Baltimore Ravens Blog Fan Site and Schedule with NFL News » Haloti Ngata

Tony Grossi’s scouting report on the Baltimore…

combs — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 05:31:53 +0000

TONY GROSSI SCOUTS THE BALTIMORE RAVENS

Kickoff: Browns at Ravens, Saturday 1 p.m. in M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore.

Record: 10-4.

Most recent game: Lost to Chargers, 34-14, Dec. 18, in San Diego.

Coach: John Harbaugh, 46-23, fourth year.

Series record: Ravens lead, 18-7.

Most recent meeting: Ravens won, 24-10, Dec. 4 in Cleveland.

League rankings: Offense is 15th overall (16th rushing, 16th passing), defense is third (second rushing, fifth passing) and turnover differential is plus-1.

Offensive overview

Despite having all the pieces, they still aren’t able to push the pedal to floor and score like the elite offenses. They’ve gone four games in a row without scoring more than 24 points — hitting that figure in wins over the Browns and Colts, but scoring only 30 combined against the 49ers and Chargers. This inconsistency might only be a concern to them in the postseason when they get hooked up in a scoring duel with the likes of New England and Houston, or New Orleans or Green Bay in the Big Game. Otherwise, they can win by handing off and throwing to Ray Rice and dumping to tight ends Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta and receiver Anquan Boldin. The long game to rookie Torrey Smith and, some day, Lee Evans, is what may put them over the top.

Defensive overview

If they don’t get pass pressure, they are as vulnerable as any defense. In their four losses, they have registered only five sacks. The Chargers took command early by hitting them with quick passes and screens. The pressure was lacking even though they finally got linebacker Ray Lewis back after missing several games with turf toe. Their cast of characters is well-known and widely feared — tackle Haloti Ngata, rush linebackers Terrell Suggs and Jarret Johnson, safety Ed Reed. Bernard Pollard has been an enforcer at strong safety. The cornerback position suffered when Lardarius Webb was reduced to nickel duty. Rookie Jimmy Smith was picked on in his first NFL start.

Special teams overview

Kicker Billy Cundiff is 27-of-36 in field goals with a long of 51 yards. He has missed three of his past five attempts, and his nine misses match the league’s most. Despite Cundiff’s 42 touchbacks, the Ravens are only 29th in average drive start after kickoffs — which means they give up some healthy returns when Cundiff doesn’t boot it out of the end zone. Punter Sam Koch is 10th in gross average (46.6 yards) and 12th in net (39.7). David Reed is back on kick returns after losing the job earlier because of fumbles. Webb hit the Browns with a 68-yard punt return but is hobbled.

Players to watch

Running back Ray Rice: His record 204 yards rushing in the first meeting vaulted him up the NFL leaderboard. He’s now fifth with 1,086 yards and 10 TDs on the ground, and added two among his team- high 71 receptions.

Linebacker Terrell Suggs: He was kept fairly at bay in the first meeting, netting only one sack. His 13 lead the AFC and tie for fifth in the NFL.

Safety Ed Reed: Three of his eight career interception returns for touchdowns have come against the Browns. He, too, was relatively quiet in the first meeting.

Injury report

PK Cundiff (calf) has played but not practiced the past two weeks. CB Webb (toe) was limited all week but played in nickel.

Small world

Among the many players, coaches and executives who formerly worked or played for the Browns are: General Manager Ozzie Newsome, senior personnel assistant George Kokinis, defensive line coach Clarence Brooks, defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano, director of pro personnel Vince Newsome, vice president of football administration Pat Moriarty, assistant special teams coach Marwan Maalouf and special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg. . . . Receiver Lee Evans attended Bedford High School. . . . Safety Haruki Nakamura is a Cleveland native who attended St. Edward High School. . . . Scout Jack Glowik is a Cleveland native who attended Benedictine High School. . . . Linebackers coach Dean Pees is a former head coach at Kent State.

That’s all the news for today.

Scouting report: Baltimore Ravens

combs — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 02:34:00 +0000

Chargers’ next opponent

Baltimore Ravens (10-3)

5:20 p.m., Sunday, Qualcomm Stadium

The Ravens have lost only three games. Each time, they were on the road. For all their success, the Ravens are no better than 16-14 in away games under head coach John Harbaugh.

So, ahem, there’s that.

About the last thing the Chargers needed to come along at this particular point – the virtual point of no return in terms of postseason contention – was a game with the smash-mouth Ravens. Baltimore’s a good opponent to have when it’s early in the season and you’re trying to measure yourself against the league’s better franchises – especially if you’re wondering about your own toughness — but not when you’re under .500 in mid-December and possibly one loss from elimination.

Baltimore’s not without a sense of urgency, either, despite a sweep of the arch-rival Pittsburgh Steelers and unbeaten record within the AFC North. The Ravens are one of four AFC teams at 10-3 and all too aware of the importance of home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Those two wins over the Steelers won’t mean much, either, if Pittsburgh finishes with a better record than Baltimore.

When last the Chargers faced the Ravens two years ago – see Series History below – Baltimore was built around (now) 12-time Pro Bowl linebacker Ray Lewis. He’s missed four games – all Baltimore wins — with turf toe.

The Ravens are the NFL’s best defense against the pass and second-best against the rush, allowing an average of 15.5 points per game and an opponents’ third-down percentage of just 28.7. If anything, this year’s ravenous Ravens seem even more on the offensive when on defense.

Baltimore’s 8-5 in prime-time games during Harbaugh’s tenure, 4-1 in “Sunday Night Football’ affairs.

Three players to watch

Terrell Suggs, LB: You can toss a dart at the Ravens’ defensive lineup and hit somebody you want to avoid in your game plan, but even with Ed Reed at safety and Haloti Ngata at nose, the first force to be reckoned with is Suggs on the pass rush. Three times this season, he’s recorded three sacks in a game, putting him within two quarterback drops of the team record of 15. In addition to three picks Sunday, he also forced three Indianapolis Colts fumbles. He’ll be dancing with a former Ravens teammate Sunday night in Jared Gaither, now the Chargers’ starting left offensive tackle.

Joe Flacco, QB: Of the top 26 quarterbacks in the NFL in completion percentage, 25 are doing better than Flacco, who’s hit just 56.6 percent of his passes. He’s no higher than 21st in passer rating at 79.9. But there’ll only be two quarterbacks in the Super Bowl, and nobody would be surprised if Flacco is one of them. Why worry so much about passing stats, too, when your primary job is getting the ball to …

Ray Rice, RB: This not a height joke, but the 5-foot-8 Rice actually had been running well below the radar until most recently breaking off consecutive 100-yard games – incredibly, the first time he’s done that in his career. Rice leads the NFL with 1,622 total yards from scrimmage, including 10 rushing scores and two TD receptions. He’s now working behind one of the league’s premier fullbacks, Vonta Leach.

If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top.

Ravens win fourth straight, send Colts to 0-13

combs — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 06:24:48 +0000

BALTIMORE (AP) — As long as
Terrell Suggs
continues to go harass opposing quarterbacks, and if defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano repeatedly finds the perfect blitzes
to call, the
Baltimore Ravens
will keep on winning without
Ray Lewis
.

Suggs had three sacks and forced three fumbles as part of an overwhelming defensive performance by the Ravens, who kept the

Indianapolis Colts
winless with a 24-10 victory Sunday.

Lewis, Baltimore’s standout middle linebacker and longtime defensive leader, missed a fourth straight game with a right toe
injury. The Ravens (10-3) have won every one of those games.

“Right now I think we’re all just doing our part holding the levee until the general gets back,” Suggs said. “That’s why I
honestly think we’re playing the way we are.”

Baltimore limited the hapless Colts to 167 yards – just 53 through three quarters. Were it not for a touchdown on the game’s
final play, Indianapolis would have been held without a TD for only the second time since the 2003 season opener.

Baltimore didn’t recover any of the three fumbles that Suggs forced, but he harassed Colts quarterback
Dan Orlovsky
throughout the afternoon.

“We shut them down early, and then they had to start passing the ball,” Ravens defensive tackle
Haloti Ngata
said. “That’s when
Terrell Suggs
went crazy.”

Suggs, a movie buff, described the action this way: “It’s chaos out there. A lot is going on more than you see. It’s like
`The Matrix’ out there with a little bit of `Inception’. It’s a little bit crazy.”

Joe Flacco
threw two touchdown passes and
Ray Rice
ran for 103 yards and a score to help the Ravens win their fourth straight and improve to 7-0 at home. Baltimore is tied with
Pittsburgh for the lead in the AFC North, but the Ravens hold the tiebreaker because of their two wins over the Steelers.

“We have control of our own destiny,” Rice said. “We’re in the driver’s seat. As long as we keep winning, we’ll be fine.”

The Ravens had lost eight straight to Indianapolis, but that was when
Peyton Manning
was healthy and at the top of his game. He has yet to play this year because of a neck injury.

Orlovsky, the third Colts quarterback to start this season, went 17 for 37 for 136 yards and an interception. He was sacked
four times and hounded throughout the game by Suggs.

“He’s as good a pass rusher as I’ve played against,” Orlovsky said of Suggs. “I can’t say anything bad about him as a football
player.”

Suggs attributed Baltimore’s success to the schemes set in place by Pagano, in his first season as Baltimore’s defensive coordinator.
To emphasize the point, Suggs sarcastically made Pagano out to be clueless.

“If anybody trying to hire a head coach, if they ask me I’m going to tell them he (stinks),” Suggs said. “He’s a terrible
coach and his players don’t love him. He don’t know what he’s doing when he’s calling a game.”

The game was far more lopsided than the final score would indicate. Baltimore led 17-3 at halftime and 24-3 in the third quarter,
and the Colts drove 76 yards in the final two minutes in a drive that ended with Orlovsky throwing a 13-yard touchdown pass
to
Jacob Tamme
as time expired.

Indianapolis has three games left in the season. If the Colts don’t win, they will join the 2008
Detroit Lions
as the only NFL team to go 0-16 in a season.

“Losing (stinks), no matter what it is,” Orlovsky said. “Whether it’s football, if it’s rock-paper, none of us like to lose.
There’s nothing fun about losing.”

Colts coach Jim Caldwell said, “We need to find a way to get our team better so we can get a victory. And not just one. We’re
running out of time.”

The Ravens needed less than five minutes to take the lead for good. After the Colts went three and out following the opening
kickoff,
Lardarius Webb
returned a punt 27 yards to the Indianapolis 40 and Flacco capped a six-play drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to
Torrey Smith
.

Baltimore’s next march covered 66 yards over 13 plays and ended with a 36-yard field goal by
Billy Cundiff
for a 10-0 lead.

The first quarter ended with the Ravens holding a 111-10 advantage in yardage and an 8-1 lead in first downs.

Nothing changed in the second quarter. Baltimore forced a punt and Flacco went 5 for 7 for 54 yards in a 10-play drive that
ended with a 6-yard touchdown run by Rice.

Indianapolis finally got into Baltimore territory when
Joe Lefeged
returned the ensuing kickoff 51 yards. Orlovsky then completed a fourth-down pass to
Dallas Clark
, and
Adam Vinatieri
kicked a field goal to make it 17-3 late in the half.

Baltimore went ahead 24-3 with 3:41 left in the third quarter. Flacco rolled to his right and was near the sideline when he
threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to
Dennis Pitta
in the middle of the end zone.

Flacco went 23 for 31 for 227 yards and an interception.

NOTES: Suggs has a career-high 13 sacks. … The Colts have only six INTs this season. … Flacco went over 3,000 yards passing
and Rice eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing. … Smith’s TD gave him six, tying Jamal Lewis for most by a Ravens rookie. … Indy’s

Dwight Freeney
had two sacks to go over 100 for his career.

That’s all the news for today.

Ravens stifle winless Colts

combs — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 02:32:45 +0000