Winning Krugly--Defensive Notes vs. Steelers

[Filmstudy]

The Ravens won an ugly game Sunday.

How ugly? I went through all 204 games the Ravens played since 2000 to make this list, and was only able to come up with 14 nominations that combined winning, versus a bad (or injured) team, by a close margin, with notable help from the opponent.

Here is my list of the 5 ugliest Ravens? wins in that period:

1. Ravens 9, Chiefs 6 10/7/12: The Ravens Allowed 214 yards rushing to the Chiefs on 50 carries, but the Chiefs would turn the ball over 4 times and the Ravens would benefit from an offensive pass interference penalty that negated the TD which would have given the Chiefs? their first lead to protect all season.

2. Ravens 9, 49ers 7 10/7/07: The Ravens traveled west for a forgettable encounter with the Trent-Dilfer-led 49ers. They survived a late FG miss by Joe Nedney and had a 17-play drive that covered all of 43 yards, ending in a punt, but also 8:26 in defense of their 2-point lead. The 49ers would finish 5-11.

3. Ravens 13, Steelers 10 12/28/03: In an ill-advised attempt to get Jamal Lewis the NFL rushing record, the Ravens went to overtime in an otherwise meaningless game. The Steelers turned the ball over 5 times and scored their only TD on a fake punt. The Ravens would lose at home to Tennessee in the Wild Card game 6 days later.

4. Ravens 26, Cardinals 23 9/23/07: The Cardinals scored 17 4th-quarter points to wipe out a 23-6 Ravens? lead with Kurt Warner completing 15/20 258 yards, 2/0 TD/INT in relief of Leinart. Matt Stover would bail out the Ravens with a 46-yard, game-winning FG as time expired.

5. Ravens 13, Steelers 10 11/18/12: Leftwich played through broken ribs suffered when falling untouched on his own TD run. Wallace mailed in his effort and contributed a fumble among the Steelers? 3 turnovers.

The last entry is the only one against a team with a winning record, but that may change.

For individual defensive notes including an accounting of all 28 pass rush attempts by Paul Kruger, please visit:

http://russellstreetreport.com/author/ken_mckusick/

[Eastside Terp]

thanks .........

so this year covers 40% of the ugly wins in the ravens history .......

[OriginalColtsFan]

Thanks as always, FS.

One question: Does it appear as if the Ravens D is actually coming together better without Ray Lewis, and if so, should he just stay out the rest of the year?

[elj1201]

Guess who's back......back again....

[Filmstudy]

Thanks as always, FS.

One question: Does it appear as if the Ravens D is actually coming together better without Ray Lewis, and if so, should he just stay out the rest of the year?

Many people are going to define this season by Ray Lewis' performance aainst the Chiefs. He was steamrolled by Lilja and the guards in that game, and only made 1 tackle within 3 yards of the LoS. Do you think that game is actually representative of the 2012 Ravens? I just wrote a piece calling it the ugliest game the Ravens have ever won. It exposed a weakness of Ray Lewis and other dominating middle linebackers in that they all want to play behind a 4-3 and be more free to roam. Lewis has complained about it sporadically since at least 2002.

Ellerbe is playing very well, but McClain has not been spectacular. I trust McClain and Ellerbe to play their game to the fullest, but I don't think they make anyone else better. Lewis would do that, even in the event his own level of play was slightly lower.

Simple answer...I hope the organization decides to reinsert Lewis when he returns. There could well be a reason why he can't play every snap, which would make rotation possible. If you rotate those 3 ILBs, I'd predict now, Pollard becomes the defensive signal caller.

[OriginalColtsFan]

Many people are going to define this season by Ray Lewis' performance aainst the Chiefs. He was steamrolled by Lilja and the guards in that game, and only made 1 tackle within 3 yards of the LoS. Do you think that game is actually representative of the 2012 Ravens? I just wrote a piece calling it the ugliest game the Ravens have ever won. It exposed a weakness of Ray Lewis and other dominating middle linebackers in that they all want to play behind a 4-3 and be more free to roam. Lewis has complained about it sporadically since at least 2002.

Ellerbe is playing very well, but McClain has not been spectacular. I trust McClain and Ellerbe to play their game to the fullest, but I don't think they make anyone else better. Lewis would do that, even in the event his own level of play was slightly lower.

Simple answer...I hope the organization decides to reinsert Lewis when he returns. There could well be a reason why he can't play every snap, which would make rotation possible. If you rotate those 3 ILBs, I'd predict now, Pollard becomes the defensive signal caller.

Thanks for your response. I understand what you're saying, but dating back to even when Bart Scott was here, it had been discussed that, rather than making those around him better, Scott actually had to tone down his game to compensate for some of Ray's deficiencies -- even back then. So that's why I asked. But if the films show it differently, then that's a different story.

[Eastside Terp]

Many people are going to define this season by Ray Lewis' performance aainst the Chiefs. He was steamrolled by Lilja and the guards in that game, and only made 1 tackle within 3 yards of the LoS. Do you think that game is actually representative of the 2012 Ravens? I just wrote a piece calling it the ugliest game the Ravens have ever won. It exposed a weakness of Ray Lewis and other dominating middle linebackers in that they all want to play behind a 4-3 and be more free to roam. Lewis has complained about it sporadically since at least 2002.

Ellerbe is playing very well, but McClain has not been spectacular. I trust McClain and Ellerbe to play their game to the fullest, but I don't think they make anyone else better. Lewis would do that, even in the event his own level of play was slightly lower.

Simple answer...I hope the organization decides to reinsert Lewis when he returns. There could well be a reason why he can't play every snap, which would make rotation possible. If you rotate those 3 ILBs, I'd predict now, Pollard becomes the defensive signal caller.

interesting, I agree that they really don't have anyone that can keep ray off the filed and make the team better and that pollard has really become a force ........

clearly ray is one of the best players of all time, but .......

the last time he was out for an extended period many felt the d came together and played better .......

it was my contention at the time it was because they made suggs the focal point of the d and he rose to that occasion .......

obviously that's not an option at this time .......

do you think the lighter, faster ray was a mistake? ........

[AntiMoon]

As predicted, the LB play has improved without Ray. Thankfully some of our young players on D are stepping up(Upshaw,Ellerbe,Kruger)

[OriginalColtsFan]

FS:

Are there differences between run coverage and pass coverage? For example, are the LBs without Ray better able to cover TEs and backs coming out of the back field, but possibly not as stout on tackling RBs, or is there no clear distinction?

[daravenator]

man o man I miss me some film study over at sunspot lives