A Game for the Ages plus more Difficult Trivia

[Filmstudy]

I'm 11 games into scoring the 2003 season and just finished the Seattle game again. I'm sure every Ravens fan who saw that game has some vivid memories of the amazing number of big plays and wierd events. I'm guessing you have a visual memory of many of the following:

--Marcus Robinson outmuscling, outleaping, outpositioning, and outadjusting the tiny Seattle secondary for 4 TDs
--Zastudil's punt bouncing off Lucas' head and recovered by Maese
--Jamal Lewis' ensuing fumble
--Reed's blocked punt/TD
--Lewis's FF/FR
--The sideline tiptoe catch by Frank Sanders
--Robinson's tip to Sanders for a 44-yard completion on 4th and 28
--The official's erroneous clock stoppage
--The 3rd and inches and 4th and inches stops
--Marcus Trufant's 44-yard DPI on Robinson with 33 seconds left which put the Ravens in FG range
--Stover's game-tying FG as regulation expired
--Boulware's sack of Hasslebeck to stop the Seahawks' OT drive
--Wright's 19-yard completion to Robinson on 3rd and 15
--Stover's game-winning FG

Of that list, all but 2 of the Robinson TDs occurred after the game's 50th minute. Like any memorable game there was a terrific backstory to the Ravens' defensive effort that day. We'll do this as 7 questions:

1. (1 point) What Raven had 2 sacks on just 23 defensive snaps?

2. (2 points) On 4th and 1 with 44 second remaining, the Ravens removed Peter Boulware. Who replaced him?

3. (3 points) Which Raven might have been called for a personal foul for throwing an elbow to the throat of Hasselbeck on the aforementioned 4th and 1 play?

4. (4 points) The Ravens dressed 9 defensive backs, 2 of whom were injured in the game. Who was the only Ravens' DB who dressed but did not see action on defense?

5. (5 points) What player was injured on the Raven's 4th defensive snap, leading the way to a 26-snap effort from a player with no significant previous playing time in 2003? You'll need both the injured player and his replacement.

6. (6 points) The Ravens used 2 different 4-man defensive backfields. What 2 players split time as the 4th DB?

7. (7 points) Despite trailing most of the game, the Ravens lined up in the dime 24 times. How many times did they line up in the nickel? Within 3 is good for the points, 3 bonus for the exact total.

[Filmstudy]

All of these questions were actually an observation molded into a question.

There are several folks that go back to the 2003 Gamebooks on NFL GSIS and simply look up the answer, so I tried to make them something you can’t easily get directly from that source.



1. Terrell Suggs had a magnificent year as a situational pass rusher. In the game against Seattle he played just 23 snaps, which was one of his highest totals to that point and collected 2 sacks including 1 FF/FR at the Seattle 3. Anthony Wright managed to turn that field position into 3 points. Suggs has evolved so much as a player since then, but in 2003 he basically entered only on 3rd down or at the end of a half. The Ravens 4-man rush featured Suggs and Boulware on the outside with Thomas lined up at DT along with Weaver for much of the season. What we wouldn’t give for that pass rush today.


2. On 4th and 1, Boulware was replaced by Orlando Brown, who lined up as the nose. Hasslebeck sneaked left and was overwhelmed. A generous spot left the ball still inches short. In the “theatre of the absurd” section, Orlando Brown actually had a defensive start for the Ravens in 2003. How? In the game at Oakland (12/14/03), Buchanon (if I recall correctly) ran back Anthony Wright’s first-drive interception to the 1-yard line. The Ravens lined up in their goal line defense for the Raiders’ first offensive play, including Orlando at NT. Does that mean Brown had 17 starts for the Ravens in 2003? I would guess he’s one of the last NFL players to start both offensively and defensively in the same game or perhaps even season.


3. At the bottom of the pile, Hasslebeck ill-advisedly decided to hit Ray Lewis in the head with the football to try to get him off. Cornell Brown observed this and pinned Hasslebeck’s neck to the ground with his forearm. It was a fairly brutal reaction and it was surprising no flag was thrown. Brown played primarily running downs and essentially split time with Adailus Thomas in 2003 playing OLB in the 3-4.


4. The Ravens dressed Baxter, Brightful, Demps, Fuller, Knight, McAlister, Reed, Sapp, and Williams. Fuller was reported as leaving the game with via “coaches decision” after surrendering an 80-yard TD pass to Jackson. He released coverage to no one and after the play made a motion to Reed indicating that he thought Ed had over the top coverage. He would return for a few snaps later when the Ravens had suffered additional injuries, but it was pretty clear from this game that either Nolan, Billick, or both were through with Corey “Full House” Fuller. Sammy Knight was also injured. I’m not exactly sure how it happened (ST?), but all of a sudden the Ravens had Brightful in for dime packages. That left Gerome Sapp as the only active DB who did not play a defensive snap.


5. Anthony Weaver was injured on the 4th snap of the game. Amazingly, the Ravens dressed 7 defensive linemen for the first time all season. Riddick Parker saw his first action and played 26 of the 80 snaps. He recorded just 1 tackle.


6. Even before this game, there were indication the ice was thin under Corey Fuller. With Gary Baxter, the Ravens had a player that could play both corner and safety and would switch on a series-by-series basis. Will Demps would enter 1 series and Baxter would replace Fuller at corner. The next series, Fuller would be back on at corner and Baxter at safety. So the players splitting time were Fuller and Demps.


7. Amazingly, the Ravens never lined up in the nickel in the Seattle game, nor for more than a few plays in the first 11 games of 2003. They played some nickel against SF in the 12th game. When they had an injury to Chad Williams earlier in the season, Bart Scott played the dime, but since he played the same situations and position that Williams would have, I’d say his uniform number doesn’t make it a nickel. I haven’t reviewed the 2002 or 2004 seasons, so I could not say if this was part of the structural underpinning of Nolan’s defenses or a decision based on personnel, but this team played a standard 4-man backfield or they played 6 DBs, but not 5.