Will It Happen?
By Joe Barnes
It’s been an eventful first half. The Ravens looked good at the beginning of the half, and looked ok for the rest of the half. The defense was getting sliced and diced by the infallible Charlie Frye while the offense was being led by a multi-faceted effort from Ray Rice, with 11 total touches and a few big blocks.
Already, Zach Miller has beaten Ray Lewis for a touchdown and Willis McGahee has scored two touchdowns, including one for 77 yards where he dropped notorious bad tackler Harim Eugene like he was hot. With one arm. Joe Flacco managed the game well and as expected, Derrick Mason has been for the most part, shut down. Todd Heap has been the #1 pass catcher and Dawan Landry has been the lone guy in the secondary doing what he’s supposed to do well.
To end the half, Jalen Parmele returned a kickoff 54 yards after the Miller TD and put the Ravens in prime FG position after a Derrick Mason 23-yard reception (his only one in the half). The snap was a bit muffed and Cundiff missed the kick to the right of the goalposts. Fitting end to the half, the Ravens controlled play but bit themselves in the butt with a mistake, leaving the score at 14-10.
To win this game, the secondary needs to step up their game, simple as that. No more flags, no more leaving Chaz Schillens open with space to run. The Raiders are getting excited and right now, Frye has this defense figured out. It’s not all bad, but what is bad needs to be fixed before the second one starts. They’re so close to the playoffs.
By the way: If they win, they play the Pats in New England. Hello revenge?