Post Game Thoughts

[GreenWave52]

I hope this isn't too redundant but I was hoping we could have a thread where we put our post game thoughts in. Feel free to add your own or comment on mine. This is going to be a stream of conciousness, post-game, day later wrap up.


Lets start with the defense. It was great to see the 2000 defense again; I missed it. It was like having an old friend over for dinner (who I hope moves in with me for the next 7 months). We have had some exceptional defensive games since the dismantling of that unit in '02 (including a 44-6 thrashing of the Giants aka Eli's 0.0 game), but I haven't seen us totally crush a teams' spirit like that in 5 years. The were defeated by the end of the 1st quarter. Their pass catchers were AFRAID of us and with good reason, our LBs layed the wood. I don't know if that is how we will play D all year, but like I said, it was good to see that 2000 unit one more time.

One more note about our D is that Gruden was afraid of it. He conceded that he couldn't stop us up front. That is why their first 3 plays were all roll outs, he thought he could get Sims enough time to get to the one person who can give us fits, the TE. He refused to play us straight up because he rightly knew that he would have to put us on our heels if Caddy was going to do anything. They didn't and Caddy (their best offensive player) was held to 22 yards.

Ngata is for real. And I'm not talking about the interception return (as hilarious as it was) but his domination at the line. When ever I saw him he was pushing 2 guys backwards and allowing our LBs to do what they do best. The blitzes worked because there weren't any free lineman. And their running back got 22 yards. This is what he brings to the table.

Sam Koch. Looking good out there, including preseason week 4 that is two great games in a row. Keep it up.

Great first drive by the offense. After that...not so much. We didn't do anything between both scoring drives. However, we didn't turn the ball over against what was a fairly suffocating Tampa D. A turnover could of given them life, but I also would of liked to see less 3 and outs.

Mason and McNair have a great thing going. Heap and Clayton were oddly quiet and Demetrius had a heck of a catch.

That was a DPOY catch Eddy made and a great play by Cmac as well, I guess he got over his case of the drops.

The LBs were everywhere and I was especially impressed by Scott. I always thought he was solid, but he was just on another level yesterday. Our hitting broke the Bucs.

Huge props to the o-line. They gave McNair tons of time and totally swallowed a great d-line. Rice was a non-factor.

Props also go to Billick for having this team ready to play. I heard Gruden didn't play his starters much in the preseason and it showed. While we're on coahcing, great play action call at the goal line Fassel!

I'm glad Oakland is the home opener so I don't have to worry about a trap game. They will be fired up for us at M+T.

[RavenScallywag]

I'm going to be flat out honest...The offense was nice, but we're not seeing anything special here. Granted, this was an improvement over Boller. However, I think we saw that we shouldn't expect a shift to us being a powerful offense anytime soon. McNair's gameplan won us the game, but it was an upgraded version of Dilfer-ball..."Don't make any mistakes, work your dink and dunk passes, and hand off the ball to the power RB". He made some nice throws, but mostly his biggest asset was getting rid of it out of bounds rather than throw an INT, or throw it away instead of taking the sack.

The defense was SLICK. Definitley the biggest piece of our team. I think the key is that, while the offense may not be a powerhouse, the defense no longer has to carry the team. McNair lets them rest, get worked up, and then come out swinging.

My game balls for this game would go to:

Offense: Steve McNair - no one really outshined anyone else, but McNair directed the offense just perfectly.

Defense: Ray Lewis - for the same reason I nominated McNair...The D had several high points (CMac 60 yd INT TD, Bart Scott having two sacks and a bunch of run stuffs, Ngata taking an INT 60 yards!), but overall, Ray Lewis is still the heart and soul of the D, and he tied for team lead on tackles (AD also had 7) and had a sack and some nice tips. Most of all, it was fun seeing him roam sideline to sideline again.

ST: Koch - he doesn't look like the guy who we were unsure would make the roster anymore. He's booming his punts now.

Also, to end this post, I think this was the perfect way to start the year off. With this win, we go from playoff mention to playoff expectation!

[camdenyard]

Good points, Greenwave.

I remarked to my brother that I think the two INTs by CMac and Reed were more difficult than any of the easier ones those guys dropped last year.

Koch did hit some good punts, but he is a tad slow getting the ball off his foot. The Bucs came close on at least 2 occasions to blocking one.

I wouldn't give all of the line pressure credit to Ngata Kelly Gregg had a good game and all did a good job getting their hands up into Simms' passing lanes. What I liked best was that they played disciplined defense, like the 2000-2001 teams did. Very little overpursuit.

I have some lingering doubts about the running game. Before Jamal broke that 35 yarder or whatever, he was averaging about 2.5 yards per carry. But that Tampa D is a good one, so we'll have to see.

And oh yeah, props to the O-line!

[Ravens'N'Hoos]

One minor but memorable point: I give major props to the Ravens fans in Tampa, who could be heard loud and clear from the beginning of the game. I was grinning ear to ear when I heard "HEEEEEEEAP!" on the first drive and had to remind myself this was NOT at home!

[Sports Steve]

Steve McNair conductiing a drive that was almost 10 minutes did so much to set the tone of the game for the Ravens. Man this guy is cool under pressure. If this is what he's going to do all season the defense will remain so fresh which has been the problem on this team the last two (2) years.