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In a game in which the Ravens' secondary took a giant step back, much-maligned cornerback Frank Walker took a huge step forward with his goal-line strip of a potential touchdown Sunday in San Diego.
The Ravens might need an even bigger effort from Walker this week if starting left cornerback Fabian Washington is sidelined with a concussion he suffered in the last two minutes of a 31-26 victory over the Chargers.
Coach John Harbaugh hedged on Washington's availability for the Week 3 game against the Cleveland Browns, saying, "He'll have a chance to play this week."
Washington was hurt and had to leave the game with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter after tackling Darren Sproles on a short pass that set up a San Diego field goal. He said after the game that it was the first concussion of his career.
With the Ravens clinging to a five-point lead in the final two minutes and San Diego on their 23-yard line, quarterback Philip Rivers threw for 6-foot-2 Legedu Naanee at the goal line. Naanee had the ball in his hands for a moment, but only a moment. Walker, from behind, knocked the ball out of Naanee's grasp when a catch would have given the Chargers the lead.
"That was a great play," Harbaugh said during his Monday news conference. "He went up and got that ball out of the catch pocket about as well as you can do it. That was a huge play for us."
Harbaugh said he thought the mistakes in the secondary that enabled Rivers to pass for 436 yards and two touchdowns are "really very correctable."
"Sometimes guys, in a big game like that, are trying to do too much, trying to do more than you have to do," he said. "I think we can play the coverage in a more 'together' fashion and help those corners out a little better than we did, and those corners will come up and make some plays. Fabe was all over the last one and had his hand right in there, and they came down with the ball."
The Ravens sacked Rivers just twice in the game, both times in the first 20 minutes.
Former NFL coach Steve Mariucci made this observation for NFL Network, where he works as an analyst, on Sunday night:
"Baltimore is the team to beat in the AFC. We know they play defense. They've got a good young quarterback, they can run. They are a complete football team."
That's not what Harbaugh wanted to hear, however.
"We don't care. We don't particularly want that," he said. "That's not a place we're comfortable with. I'm going to tell you what: There are a lot of great teams in this conference.
"That game could have gone either way. To me, that's the crazy nature of the NFL. It's early. It's Week 2. But I'm proud of our football team. They won a tough game, on the road, early in the season."
"Rather than throwing it away or risking a fumble or something like that, Joe holds on to it," Harbaugh said. "He takes a sack, which bumps us back a little bit, but keeps the clock running and forces them to take a timeout. That's headsy. That is really smart.
"Then Cam calls a run on the next play, which does two things: keeps the clock running, plus they're in a pass defense, and we gain [9] yards, and it makes the field goal much more makable for Steve."
Reporters were treated to an in-house video of Harbaugh on the play that saved the game for the Ravens. It shows Harbaugh squatting to view the play, then raising both arms when Lewis drops Sproles. In the celebration along the sideline as Lewis arrives, Harbaugh says to him: "We're not paying you enough."
The Ravens might need an even bigger effort from Walker this week if starting left cornerback Fabian Washington is sidelined with a concussion he suffered in the last two minutes of a 31-26 victory over the Chargers.
Coach John Harbaugh hedged on Washington's availability for the Week 3 game against the Cleveland Browns, saying, "He'll have a chance to play this week."
Washington was hurt and had to leave the game with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter after tackling Darren Sproles on a short pass that set up a San Diego field goal. He said after the game that it was the first concussion of his career.
With the Ravens clinging to a five-point lead in the final two minutes and San Diego on their 23-yard line, quarterback Philip Rivers threw for 6-foot-2 Legedu Naanee at the goal line. Naanee had the ball in his hands for a moment, but only a moment. Walker, from behind, knocked the ball out of Naanee's grasp when a catch would have given the Chargers the lead.
"That was a great play," Harbaugh said during his Monday news conference. "He went up and got that ball out of the catch pocket about as well as you can do it. That was a huge play for us."
Harbaugh said he thought the mistakes in the secondary that enabled Rivers to pass for 436 yards and two touchdowns are "really very correctable."
"Sometimes guys, in a big game like that, are trying to do too much, trying to do more than you have to do," he said. "I think we can play the coverage in a more 'together' fashion and help those corners out a little better than we did, and those corners will come up and make some plays. Fabe was all over the last one and had his hand right in there, and they came down with the ball."
The Ravens sacked Rivers just twice in the game, both times in the first 20 minutes.
'The team to beat'
Forget about not getting enough respect. Sunday's victory in San Diego has elevated the Ravens to new media heights, apparently.Former NFL coach Steve Mariucci made this observation for NFL Network, where he works as an analyst, on Sunday night:
"Baltimore is the team to beat in the AFC. We know they play defense. They've got a good young quarterback, they can run. They are a complete football team."
That's not what Harbaugh wanted to hear, however.
"We don't care. We don't particularly want that," he said. "That's not a place we're comfortable with. I'm going to tell you what: There are a lot of great teams in this conference.
"That game could have gone either way. To me, that's the crazy nature of the NFL. It's early. It's Week 2. But I'm proud of our football team. They won a tough game, on the road, early in the season."
Flacco's heads-up sack
All coaches like to talk about the little things that happen in a game that make a difference. This week's example for Harbaugh was the fourth-quarter sack Joe Flacco took when the Ravens were in the red zone. Ultimately, they got a 33-yard field goal from Steve Hauschka on the series for their final points."Rather than throwing it away or risking a fumble or something like that, Joe holds on to it," Harbaugh said. "He takes a sack, which bumps us back a little bit, but keeps the clock running and forces them to take a timeout. That's headsy. That is really smart.
"Then Cam calls a run on the next play, which does two things: keeps the clock running, plus they're in a pass defense, and we gain [9] yards, and it makes the field goal much more makable for Steve."
Still the greatest
Harbaugh didn't back off his statement Sunday about the fourth-down stop by Ray Lewis at the Ravens' 20 being "the greatest play I've ever seen."Reporters were treated to an in-house video of Harbaugh on the play that saved the game for the Ravens. It shows Harbaugh squatting to view the play, then raising both arms when Lewis drops Sproles. In the celebration along the sideline as Lewis arrives, Harbaugh says to him: "We're not paying you enough."
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Frank played well last year when we needed it , he is the only physical corner and he plays the tight end well
lgregor01 (09/23/2009, 9:33 AM )