SB Nation - Tavares Gooden

Perhaps Ravens Played Flat Last Night For A Reason

Bruce Raffel — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:23:15 -0000

More photos » by Scott Heckel - AP

28 days ago: FIreworks shoot from top of Cleveland Browns Stadium prior to the NFL game between the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns Monday, November 16, 2009 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Ravens won 16-0. (AP Photo/The Repository, Scott Heckel)

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Everyone from the announcers to the media to the fans were ragging on our Ravens about the boring, unoriginal and "flat" play last night in their 16-0 shutout victory over the woeful Cleveland Browns. The offense could only muster a little under 300 yards of total offense that was giving up an average of over 400 yards per game. They joined the Browns in combining to have the only non-scoring first half in the 2009 NFL season thus far. The Ravens could only muster 9 points of scoring offense all game, and scored 13 of their 16 points in a 17 second span of the third quarter.

But as the title suggests, perhaps the Ravens played "flat" on purpose for a reason that borders on strategy with a side helping of over confidence?

Everyone knew the Ravens were clearly the better team going into the game and it wouldn't be surprising to know that the team was likely already looking ahead to their next two opponents, much less the remainder of the season. While the team knew it desperately needed a win to remain in the hunt for a post season berth, they probably figured that just short of showing up was going to be good enough to pull out a win, as ugly as it may look to the rest of the football world watching last night.

I'm sure the team knew what it had to do to win the game, and only opened the playbook far enough to get the job done. Without revealing anything in that binder of formations that the Indianapolis Colts and the Pittsburgh Steelers could practice to prevent, the Ravens just concentrated in bullying the Browns enough to score more points while playing solid defense. Hence the game totals in plays ran from scrimmage, 36 rushing versus only 19 passes. The 19 passing attempts include an ill-timed 3rd down trick play with Ray Rice trying to get the ball downfield to a wide open Todd Heap, underthrowing him for an incompletion. Why they even brought out that play, much less on a third and two where they could have probably just ran the ball for the first down with the game in hand at that point confounded me as well as the announcers.

So before you decide to go off on the team for its bland game plan, try to see that the coaching staff couldn't care less what everyone thinks about their strategy as long as it ends with a victory, which it did. They may be a lot smarter than they are given credit for, as they got the win without revealing anything unusual about the game plan that the Colts and Steelers can take away from the game. However, the defense did shut out an NFL team, which has only happened a handful of times this season and is still a sense of pride regardless of the team they beat. This defense needed this shutout and can use the solid play from many of the guys who have not gotten a lot of reps this year, such as Dwan Edwards, Lardarius Webb, Jameel McClain and even Paul Kruger. Both corners played well, especially Fabian Washington against the run. Terrell Suggs has every reason to be angry at Brady Quinn, who had no reason whatsoever to be blocking Suggs after throwing an interception, much less below the knees and his post game excuse was obviously lame. Losing Suggs for the next stretch of games will hurt this team, as well as the loss of safety Haruki Nakamura, who broke his right ankle on the opening kickoff and should miss the rest of the season. Get well props to both of them, along with Tavares Gooden who suffered another concussion and Todd Heap, who bruised his chest late in the game.

On the Browns side, here's hoping return man Josh Cribbs is okay after taking a hard shot on the game's final play, although Dwan Edwards hit was legal and besides, the play was a stupid one for a team trailing by 16 points.

Finally, we can't end this post without mentioning the pathetic job our placekicker has done all season. Sorry to call you out Steven Hauschka, but when you put on the team's colors, you are in the spotlight and are only as good as your kicks, which have been hooking left since the first game of the season. Missing those easy ones will keep the talk about letting Matt Stover go fresh on the tongues on your detractors. While I was in favor of replacing Stover, he was money inside the 40 but was shaky beyond that. You are missing wide left regardless of the distance and have pretty much proven that the pressure of kicking in the NFL is well beyond your capabilities. Now the team should be signing someone else as they have tried out other kickers but for some reason decideed to give you another chance, which you blew big time last night. While the readers of The Beatdown know whom I'd like to see here, at this point I'm sure everyone agrees that anyone other than you will be an upgrade, as there can't be a single person over at One Winning Drive that secretly or openly has any confidence when you trot onto the field.

Other than that, I'm not discouraged, I'm satisfied that we are where we needed to be before last night to set us up for the next two games which will absolutely define our season and with that, our post season.

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

Broncos Thoughts and Musings - A look back at Chargers Week

Emmett Smith — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:00:30 -0000

More photos » by Denis Poroy - AP

about 1 month ago: Denver Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno, center, goes over the top of San Diego Chargers linebackers Tim Dobbins (51) and Stephen Cooper (54) while gaining two yards for a first down in the third quarter of the NFL football game Monday, Oct. 19, 2009 in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

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Having taken a 'bye' week of my own, I thought that I'd put together a few musings for the general group. Before getting into the meat of this week's offering, though, I'd like to take a minute to mention a phenomena that has been showing its ugly face around Broncos Country. I'm talking about the problems of our fans having a 'Shanahangover': the sinking belief that the issues of the past years, in which the Broncos look good enough to fool us and lull us into a state of complacency before succumbing to a massive blowout (often to an inferior team) and shattering our dreams, could resurface in 2009. It's a dangerous disease, but fatal only to those who believe that this year's team has something in common with the teams of the past - notably, the past three seasons. Time will tell, but I don't see this happening any longer.

I've read this from a few of the members and in other blogs and sites: "The Broncos have fooled us before." It's true, too, but that was before a new sheriff, deputy, posse, marksman and scouts came into the picture. No matter what you've seen in the past, this team has little or nothing to do with the Ghosts of Seasons Past. The improvement in the coaching, performance of players, attitude and execution is light years beyond what we as fans are used to. Whether it's our team or another, living in the past is an exercise in misunderstanding the present. This is not last year's Broncos. It's a whole new experience.

As an example, Arrowhead Stadium is likely to be a tough place to win; but it's not because the Broncos haven't played well there in the past. They often didn't, but that's not a matter for this year's team. It's a windswept, loud, raucous place to play. It's hard to hear signals if the place is full and I don't take any game lightly, particularly a division rival. While I do think that the Chiefs are in early stages of an upswing, I'm not at all concerned that they're better than Denver or that they will beat us, even in their own house. Our veterans aren't going to take games off and they're not going to let the younger players take anyone lightly. If the Broncos play anywhere near their skill level, they're just too good for most teams. We've got a lot of great contests coming up, but one thing that doesn't concern me at all is the possibility that we will revert to the habits of seasons past. It's not going to happen, so put it out of your mind.

Charging into the Future

Before the Monday Night Football game that extended the Broncos' record to 6-0, Chargers TE Antonio Gates said, "One thing that gives us a chance is that we're still in the hunt in the AFC West. We never said it had to be pretty, and it wasn't pretty last year." After the game, it was a lot uglier. If Gates believes that the Chargers are still in the hunt, he needs to define his terms pretty quickly.

"It's tough to always be in this situation," Gates said afterward. "We didn't plan on being here. We didn't plan on being 8-8 last year either. But here we are. We have to keep working, or it could snowball and turn into a losing streak."

"We didn't plan on getting here." If there are words perfectly suited for failure, I think those should be high on the list. "We didn't plan on being here." Yes, that about covers it.

Bear in mind that they also didn't plan well enough to avoid it. They didn't run the extra sprints that the Broncos endured to get in better shape than their opponents. They didn't make the personnel moves that the Broncos did, realizing that no matter how good you were supposed to be, an 8-8 record will rarely get you into the postseason. They didn't identify the weaknesses that they had, nor the ones that could arise with age, injury and contract status. They didn't do enough to prepare themselves for the fact that Shawne Merriman was very unlikely to have a great year this year. Few will, after the kind of surgery that he had. In short - they didn't plan to succeed, either.

I'm sympathetic to their injury issues among linemen. That's tough and often unpredictable. But even there - is it a shock that Jamal Williams (who's had more surgeries than an aging Hollywood ingenue) would start to break down? Nick Hardwick has had a lot of injuries, plenty of surgeries (and I thought that Scott Mruczkowski did a very good job until Mike Nolan outfoxed him). Igor Olshansky was going to be gone. I wrote last spring about the issues that the Chargers were going to be experiencing, and I'm no expert. So, what happened?

Three things, I'd argue, and all are common: arrogance, lassitude and reversion to the mean. Arrogance in this case includes believing that you can start out poorly season after season and still make up the ground - the continuing decline of their schedule argues against that. But the arrogance also includes the behavior of individuals, including fighting within the team that is seen in public. Then there's lassitude, as in admitting, as A.J. Smith did last February, that the Chargers' woes were in great part on him but not doing more about it. And reversion to the mean: this is a team that has been heading for mediocrity (and how obvious can that be, after going 8-8?) for some time. It needed major help, and it got a few band-aids.

I loved the Kevin Burnett pickup, and it's just bad fortune that he's hurt. I liked the Larry English draft pick, and he's getting there. I also liked the Louis Vasquez draft pick, and he's developing quickly. I can't even fathom the Kynan Forney (who's since been released) or Travis Johnson pickups, though. The Bolts tended to stand pat with a suspect secondary, didn't develop their depth and accepted on faith that bad performances were anomalies instead of facts. It bought them a game in which a stellar performance by Philip Rivers wasn't enough, in which Nolan and McDaniels out-coached Ron Rivera and Norv Turner and in which the best the Chargers could bring wasn't close to enough.

There will, as Merriman pointed out, be a rematch. I look forward to it, and I'm sure the Broncos do. Stating before the game that 'the Broncos can't stop me' wasn't Rivers' smartest move. Claiming that they will get revenge after the game wasn't Merriman's, but I do appreciate the help those things gave Denver. If the Broncos needed any aid in getting up for the home half of this series, which I greatly doubt, they won't after that night's statements.

Arrogance...some things don't change.

Losing the Locker Room

That same arrogance has infected the locker room and the very attitude of the Chargers. You could see in a single moment why the Chargers have problems with their team very clearly during the first quarter of the Monday night game. The Chargers bogged down at the goal line - LaDainian Tomlinson was stopped short of the goal line twice. They took him out on the third play and put in Darren Sproles, trying to take advantage of a seam that Turner had seen. Tomlinson paced the sidelines, obviously complaining bitterly about not being in. The Broncos stopped Sproles and the Bolts short again, and they settled for kicking the FG.

It got me to thinking. Last year at this time, the Chargers were starting slow, appeared unmotivated and perhaps even ill-prepared. Tomlinson was also complaining - about the play calling, the offensive line, and not getting enough carries. Now, imagine that he was in orange and blue. How likely is it that a Bronco would do that - two years running? If you consider that Turner's team has gone from 14-2 before he arrived, to slow starts three years running, you start to see why that might be true. Players fight with management in the media. The GM insults his team, as A.J. Smith did by calling their play 'soft'. Nowhere is there a sign that adults are in charge. Merriman has a public feud with Smith, dating back a couple of seasons. Smith doesn't like his side jobs, feeling that it takes away from the team. LDT fights with Turner, expresses his feelings and tussles with Smith this past offseason, very publicly. Smith gets quickly pulled into it. No one wins.

This past week, it was wide receiver Chris Chambers. A non-factor for quite a while now, he was complaining to the press that his snaps are being taken by Malcolm Floyd. I don't know what he expected - he's not gaining separation, he's not getting open and he hasn't shown a ton of skill at fighting for the ball. But he's still touting himself as if it were three seasons ago and he was doing good things. It's the kind of thing that you're not seeing from the Broncos, the kind of thing that tells you when a franchise is in disarray.

I can't even express my gratitude for the fact that Josh McDaniels has very good management skills. He won't carry arguments into the media, rarely gets flustered and keeps things behind closed doors. I've fired people for the kinds of destructive behavior that I've seen from the Chargers over the past two years. Those who claim that this is football and that it's really okay to have things this way should consider how the Broncos do handle things -- and how their team acts and plays. As in, as a unit. As a real team, one that's going good places. It matters. Once in a while, a dysfunctional team has a good year. Most of the time, though, they flame out, and the talent levels don't matter enough to get them where they want to go. That's happening in San Diego, and while it's good for the Broncos, it's an obvious sign of the Bolts organization needing a makeover.

Asked before the MNF debacle, LDT was asked what he saw in the Charger's locker room. "It's a quiet confidence. You look in each man's eyes in that locker room, you can tell there is something extra."

Did they also see that you'd be pacing the sidelines, yelling and pouting, LDT? Perhaps not. That's one reason that the Chargers are 3 games back. Even worse for the Bolts and better for the Broncos, LDT hasn't been alone.

Beating Kansas City has given the Bolts a brief respite, but that's hardly a road back into the land of the competitive. While I do think that the Denver game as been a wakeup call of Shakespearean proportions for San Diego, their problems run too deep to permit them to make the late season run this year profitable. The game in Denver will be a grudge match. Given the state of the raiders and Chiefs, that's a good thing. It may keep thing much more interesting.

Some Other Stats that Matter (With apologies to Lebowski)

What did the Broncos do right so far this year? It's a long list, but try these perspectives on the rushing game:

Stuffs per carry - Correll Buckhalter, 4th, at 0.043 Knowshon Moreno at 9th, with 0.061
Stuffed: Best in league - It only happened on 8 plays. Despite the issues that can improve in short yardage, the problem isn't with negative plays.
YPC: Buck, 1st, 6.7 Broncos 11th, 4.3
Yards: Broncos 7th, 798
Big play rushes: tied for 9th, 20
100-yard rushers against: 0
100 yards rushing by opposing teams: 0
Passes dropped, over 6 games: 5. Four of those came in the first two weeks. It's all about doing your job and doing it right.

Let's also look at the percentage of rushing versus passing plays. Going back to the offseason, Doug (nycbroncosfan) and I published the "Divining Josh McDaniels" series. We said at the time that McD had been viewed at being more of a passing kind of guy than he really deserved. It was true when McD was in NE and it is true in Denver. We're in 8th, with 47.7% rushing and therefore 52.3% passing - a very even, balanced attack. Over the last 4 years, McDaniels had averaged 43.1% rushing plays. That seems low, but it's not if you look at how the team was structured. In 2008 that number was 46.8% rushing and that was similar to 2006 as well. On the other years, the passing game was working too well to minimize it. Josh McD believes in maximizing all of your skill sets and using the ones that the defense lets you win with, whether it's the pass or the run. As you would expect, he's attempting to make sure hat both are viable options. It's that simple. By getting Moreno, Buckhalter, Orton, the O-line and the receiving corps, he can go either way with complete confidence. That makes it very hard to stop the Broncos' offense.

You might also look at how the aging, decrepit defensive secondary is doing. Teams have been challenging Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins and getting their hats handed to them. Take a look at these stats: Bailey is tied for 2nd in the league with 8 passes defensed; Dawkins is tied for 11th with 6.

The Broncos have two players in the top 11 in the NFL in passes defensed -- and both players are over 30. That's a stat that not a lot of casual fans follow, but it tells you a lot about a team. It tells you that the Broncos have age, wisdom and maturity in the defensive secondary. Experienced players know how to communicate and that skill is constantly undervalued. It also tells you that those who believe that Champ Bailey, Andre' Goodman, Brian Dawkins and Renaldo Hill are 'losing a step' need to find their argument. Dawkins and Bailey are among the league leaders and are getting some payback on the 'lost a step' crowd. Andre' Goodman and Renaldo Hill are playing the best ball of their careers. The young guys, Alphonso Smith and Jack Williams, are also paying well and Darcel McBath has already shown why we drafted him on defense as well as by leading the team on special-teams tackles.

I'll be back later today with more Thoughts and Musings...

Final Practice/Injury Report: Cincinnati Bengals (3-1) at Baltimore Ravens (3-1)

Kirkendall — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:20:13 -0000

OUT	Questionable	PROBABLE
LB Rashad Jeanty (finger)	S Kyries Hebert (hip)	RB Cedric Benson (hip)
T Andre Smith (foot)	DT Tank Johnson (foot)	CB David Jones (foot)
	S Chinedum Ndukwe (hamstring)	LB Rey Maualuga (knee)
		DT Domata Peko (chest)
		S Roy Williams (forearm)

BALTIMORE RAVENS

QUESTIONABLE	PROBABLE
T Jared Gaither (neck)	CB Chris Carr (groin)	DT Haloti Ngata (back)
	LB Tavares Gooden (shoulder)	S Ed Reed (knee)
	LB Jarret Johnson (shoulder)	WR Demetrius Williams (illness)
	WR Derrick Mason (neck)

Practice

BENGALS	WED	THUR	FRI
T Andre Smith (foot)	OUT	OUT	OUT
RB Cedric Benson (hip)	DNP	FP	FP
LB Rashad Jeanty (finger)	DNP	DNP	OUT
LB Rey Maualuga (knee)	DNP	LP	FP
S Chinedum Ndukwe (hamstring)	DNP	LP	DNP
DT Tank Johnson (foot)	LP	LP	LP
DT Domata Peko (chest)	LP	LP	FP
CB David Jones (foot)	FP	FP	FP
S Roy Williams (forearm)	FP	FP	FP
S Kyries Hebert ()	--	LP	DNP

RAVENS	WED	THUR	FRI
T Jared Gaither (neck)	DNP	DNP	DNP
LB Jarret Johnson (shoulder)	DNP	LP	FP
WR Derrick Mason (neck)	DNP	LP	LP
WR Demetrius Williams (illness)	DNP	DNP	LP
CB Chris Carr (groin)	LP	LP	FP
LB Tavares Gooden (shoulder)	FP	FP	FP
DT Haloti Ngata (back)	FP	FP	FP
S Ed Reed (knee)	FP	FP	FP

Practice Report (Thursday): Cincinnati Bengals (3-1) at Baltimore Ravens (3-1)

Kirkendall — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:17:41 -0000

Every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evening, we'll (TRY TO) update the practice/injury chart leading up to Sunday's game. The chart is pretty self-explanatory. If the player is listed as out, they're out for the game. If they did not participate, they didn't practice. If they were limited, then they only participated during a portion of practice (typically means missing 11-on-11 drills). If the player is listed as full participation, it simply means that they practiced fully and that the only reason they're listed is because injury was an issue the week before.

Practice

BENGALS	WED	THUR	FRI
T Andre Smith (foot)	OUT	OUT
RB Cedric Benson (hip)	DNP	FP
LB Rashad Jeanty (finger)	DNP	DNP
LB Rey Maualuga (knee)	DNP	LP
S Chinedum Ndukwe (hamstring)	DNP	LP
DT Tank Johnson (foot)	LP	LP
DT Domata Peko (chest)	LP	LP
CB David Jones (foot)	FP	FP
S Roy Williams (forearm)	FP	FP
S Kyries Hebert ()	--	LP

RAVENS	WED	THUR	FRI
T Jared Gaither (neck)	DNP	DNP
LB Jarret Johnson (shoulder)	DNP	LP
WR Derrick Mason (neck)	DNP	LP
WR Demetrius Williams (illness)	DNP	DNP
CB Chris Carr (groin)	LP	LP
LB Tavares Gooden (shoulder)	FP	FP
DT Haloti Ngata (back)	FP	FP
S Ed Reed (knee)	FP	FP

Injury Report: Baltimore Ravens @ San Diego Chargers

John (obviousman) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:21:44 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP

3 months ago: San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, right, fumbles the ball and is brought down by Oakland Raiders defensive end Greg Ellis (99) during the first quarter of their NFL football game Monday, Sept. 14, 2009 in Oakland, Calif. The Raiders recovered the ball. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

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San Diego Chargers

Out - Nick Hardwick, Travis Johnson, LaDainian Tomlinson

Questionable - Antwan Applewhite, Louis Vasquez, Jamal Williams

Probable - Marcus McNeill, Mike Scifres

Baltimore Ravens

Doubtful - Tom Zbikowski

Questionable - L.J. Smith

Probable - Tavares Gooden, Jarret Johnson, Ed Reed, Terrell Sugs

Wednesday Injury/Practice Report: Baltimore Ravens @ San Diego Chargers

John (obviousman) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:16:40 -0000

San Diego Chargers

Did Not Participate

Antwan Applewhite, LB (Hamstring)
Nick Hardwick, C (Ankle)
Travis Johnson, DE (Groin)
Marcus McNeill, T (Hand)
LaDainian Tomlinson, RB (Ankle)
Louis Vasquez, G (Knee)
Jamal Williams, DT (Arm)

Baltimore Ravens

Did Not Participate

Terrell Suggs, LB (Concussion, Chest)
Tom Zbikowski, S (Concussion)

Limited Participation

Ed Reed, S (Concussion)
L.J. Smith, TE (Hamstring)

Full Participation

Tavares Gooden, LB (Knee)

Ravens 53 Man Roster: My Picks

Bruce Raffel — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 11:00:24 -0000

Here are my picks for what the Ravens will end up doing later today when they announce the 53 man roster that they will be trimming down to when they release 22 guys to get down to the NFL max.

Offense

QB: Joe Flacco, Troy Smith, John Beck

WR: Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton, Demetrius Williams, Kelley Washington, Justin Harper

RB: Ray Rice, Willis McGahee, LeRon McClain, Jalen Parmele

TE: Todd Heap, L.J. Smith, Davon Drew, Edgar Jones

OL: Matt Birk, Ben Grubbs, Jared Gaither, Chris Chester, Marshal Yanda, Michael Oher, David Hale, Oniel Cousins

Defense

DB: Ed Reed, Dawan Landry, Fabian Washington, Domonique Foxworth, Haruki Nakamura, Tom Zbikowski, Chris Carr, Lardarius Webb, Frank Walker, Derrick Martin

LB: Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Jarret Johnson, Tavares Gooden, Jameel McClain, Brendon Ayanbadejo, Paul Kruger, Prescott Burgess, Antwan Barnes

DL: Haloti Ngata, Trevor Pryce, Justin Bannan, Kelly Gregg, Dwan Edwards, Brandon McKinney

Specialists

P: Sam Koch

PK: Steven Hauschka

LS: Matt Katula

That’s only 52 guys and my final spot is a tough one to decide upon. I am looking at one of the following guys:

Yamon Figurs, Jason Cook, Jason Phillips, Joe Reitz, Kelly Talavou

Figurs still has the speed and with Webb looking a bit shaky on returns, Yamon gives us another option behind Chris Carr. Jason Cook gives us another fullback along with LeRon McClain. Jason Phillips was a 4^th round draft pick in 2009 and Ozzie doesn’t like to release draft picks. Perhaps Phillips will be IR’d to keep our hands on him (I expect the Ravens to IR undrafted rookie LB Dannell Ellerbe as well). Joe Reitz gives us more depth on the offensive line as well as Kelly Tavalou does the same for the defensive line.

I don’t want to take the easy way out by only selecting 52 players, so I will have to go out on a limb and make my selection and therefore the 53^rd spot on the Baltimore Ravens roster goes to Yamon Figurs.

The other players I was undecided about go onto our Practice Squad, where we can have up to eight players. Of course, I would expect the team to peruse other teams’ cuts to add a player or two to either our roster or Practice Squad, and vice versa for the rest of the league. However, in advance of that info, my Practice Squad would look like this:

Cook, Reitz, Talavou, Foster, Riley, Peerman, Smolko, Stallings

Additionally, as I stated earlier, the team would place both Dannell Ellerbe and Jason Phillips on Injured Reserve (IR), which would end their 2009 seasons, but ensure the team retains their rights while giving the players their full 2009 salaries, which do count against the team’s salary cap. However, being rookies, that should not be much of an issue.

Your thoughts and comments on those last few slots?

Ravens Dominate Again: Finish Pre-Season 4-0

Bruce Raffel — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:14:41 -0000

More photos » by John Amis - AP

3 months ago: Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh greets quarterback John Beck (12) as he comes back to the sideline after a first half touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons during their exhibition NFL football game Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Amis)

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The Baltimore Ravens completed their 2009 exhibition season 4-0, by dominating the Atlanta Falcons with their reserves most of the game 20-3. Last time the Ravens went undefeated in pre-season was before the 2000 Super Bowl season.

To many of the fans, this was an incredibly meaningless and boring game. However, to the knowledgable fan, this was as important a game as there was for the team as a whole. While most of the starters were on the sidelines, the reserves were fighting for their NFL careers, hoping to make that one last impression that would convince the team's Front Office that they deserve a spot on the Ravens roster.

The Ravens must cut 22 of their 75 players to get down to the NFL maximum of 53 players by tomorrow afternoon. Almost one-third of this roster will be looking for either new teams or new jobs by late Saturday. Can you imagine the stress and fear going through some of the players on the so-called "bubble?" One moment, they are on the world's stage, being treated like royalty with a big salary, great benefits and teammates and the next moment they are returning to the factories and local supermarkets in their hometowns looking for a full time job that many of them are not even qualified to do.

This is the toughest time of the year for the Front Office personnel. Telling a player that his dream job is being ripped from his heart has to be one depressing deed to complete, much less 22 times in one afternoon. I feel for Head Coach John Harbugh and his staff on the tough decisions, much less the notification of the unlucky players. On the other hand, there will be a few surprises so the fear and disappointment of one player could be muted by the joy and aspirations of another who gets told he did indeed make the squad.

However, that's all happening tomorrow. Today is a time to exalt the efforts that the team made in their victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Our second team offense moved down the field and scored on its first possession against the Falcons' first team defense. Our deeper reserves bullied and pushed the Falcons' reserves all over the field and while it was not exactly pretty nor efficient at times, the final score showed the complete domination on both sides of the ball.

Third string QB John Beck played his most minutes and best of the pre-season, with the time to get into a rhythm, hitting on 16 of 28 passes for 232 yards, two TD's and no interceptions, with a 108.0 QB rating. The running backs did their part and there is going to be a tough decision as it appears that only one out of Jalen Parmale, Cedric Peerman and FB Jason Cook is going to make the squad.

At wide receiver, Justin Harper continues to frustrate both the team and himself, dropping two long balls after getting open on deep routes. At the same time, Eron Riley caught the passes thrown in his direction, a long ball plus a TD reception, but even that might not be enough to secure a spot for him. Little guys Jayson Foster and Yamon Figurs didn't do anything to help their causes either.

At linebacker, there are so many decisions to make and to me theyare all easy as the entire group deserves to stay on the team. That won't happen and while Jameel McClain and Tavares Gooden are locks, Antwan Barnes, Prescott Burgess, Danell Ellerbe, Jason Phillips and William VanDeSteeg are probably fighting for just two remaining spots between them. Since we didn't see the rookie Ellerbe in the game, I am hoping the team retains their rights to him by placing him on Injured Reserve to secure him for next year.

The defensive backs did relatively nothing to change the coaches opinions about their roles on the team. Evan Oglesby had a nice hit but still figures to be a long shot, and Frank Walker was,..well Frank Walker. Two penalties on one play epitomizes his style of play, which is grab and hold and hope the refs don't flag him, which they usually do. For wahtever reason, the team seems to like him but he has done nothing to prove his value to the fans this pre-season.

Once again, another great win despite the meaningless part of pre-season being wins and losses. The coaches now have to seclude themselves in the headquarters to make their final decisions by tomorrow afternoon. Post your thoughts here on what you saw and what you think will happen tomorrow when roster cuts are announced.

Until then, bring on the Kansas City Chiefs!

Five Questions With Right Off Russell

Dave the Falconer — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:00:29 -0000

I was recently contacted by Sadler over at Right Off Russell, a Baltimore sports blog, wondering if I would like to trade five questions before the upcoming Baltimore Ravens game. With our good friend Bruce Raffel already answering our questions in the Baltimore Beatdown FanPost, it seemed like a good way to get more information on our erstwhile opponents.

Join me after the jump for five of the most ~~inspid~~ inspiring questions ever asked of another football fan.

Dave the Falconer: Ray Rice looks like the featured back in Baltimore, but I understand he's going to share carries with Willis McGahee and LeRon McClain. What are your expectations for numbers for those backs?

SADLER: With the line that is in place and a "veteran" QB, people are predicting a strong year once again from the Ravens backfield. Last year the Ravens totaled 2,400 yards in rushing. I would expect similar numbers this year with the Rice getting the 1000+ yds, McGahee and McClain each getting around 600+. What I can't figure out is who is going to get the ball in goaline situations.

DTF: Will Joe Flacco take a big step forward this year after a stellar rookie campaign, or should we expect to see some second year struggles?

S: Things were looking rough in the beginning of training camp, but that may have been nerves or trying to adjust to an expanded playbook. I think/hope what we saw out of Flacco on Saturday vs Carolina, is the QB we will see all season. It was impressive. (23/28, 247 yds, 1 TD, 115.3 RTG). He has all the tools: decent receivers, good line and a strong running attack. Don't expect Brady or Manning numbers because this team isn't built like that. I am thinking Flacco can have more of a Roethlisberger type career.

DTF: The defense has long been a vaunted part of your team for a long time. What does the defense bring to the table this year?

S: The defense brings some new life in linebacker. Tavares Gooden takes over for the departed Bart Scott and has shown some nice speed and agility. The Defensive Line led by Haloti Ngata and is the strength of the unit. Dawan Landry and Ed Reed should be able to protect well from the safety position. I think the biggest concern is at CB. They have 2 speedy cover guys but not that one shut down back.

DTF: To jump off of that, what are your expectations for former Falcons cornerback Domonique Foxworth?

S: Foxy has shown some good stuff this training camp. I was reading just the other day at the noted improvement in his game. That being said, he has to be solid but not spectacular this season. The playmakers for this team are at other positions so he just needs to do his job and things will go alright.

DTF: And last but not least, what record are you projected for your beloved Ravens?

S: This is a tough schedule for the Ravens this year. They have to play the Steelers, Vikings, and Pats on the road. They have Chicago, Indy and Pittsburgh at home. Assuming they take 2 out those 6 and manage to only lose one bad game, I think they finish the season 11-5 with a wild card berth.