Ravens vs. Browns Recap

It was almost like the old days. Baltimore Ravens fans saw Kyle Boller do what he has done for years - get nervous, force throws, and not go through his progressions. Fortunately for Ravens fans though, he also seems to have learned a thing or two by watching Steve McNair.

McNair started the game 0-4 before getting his hand stepped on. Boller came in and had and up and down day, but finished 13 for 21 for 238 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 pic. He also had a fumble.

Jamal ran 22 times for 109, his long run was a solid 52 yard trot. It was evident then he does not have the same open field speed we have seen from him in the past, either that or he was so excited from actually getting into the open field it wore him out. If you take away the 52 yarder, he only averaged about 2.7 yards a carry. Still, he was hitting some holes, and clearly the Browns had to respect him, which helped Boller out immensely.

Heap led the receiving corps with 5 receptions for 58 yards, it was Demetrius Williams though that stole the show, connecting on a 77 yard pass going over the top and flat outrunning the entire Cleveland team.

There were some high notes that the Ravens can be pleased with:
- The defense held the Browns 0-11 on third down conversion attempts.
- The team was able to control the penalties, only getting flagged 4 times for 30 yards.
- On their side of the ball, they converted 7 of 15 3rd downs.

Defense:
When the D gets tired, or starts sitting back, or not moving and showing different looks, they are getting punished. The quarterbacks are getting too much time to wait for open receivers. For at least the last 5 games, if the opposing team is marching down the field, the D is usually in what I call "rest mode".

Offense
Billick is starting to call some long balls. This is not something Ravens fans have seen in quite some time, but it has worked each of the last two weeks. The Ravens today continued to show good ran/pass balance, and they were able to overcome Boller's two big turnovers to stay in the game, and put some points on the board.

Special Teams

The Ravens simply need to find a way to produce positive yards on special teams. Ross did a solid if unspectacular job against the Browns, but it will be much harder when the Ravens face playoff times.

Congratulations on the Playoff spot. The Ravens could use a Bengals loss on Monday to get home field advantage. Time to rest up and prepare for the Steelers on Christmas Eve. I would look for Billick to go easy on the team the last two games, maybe even sitting some of the starters for large portions of the game to save them for a playoff run. Especially the way they have been hit with injuries the last few games. Go Ravens!

P.S. Baltimore wins the division if Cinci loses Monday night.