Patriots @ Ravens Halftime Notes

The Patriots Lead the Ravens 20-14 at the half, here is what I saw.

-The first quarter was terrible for the Ravens- Flacco overthrew several passes including one which was picked and nearly taken to the house. Rice was basically ineffective and the Patriots offense had their way. Flacco finished the half with 12/16 passing for 136 yards and 2 TDs. Brady has gone 15/22 for 214 yards and 1 TD.

-Torrey smith turned the tide of the first half with his 25 yard touchdown catch. At the time the Ravens were down 13-0 and needed a spark. Torrey came through in a big way on what has to be one of the toughest days of his life.

-Cary Williams needs to stop playing press coverage. He has been repeatedly targeted and beaten badly by Tom Brady and Julian Edelman/Wes Welker. Cary needs to be backed off the ball a bit or taken off the field, he is a major target right now and he needs help covering on the back end. I’m talking to you Dean Pees.

-Dennis Pitta started slow by over running his route which led to an easy interception for the patriots, but he made the biggest play of the game so far for the Ravens by hurdling defenders and getting into the endzone to give the Ravens a brief 13-14 lead. Pitta needs to continue to work against the Patriots weak Safeties.

-Jacoby Jones needs to be targeted more in the second half, he was getting open routinely but was being missed by Flacco or was being used as a decoy or a clearing route. getting him more involved might be the key to winning the game.

-The Ravens rallied back from a 13-0 deficit and briefly held a 14-13 lead before allowing a last second TD but still only trail by 6. Not to shabby considering how bad the first quarter was for them. They need to tighten up and play like they did in the second quarter to win.