At BSR: Quarterbacks

This week at the Baltimore Sports Report, I try my hand at some analysis of the quarterback position for the Baltimore Ravens. Of course, most of that analysis begins and ends with Joe Flacco, but there are some points I make about Troy Smith and John Beck as well. This is yet another part in a continuing series where the writers at BSR have reviewed all positional groups on the team. You can find my post here. In the past week, the writers have taken a look at the Ravens’ special teams, linebackers and the offensive line. There’s even a post about last week’s State of the Ravens press conference. Now that football season is over, you can have a look back at the season that was through these and other posts.

However, that’s not all you can find at BSR. The site recently got an interview with Amber Theoharis, who just might be the busiest female sportscaster in the market. Also, features are starting to pop up on Baltimore’s other birds, the Orioles. Find out how our writers feel about the offseason moves as spring training approaches. There will be features and opinions thorughout the season, so stay tuned. There will be Terps coverage as well as we get closer to the ACC Tournament and March Madness.

If you are a fan of Baltimore sports, do yourself a favor and check out the Baltimore Sports Report (not because I said so, and not because my work shows up there from time to time-okay do it for both of those reasons). Do it because it’s a great site for getting a fan’s perspective on Baltimore sports (and be sure to comment).

At BSR: Positional Review – D’Backs

This week’s post at the Baltimore Sports Report focuses on a season ending review of the Baltimore Ravens cornerbacks and safeties. This post is part of another series at the site regarding the Ravens. This new series will review the team at each position. So far, posts have been published that review the receiving corps and the running backs.

Fans of the Ravens, Orioles, Maryland’s Terrapins or sports in general should stop by the Baltimore Sports Report. Check out the site, which is now being staffed by a group of writers who are fans just like you. If you see something interesting, leave some comments.

At BSR: The Losing Streak

Over at the Baltimore Sports Report, the writers have begun a series of posts reviewing the Ravens’ recently concluded season. My contribution to their efforts thus far focuses on regular season games four through six, which constituted a three-game losing streak. You can see my version of those events here.

Previous entries take a look at the offseason following the AFC Championship game appearance, the preseason, and the first three weeks, when hopes were raised that the Ravens were the best team in the NFL (at least by the likes of ESPN.com). Take a look, Ravens fans and let us know what you think in the comments.

High Scorers: Ravens Post Mortem

Yes, the Baltimore  Ravens 2009 season is over. It didn’t quite go the way we’d hoped, but overall it was a success…another playoff appearance, some growth in several areas, a found star in Ray Rice. However, when the season falls short of the ultimate goal, it’s up to bloggers to pick up the pieces and figure out what went wrong, and what moves to make in the future to do better next season. To that end, High Scorers will focus on blogs and bloggers who are looking at last season, and looking ahead to next season.

The Baltimore Sports Report has several posts taking a look back at the past season; look for mine on games 4-6 of the season (see next post as well).

The Ebony Bird gives his take on the cornerbacks the Ravens should consider acquiring to improve the depth at the position.

Bird Brains On The Half Shell takes a look at what might happen with the current wide receivers on the roster.

Big Steve at The City That Reeds takes stock of both wide receivers and defensive backs, with who should stay and who should go.

Matt at Ravens Gab makes a plea for the Ravens brain trust-upgrade the offense! Quick, fast and in a hurry!

And while many Ravens fans are hoping the Ravens acquire a big name wide receiver, Bruce at Baltimore Beatdown opines that getting one might not make that much of a difference.

If you’re a fan of the Ravens, take a look at these and make your own opinions. Enjoy!

Mind Pinball’s Thoughts Bounce Around A New Site

It wasn’t supposed to show up until tomorrow…but I will be contributing to the new Baltimore Sports Report. My first post is a Baltimore Ravens offense vs. Indianapolis Colts defense preview for Saturday’s game. You can look at that here, if you are interested.

Just want to thank the guys for the offer, hopefully I can contribute some posts worthy of the site. That said, I’ll still be here doing what I always do. You’ll just see my writing in another place.

High Scorers: Time For Ed Reed To Retire?

Time for another edition of High Scorers:

 

Jarrett of Stet Sports Blog asks if it is time for Ed Reed to call it a career. Read why he believes it is.

The NFL Chick! gives her opinion on whether the Redskins’ removal of Vinny Cerrato was a good move. I believe it was a good first step, but see what she has to say.

Jeff at Bird Brains on the Half Shell recaps the Terps’ lastest success on the basketball court. Here’s hoping that the Terps have a good season; I’ll be writing more about them as the season heats up.

Steelergurl recently celebrated her one-year anniversary. Congrats to her and here’s her take on the upcoming Steelers-Ravens game.

MKRob’s Sports Blog recounts Ravens’ Ray Lewis’ partnership with Wal-Mart for a Christmas Giveaway. Read all about it right here.

Finally, see what Ed The Sports Fan has on his Christmas wish list.

Mind Pinball Gets A Makeover

I’ve been playing around with the theme and adding some features to the site. Hopefully this is a more interactive site that will allow you to not only see my scribblings, but also access some additional features and sports news as well. Thanks to the folks at USA Today, CBS Sports, NBA.com and ESPN, I have added some widgets to provide information about the teams I follow, as well as some national sports stories and video highlights. There may be more changes to come, so stay tuned.

As usual, give me your feedback in the comments. Hopefully the makeover means I’ll be writing more pieces for my readers to enjoy.

Random Sports Thoughts 6

 

Dusting off the Random Sports Thoughts post:

• First of all, prayers to the family of Chris Henry. Again, another young life in the process of turning things around has been cut short before its potential could be realized. Immediately upon hearing of the young man’s passing, I instantly thought of Sean Taylor, who was also in the process of getting his life in order when he suffered an untimely passing. These young men were going through life and had made some mistakes, but to dwell on the mistakes as the cause or symptom of their passing is misguided. Sure, the mistakes they suffered were part of their lives, and should not be excluded; but to harp on them at the expense of the turnaround that was taking place is short-sighted. It’s too bad we were not able to see what the lives could have been had the changes these young men were making had come to fruition.
• For the Redskins fans who stop by, I hope you are pleased that Vinny Cerrato has been shown the door. They call it a resignation, but he apparently was gone for a while, or Bruce Allen’s hiring and acquiring of the general manager title was the fastest in history. How is it that the supposed director of football operations has his resignation announced and within hours his replacement’s hiring is announced? Seems to me the deal was already in the works. Nevertheless from this seat, it looks like a good first step for the franchise. His next move should be to find a head coach he can work with-no scratch that. His first move should be, if he hasn’t already, gotten assurances that Dan Snyder will stop his meddlesome ways and let Allen and the new head coach (if indeed Jim Zorn is shown the door) can run the operation the way that they want with minimal or no interference. No one needs the owner to go on scouting trips, or playing fantasy football with the roster. That’s what got the Redskins in the mess they are in. As for a head coach, Mike Shanahan has been rumored to be the Redskins’ man, but it remains to be seen if he will take the job.
• Thanks to @Inkognegro on Twitter, I was convinced to sign up for a fantasy basketball league. I have to admit, I’ve enjoyed it (the 5-2 record so far may have something to do with that). What it has done is made me pay more attention to the NBA way earlier than I have in years. Usually, I’m still in football mode (pro and college) with a little college hoops thrown in. I usually give the NBA no attention until the Christmas Day games. Let me say that the NBA season so far has picked up where last season’s postseason left off. I am enjoying the games, as well as following how my fantasy players are doing. From Brandon Jennings, Tyreke Evans and Stephen Curry, to the work done by the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, and the retirement and return of Allen Iverson, the League has provided lots of excitement so far. I had drifted away from the NBA to the college game; now I find I have to make room for both.
• Probably against my better judgement, I also entered the College Bowl Pick’em Challenge being run by Ed The Sports Fan. I’ve watched my share of college football games this season, but never have I picked winners, especially using the confidence system. Right off the bat, I’ve lost the top point total as Fresno State’s overtime loss to Wyoming has more than likely sunk my chances at victory. I did make some of it up, by picking Rutgers to beat Central Florida, so the first night of bowl games wasn’t a total loss. By the way, if you get a chance, check out the Ed The Sports Fan blog-it’s very good.

“They Weren’t Going Undefeated Anyway”

The above quote is from the Drinking The Purple Kool-Aid blog, from a brief post made after the Ravens-Patriots game yesterday. As you know, the Ravens lost the game 27-21. It was a painful loss, with the Ravens driving down the field late in the game with the possibility to score the tying and possible winning points, but ultimately failing to get the ball in the end zone. The quote speaks truth; I think even the most optimistic Ravens fan would have to admit that this squad wasn’t going to win every game on the schedule. This was just the first of what may be some difficult matchups towards a run to the Super Bowl. Despite the loss, there were a few positives on display:

1. The Ravens showed up. By that, I mean they played tough for all four quarters. This team is different than those Ravens teams of the past.  Lots of times, when the Ravens had a chance to make a statement against a quality opponent, the team would shrink from the moment or disappear, or play one of its worst games of the season. If not for a few mistakes and missed tackles, the Ravens played well yesterday; they just didn’t finish the Patriots off on the final drive.
2. The play of the offense. While I think they should have utilized the run game a bit more, fans had to be pleased that the Ravens offense moved the ball effectively against a better than average defense. And, let’s be real: when was the last time you had hope that the offense would drive down the field in a two-minute drill and possibly score the game winning points? I can’t remember such a time. Joe Flacco performed very admirably under duress throughout the game, but for a bad decision just before halftime, he executed the plays that were called rather well. As for Mark Clatyon’s drop: if he makes the catch, who knows what might have happened? The Ravens could very well be 4-0.

The defense was solid, but there were a lot of missed tackles and penalties. While the Ravens players complained about the officiating, particularly on the roughing the passer calls and spots of the ball at crucial moments of the game (and let’s keep it real; the officiating was bad throughout the game), they made enough plays to keep the game close, even though Tom Brady looked more like his usual self than at any time so far this season. But give the Patriots some credit-they made just enough plays themselves to win the game. There are some areas that the team still needs to tighten up; getting better pressure on the quarterback and better coverage on receivers would be nice. The run defense was its usual, nasty self. Hopefully, LaDarius Webb can take over on kickoff returns; Chris Carr simply isn’t getting the job done.

Now the Ravens must let this loss go, get focused and prepare for the Cincinnati Bengals. The Ravens may have failed to make their statement against the Patriots; but they can still make an important one with a win over the Bengals. First place in the AFC North is on the line, and the Ravens need to hold on to that for as long as they can-with an improved Bengals squad that could easily be 4-0 and (at least from last night) a resurgent Pittsburgh Steeler team behind them-the focus should be on how to win each game as it appears on the schedule.

A similar take to mine on the Ravens-Patriots game can be found in this post at the Baltimore Beatdown blog.

“Beneath Rock Bottom”

“Beneath Rock Bottom. The only way it could have been worse if they would have been beaten by Maryland.”-Trevor Matich, Comcast SportsNet

The slam against the Maryland Terrapins aside (their problems warrant another blog post), Matich is referring to perhaps the NFL’s best soap opera-the Washington Redskins. In what I would consider (but apparently not a lot of other people) shocking fashion, the Redskins went to Detroit yesterday and lost a game they absolutely had to win, 19-14. They had to win the game to give their fans a reason to believe, particularly after they were booed off the field at home in a 9-7 over the St. Louis Rams the previous week. Much of the last week was spent defending the coach, Jim Zorn; apologizing to the fan base for tweets that criticized their behavior, and once again overestimating their talent level. On that last point, Mike Wise of The Washington Post had this to say in his Monday morning column:

The myth about this team stacking up, talent-wise, against the Eagles or the Giants or the Cowboys has got to die here in Detroit. The Redskins are inferior in the NFC East. It’s that simple. Their bluster about having near the personnel of their divisional opponents on paper is just that — wind. They’re wanting in almost every category, except a handful of skill positions.

They’re paper lions, beaten by a team that managed to score 19 points after losing 19 straight games and upend a neophyte coach in just his 19th game.

You would think, that if that team were so talented, they would have come out against Detroit with fire in their eyes, and in the belly. They would have played like they wanted to win, not only for themselves, but for their coach. If nothing else, a win would have kept the hounds at bay in regards to whether or not Zorn would be fired. Apparently, there was none of that on display, as the Lions proved they were the better team, at least on this day. And so it becomes a question of if-not when-Zorn will be fired, unless there is there is some kind of turnaround, and fast.

The players Wise interviewed after the debacle, to a man, all stated that they were in support of the coach, and put the loss on themselves. Certainly, those are the right things to say. But their actions certainly didn’t show it. Zorn didn’t do himself any favors either, with two questionable first quarter decisions that ultimately backfired. After driving down the field only to stall close to the goal line, Zorn went for it on fourth and goal from the 1-yard line, only to see Clinton Portis stuffed on, what else? A running play to the left side.  On the ensuing Lions possession, Zorn chose to take a third-down offensive pass interference penalty, backing the Lions up 5 yards setting up a third down and 13 that the defense couldn’t stop, with the drive concluding in a touchdown. That was a ten-point swing. The Redskins gave up points and then gave points to the other side. It also wasn’t a great day for the defense, supposedly the strength of the team. Even I believed in picking Washington to win, that it would be the defense that would lead the way. That “above-average defense” (my quote) had its worst game of the season, against presumably the worst team in football. Now we know that not to be the case anymore. The Lions may still be bad, but they got up off the mat, and won the game. Hats off to them; on this day they deserved to win.

As far as the Redskins go, goodness knows I’ve been hard on them here on this blog, but what can you say? Something is rotten in old DC, and in my opinion, it starts at the top. I won’t go into everything I think is wrong with the franchise as currently constituted; I’ve already been there and done that. Perhaps these voices will do the trick. Thomas Boswell, now the dean of Washington sports columnists, opines that the Redskins as a team from top to bottom, lost focus and sight of the big picture a long time ago. I’d ask you to read his column, but the telling quote is right here:

This loss, and the embarrassment that attended it, were not the culmination of any short-term trend or strategy mistake. For this Lions win to come to pass, many tumblers had to click into place over many years.

This dignity-robbing defeat, one that the Redskins will remember and hopefully reflect upon, took only three hours.

But it was years in the making.

Dan Steinberg, in a post in his D.C. Sports Bog, notes that it’s time to make a change. While he doesn’t come out and say what change needs to be made, he lets the commenters do the work for him. One particularly noteworthy comment went like this, addressed to the owner, Dan Snyder: (caps are the commenter’s, not mine):

“MISTER” SNYDER …. YOU HAVE THREE CHOICES:

(A) SELL THE TEAM. YOU ARE THE REASON FOR ITS DEMISE. YOU AND YOUR GM BOY BLUNDER ARE THE ONLY CONSTANTS IN THIS DEBACLE. YOU CANNOT WIN WITH A HALL OF FAME COACH OR HALL OF FAME PLAYERS. PLEASE, ON BEHALF OF REDSKINS FANS, TAKE THIS OPTION

(B) FIND A REAL GM AND GET YOUR HANDS COMPLETELY OFF THE TEAM. YOU KNOW LITTLE TO NOTHING ABOUT FOOTBALL. I AM NOT SURE YOU KNOW MUCH OF ANYTHING, BUT NOTHING ABOUT FOOTBALL.

(C) LOSE YOUR FANBASE. AS A DIEHARD, LOYAL FAN FROM 1972, I AM FED UP. ZORN IS NOT THE PROBLEM. TURNER WAS NOT. SCHOTTENHEIMER WAS NOT. GIBBS CERTAINLY WAS NOT. SPURRIER (YOUR IDEA) WAS. YOU ARE THE PROBLEM AND YOU ARE LOSING LOYAL FANS. IF THAT IS WHAT YOU WANT, GO FOR IT LOSER!

I could go on, but I’ll add one more by linking to the Stet Sports Blog, whose views I have agreed with regarding this franchise from the beginning. This particular post is just another one I find to hit the nail on the head.

“Beneath Rock Bottom” implies that the Redskins have passed the bottom and are now freefalling into who-knows-where. They better hope there is somewhere to land, so that they can get back up and start climbing towards respectability.

[Author's note: in the interests of honesty, I once was a fan of the Redskins during the dark days when Baltimore did not have a team. Shameful? perhaps; but I was taught to root for the locals, and they were as local as it got during that time. Also, because I am a Maryland resident, I hear plenty about the Redskins in  the local media.]

Next Page »

• Admin

  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.org

• Contact Me:

  mind.pinball@gmail.com
  

• Calendar

  March 2010

  S	M	T	W	T	F	S
  « Feb
  	1	2	3	4	5	6
  7	8	9	10	11	12	13
  14	15	16	17	18	19	20
  21	22	23	24	25	26	27
  28	29	30	31

• Blogs Of Interest

  • AverageBro
  • Inkognegro 2.0
  • Snips and Snails and Harrigan Tales
  • The GelaTrish Chronicles
  • The WareHouse

• Some Sportsblogs Of Note

  • A Sports Scribe
  • B-More Birds' Nest
  • Baltimore Beatdown
  • Baltimore Sports Report
  • Birds Watcher
  • DC Sports Bog
  • Drinking The Purple Kool Aid
  • Ed The Sports Fan
  • Gela's Fantasy
  • Gridiron Gals
  • MD Bird Lover
  • Mister Irrelevant
  • MKRob's Sports Blog
  • Moderately Cerebral Bias
  • Pigskin Loving Lady
  • Ravens Gab
  • Right Off Russell
  • Sideline Pass
  • Sixteen Gold Gloves
  • Stet Sports Blog
  • The Ebony Bird
  • The NFL Chick!
  • The Toy Department
  • Weaver's Tantrum
  • Words To Play By: A Sports Blog

• Sports Gear

  • NCAA Shop

• The Tailgate365 Family

  • Bird Brains on the Half Shell
  • Broadway Beatdown
  • Chicken Fried Racing
  • Ditka's Den
  • One Arrowhead Drive
  • Steelergurl
  • Tailgate365
  • The Cardiac Cats
  • The Cheesehead Army
  • The City That Reeds
  • The Dirtiest Bird
  • The Mile High Salute
  • The Norsemen News
  • What Would Barry Do?

• Where R&B Lives

  • About.com R&B
  • EJ Flavors
  • Honey Soul Music
  • Music To My Ears
  • Songs In The Key Of Life
  • Soul Tracks
  • SoulBounce
  • Soulrific

• WordPress

  • Development Blog
  • Documentation
  • Plugins
  • Suggest Ideas
  • Support Forum
  • Themes
  • WordPress Planet

• Fresh Stuff

  • Filling Out The Dance Card For The Locals
  • Boldin Comes To Ravens
  • The ACC Bubble Watch
  • Why Greivis Vasquez May Not Be The ACC Player Of The Year
  • Terps Clamp Down On Defense, Wear Down Clemson

• Feedback

  • JUS_chillin on The ACC Bubble Watch
  • Crys on A Guide To Orioles Spring Training
  • Ed The Sports Fan on Terps Clamp Down On Defense, Wear Down Clemson
  • MKRob.com on A Guide To Orioles Spring Training
  • Carolinaware on Sharpe Falls Short In Bid For Hall Of Fame

• Old Stuff

  Select Month March 2010  (4) February 2010  (13) January 2010  (10) December 2009  (18) November 2009  (20) October 2009  (20) September 2009  (19) August 2009  (11) July 2009  (10) June 2009  (12) May 2009  (15) April 2009  (12) March 2009  (23) February 2009  (12) January 2009  (6) December 2008  (3) November 2008  (2) October 2008  (6) September 2008  (12) August 2008  (1) July 2008  (4) June 2008  (7) May 2008  (8) April 2008  (14) March 2008  (26) February 2008  (7) January 2008  (11) December 2007  (6) November 2007  (14) October 2007  (14) September 2007  (6) August 2007  (7) July 2007  (6) June 2007  (20) May 2007  (18) April 2007  (5)

• Where Stuff Goes

  Select Category ACC AFC AFC East AFC North AFC South AFC West african-americans baseball basketball BCS Big East Black Music Month blogs books celebrities children college basketball college football country music cycling death family following the locals football gambling giving thanks goals golf high scorers hip-hop hockey horse racing IRL Racing Loser’s Lounge magazines MD media MLB Movies music NBA NCAA NCAA Football NCAA Tournament newspapers NFC NFC East NFC North NFL NFL Picks NHL Picking And Winning playoffs politics presidential race R&B R&B Lives random sports thoughts ravens review record companies resolutions SEC small town life songs that bug me sports St. Michaels statues swimming television tennis The ’80s The ’90s UFL Uncategorized Vacation weather websites WNBA Women’s NCAA Tournament World Baseball Classic world Series

• Twitter: @mindpinball

  

  • something is wrong when ESPN is playing "Shots" as a lead-in to commercials. Don't they know the song is about getting drunk? about 6 hours ago from TweetDeck
  • @SidelinePass you are as hooked as the rest of us lol about 7 hours ago from Seesmicin reply to SidelinePass
  • @thenflchick getting better at it already Lol about 7 hours ago from Seesmicin reply to thenflchick
  • @SidelinePass Going well thanks...what are u up to today? about 7 hours ago from Seesmicin reply to SidelinePass
  • @12kyle whoa...you on top of errything LOL about 7 hours ago from Seesmicin reply to 12kyle
  • @12kyle yes his HBCU blog is good. He used to do one for sports in the DMV. about 7 hours ago from Seesmicin reply to 12kyle
  • Waiting for the MEAC title game between SC State and Morgan State or @jarrett_carter vs.@12kyle LOL about 7 hours ago from HTC Peep
  • RT @snwann @mindpinball *hugs* <-right back atcha! :) about 7 hours ago from HTC Peep
  • @Inkognegro otherwise how's everyone doing? It's been a minute...#BabyInk is really growing. about 7 hours ago from HTC Peepin reply to Inkognegro
  • @snwann thanks! about 7 hours ago from HTC Peepin reply to snwann
  • Powered byWordPress Twitter Widget Pro

• Find Me On Facebook

  Tracy Smith
  
  Create Your Badge

• Please Follow My Blog

  

  Follow this blog

• 

• Top Sports Headlines

• College Hoops Scores

• NBA Scores

• MLB Scores

• NBA Highlights

• NFL.com

• baltimoresun.com – Sports

  • Women's lacrosse: Johns Hopkins rides past Florida, 16-8 March 13, 2010
    Rossi's game-high five goals paces Blue Jays During Saturday's American Lacrosse Conference opener between Johns Hopkins and Florida, there were 34 players from the Baltimore-metro area on the field and sidelines. […]
  • COLLEGE LACROSSE Terps pull away from Towson for win March 13, 2010
    Maryland remains undefeated with ninth straight win over Tigers No. 6 Maryland used a 5-1 second quarter to pull away from visiting Towson and collect a 12-8 victory at Byrd Stadium on Saturday. […]
  • Harlee leads Fallston girls to second straight state title March 13, 2010
    Senior forward has 18 points, 19 rebounds in Cougars' Class 2A champioship win Duplicating the magic of last season's 28-0 season seemed impossible for Fallston's girls basketball team after All-Metro forward Jess Harlee tore a knee ligament in August. When Harlee returned to the court in early February, however, she did exactly what she did l […]
  • Morgan State headed to NCAA tourney for second straight year March 13, 2010
    Bears beat South Carolina State for MEAC championship Kevin Thompson had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Morgan State claimed its second consecutive NCAA tournament berth by beating South Carolina State 68-61 on Saturday in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title game. […]
  • MARYLAND BASKETBALL Looking to the NCAA tournament March 13, 2010
    Tracking the Terps: Don Markus looks back at UM's loss to Ga. Tech, ahead to NCAA tourney […]
  • YANKEES 5, ORIOLES 3 Guthrie gets rocked in loss to Yankees March 13, 2010
    Ty Wigginton and Garrett Atkins homered on Saturday, but the New York Yankees roughed up Jeremy Guthrie in the early innings and scored a 5-3 victory at George M. Steinbrenner Field. […]
  • Ravens Insider: Overlooking defensive end Paul Kruger March 13, 2010
    […]
  • MYTEAM Saturday Varsity scoreboard March 13, 2010
    […]
  • 'Boys club' no more: D.C. woman is Coolidge football coach March 13, 2010
    At Coolidge, Randolph latest to accomplish the rare feat - When Coolidge High announced two months ago that it was looking for a new football coach, one of the school's science teachers was sitting in a conference room in the building when a colleague asked, "Why don't you put your name in for it?" […]
  • Ravens Insider: OT Adam Terry signs with Indianapolis Colts March 12, 2010
    […]

• Ravens & NFL News

• Orioles & MLB News

• Wizards & NBA News

• Terps & CBB News

• Terps & CFB News

• ESPN Poll

• BallHype Top Stories