Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens Halftime Notes
September 27, 2012; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith (82) catches a second quarter touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Flacco (not shown) past Cleveland Browns Tashaun Gipson (39) at M
-about halfway through the first quarter josh cribbs took a monster hit on a punt return. Cribbs fumbled the ball and the Ravens recovered but the bigger story was Cribbs health. Cribbs looked to be unconscious before he hit the ground and remained motionless for several minutes. Cribbs was later taken to the locker-room but appeared to be ok.
-The Ravens struggled all first quarter but the first few plays of the second half finally broke the stalemate. Flacco threw a beauty of pass to fan favorite Tandom Doss and then threw a strike to Torrey Smith on the sideline and capped off the drive with a perfect pass to Torrey for a touchdown. The ensuing extra point was poorly snapped and Justin Tucker was forced to just fall on the ball.
-Joe Flacco threw his first redone pick in his last 176 (all of last season) passes attempted inside the 20. The throw was covered terrifically by the Sam linebacker Robinson and Flacco never saw him rotating underneath the pass. It looked like a terrible throw at first glance but it was really more about Robinsons coverage.
-Jacoby jones was leveled on a punt halfway through the second quarter. The play drew a flag for fair catch interference and could be considered a dirty play.
-Justin Tucker nailed a 44 ?yard FG to make the game 9-0. Tucker makes hitting long field goals way to easy.
-The Browns had a major whiff on a punt that would have put the Ravens on the Browns 45 yard line but a bone headed hands to the face penalty put the Ravens on their own 45 instead. It was still great field position. Flacco was sacked twice and the Ravens went 3 and out.
-The Browns repeatedly targeted the Ravens linebackers with their tight ends. Specifically they started to target jameel McClain when Elerve was on the sidelines.
-Paul Kruger had an excellent first half with several tackles a sack and 2 passes batted away.
-The Browns finally got on the scoreboard late in the quarter with a short run by Trent Richardson to cap of an 11 play 94 yard drive. This was a pretty unsettling drive for the Ravens defense. They had only gained 44 scrimmage yards in the game before that drive.
-jacoby Jones continues to be an under utilized option in the first half. He was finding holes all evening but Flacco rarely looked his way. His first relevant play came at the end of the half to pick up a 7 yard first down.
-this is the third straight week that the Ravens have played poorly in the first half. Lets hope they make similar improvements in the second half to what they did last week.