansas State, but I haven't seen enough promise out of him to merit keeping him on punt returns. Then again, it's more important to keep Woodson and Williams fresh, and Will Blackmon made his yearly trip to I.R. early this season.

8:30 - Haloti Ngata owns Daryn Colledge to drop Ryan Grant at the line. I wonder how long until Colledge loses his spot?

7:51 - It's plays like this that got Frank Walker traded. Thanks for the yardage!

7:42 - Ahman Green exhibits remarkable blitz pickup to spring Jermichael Finley on a big gain. Mike Tirico noted this, and Gruden promptly refers to him as Brandon Jackson (twice!) before correcting himself.

5:08 - Jermichael Finley makes another big play, thanks to another great third down throw from Rodgers. First and goal, Packers.

4:35 - I'm no psychic, but as soon as I saw Finley split out wide, I saw the quick fade coming. Fantastic throw, outstanding catch, b-e-a-utiful play. 10-0, Packers.

4:35 - I just remembered my fantasy football situation. Going into this week, three teams in my division were 7-5, with me among them. I play one of them this week and the other next week, and the other already has his victory wrapped up. I'm up 130-24 in a game I need to win to move into a tie for first place and help secure a playoff spot next week (the final week of the season). My opponent has Aaron Rodgers, Jermichael Finley, and the Packers defense playing. I have Ray Rice. Man, am I glad that his other players (Adrian Peterson, Reggie Wayne, Ricky Williams) all laid eggs.

2:00 - The two-minute warning comes up, and Mike Tirico just got done "highlighting" the Packers' 38-28 loss to Tampa Bay. In the team meeting the described, he said that the offensive line stood up and said something to the effect of "hey, you have to help us out too". I hope I misheard him.

1:50 - Rodgers gets the first on a sneak, and a fight nearly breaks out because Brandon Jackson is protecting Rodgers from what he thought was a late hit. Whether he was right or wrong, it is nice to see that kind of fight in your team.

1:24 - Donald Driver goes flying, earning Baltimore its 11th pass interference penalty on the year, leading the league.

1:18 - Green Bay ruins the momentum by giving up their first sack of the game. /facepalm

1:09 - And Rodgers gets it right back with a 20-yard scramble right up the middle. I take back my /facepalm.

0:38 - Rodgers delivers a Jon-Gruden-Quarterback-Fraternity-Approved LASER to Greg Jennings' back shoulder. Nice, except for Gruden's rambling.

0:32 - Rodgers connects with Donald Driver for a score, punctuated by two acrobatic leaps by Driver (one into the end zone, one into the stands). The Packer fan in me is ecstatic: the fantasy football owner is frantic.

0:00 - A solid defensive stand by Green Bay keeps the shutout alive. 17-0 Green Bay, at the half.

Halftime observations:

None. I have to be at work again in 8 hours (as of 1 PM), and I haven't slept yet. But the score doesn't lie. This game is totally worth staying up for.

Third Quarter!

14:07 - I don't know how they practiced for the past week and a half, but Green Bay is absolutely starving Ray Rice. He's trying his damndest, but he can't make anything happen. Why'd I start him against the #1 defense again?

12:31 - Brad Jones notches a sack from the strong side. Rookie 7th round pick? No matter. Boring name? Who cares? Buried on the depth chart? Not for long, I hope.

12:05 - Ryan Grant doesn't gain a ton of yards on this play, but it looks as if he's churning his legs and fighting for extra yardage more than I'm used to seeing from him. Did anyone else notice this?

9:57 - Rodgers gets time in the pocket, makes even more time, dances around, and finally gets sacked. Somehow, the play is negated by an illegal hands-to-the-face penalty. It seems like one of those games for Green Bay tonight.

9:30 - Then Scott Wells gets called for holding. Yep, it's definitely one of those games for Green Bay tonight, even if the score doesn't reflect it.

9:04 - Wow, I'm going to stop complaining about stupid penalties. I almost feel bad for Ravens fans. P.I. number twelve on the year for Baltimore.

8:27 - Jermichael Finley re-injures his knee. Not at all happy to see that.

8:23 - Nice connection to Driver that results in a fumble that quite possibly could be ruled an incompletion, if it was reviewed. Blah, a 17-0 lead in the third quarter shouldn't be this frustrating.

8:01 - Jon Gruden: "Somebody has to rescue the Ravens' offense right now." Yeah, that's Ray Rice's job, and he didn't come in today.

7:50 - As if on cue, Ray Rice rips off a big run. Jon Gruden gets to feel smart, and I lose a little bit of my soul.

6:07 - Jon Gruden praises Charles Woodson's ball-raking ability. The adolescent-me giggles uncontrollably.

5:18 - "Nobody strips a ball like Charles Woodson!" Adolescent-me is now crying with laughter.

5:13 - Todd Heap drops a sure-fire 1st and goal, then Tramon Williams forces Mark Clayton to drop one in the end zone with a slightly-more sneaky arm bar. Illegal? Yes. Effective? Absolutely, that's why it's illegal.

3:35 - I don't know what the refs were talking about before this drive, but they are letting the defense play. You don't see many drives last this long against a defense that's getting away with everything.

3:28 - A free play and a Kelley Washington touchdown deflates the stadium. The play gets challenged, but I'm skeptical.

3:28 - Modern Warfare 2 commercial, set to Eminem's "Til I Collapse". Best 30 seconds of non-football I've seen today. Get that game, if you can handle it.

3:28 - Turns out that I was right; the score stands. Green Bay is out of challenges for the game, unless of course they used the item cheat and got one for free. 17-7, Packers.

3:22 - Evan Dietrich-Smith comes up with the kickoff. My immediate thought: "This cannot end well." Of course he fumbled, but Green Bay was lucky enough to regain possession.

3:14 - Jared Johnson gets an interception off of Driver's shin. I'm not liking this third quarter. Too much bad mojo.

3:07 - More bad mojo with Tramon Williams' P.I. in the end zone. Actually, this one is relatively tame compared to other plays the refs have allowed tonight (today?).

2:58 - Willis McGahee pushes his fantasy-irrelevant self in from the 1. Makes my Ray Rice decision feel even better. 17-14, Packers. /double facepalm

2:43 - Jennings manages a nice gain on a 3rd and 10 slant. I was just about to start considering wondering whether or not Green Bay was possibly maybe starting to lose it.

1:52- Ray Lewis nearly decapitates Greg Jennings, and the flag takes forever to come in. But it does, which is all that matters.

0:42 - A Mark Tauscher hold takes Green Bay out of the red zone the same way they got in: on the yellow cloth road.

0:00 - I knew this game seemed too sloppy to be a blowout. 17-14, Packers, but our guys are in scoring position.

Fourth Quarter!

14:50 - Mason Crosby shanks a field goal, leaving the drive with nothing to show for it. Same score, same story. I sure hope the defense can regain its first-half composure.

13:53 - Flacco unleashes the dragon deep, Derrick Mason gets past Charles Woodson and makes the catch over him, but somehow got called for offensive pass interference. At this point, I don't know which team is trying to give the other team more breaks, honestly. And an unsportsmanlike penalty on Mason is tacked on at the end of it. A huge gain turns into a huge loss in a heartbeat. 3rd and 32 (!).

13:05 - So of course Baltimore decides to run the ball and Ray Rice nearly fumbles. Green Bay gets the ball back with decent field position.

12:30 - And here comes the replay of the Mason interference/unsportsmanlike penalties. There was definitely a hook-and-push around Woodson's waist, and Mason follows up that number with a plea for leniency to the referee. Pretty standard, right? Nah, just kidding, he pretty much shouted in the ref's face, "What the f--- was that, man?" Yeah, that's a flaggin'.

10:31 - Jermichael Finley gets another touchdown after a couple of nice short passes to get within 20 yards. Aaron Rodgers' red-zone stats improve, Jermichael gets the "Mr. Monday Night" nickname, my fantasy team starts to quiver in terror, and the score jumps to 24-14, Packers.

10:21 - Ah, Green Bay special teams, you never cease to disgust me. A massive kick return puts the Ravens deep into Green Bay territory. Then again, how hard is it to juke out Mason Crosby? The goalposts do it to him on a weekly basis.

9:46 - Tramon Williams earns yet another pass interference flag in the end zone. I thought there was a cap to how many times a player could get flagged for the same thing over and over?

/conveniently forgetting the Ahmad Carroll era

9:30 - How? How? How does a cornerback make that play? Tell me how Charles Woodson just stopped McGahee when he had a massive opening to go through? Between that and flustering the Ravens to the point of calling a timeout, I'm pretty sure Charles Woodson should gain an edge for the DPOY award after tonight.

8:47 - Joe Flacco rolls nearly 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage, avoids a sack, and tosses it nicely into Tramon Williams hands. Mike Tirico exclaimed "That is terrible!" as the ball was still in the air! I cannot believe Flacco made that throw. Downright Bad Favre-esque. Kudos to Williams for not retreating into the fetal position after all the penalties tonight.

8:38 - Still trying to figure out the last three plays of that Baltimore drive. Tackle for loss, timeout, interception, all from within the 5-yard line. When's the last time Green Bay came up with that kind of stop?

7:12 - Baltimore's defense forces a 3-and-out as the King of Third Down and James Jones miscommunicate on a fly-stop route.

6:48 - Yeah, Joe Flacco's having a bad day. This time he throws it right into the hands of A.J. Hawk, who was quietly having another solid game (which is EXACTLY WHY WE DRAFTED HIM! FOR QUIET, SOLID GAMES!) before this play. Back-to-back interceptions for the Unibrow, and I'm almost sad to see it. Remember, my fantasy team is up 130-24, but I'm playing Rodgers, Finley, and the Packer defense while starting Ray Rice. The offense I can deal with, but this stifling defense is killing me!

6:00 - Ahman Green smashes his way to gain a short first down, and the running out of the clock commences. How much time can they milk from the clock?

2:56 - Turns out they can burn a whole lot of time. Interesting graphic on Green Bay receivers, going from Sharpe to Brooks to Freeman to Driver to Jennings.

2:15 - "Hey Coach Gruden, I found a pair of your old practice shorts." If there's a better setup for a pasty white guy wearing green-and-gold short-shorts in below-freezing weather, I've never seen it.

1:56 - Crosby avoids the shank-osaurus and makes it 27-14, Packers. Solid lead.

1:52 - Gruden brings up the possibility of a Vikings-Packers rematch in the playoffs. I say, don't get ahead of yourself, but the prospect of facing what might be a slowly-fading Favre, a possibly nicked-up Peterson, and a banged-up defense in Minnesota isn't nearly as terrifying as it seems.

0:29 - Fittingly, Clay Matthews chases Flacco down for his second sack of the day. Ted Thompson deserves all the slack in the world for having the stones to trade up for this guy. He could draft Jimmy Clausen next season and I'd still like him.

0:00 - The sack is the last play of the game, and the Packers earn the win, 27-14.

Post-game thoughts:

Not many, again due to my exhaustion. But I will say this: the offense played relatively well, Aaron Rodgers carried the team with his passing. The defense was stifling for much of the game, and Charles Woodson should be the front-runner for DPOY, and even in the conversation for defensive-players-who-deserve-the-MVP-but-won't-get-it-because-they're-not-a-quarterback-or-running-back (if he wasn't already). The playcalling was really well thought out on both sides of the ball, and the execution of many of the plays was awfully impressive.

But two things stand out as glaring negatives. First was the penalties. So many penalties. If Baltimore didn't flag it up more than we did, it would stand out more. Tramon Williams has a lot of talent, but he cannot ~~get caught using~~ use that armbar anymore. It simply costs too much yardage. And Chad Clifton needs to get his business together, because he's smarter than he's playing.

The second thing was the final score. 27-14 seems like a solid win, but with all of the opportunities that the Ravens gave up, it should have been a much wider margin. Playoff teams win games like this soundly, which the Packers did. They should, they're a playoff team. But championship teams beat their opponent senseless when they come up with as many takeaways as they did (4).

All that said, this is Green Bay's fourth straight win after falling to 4-4. You can't ask for a better setup for the final quarter of the season.

And my fantasy team? They hung on for a 137-80 victory, largely because I had actually started Rashard Mendenhall instead of Ray Rice. See what working third shift does to you?

Dissecting the Ravens Loss: The Aftermath

Bruce Raffel — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:11:02 -0000

More photos » by Jeffrey Phelps - AP

17 days ago: Baltimore Ravens' Haloti Ngata is seen on the bench during the second half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Monday, Dec. 7, 2009, in Green Bay, Wis. The Packers won 27-14. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

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Once again, what were we Baltimore Ravens fans expecting? To go into enemy territory, much less the hallowed ground of Lambeau Field and upset one of the best passing offenses and the number one rated defense in the NFL? Taking an offense that has scored only two offensive TD's in the past seven weeks in the first half up against the Packers, the weather, the prime time audience, the referees AND the announcers? Seemed like the entire world was against the Ravens last night, didn't it? Well, guess what, they weren't and it was just the Ravens themselves that were their own worst enemies.

If the Green Bay Packers weren't almost as bad as the Ravens in accumulating penalties, this game would have been the blowout that many Green Bay fans said it would be here on The Beatdown all week long. There was a huge difference between these two teams and it showed on the field in the plays when yellow bean bags weren't being thrown all over in record setting embarrassing numbers.

Green Bay showed it is absolutely a serious playoff contender, as any offense that can spread the ball around and score like that can compete in any game and their defense is solid and very athletic with as good a defensive player in the league this season in the veteran CB Charles Woodson. Conversely, the Ravens are absolutely not a serious playoff contender, regardless of whether or not they sneak into the post season as a Wild Card, which surprisingly, they still could.

There were so many things that went wrong last night, and that was just a microcosm of the Ravens frustrating season. Perhaps it would not have been so frustrating had the expectations not been so high at the beginning. I actually truly believed that we were a Super Bowl contender rather than a playoff pretender. However, we are exactly what our record states we are, an average team. We beat the poor teams that we are supposed to beat and lose to the better teams that look to be better than us (because they are). To me, that is as good a definition of average and hence our 6-6 record.

Our defense is nowhere near the one we had last year but is still not the reason this team is losing these close games that are getting us closer to the edge of the ledge. The offensive line has looked great some games and flimsy others. There are so many issues related to why it appears that Willis McGahee and LeRon McClain have not been used to their abilities, as well as all the positives regarding the stunning growth of 2nd year RB Ray Rice into one of the league's best all-purpose players.

The finger can be pointed at the coaches and I would not try that hard to push it in another direction. The play calling has been questionable, the personnel moves suspect and the seemingly lack of motivation and urgency just not there. However, if the poor playcalling had been executed and the suspect personnel delivering on their chances, then we might not be pointing the finger at the guys on the sidelines.

For the reason we loved him so much last year and hailed him as the Franchise Quarterback we never had, it appears that many Ravens fans are reluctant to point that finger in the direction of Joe Flacco. However, it is very hard not to place more blame on Joe than any other individual player for the team's poor showing in 2009. Flacco may have put up more passing yards, TD's and other passing stats, mostly because he is throwing the ball so much more. However, his progression of slowing down the game like so many successful veteran QB's seem to talk about has not appeared to have happened with him. Too many times he is intent on throwing the ball when he breaks the huddle that no matter how the play develops, he still forces the ball into areas that he has no business doing so. His four Red Zone interceptions in critical times have contributed more to those losses than any other player. It has gotten to the point that it is now expected, which was the exact issue when Kyle Boller was under center. Why this team doesn't just run the ball up the middle or at worst off tackle confounds me but for whatever reason they pop it outside for losses and make horrible passing decisions time and time again that kill drives, momentum and end with frustrating losses.

How does this team rebound? It beats a woeful Detroit Lions team and then perhaps even beats the disappointing Chicago Bears as well, both home games. That puts us at 8-6 and surprisingly still in the playoff race. But this will continue to be a mirage for the Ravens, as they will need to not only go to Pittsburgh and beat the revenge-minded Steelers but then to Oakland, who has proven that they are not the pushover that some teams have thought they were. You just know that somewhere along that way, the train is going to find another way to derail itself and the hope will be squashed and the level of frustration will continue to rise until this nightmare of a season is over and the team can address all the holes, problems and needs it obviously has seen this year.

Opponent History: Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets

sireric — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:00:23 -0000

Buffalo Bills (4-7) vs New York Jets (5-6)
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 8:20 PM EST
Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Woot! A Thursday night game! As this is a Thursday night game this week, I probably should have had this up sooner, but I didn't even think of that until just now, so that is why this gets posted now.

These two teams have a long history against each other, dating all the way back to 1960 when they first met. Fast forward 50 years, and this will be meeting No. 99 between these two franchises. The Bills hold the edge 54-44 all time, including a stretch from 1987 to 1992 where the Bills won ten straight games. The last five meetings between these two teams in Buffalo are after the jump.

Sunday, November 7, 2004: Bills 22, Jets 17
In what seems to be a common theme in Bills/Jets games, the Bills ground out 157 yards on the ground, spearheaded by Willis McGahee's 132 yards on 37 attempts - one for a touchdown. When the Bills have big days running the football against the Jets, they normally win. Lee Evans added a touchdown catch and Rian Lindell kicked two field goals; Big Pat Williams even tackled Curtis Martin in the end-zone for a safety. For the Jets, Chad Pennington got knocked out of the game, and former Cowboy Quincy Carter had to finish up. Carter hit Santana Moss for a 51-yard touchdown to make it close late, but the Bills held on for the win.

Sunday, October 16, 2005: Bills 27, Jets 17
Another Bills win over the Jets, another 177 rushing yards from Buffalo. McGahee was once again the workhorse with 143 yards on 29 attempts and a touchdown. Kelly Holcomb added two touchdown passes, one each to Jonathan Smith and Eric Moulds to help pace the Bills' scoring. This time, the Bills had Vinny Testaverde to go against, and the speed rushers of the Bills took advantage. (Please note use of sarcasm.) Ryan Denney (2.0), Tim Anderson (1.0), Sam Adams (1.0), and Angelo Crowell (1.0) all recorded sacks for the Bills.

Sunday, September 24, 2006: Jets 28, Bills 20
The Bills controlled time of possession and moved up and down the field with ease, but turnovers and costly penalties killed them. The Bills ran for 169 yards, once again led by Willis McGahee (who finished with 150 yards), and J.P. Losman even passed for 328 yards. A Victor Hobson fumble return for a touchdown and a key Losman interception gave the Jets the win. Chris Kelsay picked up the lone Bills sack.

Sunday, September 30, 2007: Bills 17, Jets 14
This was the starting debut of Trent Edwards. With the Bills holding a slim 10-7 lead halfway through the fourth quarter, Dick Jauron shows lots of faith in his young QB by going for it on a fourth and one. Jauron's faith was rewarded when Edwards hit Michael Gaines in the end zone for some much-needed insurance points. Less then four minutes later, Leon Washington crossed the goal line for the Jets to pull the Jets to within three points, but the Bills' defense would hold on for the win.

Sunday, November 2, 2008: Jets 26, Bills 17
After Jay Feely hit a field goal for the Jets, the Bills came back with a Derek Fine touchdown pass from Edwards to make it 7-3. It was all downhill from there. Feely hit two more field goals and Abram Elam's 92-yard pick six put the game away for the Jets. The Bills rushed for only 30 yards, and Kris Jenkins singlehandedly shut down the Bills' running game. Jabari Greer added a 42-yard pick six to make it look a little more respectable.