Baltimore Beat Down: A Baltimore Ravens Dynasty

[thoro_headz]

Bengals vs Ravens: Week 1 Brings a New Beginning Versus a Familiar Foe

Matchup Preview *|* August 7, 2008
	@
Cincinnati Bengals (0-0, 0-0 Away)		Baltimore Ravens (0-0, 0-0 Home)
Injury Report HB Chris Perry Torn PCL MLB Bart Scott Sprained MCL RT Willie Anderson High Ankle Sprain Game Notes The Bengals finished 3rd in the AFC North in 2007 with a 7-9 record, including sweeping their meetings with the Ravens. The all-time record between these teams is 13-11 Ravens, although the Bengals have won six of the last seven meetings.

Analyzing the Enemy

Offense: QB Carson Palmer, WR Chad Johnson, WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, RT Willie Anderson

Defense: RE Justin Smith, DT Glenn Dorsey*

Special Teams:K Shayne Graham, P Dave Zastudil

Keys to the game

On Offense:
LT Jonathan Ogden must contain RE Justin Smith coming off of the edge on Troy Smith's Blindside

TE Heap will need to take advantage of the Bengals weak LB corps because the Ravens receivers face tough matchups on the outside

On Defense:
Take advantage of the rookies on the right side of Bengals' offensive line, RT Demetrius Bell and RG Irv Blake, to bring pressure and shut down runs on the strong side

[thoro_headz]

I think that my home IP was banned? I can access the site on my phone's mobile network and at work but I can no longer access the site nor the forums from home. Does anyone know who I should contact to have this issue resolved?

I finished my first game of the season on Sunday night and can't wait to post the box score and recap.

[jshrolltide]

You might try emailing [email protected], but I don't know if it'll work. After I signed up, I couldn't post new threads at first, so I emailed them to ask why I couldn't, but they never emailed back. Maybe you'll get lucky though! I hope so, I'm really enjoying this dynasty.

[thoro_headz]

Week 1
Cincinnati Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens
M & T Bank Stadium, 1:00 PM EST

Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens
Sep 7, 2008 1 2 3 4 F CIN (0-1) 0 0 7 0 7 BAL (1-0) 0 3 0 17 20 Top Performers PASS: C. Palmer - 183 Yds, TD, 3 INT RUSH: R. Rice - 62 Yds, 2 TD REC: E. Doucet - 88 Yds, TD	Team Stats Comparison CIN BAL First Downs 8 18 3rd Down Efficiency 5/11 2/10 4th Down Efficiency 0/0 0/0 Total Yards 335 357 Passing Yards 169 163 Rushing Yards 34 109 Penalties-Penalty Yards 3-27 6-65 Turnovers 4 0 Time of Possession 21:36 38:20
Scoring Summary SECOND QUARTER SCORING CIN BAL 3:59 (BAL) FG: Matt Stover, 38 Yd 0 3 THIRD QUARTER SCORING CIN BAL 8:23 (CIN) TD: Early Doucet, 64 Yd pass from Carson Palmer (Shayne Graham kick) 7 3 FOURTH QUARTER SCORING CIN BAL 14:00 (BAL) TD: Ray Rice, 1 Yd run (Matt Stover kick) 7 10 4:48 (BAL) TD: Ray Rice, 4 Yd run (Matt Stover kick) 7 17 3:00 (BAL) FG: Matt Stover, 27 Yd 7 20
Cincinnati Bengals PASSING C/A YDS TD INT C. Palmer 10/25 183 1 3 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD R. Johnson 15 32 2.1 0 C. Palmer 1 2 2.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD C. Johnson 5 70 14.0 0 E. Doucet 3 88 29.3 1 T. Houshmandzadeh 2 25 12.5 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK J. Johnson 1 0 I. Blake 0 1 E. Ghiaciuc 0 1 L. Jones 0 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD C. Pace 8 0 0 0 M. White 8 0 0 0 A. Brooks 7 0 0 0 J. Thomas 6 0 0 0 J. Smith 5 0 0 0 R. Manning 5 0 0 0 R. Gay 5 0 0 0 G. Dorsey 5 0 0 0 D. Klecko 4 0 0 0 O. Ruff 3 0 0 0 L. Hall 3 0 0 0 N. Ndukwe 2 0 0 0 R. Boiman 2 0 0 0 J. Joseph 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LG S. Graham 0/0 1/1 1 PUNTING TOT YDS AVG -20 D. Zastudil 5 212 42.4 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD L. Hall 4 80 20.0 0 R. Gay 1 25 25.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD R. Gay 4 27 6.7 Baltimore Ravens PASSING C/A YDS TD INT T. Smith 15/22 163 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD R. Rice 18 62 3.4 2 W. McGahee 9 29 3.2 0 M. Pittman 6 9 1.5 0 T. Smith 4 9 2.2 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD M. Clayton 5 71 14.2 0 D. Williams 3 37 12.3 0 T. Heap 2 21 10.5 0 L McClain 2 9 4.5 0 D. Mason 2 16 8.0 0 R. Rice 1 9 9.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK M. Flynn 2 0 L. McClain 1 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD R. Lewis 6 1 2 0 J. Johnson 5 0 0 0 C. McAlister 4 0 1 0 A. Barnes 4 0 0 0 D. Landry 4 0 0 0 H. Ngata 3 1 0 0 K. Gregg 3 1 0 0 P. Burgess 2 0 0 0 T. Suggs 2 0 0 0 D. Cody 2 0 0 0 A. Rubin 1 0 0 0 L. McKelvin 1 0 0 0 D. Edwards 1 0 0 0 E. Reed 1 0 0 0 T. Pryce 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LG M. Stover 2/2 2/2 8 39 PUNTING TOT YDS AVG -20 S. Koch 6 236 39.3 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD M. Clayton 1 28 28.0 0 Y. Figurs 1 40 40.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD L. McKelvin 3 17 5.7 0

The Ravens began their 2008 campaign at home against their toughest AFC North foe, the Cincinnati Bengals. In the second quarter, Baltimore opened the scoring with K Matt Stover connecting on a 39-yeard field goal after a dropped pass by WR Mark Clayton on third down. In the third quarter, the Bengals responded with a short pass across the middle from QB Carson Palmer to WR Early Doucet that the rookie took 64 yards for a touchdown. The Ravens regained the lead in the fourth quarter with a 1-yard TD plunge by rookie RB Ray Rice after a pass interference call against Bengals’ CB Randall Gay in the end zone. Baltimore increased their lead after a 63-yard interception return by LB ray Lewis. The turnover resulted in the second TD run of the day for RB Ray Rice from 4 yards out. After another Bengals turnover, a fumble forced by LB Antwan Barnes and recovered by LB Jarret Johnson, Matt Stover converted a 27-yard field goal.

With the win, the Ravens began their season at 1–0.

Ray Rice, in his rookie debut, carried the ball 18 times for 62 yards and scored 2 touchdowns. He also caught a pass for 9 yards. With the injury to Willis McGahee, the rookie could be in line for more playing time as the lead back.

[thoro_headz]

Winners and Losers from Ravens win over the Bengals in Week 1

Winners
Troy Smith: Smith didn't complete his first pass until the final minute of the first quarter and finished the half with an underwhelming line of 6/12 for 71 yards. His ineffectiveness contributed to the offenses lack of a single third down conversion. Something must have clicked during overtime, because Smith was nearly flawless for the rest of the game. While he didn't set the world on fire, he did connect on 9 of his 10 second half attempts. He also spread the ball around, completing passes to five different receivers. The offense was able to convert on 2 of its 5 third down attempts in the second half.

Ray Rice: Thrust into duty after the McGahee's injury, early in the second quarter, the rookie back out of Rutgers splashed on the scene with his first carry going for 10 yards. He only saw one other carry in the quarter that went for a single yard. Like the rest of the offense, Rice came alive in the second half. He carried the ball 16 times for 51 yards and showed his toughness scoring twice in goal to go situations.

Jonathan Ogden: Ogden had the unenviable task to being matched up against all-pro DE Justin Smith all game. Ogden dominated the matchup, not allowing a single sack.

Kelly Gregg: The addition of rookie DT Ahtyba Rubin saw Gregg lose snaps in the Ravens 3-4 personnel groups. That reduction in playing time may have been a blessing in disguise as Gregg made an impact in the 4-3 and 46 looks. The veteran had a sack and 3 hurries by the end of the first half. His pressure was key to keeping Carson Palmer from getting comfortable and picking apart the secondary.

Antwan Barnes: In his first NFL start, subbing the injured LB Bart Scott, Barnes came up huge in the fourth quarter. With 4:37 left in the game, Barnes forced a fumble that was recovered by LB Jarret Johnson at Cincinatti's 32-yard line. The turnover effectively ended the game.

Ray Lewis: Ray Lewis showed that he still had plenty left in the tank, racking up 6 tackles, a sack, and 2 interceptions. His interception and 63-yard return with 6:43 left in the fourth quarter was huge in turning giving Baltimore the momentum for the rest of the game.

Losers
Willis McGahee: Not to kick a man while he's down, but Willis McGahee was largely ineffective prior to his injury. He carried the ball 9 times for only 29 yards and fumbled.

Marshal Yanda: It's hard picking on any member of an offensive line that allowed no sacks and only 5 hurries but Yanda has to be called out for his holding penalties. Yanda was penalized for holding DT Glenn Dorsey twice. One of those penalties erased a third down conversion in the third quarter, setting 3rd & 18 from the CIN 40.

Ben Grubbs: On the following play, Grubbs was called for holding Dorsey, creating a 3rd & 28 situation from the 50 yard line.

[thoro_headz]

Week 1 Scoreboard
Thursday's Games	Hi Passing	Hi Rushing	Hi Receiving
NY Giants 42, Washington Redskins 13	E. Manning 246 Yds, 3 TD	A. Bradshaw 59 Yds, TD	A. Randle El 132 Yds, TD
Sunday's Games	Hi Passing	Hi Rushing	Hi Receiving
Baltimore Ravens 20, Cincinnati Bengals 7	C. Palmer 183 Yds, TD	R. Rice 62 Yds, 2 TD	E. Doucet 88, TD
NY Jets 13, Miami Dolphins 10	M. Ryan 122 Yds	R. Brown 89 Yds, TD	D. Stallworth 69 Yds
New England Patriots 41, Kansas City Chiefs 18	T. Brady 322, 5 TD	L. Maroney 59 Yds	D. Bowe 129 Yds
Houston Texans 24, Pittsburgh Steelers 21	M. Schaub 209 Yds, 2 TD	W. Parker 101 Yds, TD	A. Johnson 165 Yds, 2 TD
Tennessee Titans 20, Jacksonville Jaguars 17 (OT)	V. Young 206 Yds, TD	M. Jones-Drew 97 Yds, TD	J. Gage 77 Yds
Atlanta Falcons 24, Detroit Lions 21 (OT)	J. Kitna 120 Yds, 3 TD	D. McFadden 132 Yds	R. Williams 42 Yds, TD
Buffalo Bills 23, Seattle Seahawks 15	M. Hasselbeck 245 Yds, 2 TD	M. Lynch 87 Yds, TD	D. Branch 88 Yds
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24, New Orleans Saints 17	D. Brees 351 Yds, 2 TD	M. Turner 63 Yds, TD	J. Galloway 120 Yds, 2 TD
St. Louis Rams 28, Philadelphia Eagles 21	M. Bulger 237 Yds, 3 TD	B. Leonard 90 Yds	D. Avery 187 Yds, 2 TD
Dallas Cowboys 38, Cleveland Browns 35	D. Anderson 361 Yds, 5 TD	J. Lewis 81 yds	B. Edwards 159 Yds, 2 TD
San Diego Chargers 31, Carolina Panthers 24	M. Moore 301 Yds, 3 TD	L. Tomlinson 74 Yds	K. McCardell 166 Yds, 2 TD
San Francisco 49ers 24, Arizona Cardinals 17	A. Smith 280 Yds, 2 TD	E. James 108 Yds	D. Hackett 118 Yds, TD
Indianapolis Colts 37, Chicago Bears 0	P. Manning 278 Yds, 2 TD	D. Dexter 57 Yds	R. Wayne 166 Yds
Monday's Games	Hi Passing	Hi Rushing	Hi Receiving
Minnesota Vikings 28, Green Bay Packers 7	T. Jackson 229 Yds, 3 TD	R. Grant 93 yds	C. Taylor 92 Yds, 2 TD
Denver Broncos 17, Oakland Raiders 16	J. Cutler 186 Yds, 2 TD	J. Fargas 87 Yds	B. Marshall 64 Yds, TD

NFL Standings - Updated: Sep 9, 2008
NFC EAST	W	L	T	PF	PA
NY Giants	1	0	0	42	13
Dallas Cowboys	1	0	0	38	35
Philadelphia Eagles	0	1	0	21	28
Washington Redskins	0	1	0	13	42
NFC NORTH	W	L	T	PF	PA
Minnesota Vikings	1	0	0	28	7
Detroit Lions	0	1	0	21	24
Chicago Bears	0	1	0	0	37
Green Bay Packers	0	1	0	7	28
NFC SOUTH	W	L	T	PF	PA
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1	0	0	24	17
Atlanta Falcons	1	0	0	24	21
Carolina Panthers	0	1	0	24	31
New Orleans Saints	0	1	0	17	24
NFC WEST	W	L	T	PF	PA
San Francisco 49ers	1	0	0	24	17
St. Louis Rams	1	0	0	28	21
Seattle Seahawks	0	1	0	15	23
Arizona Cardinals	0	1	0	17	24
AFC EAST	W	L	T	PF	PA
NY Jets	1	0	0	13	10
New England Patriots	1	0	0	41	18
Buffalo Bills	1	0	0	23	15
Miami Dolphins	0	1	0	10	13
AFC NORTH	W	L	T	PF	PA
Baltimore Ravens	1	0	0	20	7
Cleveland Browns	0	1	0	35	38
Pittsburgh Steelers	0	1	0	21	24
Cincinnati Bengals	0	1	0	7	20
AFC SOUTH	W	L	T	PF	PA
Tennessee Titans	1	0	0	20	17
Houston Texans	1	0	0	24	21
Indianapolis Colts	1	0	0	37	20
Jacksonville Jaguars	0	1	0	17	20
AFC WEST	W	L	T	PF	PA
Denver Broncos	1	0	0	17	16
San Diego Chargers	1	0	0	31	24
Kansas City Chiefs	0	1	0	18	41
Oakland Raiders	0	1	0	16	17

[thoro_headz]

McGahee out with Strained Hamstring

Starting HB Willis McGahee will miss 4-6 weeks with a strained hamstring. McGahee suffered the injury early in the second quarter of the Ravens season opener against the Bengals. The injury moves rookie HB Ray Rice into the staring lineup. He proved to be a capable fill-in after McGahee's injury against the Bengals, gaining 62 yards on the ground and scoring 2 touchdowns. He will be spelled by veteran HB Michael Pittman. Pittman, a solid receiver out of the backfield, is expected to take over third-down responsibilities.

NFL Injury Report
Pos	Player	Injury Note
LE	Jevon Kearse (PHI)	Torn ACL, 1-3 months
DT	Corey Williams (CLE)	Mild Pulled Hamstring, 1-3 weeks
LB	Ernie Sims (DET)	Broken Arm, 1-3 weeks

[Wheeler Dealer]

I've enjoyed reading your thread. It looks like a lot of work, but it's definitely worth it to all of us who don't have to do the work!

Quote: Originally Posted by thoro_headz

GM initiates and negotiates all trades with head coach's consent GM negotiates all contracts with head coach's consent GM signs free agents during the season GM signs undrafted rookies GM does all regular season scouting

If it's not too much of a diversion I have some questions about your house rules.

How do you get the GM to do all that, particularly, signing free agents during the season.

Do you sign free agents prior to the regular season?

What do you mean, "....with head coach's consent."

Quote: Originally Posted by thoro_headz

No special skills for assistant coaches

Why do you do that?

Quote: Originally Posted by thoro_headz

All field goals and punts will be supersimmed

Again, why?

Doesn't that basically cancel the special team sliders?

Thanks again, great thread!