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Watched the replay of the game on NFLN. Some thoughts that come to mind:
1. I think both roughing penalties against the Ravens have to be called. Neither seemed flagrant, dirty or with intent to harm to me. In part, both were caused by the terrific speed at which the game was played. But under NFL rules, a forearm to the face/head of the QB has to be called every time. And the Suggs play was clearly at Brady's legs, the kind of play that could very easily have resulted in an injury, intentional or not. I certainly did not see any flagrant difference in the way the refs called the game between the two teams.
2. I was impressed again by the overall speed and intensity on both sides. Two very good teams. If the Ravens just shut up and played they'd be a lot better. Flacco and Rice are the real deal.
3. The Pats did a fabulous job of adjusting after Derrick Mason shredded them on the first drive.
4. D*mn Meriweather and McGowan are good. They are all over the place, with a nose for the ball, and hit like a ton of bricks. Meriweather clearly outplayed Ed Reed in that game.
5. I'm not a huge James Sanders fan and he certainly didn't shine like McGowan and Meriweather, but I really can't blame him for missing the tackle on Ray Rice. Rice was moving like a bat out of h*ll, and I don't know anyone that makes that tackle on him at that angle. Rice is a beast.
6. Butler looks like the real deal. He does not look at all like a rookie CB. Butler and Bodden will be one of the top CB tandems in the league by the end of the year at this rate. The blanket coverage and big hitting by the secondary at the end of each half was the difference in the game.
7. The DL and overall pressure looked the best it has all year.
8. Both touchdowns scored by opposing defenses against our offense so far this season came on outstanding plays by the other team. But giving up those kind of scores is devastating. Just devastating. The game almost turned around on the Suggs play.
9. The only call where we got lucky was the fake field goal. It was clearly a catch. And I can understand the refs ruling that we made the 1st down - it's a judgment call, and NFL refs have always seemed pretty liberal in where they spot the ball when an offensive player reaches out with the ball. But it was a generous spot, and could easily have gone against us.
10. No way did Willis McGahee make it on 4th and 1. His momentum was stopped, his knee was down, and then he tried to reach the ball forward to get the spot.
11. Having Brady roll out to his right on the last Pats offensive play was a bad call. He's not a good QB throwing on the run, especially not now. Dumb call. It was not a controlled throw.
12. LoMo didn't look bad to me. He was fabulous on the catch and run, and he was running hard with minimal dancing on the carries that I saw. In most cases there just weren't yards to be had against a top run defense. I actually think he could have a big game against Denver.
13. Hanson really hurt us in that game. Pinning the opponent deep could have made a huge difference, and he blew it at least twice. For a guy without a particularly big leg, he's got to be able to pin the ball inside the 20.
Great game the second time around. Playoff caliber game in terms of both intensity and quality of play.
I think the Ravens are a fabulous team. But I doubt they make it to the elite level if they continue to whine and make excuses every time things don't go their way. They need to become mentally tougher. The Pats, Indy, Pittsburgh and the Giants are all in a different league in terms of mental toughness, even though the Ravens are comparable in terms of overall talent and ability. They remind me a bit of San Diego in that regard.
Again, great game. Great win.
1. I think both roughing penalties against the Ravens have to be called. Neither seemed flagrant, dirty or with intent to harm to me. In part, both were caused by the terrific speed at which the game was played. But under NFL rules, a forearm to the face/head of the QB has to be called every time. And the Suggs play was clearly at Brady's legs, the kind of play that could very easily have resulted in an injury, intentional or not. I certainly did not see any flagrant difference in the way the refs called the game between the two teams.
2. I was impressed again by the overall speed and intensity on both sides. Two very good teams. If the Ravens just shut up and played they'd be a lot better. Flacco and Rice are the real deal.
3. The Pats did a fabulous job of adjusting after Derrick Mason shredded them on the first drive.
4. D*mn Meriweather and McGowan are good. They are all over the place, with a nose for the ball, and hit like a ton of bricks. Meriweather clearly outplayed Ed Reed in that game.
5. I'm not a huge James Sanders fan and he certainly didn't shine like McGowan and Meriweather, but I really can't blame him for missing the tackle on Ray Rice. Rice was moving like a bat out of h*ll, and I don't know anyone that makes that tackle on him at that angle. Rice is a beast.
6. Butler looks like the real deal. He does not look at all like a rookie CB. Butler and Bodden will be one of the top CB tandems in the league by the end of the year at this rate. The blanket coverage and big hitting by the secondary at the end of each half was the difference in the game.
7. The DL and overall pressure looked the best it has all year.
8. Both touchdowns scored by opposing defenses against our offense so far this season came on outstanding plays by the other team. But giving up those kind of scores is devastating. Just devastating. The game almost turned around on the Suggs play.
9. The only call where we got lucky was the fake field goal. It was clearly a catch. And I can understand the refs ruling that we made the 1st down - it's a judgment call, and NFL refs have always seemed pretty liberal in where they spot the ball when an offensive player reaches out with the ball. But it was a generous spot, and could easily have gone against us.
10. No way did Willis McGahee make it on 4th and 1. His momentum was stopped, his knee was down, and then he tried to reach the ball forward to get the spot.
11. Having Brady roll out to his right on the last Pats offensive play was a bad call. He's not a good QB throwing on the run, especially not now. Dumb call. It was not a controlled throw.
12. LoMo didn't look bad to me. He was fabulous on the catch and run, and he was running hard with minimal dancing on the carries that I saw. In most cases there just weren't yards to be had against a top run defense. I actually think he could have a big game against Denver.
13. Hanson really hurt us in that game. Pinning the opponent deep could have made a huge difference, and he blew it at least twice. For a guy without a particularly big leg, he's got to be able to pin the ball inside the 20.
Great game the second time around. Playoff caliber game in terms of both intensity and quality of play.
I think the Ravens are a fabulous team. But I doubt they make it to the elite level if they continue to whine and make excuses every time things don't go their way. They need to become mentally tougher. The Pats, Indy, Pittsburgh and the Giants are all in a different league in terms of mental toughness, even though the Ravens are comparable in terms of overall talent and ability. They remind me a bit of San Diego in that regard.
Again, great game. Great win.