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The Ravens' lapses in the secondary are becoming a primary concern.
A unit revamped in the offseason to feature speed and smarts is being targeted by opposing quarterbacks. The latest example occurred Sunday when Carson Palmer registered 271 passing yards and the game-winning 20-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Andre Caldwell to propel the Cincinnati Bengals to a 17-14 upset of the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.
But cornerback Domonique Foxworth said it's too early to panic.
"We have to stick to what got us here, go back, and get better," he said. "It's not time to throw out the whole package based on what happened [Sunday]. I mean, it's important that we work hard and stay humble."
Humility shouldn't be a problem as the defense has surrendered at least 230 passing yards in three games, two of which have resulted in losses to the New England Patriots and Bengals. Six of opposing offenses' nine touchdowns has occurred through the air.
The problems are a little unusual for the Ravens, who have ranked in the top 10 against the pass in five of the last six seasons. Coach John Harbaugh said Monday that his faith in the secondary has not wavered.
"I think our coverage overall -- even though we've had some plays against us -- has been really good," he said. "It's been really aggressive. There's a penalty here, they make a play there, all of that stuff happens. But we're not changing the way we're playing. We're very aggressive in the coverage part of it. So from a coaches' and players' perspective, we're good with that."
On the Bengals' game-winning drive, Palmer completed 4-of-10 passes for 49 yards. As much as that series was aided by three defensive penalties, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata said the entire unit could have made life easier for the secondary.
"He did a great job of finding the open guys, and we didn't get enough pressure," Ngata said. "As a defensive line, we've got to work that in and play better next week."
Ochocinco says not to fine R. Lewis
The Ravens don't expect "any repercussions" on linebacker Ray Lewis' helmet-to-helmet hit on Cincinnati receiver Chad Ochocinco.
"Watching it on TV, I think it was in the strike zone [which is below the neck and above the knees]," Harbaugh said. "But I'm sure that is something [the NFL] will take look at and we'll find nd see. As far as the game, that's a tough call to make either way."
The NFL has used harsh discipline before on a helmet-to-helmet collision. Last September, New York Jets safety Eric Smith was suspended one game and fined $50,000 for hitting Anquan Boldin, causing the Arizona Cardinals wide receiver to be hospitalized. In handing out the discipline, the NFL announced it was a "flagrant violation of player safety rules."
Ochocinco appealed -- via Twitter -- to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to avoid punishing Lewis, writing, "please don't fine Ray Lewis Mr. Roger Goodell, it was a clean hit, it's part of the game, save the fines for me."
Harbaugh addresses running backs
After Sunday's loss, running back Willis McGahee expressed surprise at his one-carry, one-catch outing against the Bengals.
On Monday, Harbaugh assured McGahee, fullback Le'Ron McClain and anyone else listening that the pair and Ray Rice are still valued members of the offense.
"They were supportive of Ray, but those guys want to play, too," Harbaugh said. "We've got three guys. It's hard to get them all in there at the same time. We could run the wishbone, I guess, but they're going to be in there, and we're going to use all those guys."
Ravens dispute spot after fumble
Harbaugh said the team planned to submit film of the officials' seemingly incorrect spot of the ball after Mark Clayton's disputed fumble in the second quarter. After a Cincinnati challenge of a down-by-contact call was denied, officials spotted the football at the Ravens' 20 instead of the 25, which was where the play had been whistled down.
"We started at the 21, the play went to the 25, that's where the ruling was made, and then we got the ball back at the 20," Harbaugh said. "And then they had a penalty. It would have ended up being third-and-5 instead of third-and-10. That was something we'll send in. I'm sure they'll say they messed up on it, and it was unfortunate, I guess, that in all the chaos, nobody caught it."
Notes: Offensive tackle Jared Gaither is making progress from the neck injury that sidelined him for Sunday's game. "We think he's got a real good chance. We'll see," Harbaugh said. "He's a lot better now than he was going into the game on Sunday." Â… There is no update regarding the status of cornerback Samari Rolle, who is close to coming off the physically-unable-to-perform list after undergoing surgery to repair a bulging disc in his neck in the offseason. "I saw him in the building today, and that will be a report from the doctors that we will look forward to get," Harbaugh said. "So we'll see how he's doing." Â… Harbaugh was just as mystified about the illegal formation penalty assessed to defensive end Trevor Pryce for apparently lining up over Cincinnati long snapper Brad St. Louis on an extra-point attempt. "We know it's a rule, and I haven't seen it called," Harbaugh said. "And we're very vigilant about the way we line up over the center." Â… Harbaugh said Chris Carr and Lardarius Webb were both on the field for the final kickoff with Webb playing the short field in the event Cincinnati squib-kicked the ball. "We were kind of expecting a squib kick," Harbaugh said. "We had those two guys position for the type of kick we expected, and they kicked it away." Â… Free agent wide receivers David Tyree and Ronald Curry tried out for the Ravens Monday. Â… Harbaugh declined to take the bait when asked if the Bengals defense looked much improved. "How much better the Bengals are, what do we care?" he said. "The Bengals were good enough to beat us on Sunday, and we weren't good enough to score enough points to beat them." Staff writer Jamison Hensley contributed to this article.
A unit revamped in the offseason to feature speed and smarts is being targeted by opposing quarterbacks. The latest example occurred Sunday when Carson Palmer registered 271 passing yards and the game-winning 20-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Andre Caldwell to propel the Cincinnati Bengals to a 17-14 upset of the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.
But cornerback Domonique Foxworth said it's too early to panic.
"We have to stick to what got us here, go back, and get better," he said. "It's not time to throw out the whole package based on what happened [Sunday]. I mean, it's important that we work hard and stay humble."
Humility shouldn't be a problem as the defense has surrendered at least 230 passing yards in three games, two of which have resulted in losses to the New England Patriots and Bengals. Six of opposing offenses' nine touchdowns has occurred through the air.
The problems are a little unusual for the Ravens, who have ranked in the top 10 against the pass in five of the last six seasons. Coach John Harbaugh said Monday that his faith in the secondary has not wavered.
"I think our coverage overall -- even though we've had some plays against us -- has been really good," he said. "It's been really aggressive. There's a penalty here, they make a play there, all of that stuff happens. But we're not changing the way we're playing. We're very aggressive in the coverage part of it. So from a coaches' and players' perspective, we're good with that."
On the Bengals' game-winning drive, Palmer completed 4-of-10 passes for 49 yards. As much as that series was aided by three defensive penalties, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata said the entire unit could have made life easier for the secondary.
"He did a great job of finding the open guys, and we didn't get enough pressure," Ngata said. "As a defensive line, we've got to work that in and play better next week."
Ochocinco says not to fine R. Lewis
The Ravens don't expect "any repercussions" on linebacker Ray Lewis' helmet-to-helmet hit on Cincinnati receiver Chad Ochocinco.
"Watching it on TV, I think it was in the strike zone [which is below the neck and above the knees]," Harbaugh said. "But I'm sure that is something [the NFL] will take look at and we'll find nd see. As far as the game, that's a tough call to make either way."
The NFL has used harsh discipline before on a helmet-to-helmet collision. Last September, New York Jets safety Eric Smith was suspended one game and fined $50,000 for hitting Anquan Boldin, causing the Arizona Cardinals wide receiver to be hospitalized. In handing out the discipline, the NFL announced it was a "flagrant violation of player safety rules."
Ochocinco appealed -- via Twitter -- to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to avoid punishing Lewis, writing, "please don't fine Ray Lewis Mr. Roger Goodell, it was a clean hit, it's part of the game, save the fines for me."
Harbaugh addresses running backs
After Sunday's loss, running back Willis McGahee expressed surprise at his one-carry, one-catch outing against the Bengals.
On Monday, Harbaugh assured McGahee, fullback Le'Ron McClain and anyone else listening that the pair and Ray Rice are still valued members of the offense.
"They were supportive of Ray, but those guys want to play, too," Harbaugh said. "We've got three guys. It's hard to get them all in there at the same time. We could run the wishbone, I guess, but they're going to be in there, and we're going to use all those guys."
Ravens dispute spot after fumble
Harbaugh said the team planned to submit film of the officials' seemingly incorrect spot of the ball after Mark Clayton's disputed fumble in the second quarter. After a Cincinnati challenge of a down-by-contact call was denied, officials spotted the football at the Ravens' 20 instead of the 25, which was where the play had been whistled down.
"We started at the 21, the play went to the 25, that's where the ruling was made, and then we got the ball back at the 20," Harbaugh said. "And then they had a penalty. It would have ended up being third-and-5 instead of third-and-10. That was something we'll send in. I'm sure they'll say they messed up on it, and it was unfortunate, I guess, that in all the chaos, nobody caught it."
Notes: Offensive tackle Jared Gaither is making progress from the neck injury that sidelined him for Sunday's game. "We think he's got a real good chance. We'll see," Harbaugh said. "He's a lot better now than he was going into the game on Sunday." Â… There is no update regarding the status of cornerback Samari Rolle, who is close to coming off the physically-unable-to-perform list after undergoing surgery to repair a bulging disc in his neck in the offseason. "I saw him in the building today, and that will be a report from the doctors that we will look forward to get," Harbaugh said. "So we'll see how he's doing." Â… Harbaugh was just as mystified about the illegal formation penalty assessed to defensive end Trevor Pryce for apparently lining up over Cincinnati long snapper Brad St. Louis on an extra-point attempt. "We know it's a rule, and I haven't seen it called," Harbaugh said. "And we're very vigilant about the way we line up over the center." Â… Harbaugh said Chris Carr and Lardarius Webb were both on the field for the final kickoff with Webb playing the short field in the event Cincinnati squib-kicked the ball. "We were kind of expecting a squib kick," Harbaugh said. "We had those two guys position for the type of kick we expected, and they kicked it away." Â… Free agent wide receivers David Tyree and Ronald Curry tried out for the Ravens Monday. Â… Harbaugh declined to take the bait when asked if the Bengals defense looked much improved. "How much better the Bengals are, what do we care?" he said. "The Bengals were good enough to beat us on Sunday, and we weren't good enough to score enough points to beat them." Staff writer Jamison Hensley contributed to this article.
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I'm wondering how fats boys who have not played the game at this level, or boys who donot understand the game or have a clue about the game have the right to challenge how players play. I mean I played high school ball and was a standout player, but I have no clue about what it takes to be a professional football player. I respect what these guys do and they bust their tail at the game. I hear simple boys talking about players being stupid for hitting, then the simple boys come back and say we don't hit enough. Fickle fans are lost and do not know the game. Even simple people like Mike Preston who has never played as this level, and is one hotdog from falling down has the nerve to talk down playes. I think Preston talks just to conjure stuff. He can't be serious. Go Ravens!!!!
ncheel1 (10/14/2009, 10:26 AM )