derrick mason.Yes, I was seriously considering signing off right there, leaving that two word thought to suffice for last week's win in Dallas. In all seriousness, that man's name is all that needs to be said. Luckily, I feel like writing.
We will begin where everyone else begins; with the quarterback. Joe Flacco has a good arm, and he can complete nice, crisp passes; if he has the time. I am not arguing Joe's strength, nor his potential, but rather his tendencies that result in lost yards and sack after sack, after sack. The problem is not, for the most part, when he does throw the ball, but what percent of the time Joe gets to the point of releasing the ball (on his own will) and before there is too much pressure. I have formulated the theory/ opinion that other players, like Derrick Mason, make Joe Flacco look better than good, and account for some of his lapses in judgement and experience. This is not to say he is a bad quarterback; by no means would we rather have Kyle Boller out there, or 90% of rookie quarterbacks for that matter, but I do not think he is the great quarterback (at least now) that some people have called him. At one point, he overthrew a wide open Todd Heap. A successful pass there could have given the Ravens a critical lead. And giving him so much credit for the Ravens' success? I don't think that's particularly fair either. Come on, he's just Joe the Quarterback.
Ed Reed has definitely built his case for Man O' the Year. More interceptions. What a way to begin and end the half. Not to mention, he can pull of cropped sweatpants, a feat in and of itself. Reed's Big D alone was almost enough to steal one in "Big D." In fact, the commentators noted that the fourth quarter is "normally the time of the game when Ed Reed becomes Superman." I wouldn't argue.
Again, conservative offensive moves made me uneasy. Injuries to Willie Anderson and Adam Terry threatened to spoil the Ravens' big night. Ware cost our offense, from the very beginning, when he forced a fumble from Flacco. The refs gave us more bad spots, particularly on a Todd Heap reception over the middle of the field. After a reviewed play, the refs still managed to give the Ravens a bad spot, which could have given the Ravens a first down. Apparently the officials forgot about something called forward progress? I was shocked when Ratliff was called for defensive holding call. For once the zebras were penalizing the other team!
We were settling for Stover, again, twice upon reaching the 5 yd marker. The announcers even commented at one point that we may get the opportunity to "knock on three" points. And really, why should they consider the possibility of a seven point play? I was beginning to question whether our only path to victory was winning by attrition. It would explain why our record in games where we control time of possession is so dominant.
Other more troubling aspects of the game included Frank Walker's weak coverage, and an off Tony Romo's exploits of the Ravens' brittle secondary. Fabian Washington sacrificed coverage in hopes of a pick, and conceded a key first down. The most concerning thing of all was that even after back to back 77 and 82 yard runs by Willis McGahee and Le'Ron McClain, the Ravens let the Cowboys drive twice, each time pulling Dallas within two points. My brother counted three plays in which Willis was "good," but I would caution that one long run cannot atone for an entire season of disappointment and mistakes, and I would warn Baltimoreans from jumping right back on the McGahee bandwagon.
Jamil McClain tried to steal some of the spotlight from Le'Ron McClain's 80+ yard run when he took it upon himself to sack Tony Romo. In other defensive highlights, Ray Lewis had a nice hit on Witten, although the defense didn't do the best job of containing him.
The offensive line did considerably well after the opening drive, and Lorenzo Neal is fast becoming one of my favorite players on the roster. At one point towards the end of the game, however, Flacco was hit practically before the ball got into his hands. Cam Cameron did some creative things, and some worked, while others did not. The dual-quarterback play was widely unsuccessful, resulting in a Troy Smith lateral to Willis McGahee for hardly any gain. On the other hand, a varied snap count drew Ellis and other Dallas defenders offsides, resulting in crucial yardage. Other exceptional plays included a wise QB sneak to extend a Ravens drive, and Sam Koch's fake field-goal run for a first down.
John Harbaugh's Special Teams expertise came in handy as Jim Leonhard consistently delivered great returns to give the Ravens good field position.
I became a bigger Matt Hasselbeck fan than I ever imagined myself being when in a commercial for Expedia.com, he described his honorable background as a man growing up in the streets of Boston.
But now comes time for the courageous tale of our hero, Derrick Mason. With a separated shoulder, Mason toughed it out for all four quarters. In addition to the bone-chilling hit he took during the Steelers game the week before, Mason took three enormous hits from the Cowboys defense. Still, Mason persevered, and didn't stop until the clock reached 0:00. He was more than a statistical necessity to the Ravens, but also an admirable and inspirational figure. He was hurting, quite visibly, yet he led the charge, using his skill, discretion, and experience to instruct other members of the Ravens' offense. When McClain fumbled, Derrick was there to pick it up and recover for Baltimore. And to cap it off, Mason got a well deserved touchdown reception to give the Ravens what looked to be a decisive lead.
We will see what this week holds for Mason, Poe, and Captain Dee-fense in a matter of minutes.
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