Last week's 2nd half was REALLY disappointing for the many reasons we discussed this entire week in the run up to tonight's game. We wanted to know if this team could overcome adversity, both on the field and in the medical tent. We wanted to know if the WHOLE 45 could win a tough game without all our "best" players. We wanted to know if Drake Maye could bring us back from behind in the 4th quarter. We wanted to know if the D was capable of making a big stop. Well, the answer to ALL of those questions turned out to be YES, and the overall toughness of this team can no longer be questioned. Granted throughout this game all the team's flaws could also be pointed out, especially on defense as body after body seemed to be limping to the sideline.
Of course, any recap of this game has to start with Drake Maye. 380+ yds, 70% completion rate, 102 passing rate, consistently throwing the ball successfully down field, standing up to myriad hits, (10) only to get up time and again with the same demeanor and calm presence that has characterized him all season. His 4th quarter come from behind effort pretty much checked the last box on his prodigious list of things to do. Now all he has to do is DO it again, and again, and again for the 15 years,
BTW- It wasn't perfect. He is responsible for 2 TO's, BOTH of which took points off the board after long drives. And the Pats once again had trouble turning long drives into TD's. I REALLY hope Josh takes a look at that l LONG designed run Drake made to ice the game and use it more often as part of the general offense. Not only would it be effective most of the time, but the threat of it would put more pressure on defense and take a defender out of the mix to cover him, like we have to do for Allen. I've been calling for this for weeks now. Josh isn't listening,
OL - Even though there were 10 QB hits and 3 sacks - I thought the pass protection was in general, pretty good, which was surprising considering the bodies that were dropping all night. When they rushed 4 the Ravens rarely got any pressure on Drake. The were more successful when they blitzed but didn't seem to do it as much as I would have. Kudos to the players, who hung in there all night, but also to Marrone and his staff, who continues to surprise us with the quality of play he is getting out of his backups. BTW, IIRC one of the sacks came when Drake just ran out of bounds on one roll out behind the LOS.
RB's - I am NOT as big a fan of Henderson and most are. Right now, his only move seems to be to use his speed to simply run away people, and when that isn't there, gain a couple of yards. Your VERY rarely see him use a cutback or hesitation to avoid tacklers like you see guys like Cooke do all the time. And he badly needs to add that aspect to his game and I suspect he will over time. But I kinda cringe when I hear him brought up as a potential rookie offensive player of the year. He is exciting for sure and every time he touches it, he can go a long way, but at this point in time, I don't think he can gain enough 4-6 yd gains consistently enough to carry a run game and be the #1, When he's healthy give him his touches, especially in the pass game, but not "starter" touches. Hopefully he will develop INTO that starter down the road. For now, I'm thrilled with the pick, but realistic too.
Stevenson on the other hand CAN give you those consistent kinds of positive gains you need to sustain a run game right now. On his TD run, he was constantly changing directions to break free. All together in his 8 carries averaged 6.5ypc. BTW- IIRC, since game 3 Stevenson has fumbled only once and recovered it and THAT one was over 10 games ago. Stevenson has been a VERY useful RB for us this season.
Receivers - IIRC, early in the game I thought Henry dropped one in the endzone that he usually catches, and there was the Boutte ball on the play he was tackled on that he usually catches, but other than those TOUGH catches, I thought the receivers ALL did a great job, with special Kudos to the "old man" for his 140yd day. Great catches abounded by Diggs, Hollins, Williams and Henry.
On WR's in general - This game reminded me of one back in the first dynasty. It was a big game against Pittsburgh, and they had a FIERCE run D, and for most of that game we played in a 5 wide formation and simply threw the ball a vast majority of the time and made their greatest defensive strength... irrelevant. I mean we threw the ball FORTY-FOUR times. Christ, we haven't gotten to 30 for most of the season. Most of the season we have been under 27 attempts and our couple of ventures into to the thirties, it's been under 32. 380 yds and it didn't look forced, just part of the game plan. And we got it with a solid but rather underwhelming group of WR's, an odd mix of older and younger players who are just very effective with a very good QB. Kind of like the WR room we had here for the better part of 20 years.
So, tell me, do we REALLY need to get a 30MM (or higher) FA next season to be successful? Or do we resign Boutte, and hope Kyle continues his slow progression into someone who EARNS more targets, Keep Diggs who should be at least as good as he is now, but with a better feel for Drake and Josh's offense, and perhaps Hollins who is older, but seems like a dependable guy to keep around and add a draft pick to develop. AND then spend that big money on the OL or add a couple of defensive speed LB's and better DB depth. This is the kind of bonus you get to have when you have a QB like Maye. You don't have to overpay on WR's to elevate your QB. Your QB elevates the receivers.
Defense - These guys should get the courage and effort award DESPITE the fact that only forced 2 punts and at times looked like jello against the Raven run, attack. Christ, Huntly was 9/10 passing Their passing attack had an 80% completion rate and their running attack ran for 171 yds or 5.2ypc and Henry averaged 7.1 himself with 2 TD's, so statistically this was a disaster that somehow turned into a reasonable 24 points given up. Not having their top 2 players to start with in Williams and Spillane was a bad start, but then Farmer, Durden, Tonga and Gregory all went out at some point in the game. I read where Jennings had snaps at DT last night. It was REALLY the whole roster stepping up.
One telling stat was that the #2, #3, and #4 tacklers last night were all DB's (Davis 8, Gonzo 7 Hawkins7) So yes, if you're asking, our DB's are all willing and ABLE tacklers, though I wish they didn't have to be so often. Our current LB corps will need to upgrade this off season. Not that these guys are bad, but not at a championship level. I'd put Spillane at that level, but I still wish he wasn't the top LB like he is now. The good news usually picks in the bottom 6 of the round see top LB's fall. I personally hope for top Edge guy. Maybe someone who falls because of an injury concern that we take a risk on.
Refs - The call on Boutte's near catch WAS horrible, but I find it hard to get THAT angry about it. Bad calls are simply part of the game. They just happen and there isn't anything you can do about except to move on to the next play. We fans can dwell on them forever if we want, but the team can't afford to. Granted this one was rather obvious and thus more frustrating than most, but fortunately Maye simply went back to work and quickly made the yardage back. I always like BB's suggestion on replays. You get 2 challenges, and you can challenge ANYTHING, and if you are right those 2 times, you get a 3rd, Then that's it, no more. Then the game is left in the hands of the humans, period. It's fair and adds a measure of strategy and second guessing to the game.
Next week. I see 2 scenarios. The Jets looked like they gave up yesterday, but division rivalries are funny. They COULD make this their Superbowl and give it their all to try and ruin our chance at the #1 seed and have ONE shining success this year. OR they can continue their current trend and suck for the highest pick they can get. My guess, if we go up 2+ scores early, they'll pack it in. However, if we let them stay in the game midway into the 3rd quarter, we'll end up in a dog fight. Glenn looks like a guy who CAN get them up on one last hoorah. But Vrabel is also a guy who can motivate, and I don't expect to lose this game even in NJ where we will hear a LOT of MVP chants. Bottom line, I don't see any scenario where we lose either of these next 2 games. Even a B game should win. The only thing I worry about are injuries, but we shall see.
The great war of attrition is coming to an end, and I don't see a team we can play over the course of the AFC end of the bracket who is NOT a team that can beat us. The Parity in the AFC is remarkable. The best chance we have to make sure we win in the first round is to get the BYE, and we will need some help in that end. KC isn't going to be that team. They have shamefully given up and are not giving their fans their money's worth if last week's performance is any indication. BUT the Chargers WILL give them a good game, so there IS still a legit chance for it to happen.
OK read, react, and respond and above all, enjoy this highly enjoyable win before the injury reports start leaking out.
