SB Nation - Jared Gaither

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?

Saturday Injury Report: Ravens at Packers

Brandon — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:03:13 -0000

The Green Bay Packers have 11 players on the injury report including a few starters. It's even worse for the Ravens: several starters are among the 15 players listed.

The report includes CB Charles Woodson, QB Aaron Rodgers, and RB Ryan Grant, but all three players fully participated in practice on Saturday and should start on Monday. The most important player listed this week is LT Chad Clifton, who was limited in Saturday's practice, though Mike McCarthy said he did some team reps. I expect Clifton will play, but if he can't then his backup, OL T.J. Lang, is unlikely to play due to a concussion suffered in practice on Thursday. If neither Clifton or Lang were available, I thought LG Daryn Colledge would slide over to tackle, but McCarthy would rather leave Colledge at LG and start either OL Allen Barbre or OL Breno Giacomini at LT. The idea of Barbre at LT, after his disastrous stint at RT, is scary. LB Aaron Kampman is still listed, but there is no chance he'll play after tearing his ACL against the 49ers. LB Jeremy Thompson won't play after he spent Friday night in the hospital due to a neck injury suffered in practice on Friday, but McCarthy expects he'll be fine.

The Ravens have listed four key defensive players: S Ed Reed, LB Terrell Suggs, LB Ray Lewis, and DT Haloti Ngata. Reed wasn't able to practice until Saturday, but he expects to play. Suggs was expected to miss a month, but he said there is a chance he can play on Monday. Lewis might be slowed by his foot injury, but I haven't read anything to suggest he'll miss the Packer game. Ngata will play, but ankle injuries and defensive lineman are bad combinations, so he won't be 100%. The only other players who could miss the game are former practice squad S K.J. Gerard, and former Titans' practice squad player CB Cary Williams. TE L.J. Smith will miss the game too, but I think the Ravens can find a way to replace the 2 catches he's recorded so far this season.

The complete injury list is after the jump.

Player	Pos.	Injury	Saturday Participation	Saturday Status
Allen Barbre	T/G	Ankle	Full Participation	Probable
Brandon Chillar	LB	Hand	Full Participation	Probable
Chad Clifton	T	Hamstring	Limited Participation	Probable
Ryan Grant	RB	Shoulder	Full Participation	Probable
Ahman Green	RB	Groin	Full Participation	Probable
Aaron Kampman	LB	Knee	Out	Out
John Kuhn	FB	Hand	Full Participation	Probable
T.J. Lang	G/T	Concussion	Did Not Participate	Questionable
Aaron Rodgers	QB	Ribs	Full Participation	Probable
Jeremy Thompson	LB	Neck	Out	Out
Charles Woodson	CB	Shoulder	Full Participation	Probable


Player	Pos.	Injury	Saturday Participation	Saturday Status
Matt Birk	C	Ankle & Elbow	Full Participation	Probable
Prescott Burgess	LB	Shoulder	Full Participation	Probable
Joe Flacco	QB	Concussion	Full Participation	Probable
Jared Gaither	T	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
K.J. Gerard	S	Shoulder	Limited Particpation	Questionable
Jarret Johnson	LB	Not Inj. Related	Full Participation	Probable
Ray Lewis	LB	Quadricep	Full Participation	Probable
Le'Ron McClain	RB	Not Inj. Related	Full Participation	Probable
Haloti Ngata	DT	Knee	Limited Particpation	Probable
Ed Reed	S	Back	Limited Particpation	Questionable
L.J. Smith	TE	Shoulder	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Terrell Suggs	LB	Hamstring	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Kelley Washington	WR	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Cary Williams	CB	Knee	Limited Particpation	Questionable
Demetrius Williams	WR	Knee	Full Participation	Probable

'The Blind Side' Opens Today

Bruce Raffel — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:46:04 -0000

The Blind Side

View full size photo »

Long before he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens, first round draft pick Michael Oher already had lived a well known life. Raised in the projects, Oher was shuffled around by his family with his brothers and sisters until he was enrolled in a school with a majority white racial population. The wife of a well known wealthy man, who just happened to be the voice of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies and a huge University of Mississippi donor took interst in this big, poor black teenager and basically adopted him early on in his high school years.

The rest is pretty much history, as Oher was introduced to the game of football and become one of the most sought after college recruits in the nation, finally landing at his new family's alma mater, the University of Mississippi.

Once at Ole Miss, Oher caught the attention of the NFL scouts, who likened his style of play to not only Orlando Pace, but current Baltimore Ravens (at that time) great Jonathan Ogden. Oher became an All American left tackle and the Baltimore Ravens thought enough of the young man to trade up to grab him with the 23rd pick in the first round of this past April's NFL Draft.

Friday, November 20th is the nationwide opening of the movie on the book written by Michael Lewis (author of 'Moneyball'), after the World Premier was held last night in New York City, which Oher did not attend, partially due to his preparation for the team's upcoming key game against the undefeated Indianapolis Colts. "partially" was the word I used to describe his non-attendance, as when I was at the Ravens Training Camp this summer, I read the book from cover to cover in jut a couple of days, as I found it a fascinating story, regardless that Oher was a Raven. However, when I approached the team about interviewing Michael about the book, I was told that he was not a fan of the book and would not want to talk about it.

Apparently, Oher thinks that he is portrayed as a real dumb kid in the book and is embarrassed and humiliated to the extent that he is uncomfortable discussing it at length. I totally disagree with his self-assessment, as to me the story shows the world that here is a kid that was raised with nothing, materialistically or emotionally. Yet, he learned to open his mind and heart to what was offered to him in his new environment and was intelligent enough to pick up a game that requires a lot of knowledge and learning. While high school and that much more, college football has a lot of memorization of formations and plays, that is nothing compared to the big, thck playbook binder that he was given as a NFL rookie by the Ravens. To me, I saw a young man that should bge proud that he was smart enough to survive in the tough times, adapt to his new surrounding and then thrive when given the opportunity that few are fortunate enough to receive. Therefore, he should embrace the book and the movie and freely open up to all that as a role model for so many talented kids that right now are in the same predicament that he found himself only a few short years ago.

While I have not seen the movie yet, I plan to do so in the near future. Read the book and go to the movie as well. The story will give you insight into this young man's world and also make you understand why the Ravens traded up to grab the kid that had the internal makeup that Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome looks for when earning his reputation as a great judge of character when picking his players. You will also come out of the reading that it is obvious that the Ravens did not draft this guy to be a right tackle, as he has all the makings of a great left tackle for years to come, as we have seen a whiff of that in his stint at left tackle, filling in for the injured Jared Gaither earlier this season. More importantly, it will only make you that much prouder to have Michael Oher a member of the Baltimore Ravens.

Ravens/Browns Injury Report

Bruce Raffel — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:36:31 -0000

Below is the recently updated Injury Report from the Ravens' PR Department for both the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns in advance of their Monday Night Football contest. While the Ravens' Lardarius Webb was the only player on either team that did not participate in Saturday's practice, no one is currently listed as out for the game. More will be known as we get closer to game time.

	A	B	C	D
1	INJURY REPORT - BALTIMORE RAVENS at CLEVELAND BROWNS
2		MONDAY, November 16, 2009
3
4
5
6
7	*THURSDAY*	*FRIDAY*	*SATURDAY*	*GAME STATUS*
8	*OUT*	*OUT*	*OUT*	*OUT*
9
10	*DID NOT PARTICIPATE*	*DID NOT PARTICIPATE*	*DID NOT PARTICIPATE*	*DOUBTFUL*
11	CB Chris Carr (illness)	CB Chris Carr (illness)	CB Lardarius Webb (illness)
12	LB Dannell Ellerbe (illness)	LB Dannell Ellerbe (illness)
13	LB Ray Lewis (foot)	LB Ray Lewis (foot)
14	DT Haloti Ngata (ankle)
15	CB Fabian Washington (thigh)
16
17	*LIMITED PARTICIPATION*	*LIMITED PARTICIPATION*	*LIMITED PARTICIPATION*	*QUESTIONABLE*
18	T Jared Gaither (neck)	DT Haloti Ngata (ankle)	RB Matt Lawrence (knee)	RB Matt Lawrence (knee)
19		CB Fabian Washington (thigh)	DT Haloti Ngata (ankle)	DT Haloti Ngata (ankle)
20				CB Lardarius Webb (illness)
21
22	*FULL PARTICIPATION*	*FULL PARTICIPATION*	*FULL PARTICIPATION*	*PROBABLE*
23	TE Todd Heap (ankle)	T Jared Gaither (neck)	CB Chris Carr (illness)	CB Chris Carr (illness)
24	LB Jarret Johnson (shoulder)	TE Todd Heap (ankle)	LB Dannell Ellerbe (illness)	LB Dannell Ellerbe (illness)
25	S Haruki Nakamura (chest)	LB Jarret Johnson (shoulder)	T Jared Gaither (neck)	T Jared Gaither (neck)
26	S Ed Reed (wrist)	S Haruki Nakamura (chest)	TE Todd Heap (ankle)	TE Todd Heap (ankle)
27	WR Kelley Washington (back)	S Ed Reed (wrist)	LB Jarret Johnson (shoulder)	LB Jarret Johnson (shoulder)
28		WR Kelley Washington (back)	LB Ray Lewis (foot)	LB Ray Lewis (foot)
29			S Haruki Nakamura (chest)	S Haruki Nakamura (chest)
30			S Ed Reed (wrist)	S Ed Reed (wrist)
31			CB Fabian Washington (thigh)	CB Fabian Washington (thigh)
32			WR Kelley Washington (back)	WR Kelley Washington (back)
33	*THURSDAY*	*FRIDAY*	*SATURDAY*	*GAME STATUS*
34	*OUT*	*OUT*	*OUT*	*OUT*
35
36	*DID NOT PARTICIPATE*	*DID NOT PARTICIPATE*	*DID NOT PARTICIPATE*	*DOUBTFUL*
37	TE Steve Heiden (knee)	WR Chansi Stuckey (calf)
38	WR Chansi Stuckey (calf)
39
40	*LIMITED PARTICIPATION*	*LIMITED PARTICIPATION*	*LIMITED PARTICIPATION*	*QUESTIONABLE*
41	LB David Bowens (knee)	LB David Bowens (knee)	DL Kenyon Coleman (groin)	DL Kenyon Coleman (groin)
42	DL Kenyon Coleman (groin)	DL Kenyon Coleman (groin)	TE Michael Gaines (hamstring)	TE Michael Gaines (hamstring)
43	TE Michael Gaines (hamstring)	TE Michael Gaines (hamstring)	OL Rex Hadnot (knee)	OL Rex Hadnot (knee)
44	OL Rex Hadnot (knee)	OL Rex Hadnot (knee)	TE Steve Heiden (knee)	TE Steve Heiden (knee)
45	RB Jamal Lewis (ankle)	TE Steve Heiden (knee)	RB Jamal Lewis (ankle)	RB Jamal Lewis (ankle)
46	FB Lawrence Vickers (hamstring)	RB Jamal Lewis (ankle)	WR Chansi Stuckey (calf)	WR Chansi Stuckey (calf)
47		FB Lawrence Vickers (hamstring)	FB Lawrence Vickers (hamstring)	FB Lawrence Vickers (hamstring)
48		P Dave Zastudil (right knee)	P Dave Zastudil (right knee)	P Dave Zastudil (right knee)
49
50	*FULL PARTICIPATION*	*FULL PARTICIPATION*	*FULL PARTICIPATION*	*PROBABLE*
51	DL Coye Francies (knee)	OL Hank Fraley (knee)	LB David Bowens (knee)	LB David Bowens (knee)
52	OL Alex Mack (wrist)	DL Coye Francies (knee)	OL Hank Fraley (knee)	OL Hank Fraley (knee)
53	TE Robert Royal (finger)	OL Alex Mack (wrist)	DL Coye Francies (knee)	DL Coye Francies (knee)
54	P Dave Zastudil (right knee)	TE Robert Royal (finger)	OL Alex Mack (wrist)	OL Alex Mack (wrist)
55	Limited Participation is less than 100 percent of a player’s normal repetitions.		TE Robert Royal (finger)	TE Robert Royal (finger)
56	Full Participation is 100 percent of a player’s normal repetitions.
57	Not Injury Related applies to situations in which a player is withheld from his normal repetitions for reasons other than injury.

Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations

Ted Bartlett — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:30:25 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

about 1 month ago: Baltimore Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb, left, carries the ball for a touchdown as Denver Broncos safety David Bruton pursues during the third quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Browse more photos »

Happy Tuesday, friends, if you can manage one. Welcome to another edition of Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations. Well, this was bound to happen, right? Since Sunday afternoon, I have been thinking about what the right tone is to take with this week's ST&NO. I still haven't decided, and it's Monday at 5 PM as I write this paragraph. I guess I am just going to go with it, and play it like it feels. We had an ugly loss, and to top it off, there were only 4 late games, and no Sunday night game, so I didn't see a lot of live football, at all. We'll make do, because that's all we can do. Out of the echo chamber, and into the fire y'all. Ready.... BEGIN!!!!

1. The two plays which set the tone for yesterday's game happened at the beginning of each half. On the Broncos' first play from scrimmage, Jarret Johnson came in untouched and unrecognized off the defense's left side, and creamed Kyle Orton for a big loss. As I watched the play happen, I couldn't help but think that the Broncos may not be well-prepared if they weren't expecting a lot of blitzing.

As the second half got underway, Lardarius Webb took the opening kickoff back 95 yards for a TD. That took a manageable 6-0 halftime deficit to 13-0, and essentially dictated that the Broncos start playing come-from-behind football. You see the picture of this play, and I used it because it sticks in my craw (whatever a craw is), and I want it stick in yours, too. I guarantee it bothers the coaches and players. You can't have that happen and expect to win.

The final score, 30-7, sounds like a blowout, but this game wasn't really that. This game swung on field position, and third-down performance, which was directly driven by down-and-distance situations. The Ravens made key plays on 3rd down, and the Broncos missed opportunities to make those plays.

There's an offensive concept called staying on schedule, and it means that from first and 10, you get to 2nd and 6, and then to 3rd and 2. All your down-and-distance situations are manageable if you stay on schedule. It's a really good thing to do every game, but it's absolutely imperative against a team like Baltimore, which can bring a bunch of overload pressure and force a QB to either throw way short of the first down or eat the ball.

Actually, the Broncos did a great job throughout the game with first-down defense, and getting Baltimore off schedule themselves. The Ravens, though, led by Joe Flacco, made enough plays to negate those early-down advantages.

The world didn't end, and all we can hope is that some lessons are learned from the experience by the players and coaches, and that those lessons are applied to future situations. Sometimes a loss is a growth opportunity, and I think that there is a solid reson to think that this loss was one of those.

2. Information From My Eyes. Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens:

a. I thought Mitch Berger was awul on Sunday, despite Josh McDaniels' charitable comments about his performance. Hang time is fine, but I want changes in field position. The Broncos lost the field position game the whole first half, in large part because of bad punting.

b. I disliked the offensive game plan and the play calling. The 3rd-and-5 sweep for Correll Buckhalter on the second series is an example. I thought there were too many screens against a team which clearly came to stop the screen. I wanted to see more use of Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal agains the Baltimore CBs, and I am perplexed as to why we didn't get more of that.

c. I was really pleased with the way that Mario Haggan was consistently setting the edge in this game. He has a physical style of play which is perfect for the position he plays. It's pretty shocking that he was basically a special teamer only in Buffalo, because he's a top-notch 3-4 OLB.

d. I don't blame Knowshon Moreno very much for the fumble (this time). That play was doomed from the start, with Jarret Johnson forcing a high throw and tough catch, and Moreno turning right into a thumping from Ed Reed.

e. Andra Davis is playing at a Pro Bowl level this season, when he is on the field. He plays downhill all the time and has a great sense of timing with the snap count. The great thing about him is that he seems to be cool with coming off the field on 3rd downs, and letting Wesley Woodyard play the long-yardage situations, which Woodyard's much better suited for.

f. There was a lot of dancing by Brandon Marshall on his four catches. I'd like to see him get upfield quicker after the catch. I'd also like to see him use his physicality to get open on some downfield stuff.

g. I was tired by 10:30 Monday night, when I re-watched this game, so I didn't tally anything, but anecdotally, the screen game was a complete disaster on offense for the Broncos.

h. Kyle Orton had two easy interceptions dropped in this game. One was on a play where he got crushed and the ball came out weakly, and the other was a terrible decision, with Jarret Johnson sitting in an underneath zone, and Dawan Landry right behind him. Orton needs to play better than he did Sunday, like the rest of the offense.

i. With the score 16-7 early in the 4th quarter, the Broncos had Baltimore in a 3rd and 12 near midfield. On consecutive plays, Elvis Dumervil and Darrell Reid jumped offsides. On the resulting 3rd and 2, Flacco escaped pressure and made a downfield throw to Derrick Mason. This basically ended the game, because soon after, Mason scored to make the score 23-7.

j. Renaldo Hill looked out of position on the aforementioned Mason TD. Andre' Goodman had outside leverage on the play, with good coverage, really, but Hill never got over the top to help him. He may have seen something that kept him in the shallow middle; but it was a bust, clear as day, because Brian Dawkins played the coverage like he had a deep half on the other side. Credit Flacco for seeing the blown coverage and making a perfect throw.

k. From the Ravens' side, I liked their use of the no-huddle stuff, and their attempts to vary tempo. The Broncos substitute very liberally, and are one of the most package-intensive defenses in the NFL. By having to hesitate on substituting at times, they assumed a disadvantaged position against the Ravens. Really, I think that the lack of freshness of some players, who had larger than usual workloads, is a lot of what got them in the 4th quarter.

3. Information From My Eyes, Other Games:

a. As I mentioned, I didn't see a lot of other live games, since most ran at the same time as the Broncos game. To make up for that, I recorded some Short Cuts Sunday night, and hurried home from Day 1 of month-end close Monday to watch them. I started with the Jets and Dolphins, and my first (Nearsighted) Observation is that the Jets played a dominant game on defense, which surprised me a little. I thought they'd miss Kris Jenkins a lot more than they seemed to, especially with all the Wildcat stuff going on. The Jets held the Dolphins to 104 total yards, 52 each passing and rushing.

b. It's really something to score 30 points with 104 yards of offense. Jason Taylor got a fumble recovery for a TD and Ted Ginn returned two kickoffs. I have highlighted Ginn's lack of suddenness before - but let me tell you, when he gets going, he's as fast as anybody in the NFL. He outran players who had good angles on both TD returns. He may never be a top WR, but he's elite as a kickoff returner.

c. I think Thomas Jones is the most underrated player in the NFL. He started slow in the NFL, largely due to his being drafted by a horrible Arizona Cardinals team, but once he got it going in Tampa Bay, he's been a consistently productive player. He's on pace for 1,400 yards and 14 TDs this season, and is a big part of the Jets' success on offense.

d. The most overrated player has to be Jason Peters, just ahead of Alan Faneca and Flozell Adams. The bloom is mostly off the Faneca and Adams roses, at this point, but Peters still gets a lot of love from the MSM. I have just seen him get beat too many times the last two years, and the jury is in for me. He looks like he'd make a good Right Tackle, but on the left side, he gets beaten constantly by quick pass rushers. Osi Umenyiora owned him several times on Sunday.

e. DeSean Jackson is already a great player, and he's improving. He needs to be played physically, because if you let him run free through a defense, he's going to shred you. He's not really a true number-one receiver, who's going to defeat double coverage, but he's a dynamic outside guy.

f. The Eagles have a pretty fearsome passing game, when their line isn't getting Donovan McNabb sacked. Jeremy Maclin is having a solid rookie year, but I'm especially impressed with Brent Celek, who does a great job of catching the ball in traffic. He's now on pace for over 1,000 receiving yards this season. Celek isn't much of a blocker, really, but he even had a good hold that didn't get called on Sunday, helping spring Leonard Weaver's long TD run.

g. ST&NO favorite Alex Smith had a pretty nice game on Sunday against Indianapolis. He looks really comfortable in the shotgun, and led a great hurry-up TD drive at the end of the first half. For his part, Smith looked good for most of the game. The 49ers offense just repeatedly found ways to take bad penalties or give up sacks, (especially in the second half, after Joe Staley got hurt), which kept stopping the offense. Smith is showing a good rapport with Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree, who looks like the real deal, already, two weeks into his career.

h. Peyton Manning was a little off on Sunday with his deep ball. That happens so infrequently that I thought it was worth highlighting.

i. I still can't figure out why the Colts cut Ed Johnson a couple weeks ago. They're very vulnerable to the inside running game without him. The Colts brass said the release was performance-related, but I don't buy that for a second. Johnson was definitely their best DT.

j. Very interesting news Monday evening that the Chargers had released Chris Chambers. He has been struggling to get the separation he used to get, but waiving him seems like a pretty extreme measure. You can't tell me that he couldn't beat nickel or dime CBs against most teams. I'd be very surprised if he isn't on a new team very quickly.

k. The Raiders had a legitimate shot to drive to a tying TD and 2-point conversion in the final minutes of Sunday's game against the Chargers. Then, something completely emblematic of the Raiders happened. Louis Murphy and Darrius Heyward-Bey lined up on the offense's right side, and both ran vertical routes against man coverage. The inside receiver released outside of the DB covering him, and the outside receiver released inside. They bumped into each other, and both fell down. JaMarcus Russell had nowhere to throw the ball and got sacked, despite a 7-step drop and max protection on the play. The game was functionally over at that point.

l. Aaron Rodgers got beaten up mercilessly again on Sunday, particularly early in the game. I actually thought T.J. Lang was generally pretty solid at LT, but Jared Allen still got 3 sacks. He now has 7.5 sacks in 2 games against Green Bay this year, which is like giving him a handicap in the sack race with Elvis Dumervil.

m. I really thought that Arizona had gotten their act together, but they got hammered by Carolina on Sunday. They went into the game with the number-one run defense in the NFL, and then got run over by DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. I think it was an aberration, but that remains to be seen.

n. I've never liked Matt Ryan's arm much, and Monday night reinforced that feeling for me. Because the Falcons have a below-average line in pass protection, they max-protect a lot, leaving few receivers in the pattern. If the coverage is tight, as it was Monday, Ryan always seems to struggle to make throws to beat the coverage. He's really not too dissimilar to Kyle Orton in that way, though Orton throws the ball with more velocity. Ryan needs to have a lot of options, where he can pick a guy who is open. For that reason, Atlanta needs to focus on building their offensive line. Sam Baker, particularly, isn't good enough at LT, and would make a better LG. Baker got annihilated by Will Smith throughout Monday night's game.

o. My man Thomas DeCoud was at it again for the Falcons on Monday night. He had a sack that forced a TD in the first quarter. This guy is a big-time young player.

p. Jeff Triplette is the worst referee in the NFL, and it's not even close. He just couldn't figure out the clock on Monday night, and he has no command with the crowd. It always seems like he lets them rattle him. When you're a referee, a sheepish smile is a bad thing. You need to command the stadium, like Ed Hochuli and Mike Carey do. Gene Steratore is a good younger referee, too.

r. Marques Colston is having a fantastic year for the Saints. Prior to this year, I've always thought of him as a fairly-average starting WR who has benfitted from strong QB play, and a friendly system. I really see him winning a lot of one-on-one battles with his physicality now. He was targeted 6 times Monday night, and made 6 catches for 85 yards and a TD. He really battled for the ball on a few of those catches, including the TD.

4. Between The Lines, Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens

a. The Broncos had a very bad day in protection, and there's no way to sugarcoat that. The Ravens blitzed more often than what it seemed the Broncos were prepared for. Ryan Clady got beaten twice, which is twice more than usual, and got Orton hit. He was otherwise his normal self. The rag-doll was Ben Hamilton. I am getting tired of writing that every week, but if he's going to get his butt kicked, I'll keep writing it. Old friend Trevor Pryce destroyed Hamilton all game. Casey Wiegmann had his worst game of the year too, with Kelly Gregg beating him more often than not. I was pleased with Chris Kuper's play against Haloti Ngata, and I thought Tyler Polumbus did a very nice job filling in for Ryan Harris. The Broncos got Orton sacked twice (once by a DB) and pressured many more times than that. The passing game was a clear win for the Ravens defensive line.

b. The running aspect was actually better for the Broncos. They picked up a couple of 3rd and shorts, which was nice for a change, and generally held the line of scrimmage, and got a bit of surge against an excellent group for Baltimore. The only notable running play which was blown up was the 3rd-and-5 sweep. I liked the work of Clady and Kuper, and everybody was actually pretty solid in the running game. The Broncos only ran for 3.5 yards per carry - but against Baltimore, that's pretty solid. This was a draw, but one the Broncos would have been happy with if they'd protected better.

c. The Broncos did a good job pressuring Flacco throughout the game, and were beaten by some great throws and poise. These things happen. Jared Gaither held Elvis Dumervil repeatedly, but he didn't get penalized, so kudos to him, if he likes granola bars. Ben Grubbs and Michael Oher, the two best players on the Baltimore line, had good days, and the two weakest, Matt Birk and Chris Chester, didn't so much. A lot of the Broncos' pressure came from the Back 8, which is typical of them. The Ravens allowed a lot of pressure, but much like Ben Roethlisberger, Flacco showed a really good ability to evade the pressure, and make plays in spite of it.

d. The Broncos defense won big in the running game, until the last 10 minutes of the game, when it seemed like they wore down. The Broncos had 10 tackles for loss, which is the kind of performance that typically wins games. Unfortunately, Flacco's big plays negated a lot of this good work. When you consider it separately though, the Broncos won this battle for most of the game. Notable Broncos were Ronald Fields, Kenny Peterson, and Marcus Thomas. Ryan McBean got some penetration too, and Le Kevin Smith made a good play, also.

e. Overall, you have to give an edge to Baltimore, for how well they pressured Kyle Orton. It was the primary reason the Broncos never got untracked on offense. The Broncos did a more-than-respectable job in the other phases, though.

5. Word broke on Monday that the Browns had fired General Manager George Kokinis. I really can't imagine why they'd want to do that. Reportedly, Randy Lerner is displeased that Kokinis didn't take an active role in speaking to the media and communicating to the outside world. If that's really the problem, then I think it's clear that Lerner doesn't get professional football. During the season, the GM needs to be quiet and let the Head Coach be the voice of the team. This is the way it works everywhere, even a place like Baltimore, where GM Ozzie Newsome is the top football guy in the organization. That's where Kokinis came from.

Here in Cleveland, the Browns organization is really far too worried about public opinion. Remember how the Broncos organization ignored the DP message boards all offseason, and then the booing at the scrimmage? You have to do that, or you'll never get going in a coherent direction. I don't know if the Mangini plan is the right one, but it seems that Randy Lerner just canceled it before it even had half a season to work. Rumor has it that Lerner is trying to bring in Ernie Accorsi to join Bernie Kosar as a consultant. As respected as Accorsi is, this sounds like Lerner already blew the situation.

Phil Savage, who is still being paid for the next 3 1/2 years, had some interesting comments this past week. He said that the previous regime left this one with two quarterbacks, and that both of them look ruined at this point. The Browns will almost certainly be in the drafting-a-QB business again this coming spring, and that typically signals another full deep dive into rebuilding. While they're at it, they need a right side of the offensive line, two RBs, a WR, and a TE. Then they can turn their attention to the defense, which is currently solid enough to be part of a .500 team.

The team, led by Lerner, needs to definitively figure out what they want to be. They need to then formulate a plan to become that, and start executing the plan. Most importantly, though, they have to try to clearly articulate that plan to their stakeholders, and then prepare to stick to that plan, no matter what Joe in Berea, or Stanislaus in West Park have to say on the radio. You have to build your program, and winning will follow. As we all know, winning is the great deodorant.

More month-end closing activities are ahead for me this week. It seems like just last week I was closing September and complaining here about how busy I am. Now, it returns. The good news is that I will have a full Sunday of game-watching and channel-flipping next weekend, so expect a more-robust set of games which I'll be commenting on. Have a great week, friends, and remember to visit MileHighReport.com every day, for all your Broncos news and analysis.

Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens Pre-Game Discussion Thread

John Bena — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:53:15 -0000

Happy Broncos Sunday!! It's been a LOOOOONG 2 weeks but Broncos football is back. In a season that has already seen its share of strange things, it should come as no surprise that the Broncos would travel to Baltimore to face the RAVENS on the days after Halloween. How 'Edgar Allen Poe-ish'. Anyhow, talk about the game here and throw your prediction for the game in the comments.

The Broncos lose in Baltimore? Nevermore! I'll take Denver to win - 20-16

BRONCOS INJURIES

Denver Broncos Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Spencer Larsen	shoulder	11/01/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Nick Greisen	knee	08/05/2009

***Larsen is back and active today against the Ravens

RAVENS INJURIES

Baltimore Ravens Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jarret Johnson	shoulder	11/01/2009
Ed Reed	other-illness	11/01/2009
Steven Hauschka	ankle	11/01/2009
Joe Flacco	ankle	11/01/2009
Tavares Gooden	head	11/01/2009

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jared Gaither	neck	11/01/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Quinn Sypniewski	undisclosed	09/08/2009
Adam Terry	knee	08/07/2009
Brendon Ayanbadejo	quadriceps	10/06/2009
Marcus Smith	knee	08/14/2009
Lamar Divens	hip	08/15/2009
Jason Phillips	knee	09/05/2009
Greg Ryan	undisclosed	09/08/2009
Lou Saucedo	undisclosed	09/08/2009

***Ravens OT Jared Gaither is expected to play today

For everything that is anything regarding the Ravens, check out Baltimore Beatdown!!

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Denver Broncos @ Baltimore Ravens; Friday Injury Report

Tim Lynch — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:06:11 -0000

DENVER BRONCOS
Player	Injury	Wed. Participation	Thur. Participation	Fri. Participation	Friday Status
Ronald Field (DL)	Hamstring	Did Not Participate	Limited Participation	Full Participation	Probable
Brian Dawkins (S)	Hamstring	Limited Participation	Limited Participation	Full Participation	Probable
Spencer Larsen (ILB/FB)	Shoulder	Full Participation	Full Participation	Full Participation	Probable
BALTIMORE RAVENS
Player	Injury	Wed. Participation	Thur. Participation	Fri. Participation	Friday Status
Tavaras Gooden (LB)	Head	Did Not Participate	Limited Participation	Full Participation	Probable
Ed Reed (S)	Illness	Did Not Participate	Full Participation	Full Participation	Probable
Joe Flacco (QB)	Ankle	Full Participation	Full Participation	Full Participation	Probable
Jared Gaither (T)	Neck	Full Participation	Did Not Participate	Limited Participation	Questionable
Jarret Johnson (LB)	Shoulder	Full Participation	Full Participation	Full Participation	Probable
David Tyree (WR)	Hamstring	Full Participation	Full Participation	Full Participation	Probable
Steven Hauschka (K)	Right Ankle	Not Listed	Full Participation	Full Participation	Probable

Ravens/Broncos: Friday Injury Report & Game Status

Bruce Raffel — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:21:58 -0000

From what I see below, we won't know if Baltimore Ravens left tackle Jared Gaither will play in Sunday's game until just before game time. I guess that Head Coach John Harbaugh is getting a little "Belichick" in him, refusing to disclose Gaither's status until absolutely necessary. So while Gaither remains questionable for the game, no one else on either the Ravens nor Broncos are in that class. Expect the guys listed below as "probable" to be playing without a doubt, although they are officially "probably" playing at this time.

	A	B	C	D
1	INJURY REPORT - BALTIMORE RAVENS vs. DENVER BRONCOS
2		SUNDAY, November 1, 2009
3
4
5
6
7	*WEDNESDAY*	*THURSDAY*	*FRIDAY*	*GAME STATUS*
8	*OUT*	*OUT*	*OUT*	*OUT*
9
10
11
12	*DID NOT PARTICIPATE*	*DID NOT PARTICIPATE*	*DID NOT PARTICIPATE*	*DOUBTFUL*
13	LB Tavaras Gooden (head)	T Jared Gaither (neck)
14	S Ed Reed (illness)
15
16
17
18	*LIMITED PARTICIPATION*	*LIMITED PARTICIPATION*	*LIMITED PARTICIPATION*	*QUESTIONABLE*
19		LB Tavaras Gooden (head)	T Jared Gaither (neck)	T Jared Gaither (neck)
20
21
22
23	*FULL PARTICIPATION*	*FULL PARTICIPATION*	*FULL PARTICIPATION*	*PROBABLE*
24	QB Joe Flacco (ankle)	QB Joe Flacco (ankle)	QB Joe Flacco (ankle)	QB Joe Flacco (ankle)
25	T Jared Gaither (neck)	K Steve Hauscka (right ankle)	LB Tavaras Gooden (head)	LB Tavaras Gooden (head)
26	LB Jarret Johnson (shoulder)	LB Jarret Johnson (shoulder)	K Steve Hauscka (right ankle)	K Steve Hauscka (right ankle)
27	WR David Tyree (hamstring)	S Ed Reed (illness)	LB Jarret Johnson (shoulder)	LB Jarret Johnson (shoulder)
28		WR David Tyree (hamstring)	S Ed Reed (illness)	S Ed Reed (illness)
29			WR David Tyree (hamstring)	WR David Tyree (hamstring)
30
31
32
33	*WEDNESDAY*	*THURSDAY*	*FRIDAY*	*GAME STATUS*
34	*OUT*	*OUT*	*OUT*	*OUT*
35
36
37
38	*DID NOT PARTICIPATE*	*DID NOT PARTICIPATE*	*DID NOT PARTICIPATE*	*DOUBTFUL*
39	DL Ronald Fields (hamstring)
40
41
42	*LIMITED PARTICIPATION*	*LIMITED PARTICIPATION*	*LIMITED PARTICIPATION*	*QUESTIONABLE*
43	S Brian Dawkins (hamstring)	S Brian Dawkins (hamstring)
44		DL Ronald Fields (hamstring)
45
46
47
48
49
50	*FULL PARTICIPATION*	*FULL PARTICIPATION*	*FULL PARTICIPATION*	*PROBABLE*
51	ILB/FB Spencer Larsen (shoulder)	ILB/FB Spencer Larsen (shoulder)	S Brian Dawkins (hamstring)	S Brian Dawkins (hamstring)
52			DL Ronald Fields (hamstring)	DL Ronald Fields (hamstring)
53			ILB/FB Spencer Larsen (shoulder)	ILB/FB Spencer Larsen (shoulder)
54
55	Limited Participation is less than 100 percent of a player’s normal repetitions.
56	Full Participation is 100 percent of a player’s normal repetitions.
57	Not Injury Related applies to situations in which a player is withheld from his normal repetitions for reasons other than injury.

MHR Chalk Talk - Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens 2009

Steve Nichols — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:30:31 -0000

How good are the Ravens? Don't be fooled by the 3-3 record. They've beat the teams they should have (KC and CLE), and won against a tough SD team. Their losses came to teams that are pretty good (NE, CIN, and MIN). Don't sell this team short.

On the other hand, many folks are more likely to sell Denver short. Vegas has them down by 3 points at the time of this writing, despite a 6-0 record. Denver beat two teams that beat BAL (NE and CIN), as well as CLE, SD, OAK, and DAL. How good is Denver?

Special Teams - Sep and Oct players of the month (Kicker Matt Prater and Returner Eddie Royal).

Offense - Kyle Orton, who played the first four games with a protective glove has thrown only one INT (a bomb throw to end a half with no time left) and holds a 100+ QB rating.

Defense - Keeping opponents to an average 11 points a game.

But how do the teams match up? Both teams come off of a bye week, and have had ample time to draw up superior game plans. Who wins in each aspect of the game, and how should they plan the game? Let's look at some possibilities....

Ravens Offense vs Broncos Defense

(Advantage in bold and italics)

Ravens Offense Broncos Defense

Points 28.2 (5th) 11 (1st)

Yards 393.2 (5th) 262.5 (2nd)

Pass 268.3 (8th) 182.8 (8th)

Run 124.8 (10th) 79.7 (3rd)

Two things come to mind when thinking of Denver's pass defense. First, the Denver secondary is legendary. Brian Dawkins at FS and Champ Bailey at CB is unbelievable. But Denver's pass rush is amazing, too. Elvis Dumervil (ROLB/RDE) is a pass-rushing machine and leads the NFL with 10 sacks. Elvis gets moved around the line to create confusion and mismatches, and his exceptionalism allows other players to make plays as well. How does the Baltimore Offense counter?

Well, that's a tricky question. In their last three games, Baltimore has given up seven sacks. Jared Gaither (LT) will play this week, but fans of both teams will hold their breath because Jared suffered a scary neck injury earlier on, and this makes things dicey.

Beyond that, Joe Flacco (QB) is playing very well with a 93.8 QB rating (and is coming off of a hurt ankle). His WRs may be a little suspect, though. Derrick Mason is a good WR, and needs to be accounted for. Todd Heap is also a fine TE. But according to Bruce (our good friend from Baltimore Beatdown) the receiving corps is having issues with passes over the middle, and is depending on sideline curls (too much). Frankly, I don't think this hurts Baltimore against Denver.

Against a great secondary, there are two things to avoid. One is the deep pass, and the other is an "out route". Both are the leading ways to get an interception, and a well-placed pass on a curl route is a safe (if boring) way to move the ball. In fact, Denver isn't averse to short hitches and curls to the edges on offense, and they move the ball just fine without interceptions in that mode. This is also a good, quick way to get rid of the ball against a good pass rush.

Baltimore's offense would be wise to stick with those curls. They have a decent running game behind backs Ray Rice with 6 yds per carry (who is also effective out of screens), and Willis McGahee (4.5 ypc). In fact, a lot of the Baltimore offense reminds me of Denver's.

Baltimore has a good running game, and they do well with short, high-percentage throws. They also make threats with screens.

This is an efficient team that doesn't bowl you over with yards, but they make their yards count and put up a lot of points. Denver is also learning the value of this kind of football. Having jettisoned a QB that put up excellent yards but a lot of INTs, Denver has moved in the direction of "game management", careful passing football and racked up wins as a result.

How does one attack such a team? Baltimore has an offensive issue that Denver's offense doesn't share - pass blocking. I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but Denver is winning the defense battles with an amazing pass rush, and they should do that here, too.

A good pass rush from the front 5 (Denver runs a 5-2 look) allows the two ILBs to account for the run, and plugs enough gaps (Denver runs a 1-gap attack) to prevent runs. But in the pass game, that same effective rush harries QBs and can break up plays in the backfield before they get started. If Baltimore can hold the Denver rush (a tall order) they can get the screens out, and make the quick, short passes to move the ball down field steadily. And while nobody is running the Broncos over in the running game (Denver holds teams to under 80 yards rushing), Baltimore needs to try to be the first. A good running game brushes back effective rushes and blitzes, and this would take away Denver's best defensive asset. Still, that's a tough order.

Broncos Offense vs Ravens Defense

Broncos Offense Ravens Defense

Points 22.2 (17th) 21.7 (19th)

Yards 368.7 (9th) 332.7 (19th)

Pass 236 (12th) 241.5 (23rd)

Run 132.7 (7th) 91.2 (7th)

Remember the days when the Ravens were killers on defense, but not so hot on offense? Things have changed quickly. Denver may not light up the scoreboard, but the Ravens aren't exactly shutting down offenses, either. How do offenses beat the Ravens? In the air.

The Ravens have a strong run defense. The DL features former Broncos favorite Trevor Pryce at LDE, but the real power is at LB with LILB Ray Lewis and ROLB Terrell Suggs. Behind them is one of my favorite free safeties in the game, Ed Reed. Ed is one of those "do it all" guys that can cover the pass and slam into a RB like a freight train. But Lewis, Suggs, and Reed are having a rough time this year, and the problem is at corner.

Samari Rolle is a very good corner, but is on the PUP list (injury). He may likely not return this season. This leaves Fabian Washington (who?) at #1 corner and former Bronco nickleback Domonique Foxworth at #2. Neither player has an INT this year.

The Baltimore pass rush faces a difficult prospect, too. Denver's tackles (Ryan Clady and Ryan Harris) are both young, Pro Bowl-caliber players. Pressure will need to come up the middle, if at all. As Orton is a pocket passer, this is where rushes need to come from, anyway.

So the Ravens' best card is their run defense, which ties Denver's run offense. Not a dominating way to face the Broncos.

Denver's path to winning is classic. First, see who has the edge in the running game. If Denver establishes the run, the game is over. I don't see the Ravens stopping the pass in any event. If Denver can run, they can mix up the run and pass, and go from there. The best option may not be the runs up the gut (Denver is awful on short-yardage, 3rd-down scenarios). Denver should test the edges.

Whether the run works or not, expect Denver to play 3 WR (or more) sets. This forces Baltimore to take LBs off the field (their strength) and to replace them with corners (their weakness). Denver has excellence at WR in depth:

Brandon Marshall, who zigzags and plows overs defenders with ease,
Eddie Royal, who ran a kick return and punt return for TDs against the Chargers in the last game,
Jabar Gaffney, who runs routes perfectly in the Denver system (the same routes he ran in NE),
Brandon Stokley, who switches up at slot with Jabar, and has experience, toughness, and great hands.

Between Orton's intelligent ball-handling, Denver's receivers, and the weakness at Baltimore's CBs, this is the matchup Denver fans should look forward to the most - the Denver passing game. If I'm running Baltimore's defense, I put the CBs in zone and play bend-don't-break.

Keys to the Game

Denver

Stop the run. I don't think Baltimore can win as a one-dimensional offense.
Get the early lead. Denver has been starting slow, but an early lead takes away the Baltimore running game.
Avoid turnovers. Baltimore can win this game if they win on field position. They can do this with a key fumble recovery or two. They shouldn't get many chances for INTs against Orton.

Baltimore

Win the time of possession battle. Keep the ball away from Denver's offense.
Win the special teams battle. Don't let Royal get going on punts or kicks. Denver has a new punter this week - make the most of it. Field position!
Baltimore has been able to put up a lot of points this year. Denver is NOT a shootout team.

Conclusion

Both teams are coming off of a bye. The game is in Baltimore, and Baltimore doesn't want to be 3-4 after this week. The weather (at the time of this writing) is expected to be rain. This favors defense and running. For this matchup, this would favor Baltimore.

On the other hand, Denver beats Baltimore in 6 of 8 comparisons I've listed above, and ties in two (based in relative League rankings). In terms of player matchups, I give Denver the advantage in depth. In fact, I give Denver the edge or tie at every player position comparison, including STs (Den) and Coaching (Den).

In my mind, Baltimore is very underrated. While their AFC North rivals PITT and CIN look good this year, BAL is a team that could turn on a dime and improve quickly. The only area that I believe they are stuck without improvement in is cornerbacks.

I don't expect to pick Denver every game this year. The only game I didn't pick Denver was against NE, and I called that one "too close to call". Sure enough, that game went into overtime, so I'll call that a "correct". Tough games still loom on the horizon (Indy and NYGs), but for now, Denver has proven they are for real and I'll stick with them.

Poll

Other than being 6-0, what has been the biggest surprise so far?

Royal returns a kick and a punt for TDs in same game.

186 votes

Doom leads the League in sacks near season half mark.

269 votes

Orton has only 1 INT this year (and that was on a hail mary).

730 votes

1185 votes | Poll has closed

Horse Tracks 10/21/09 - Ravens should have LT Gaither back for game versus Broncos

Douglas A. Lee — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:54:37 -0000

Fun fact of the day - according to the popular and traditional measure (yards), the Broncos' defense (262.5) ranks second to that of the Giants (257.7 ypg). Yet, the Giants have allowed 119 points - 80% more than the 66 points Denver has allowed. Consider this next time you want to cite a team's offensive or defensive rank by yardage gained or allowed. It just doesn't matter - find out what the points scored/allowed are, and compare those instead.

DB - Chargers Postgame: Report - Broncos TV

NFL - Playbook: Broncos vs. Chargers recap - Video
Mayock looks at Orton and Scheffler, while Billick examines the Broncos' pass rush.

DB - Royal Wins SP/T Player of the Week - Broncos TV

DPP - Broncos' Royal made up for Chargers' early dominance - Mike Klis

LTC - This team has staying power - Brian Howell

NFP - Diner morning news: Broncos are in control - Mike Lombardi
"They’re for real — and last night proved it to me. I’ve always been concerned about their age and lack of real speed in the secondary, but after playing well the past two weeks against some very good passing teams, I’m a believer."

FH - Tweet This, Cutler: Orton Kicks R Butt - Jay Mariotti
"But now people in Chicago are beginning to grasp why McDaniels was so eager to cast Cutler loose. The two would have gotten along like Jon and Kate Gosselin."

DB - Royal’s Special Night Earns Special Honor - Chris Gentilviso

DB - The Morning After: Week 6 - Chris Gentilviso

DB - 6-0, Say No More! - Mark Cooper

CSG - Don't bet against these Broncos - Frank Schwab

DPP - Analysis: Broncos' Dumervil showed nation what he can do Monday night - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Broncos enjoy win vs. Chargers but turn sights to tough upcoming stretch - Lindsay Jones

DPP - Key matchup: Passing attacks vs. secondary - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Broncos' ability to hang on to football serves them well - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Paige: McDaniels worth his weight in gold
"McDaniels said the Broncos would be improved and that the schedule couldn't be based on the results of opponents' performances of last season. Rather emphatically, with just the two of us in his office, he added, 'I've never been a part of a losing season since I began playing football.' He gave me a gargantuan clue. I should have listened."

DPP - Numbers: Broncos' sack-happy Dumervil in great company

DPP - Q&A: Broncos' Hillis versatile but won't get many carries - Jeff Legwold

INDT - Drew Litton: From Balloon Boy to Broncos

KDVR - Undefeated Denver Broncos the 'Feel-Good Movie of the Year' - Chris Tanaka

DP - Hochman: Karl a fan of McDaniels' work

CT - Brett Favre and Kyle Orton: Why the hate? - Rick Morrissey
"He's succeeding with the same wide receivers Cutler supposedly turned into stars. Apparently, Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal can play a little bit on their own."

CST - Kyle high and Jay low in '09 - Rick Telander
"Sometimes a change of scenery can change your life. And sometimes the team that had you just didn't know how to use you, stroke you or bring out your best. And you wonder: Whose fault is that? And further: Do the Bears ruin their offensive stars?"

DC - Broncos give some hope to the Bills - Bob Matthews
"When the Denver Broncos started 3-0, I wrote that they'd be 3-3 after this week's Monday Night Football game in San Diego. Oops. My apologies to Josh McDaniels..."

IS - Purdue QBs past and present post big numbers - Curt Cavin

CBS - Power Rankings: You win, McDaniels; apologies to you - Pete Prisco
"I'm done being a Denver Broncos skeptic. For weeks, I kept saying they weren't as good as their record... Division race: Over...My doubts about the Broncos: Over."

USAT - Now they're a target: Broncos must adjust to expectations - Skip Wood

DP - Shanahans open home to Children's Hospital Gala - Joanne Davidson

SPT - Ex-Broncos to play ball in Steamboat - Luke Graham
Dave Studdard, Mark Jackson, Louie Wright, Ron Egloff and Billy Thompson are expected.

Scout.com - Bobby Humphrey talks candidly - Shea Lowery

Ravens News

BS - It's all in the technique - Ken Murray
LT Jared Gaither should return for the Ravens against the Broncos

BS - McClain's optimistic despite reduced role - Edward Lee

NFL - Jets and Ravens go from 3-0 to 'Oh, no!' - Vic Carucci

FNP - Ravens' 'D' stands for doldrums

AFC West News

NFL - Chargers place Applewhite on "Reserve - Injured," sign CB Hughes

NFL - Panthers send 2010 draft pick to Chiefs for veteran DT Tyler

NFL - Member of Chargers' game-day staff dies from injuries after fall
Solemn news. Again, the thoughts of all at MHR go out to Walt Daniels' family and friends and the Chargers organization.

SDUT - Chargers players growing restless - Kevin Acee

SDUT - Chargers have reached their level of mediocrity - Nick Canepa

SDUT - Scouting the Chiefs

SDUT - Sore Scifres not getting his kicks - Kevin Acee

NCT - CHARGERS: Too flawed to be a fluke - Scott Bair

KCS - Chiefs, Broncos have gone in different directions after shaking things up - Kent Babb
Rich Gannon calls the Broncos' myriad roster changes a mere "fine-tuning" because he either doesn't know what he's talking about, or he's trying to be easy on his old Chefs...

SI - Raiders, coach Tom Cable basking in win over Philadelphia Eagles - Ann Killion

NFL News

NFL - Sweet home Chicago: Cutler signs two-year extension with Bears

ESPN - Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler will leave Twitter trash talk to Cincinnati Bengals' Chad Ochocinco -
"This league is funny. It's all about timing," Cutler said. "You could be one of the best players in the league (referring to Orton) but if you're not in the right system, you don't have the right people around you, there're a lot of different aspects that go into making a player or breaking a player. It's working for Kyle. It's working for Josh, and it's working for the Broncos. They've got a good thing going."

NFL - Injuries sustained in car accident end Bucs FB Askew's season

NFL - Falcons bring back S Fudge, put CB Williams on injured reserve

NFL - Titans, Vanden Bosch plan to hold contract talks

HC - Texans notes: Free agent linebacker Winborn signed - Dale Robertson

NFL - Eagles land veteran LB Witherspoon in trade with Rams

NFL - Redskins sign free-agent LT Levi Jones to fill void

NFL - Patriots cut veteran WR Galloway after just six weeks with team

NFL - Shoulder injury sidelines Browns LB Jackson for the season

NFL - Agent denies that Steelers kicker Reed challenged police officers

NFL Opinion

NFP - Tavern talk: NFL’s worst game manager - Mike Lombardi

SN - Deadline dud: Big names lacking on NFL's last day for trades - Clifton Brown

Y! - Unproven quotes cloud Limbaugh debate - Jason Cole

SI - Joe Klecko, Ron Wolf, other potential Pro Football Hall of Famers - Peter King
PK sees the Broncos at Indy for the AFC title game, meaning the Colts will gain the upper hand in their regular-season matchup.

NFP - Fisher’s future in Tennessee not assured - Robert Boland

NFP - Zorn's demotion just adds to chaos in D.C. - Matt Bowen

CBS - Play-calling change will only confuse Redskins - Clark Judge

SI - Working for Washington Redskins' Daniel Snyder not worth money - Don Banks

FOX - Schein 9: How to fix NFC East's problems
"Who was that moron who thought Denver was a last-place team during the preseason?"

NFP - The NFP Power Rankings

Y! - Traffic jam for Pro Bowl-caliber QBs - Mike Silver
"3. Denver Broncos: Now that Eddie Royal has been unearthed – and they just essentially clinched the AFC West title – are there any remaining questions about these guys?"

PFW - Week Seven power rankings

ESPN - NFL Power Rankings Week 7

PFW - MVP Meter: Two horses in this race - Dan Parr

PFW - Rookie Meter: Cushing rises to top

ESPN - Chicago Bears banking on Gaines Adams to finally deliver on promise - Len Pasquarelli

NFP - Scout’s notebook: offensive review - Wes Bunting

NFP - Scout’s notebook: defensive review - Wes Bunting