NEWS
With three straight excruciating losses, the bye week couldn’t have come soon enough for the struggling Baltimore Ravens.
At 3-3, the Ravens used the bye week as a chance to reflect back on the first six games of the season and try to see where they can improve.
The lapses on defensive, particularly back in the secondary, seems to be the first place to address. The team worked on some of the fundamentals during the bye week in hopes of better play in the second half of the season.
The defense has struggled so far to put pressure on the quarterback and to defend long passes, and it’s not surprise that two things go hand-in-hand.
The bye also gave quarterback Joe Flacco a chance to rest his injured foot, which was stepped on a couple of times during the team’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Monday, October 26, 2009 at 5:11 pm by steve
The Baltimore Ravens rallied back from a 27-10, fourth-quarter deficit only to lose to the Minnesota Vikings on a missed field goal as time expired, 33-31.
The Ravens came out of the gate very slow, falling behind 14-0 before a field goal before halftime cut into the deficit.
The start to the second half wasn’t any better, as the Ravens gave up another 13 points to find themselves in a big hole in the fourth quarter.
That’s when Joe Flacco and Ray Rice came alive, and the Ravens quickly rolled down the field for three touchdowns to take a 31-30 lead.
However, the once stellar defense yet again showed that its better days are behind them, giving up a deep pass play that set up the game-winning field goal for the Vikings.
Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 6:01 pm by steve
For the first three quarters, the Minnesota Vikings dominated their matchup with the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. Then, Ravens QB Joe Flacco remembered he had RB Ray Rice on his team (fast forward to four minute mark for Rice’s 33 yard TD), as he led a furious rally against the Vikings.
The Vikes were up 30-17 after a Ryan Longwell field goal with six minutes left in the game, but Flacco wasn’t ready to concede defeat to the veteran QB yet. Flacco dumped the ball off over the center to Rice, who turned the short pass into a 64 yard gain to set up a 12-yard Flacco TD pass to WR Derrick Mason.
After the Ravens defense made their first big stop of the day, Flacco and the offense had a chance to put the Ravens on top - and they did just that seven seconds into their possession, with Rice breaking off a 33 yard TD run to put the Ravens up 31-30.
Brett Favre led the Vikings right back down the field - highlighted by a 58-yard bomb to WR Sidney Rice - to a field goal right after the two minute warning. Flacco seized the opportunity to run his two-minute drill, getting the Ravens in field goal range by setting up kicker Steve Hauschka with a 44-yard field goal. But Hauschka, who’s replacing long-time kicker Matt Stover, pushed the game winner and gave the Vikings the victory.
“We didn’t lose that game because of Hauschka’s miss,” said Rice. “If we start fast and put points on the board, our defense starts fast, I think the game is a totally different outcome. But that’s what happens when you play against great teams.”
The Ravens, now 3-3 after three straight tough losses, look to regroup with a bye in the upcoming week.
Monday, October 19, 2009 at 10:22 pm by bryan
The NFL fined Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis $25,000 for two separate incidents that occurred in the closing minutes of the Ravens 17-14 loss to the Bengals last weekend.
Lewis was fined for a hit against Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco that drew an unnecessary roughness penalty during the Bengals’ game-winning drive; the other incident occurred on a pass play late in the game, when Lewis “unnecessarily kicked” an unnamed Bengals player.
Regarding the kick, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said, “It was an inadvertent trip that happened.”
Harbaugh added, “Ray Lewis is a tough, a physical guy. Ray Lewis is also as great a sportsman as I’ve met. He plays good, clean football. I guarantee you the shot on Ochocinco was in the strike zone. I want to stand behind Ray in that sense.”
The hit on Ochocinco sent his helmet flying, although to Ochocinco’s credit, he took to his Twitter after the game to plead Lewis’ case. The NFL was concerned with Lewis unnecessarily hitting a defenseless receiver, but…
“Please don’t fine Ray Lewis Mr. Roger Goodell, it was a clean hit, it’s part of the game, save the fines for me,” Ochocinco wrote.
When asked for comments on Friday, Lewis said, “I’m not talking about no fine.”
at 7:14 pm by bryan
The Baltimore Ravens turned in their second straight poor performance in a 17-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Ravens trailed for much of the second half as their offense struggled to move the ball at all throughout the game.
The biggest play of the first half came on an interception by safety Ed Reed that was returned for a touchdown, allowing the Ravens to take a lead heading into the locker room.
Yet again, more controversy has surfaced with officiating after the Ravens had three penalties called against them on the Bengals’ game-winning drive.
Some of the criticism is once again legit, leaving the Ravens and the NFL in a tough position.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 at 7:19 pm by steve
The Cincinnati Bengals are doing everything in their power to earn their new moniker, “the Cardiac Cats.”
Carson Palmer led the Bengals on another last-second TD drive, throwing the game-winning strike to Andre Caldwell with less than a minute left in the Bengals’ 17-14 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
The Ravens offense simply could not get it going in this one, with Willis McGahee being held touchdown-less for the first time this season. QB Joe Flacco looked like a second-year quarterback (for once), throwing 22 of 31 for 186 yards, with one touchdown and two picks.
The one bright spot for the Ravens came with RB Ray Rice in the fourth quarter, as he turned a quick screen into a 48-yard touchdown after eluding a few Baltimore defenders. The TD run gave the Ravens a 14-10 lead, which looked like it would give them the win before Cincinnati’s frantic last-minute drive.
For the second straight week, penalties played a huge role in the outcome of a Ravens game, as the Ravens were flagged for a number of key penalties on Cincinnati’s last drive, including a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty when Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis hit Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco after a pass had already fallen incomplete.
Sunday, October 11, 2009 at 7:59 pm by bryan
The Baltimore Ravens have lost linebacker and special teams ace Brandon Ayanbadejo for the season with a torn quadriceps.
The team was holding out hope he could return at some point this season but has placed him on injured reserve.
He was injured when his knee was crushed underneath a pile while trying to make a tackle near the sideline.
He was the team’s second-leading tackler on the year and had recorded one interceptions.
The loss will be most significant on special teams, where he has earned multi-year visits to the Pro Bowl.
at 11:20 am by steve
The Baltimore Ravens didn’t show up with their “A” game and it cost them dearly in a 27-21 loss to the New England Patriots.
Returner Chris Carr fumbled the opening kickoff, leading to New England’s first three points of the day.
The Ravens responded with a quick touchdown, but then gave up the next 14 points to trail by 10 heading into halftime.
Baltimore had a chance to win the game at the end, but wideout Mark Clayton dropped a pass at the Patriots four-yard line.
The Ravens now fall into a tie for first place in the AFC North with the upstart Cincinnati Bengals, who they will host next week.
Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 7:29 pm by steve
An NFL rookie linebacker who played with the Baltimore Ravens during the preseason before ultimately being cut
has died of unexplained causes on the Kitsap Peninsula of Washington state.
Tony Fein, a 27-year-old undrafted rookie free agent from Mississippi, was an Iraq war veteran. He was taken by South Kitsap Fire & Rescue to the Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton, and he died in the emergency room Tuesday morning.
“Tony Fein was a really good teammate, a tremendous American, a tremendous young man … just a really good person,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said before Wednesday’s practice. “We were proud to have him here as part of our team. We’re unbelievably disappointed about the news.”
As of Wednesday, other details surrounding his death remain private. An autopsy would not be conducted before Thursday, and no official report will go out until toxicology and all other tests are complete – most likely in six to eight weeks, according to Kitsap County chief deputy coroner Allen G. Gerdes.
Fein made news earlier this summer, when he was arrested on Aug. 23 and charged with misdemeanor assault on a police officer due to an incident at a restaurant in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The officer mistook Fein’s cell phone for a handgun; Fein accused the officer of racial profiling. A trial was scheduled for Wednesday, but prosecutors planned to dismiss the case due to conflicting witness accounts.
“A humble young man,” Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said of Fein. “Our hearts definitely go out to his family because it’s such a tragedy for a man to be that young and go through the things he’s been through.”
Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 9:39 pm by bryan
An NFL rookie linebacker who played with the Baltimore Ravens during the preseason before ultimately being cut
has died of unexplained causes on the Kitsap Peninsula of Washington state.
Tony Fein, a 27-year-old undrafted rookie free agent from Mississippi, was an Iraq war veteran. He was taken by South Kitsap Fire & Rescue to the Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton, and he died in the emergency room Tuesday morning.
“Tony Fein was a really good teammate, a tremendous American, a tremendous young man … just a really good person,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said before Wednesday’s practice. “We were proud to have him here as part of our team. We’re unbelievably disappointed about the news.”
As of Wednesday, other details surrounding his death remain private. An autopsy would not be conducted before Thursday, and no official report will go out until toxicology and all other tests are complete – most likely in six to eight weeks, according to Kitsap County chief deputy coroner Allen G. Gerdes.
Fein made news earlier this summer, when he was arrested on Aug. 23 and charged with misdemeanor assault on a police officer due to an incident at a restaurant in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The officer mistook Fein’s cell phone for a handgun; Fein accused the officer of racial profiling. A trial was scheduled for Wednesday, but prosecutors planned to dismiss the case due to conflicting witness accounts.
“A humble young man,” Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said of Fein. “Our hearts definitely go out to his family because it’s such a tragedy for a man to be that young and go through the things he’s been through.”
at 9:36 pm by bryan
