Post by TheShadow on Dec 15, 2003 19:34:27 GMT -5
www.oaklandtribune.com
By Jerry McDonald, STAFF WRITER
OAKLAND -- The Baltimore Ravens, who strayed from conventional wisdom by starting a rookie quarterback and then again by replacing him with the third-stringer instead of No.2, went their own way again Sunday.
This time, it cost them.
At times when it seemed the best course of action was simply to give the ball to halfback Jamal Lewis, the Ravens did otherwise. Lewis finished with 125 yards rushing on 24 carries, but it seemed as if he could have done much more if given the chance.
Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson thought Baltimore may have been guilty of thinking too much.
"Coming in, we knew they were going to run the ball," Woodson said. "I think they tried to catch us off-guard, knowing we were going to try and stop the run. You try to get a little fancy sometimes and then you don't go to your bread and butter. We were surprised by it, but at the same time you've got to be ready for anything."
Lewis, the NFL's leading rusher with1,746 yards, hinted Baltimore had gotten away from what it does best.
"We didn't play Ravens football today," Lewis said. "In the third quarter we got aggressive with them and started going downhill at them and started playing our style. Early on, I think we were kind of soft with them."
Two examples of Baltimore's desertion of Lewis:
On third-and-2 at the Oakland 42, Baltimore had quarterback Anthony Wright roll to his right, where he threw incomplete to Travis Taylor, forcing a punt.
After scoring a touchdown on a 13-yard Wright to Todd Heap pass late in the third quarter, Baltimore elected to go for two points. While Lewis remained on the Baltimore sideline, back Chester Taylor ran into the line and was stopped short.
Run-dependent Baltimore had 12 third down plays Sunday and not once did they get the ball to Lewis.
Ten times, they passed including one third-and-1, two third-and-2s, one third-and-3 and one third-and-4. Since Lewis equalled his season average of 5.2 yards a carry, those five plays constituted a shock.
Raiders linebacker Napoleon Harris tried not to get involved in the play-calling.
"I'm not the coach. I don't script the plays," Harris said. "We have to react to what they do. We can't go out there and think, 'They're going to run on this play or pass on this play.' You have to respond to whatever they put out there."
CONTROLLING RAY: Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis, the frontrunner for the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year award, led the Ravens with eight tackles but did not have his typically dominating game.
Lewis was playing with an injured shoulder, and Oakland players discovered early on he wasn't at full strength.
"Ray likes to run sideline-to-sideline, but with him being banged up he wasn't taking on blocks," center Adam Treu said. "But he's a great player. All week, watching him on film it's just amazing to see how many tackles he gets in on."
Harris, who had a bigger defensive day based on his forced fumble, was impressed with Lewis but not awed.
"Like (Lewis) has said, he's an entertainer," Harris said. "There's a lot of plays he was in on, a lot he wasn't. He's a pretty good linebacker. I thought I played pretty good myself."
CROWD COUNT: Sunday's crowd of 45,398 was the first sub-50,000 attendance since Dec.2, 2001, when 46,601 showed up to watch a 34-31 overtime loss to Arizona.
It was Oakland's smallest home crowd since drawing 41,409 on Nov.29, 1998, a 29-19 loss to the Washington Redskins.
The crowd aside, Oakland is now over .500 at home with a 4-3 record.
"Having the 12th man definitely plays to your advantage," safety Anthony Dorsett said. "We're not selling out any games, but the people who are coming to the games help us out a whole lot. This is one of the hardest places to play and every team coming in knows that."
The Raiders host Green Bay next Monday night. All five Monday night home games since the club returned in 1995 have been televised locally.
SHANE'S NEAR COMPLETION: Punter Shane Lechler nearly had the first pass completion of his career after dropping a snap from Treu and recovering to fire a 14-yard pass to Chris Hetherington for a first down on fourth-and-1.
"I kind of heard the crowd's reaction and turned around and Shane was fumbling for the ball," Hetherington said. "He saw me and threw it and it worked out. ... I knew it was kind of an iffy play, that guys would assume the ball was punted."
Indeed, Treu was called for being illegally downfield, believing Lechler had kicked the ball, and he wasn't the only Raider guilty of the foul.
The completion appeared to be a break for the Raiders, who got a chance to punt again instead of having Baltimore take over deep in Oakland territory.
Baltimore's Lamont Brightful returned Lechler's 47-yard punt 28 yards to the Oakland 49, and the Ravens drove for their lone touchdown of the game.
THE MOUTH THAT SNORED: The Ravens spent much of the day trash talking at the Raiders. Some didn't like it. Others didn't mind.
"Baltimore likes to talk and likes to dance and all that stuff," Raiders tackle Chris Cooper said. "That just gives us another edge -- (to) stop that dancing and all that talking and just put a smack on them. I think we did."
Fullback Zack Crockett just smiled when the smack talk was pointed out.
"Oh no, I'm never offended," the Florida State product said. "My college roommate was on the team (cornerback Corey Fuller). (Peter) Boulware was a teammate. Ray Lewis played at Miami. Me and Ray chatted it up a little bit out there. We just had fun out there today."
"It's all good," said Raiders receiver Tim Brown. "It's football. It's how they play the game. But they can really keep a lot of teams in it by doing that talking. I think if they would just play ball, they could probably run some teams out of the stadium."
STREAK ENDS: The Raiders' streak of four straight games with at least 100 yards rushing ended when the Ravens held them to 79 yards on 31 carries for a 2.5 average.
The Raiders had averaged 161.5 yards on the ground over the past month. It was the first time this year the Raiders won a game in which they did not gain at least 100 yards (they are 1-4 in such games).
Meanwhile, the Ravens became the 12th of 14 opponents to exceed the century mark on the ground -- 149 yards in 31 carries.
AFTER FURTHER REVIEW: Billick has been one of the league's most outspoken critics of the instant replay system and Sunday's events likely won't change that.
Billick challenged a call in the third quarter that Taylor was not across the goal line on a two-point conversion attempt. Taylor clearly reached out and put the ball into the end zone, but referee Ed Hochuli said he was unable to tell from replays whether Taylor was down before the ball crossed the plane. As a result, the try was no good and Oakland led 17-12.
"Instant replay, again, a lot of money spent on a system that comes away inconclusive," Billick said.
EXTRA POINTS: RB Charlie Garner returned from Norfolk, Va., after missing two days of practice tending to a personal matter. He had seven carries for 29 yards and four receptions for 41 yards. His best play was a 25-yard reception on a ball Mirer threw behind him. ... DT Dana Stubblefield missed the game to tend to a personal matter. DT Terdell Sands was active for the first time, started the game at defensive tackle and made one tackle. ... Oakland scored on its first two drives for the first time since a win over Cincinnati in Week 2. In gaining a 10-0 lead over the Bengals, the Raiders' two drives totaled 76 yards. The two drives against Baltimore gained a yard. ... PR Phillip Buchanon had a rough day on returns, losing two yards on four returns. ... PK Sebastian Janikowski has made 30 consecutive field goal attempts from 45 yards and in. ... Officials whiffed on an apparent facemask by Crockett against Ed Reed on a punt attempt, initially calling the penalty on No.32 of Baltimore, Musa Smith. (Crockett is No.32). Instead of fixing the error, the officials said there was no foul on the play. Crockett was guilty of the same foul later in the game but did not get away with it.
Lewis went over the 100-yard barrier for the 10th time this season. He needs 358 yards in his final two games to tie Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards. ... Baltimore kicker Matt Stover booted two field goals to pass Lou Groza for 17th place on the NFL's all-time scoring list. Stover has1,352 points in his career.
Staff writers Bill Soliday and David Schoen contributed to this report.
By Jerry McDonald, STAFF WRITER
OAKLAND -- The Baltimore Ravens, who strayed from conventional wisdom by starting a rookie quarterback and then again by replacing him with the third-stringer instead of No.2, went their own way again Sunday.
This time, it cost them.
At times when it seemed the best course of action was simply to give the ball to halfback Jamal Lewis, the Ravens did otherwise. Lewis finished with 125 yards rushing on 24 carries, but it seemed as if he could have done much more if given the chance.
Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson thought Baltimore may have been guilty of thinking too much.
"Coming in, we knew they were going to run the ball," Woodson said. "I think they tried to catch us off-guard, knowing we were going to try and stop the run. You try to get a little fancy sometimes and then you don't go to your bread and butter. We were surprised by it, but at the same time you've got to be ready for anything."
Lewis, the NFL's leading rusher with1,746 yards, hinted Baltimore had gotten away from what it does best.
"We didn't play Ravens football today," Lewis said. "In the third quarter we got aggressive with them and started going downhill at them and started playing our style. Early on, I think we were kind of soft with them."
Two examples of Baltimore's desertion of Lewis:
On third-and-2 at the Oakland 42, Baltimore had quarterback Anthony Wright roll to his right, where he threw incomplete to Travis Taylor, forcing a punt.
After scoring a touchdown on a 13-yard Wright to Todd Heap pass late in the third quarter, Baltimore elected to go for two points. While Lewis remained on the Baltimore sideline, back Chester Taylor ran into the line and was stopped short.
Run-dependent Baltimore had 12 third down plays Sunday and not once did they get the ball to Lewis.
Ten times, they passed including one third-and-1, two third-and-2s, one third-and-3 and one third-and-4. Since Lewis equalled his season average of 5.2 yards a carry, those five plays constituted a shock.
Raiders linebacker Napoleon Harris tried not to get involved in the play-calling.
"I'm not the coach. I don't script the plays," Harris said. "We have to react to what they do. We can't go out there and think, 'They're going to run on this play or pass on this play.' You have to respond to whatever they put out there."
CONTROLLING RAY: Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis, the frontrunner for the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year award, led the Ravens with eight tackles but did not have his typically dominating game.
Lewis was playing with an injured shoulder, and Oakland players discovered early on he wasn't at full strength.
"Ray likes to run sideline-to-sideline, but with him being banged up he wasn't taking on blocks," center Adam Treu said. "But he's a great player. All week, watching him on film it's just amazing to see how many tackles he gets in on."
Harris, who had a bigger defensive day based on his forced fumble, was impressed with Lewis but not awed.
"Like (Lewis) has said, he's an entertainer," Harris said. "There's a lot of plays he was in on, a lot he wasn't. He's a pretty good linebacker. I thought I played pretty good myself."
CROWD COUNT: Sunday's crowd of 45,398 was the first sub-50,000 attendance since Dec.2, 2001, when 46,601 showed up to watch a 34-31 overtime loss to Arizona.
It was Oakland's smallest home crowd since drawing 41,409 on Nov.29, 1998, a 29-19 loss to the Washington Redskins.
The crowd aside, Oakland is now over .500 at home with a 4-3 record.
"Having the 12th man definitely plays to your advantage," safety Anthony Dorsett said. "We're not selling out any games, but the people who are coming to the games help us out a whole lot. This is one of the hardest places to play and every team coming in knows that."
The Raiders host Green Bay next Monday night. All five Monday night home games since the club returned in 1995 have been televised locally.
SHANE'S NEAR COMPLETION: Punter Shane Lechler nearly had the first pass completion of his career after dropping a snap from Treu and recovering to fire a 14-yard pass to Chris Hetherington for a first down on fourth-and-1.
"I kind of heard the crowd's reaction and turned around and Shane was fumbling for the ball," Hetherington said. "He saw me and threw it and it worked out. ... I knew it was kind of an iffy play, that guys would assume the ball was punted."
Indeed, Treu was called for being illegally downfield, believing Lechler had kicked the ball, and he wasn't the only Raider guilty of the foul.
The completion appeared to be a break for the Raiders, who got a chance to punt again instead of having Baltimore take over deep in Oakland territory.
Baltimore's Lamont Brightful returned Lechler's 47-yard punt 28 yards to the Oakland 49, and the Ravens drove for their lone touchdown of the game.
THE MOUTH THAT SNORED: The Ravens spent much of the day trash talking at the Raiders. Some didn't like it. Others didn't mind.
"Baltimore likes to talk and likes to dance and all that stuff," Raiders tackle Chris Cooper said. "That just gives us another edge -- (to) stop that dancing and all that talking and just put a smack on them. I think we did."
Fullback Zack Crockett just smiled when the smack talk was pointed out.
"Oh no, I'm never offended," the Florida State product said. "My college roommate was on the team (cornerback Corey Fuller). (Peter) Boulware was a teammate. Ray Lewis played at Miami. Me and Ray chatted it up a little bit out there. We just had fun out there today."
"It's all good," said Raiders receiver Tim Brown. "It's football. It's how they play the game. But they can really keep a lot of teams in it by doing that talking. I think if they would just play ball, they could probably run some teams out of the stadium."
STREAK ENDS: The Raiders' streak of four straight games with at least 100 yards rushing ended when the Ravens held them to 79 yards on 31 carries for a 2.5 average.
The Raiders had averaged 161.5 yards on the ground over the past month. It was the first time this year the Raiders won a game in which they did not gain at least 100 yards (they are 1-4 in such games).
Meanwhile, the Ravens became the 12th of 14 opponents to exceed the century mark on the ground -- 149 yards in 31 carries.
AFTER FURTHER REVIEW: Billick has been one of the league's most outspoken critics of the instant replay system and Sunday's events likely won't change that.
Billick challenged a call in the third quarter that Taylor was not across the goal line on a two-point conversion attempt. Taylor clearly reached out and put the ball into the end zone, but referee Ed Hochuli said he was unable to tell from replays whether Taylor was down before the ball crossed the plane. As a result, the try was no good and Oakland led 17-12.
"Instant replay, again, a lot of money spent on a system that comes away inconclusive," Billick said.
EXTRA POINTS: RB Charlie Garner returned from Norfolk, Va., after missing two days of practice tending to a personal matter. He had seven carries for 29 yards and four receptions for 41 yards. His best play was a 25-yard reception on a ball Mirer threw behind him. ... DT Dana Stubblefield missed the game to tend to a personal matter. DT Terdell Sands was active for the first time, started the game at defensive tackle and made one tackle. ... Oakland scored on its first two drives for the first time since a win over Cincinnati in Week 2. In gaining a 10-0 lead over the Bengals, the Raiders' two drives totaled 76 yards. The two drives against Baltimore gained a yard. ... PR Phillip Buchanon had a rough day on returns, losing two yards on four returns. ... PK Sebastian Janikowski has made 30 consecutive field goal attempts from 45 yards and in. ... Officials whiffed on an apparent facemask by Crockett against Ed Reed on a punt attempt, initially calling the penalty on No.32 of Baltimore, Musa Smith. (Crockett is No.32). Instead of fixing the error, the officials said there was no foul on the play. Crockett was guilty of the same foul later in the game but did not get away with it.
Lewis went over the 100-yard barrier for the 10th time this season. He needs 358 yards in his final two games to tie Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards. ... Baltimore kicker Matt Stover booted two field goals to pass Lou Groza for 17th place on the NFL's all-time scoring list. Stover has1,352 points in his career.
Staff writers Bill Soliday and David Schoen contributed to this report.