A Tale of Two Units

        This title serves as a double entendre, because it not only illustrates the total contrast between the Ravens' defensive and offensive units' performances last night, but also the offense's Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde-eque qualities in and of itself. It was during this offensive unit's particularly horrendous third quarter showing that I came up with the perfect analogy; the financial crisis. I know, a little farfetched, but hear me out. The offense is kind of like Wall Street, talking big, getting big compliments and the high profile attention. They beg for respect and the ability to show they can win a game on their own, just as Wall Street executives begged for deregulation. But then they go and take big risks, gambling with the fate of the entire team. And, ultimately, due to a sub-prime lending crisis, bad assets, or bad ball-handling, they screw up. Then they look to the defense begging for a bailout. Not so independent now, eh? And just as government bailouts are questioned, and the government's supply of money is stretched, the defense is worn and beaten. They are the ones that have to go out an win the game, so as not to let everyone down (those poor season ticket holders, tailgaters, and men with 30 pounds of purple and gold beads that sit behind the endzone.) The game, like the crisis, became a question not of resource availability. It's a pretty good analogy, I think. But luckily, Bart Scott and Terrell Suggs prevailed, so if this is, indeed, an indicator as to how our economic crisis will develop, it may bode well. Too bad Haloti Ngata isn't on the Federal pay grade.

 

       Despite a promising start, last night was a lackluster, if that, performance for the offense. Actually it was quite destructive and would inarguably have resulted in a loss if it weren't for that good ole' Baltimore "D." There were, however, some bright spots for the offense. Todd Heap wins Most Improved, and Derrick Mason takes Most Consistent, again taking a questionably lofty pass and turning it into a much needed touchdown. Mark Clayton had another great week, but the winner was Le'Ron McClain. He had the best grip on the pigskin, fumbling only once (later ruled down). McClain also iced the Redskins' offense, and put an end to their momentum, by driving the Ravens down the entire field (he took 11 straight carries.) Lorenzo Neal, at fullback, paved the way for McClain's success, and was very efficient at bulldozing his way through the Redskins' defensive line. I will say that I do not believe the Ravens' unbalanced offensive line was very effective, especially on some rush plays. I am glad to say that Joe Flacco finally took my advice! I saw him run towards the sidelines and through the ball out, evading at least two sacks. Flacco also made a nice pass to Clayton on 4th down, turning out a 24 yard play, and Heap hit a 30 yard reception that will hopefully be a confidence booster.         The sidelines and locker room began to pile up with injured players, but luckily, those injured are less dependable players and performed poorly last night anyways. Ray Rice and Willis McGahee may not be seeing too many snaps come their way any time soon, even if they are healthy. And Matt Stover is becoming less dependable with every game. Let me say right here that Houska, our newly acquired punter and long field goal kicker, is a star being born.       

      And then there was the man of the hour. Or for Sports Illustrated, the Man of the Year. Michael Phelps. I see he was not shy about bringing his super-cute Vegas cocktail waitress girlfriend to the game with him. I read recently that he has spent a good deal of time flying to Vegas and hiring professional poker players for lessons. I guess this is where they met. Hey, at least we can be glad that such an accomplished man spends his money and time so responsibly and wisely, right? He must have shelled out some of said money, and taken an afternoon off, to piece together his ensemble for the game last night. Seated comfortably in a box, far removed from the field, Phelps looked simply dashing in an Ed Reed jersey, Lacoste hat, and Burberry scarf (note sarcasm). And as if this image couldn't get more dorbsy, his gf was totes matching him (translation: his girlfriend had the same scarf on.) At least he chose a good player to represent, although I would add that real Ravens fans tough the sub-freezing temperatures and enjoy themselves from the comfort of their icy stadium seats.

     The defense played sensationally, and if the Ravens gave out buckeyes for big plays like players do at Ohio State, the sticker company would have run out of supply last night. Jason Campbell showed some class, when, after knocking over one of the "Chain Men," he came over and helped the man get up. Before running back to the line of scrimmage, he checked to make sure the guy was okay and gave him a little squeeze on the shoulder. While Campbell showed class, however, the Ravens Defense showed no mercy. Lewis and Leonhard had a nice hit on Jason Campbell, and Suggs pressured Campbell from the beginning, forcing him to toss an Ed Reed interception on the opening drive. Ray Lewis met expectations, regardless of being the recipient of a bad holding call in the second half. Cory Ivy and Bart Scott both jacked up Randle El, and Suggs laid some nice hits throughout the game, none more important than his late sack in the red zone that prevented the Redskins from putting six on the board. The game, although ugly, had a storybook ending in another Ed Reed interception that took away Washington's hopes of getting back in the game. The defense prevailed, even with two penalties on Special Teams's Wilcox, a no-call offensive pass interference when Ed Reed was contending for a ball, and some bad spots by the officials. I tell you, after Flacco threw an interception to Washington's Landry, Landry is lucky that his brother Dawan, an injured Raven, wasn't out there to repay the favor. Suggs and Lewis were a stone wall, and it pains me to say this, but Suggs can wear all the Yankees' hats he wants if he plays like this. (For the record, I'm in agreement to put a bounty on Hines Ward this coming Sunday.)

      The best quotation (not quote) of the week came from none other than Willis McGahee. In fact, it's the only funny thing he did all night. At the bottom of the screen, you know how they show the player names, profiles, and a little clip of said player flashing a smile, or winking, or maybe staring awkwardly? Well when it came time to introduce the Ravens' Offense, and Willis's face appeared, instead of the customary "University of Michigan" or "Penn State University," he said, "you already know... University of Miami," with some attitude even Tyra Banks would find impressive. I would question why, after an unproductive first half, Cam Cameron continued to play Willis when clearly the puzzle pieces weren't fitting. Cameron jammed them until they snapped on McGahee's fumble/injury play. In retrospect, I guess statements like Willis's are to be expected, as they fall in line with his diva/ crybaby nature. Last night's real diva, however, may have been John Madden, who admitted to "not trusting" certain seafood and dissed crabcakes while broadcasting a game in Baltimore. Seriously? Go home and play your video game, John.

So this week, a friend and I basically predicted the entire game. The players that had the best games.. we saw it coming. The Ravens' plan of attack, saw that too. Check out this segment of our Facebook Wall-To-Wall if you want proof! Sarah Smith* wrote at 11:13pm on December 1st, 2008 "alright ...so i wrote this long thing about this coming weeks game and it all got deleted because i was looking at college football and forgot to open a new tab. anyway, pretty much we will dominate the skins because they have no protection for campbell and he stinks anyway and i am predicting a sweet game for leonhard, another interception perhaps, and for reed, special teams baby. main point, where has clayton been the entire season?? hope he can sustain his amazingness for the rest of the season." Kate wrote at 6:18pm on December 1st, 2008 "i just friended mark clayton on facebook "but it's fine because we already have a mutual friend... so it's not creepy haha. now, this week I'm telling you ed reed and rolle (if healthy) big games; the secondary's going to own the redskins' terrible wide receivers, and jason campbell was sacked like four times yesterday.. expect like six next week (well maybe not) and clinton portis is suckign especially with our rush defense and also their rush defense sucks so if we get maybe some willis in there to work the outside then a little leron up the middle that could be sweet" *names have been changed or omitted to maintain anonymity and NO, Mark Clayton has not yet accepted my friend request.