Week 8 2017/18 Dolphins AT Ravens Post Game Thread

Well that was a lot of fun for our D.

What i didnt like:

For this week, i will leave this to one thing; that hit was seriously screwed up and the fact that analysts argued that it wasnt flagrant given the overarching context of the environment that the NFL has found itself in the last few years is really...just wrong. Terrible hit. Alonso knew what he was doing and went for it. That look in flacco's eyes after the hit was chilling.

What i liked.

I liked our O coming out and being aggressive

Love alex collins, great vision, great feet and he just commits to the gap and has solid speed. I think he needs to work on his ball security as it still worries me.

The entire D was legit, we are pretty much a jekyl and hyde D right now

2k

EDIT GOOD WIN GUYS 40-0. The point was made that you cant actually tell who won from the below post. Fair enough! I suppose i subconsciously do not want to heap too much praise or get my hopes up given how this season has been so far.

 

Did the Ravens win? Your post is literally the first thing I'm seeing about the game. It sounds like a W, but something bad might have come out of it.

 

Kid, it was a 40-0 win featuring 3 offensive TDs and 2 pick 6s. Flacco got a concussion on what appeared to be a dirty hit. He had own TD, Mallett had one, and Moore recovered a Buck Allen fumble in the endzone. The INT TDs were by Mosley and Jimmy

 

oh sounds like a fun game to finally watch for the fans! And of course another horrific injury for the team

 

In terms of the thread, Collins is showing that he's a serious threat to break a long run whenever he touches the ball. Why they go away from him inside the 5 baffles me. He's not the biggest guy but he carries defenders. Maybe it's the fumble concern.

Jensen is continuing to earn my respect. Seems like all he needed was a chance.

Marlon Humphrey will be the next great Ravens CB. Anybody remember a play where he wasn't glued to his man? I know I don't.

Joe is as playing well prior to that hit.

Jimmy Smith is still the beat CB on the team. If not for his injury history, people would be arguing his place among the elites in the league currently.

After the first 7 games, it was good to see the run defense shut down a team. Sadly, Miami's offense is trash. But still, that cat that ran on the field had more rushing yards than the Dolphins.

It was great to see some aggressive play calling by both the OC and DC. At least in the first half. Loved seeing Harbaugh manage the game also.

Oh and Nick Boyle had a decent game also. Nothing huge but came through when called upon

 

Did not see much of the game. Had things to do until half time and then had streaming issues for the 3rd and part of 4th qtrs. Went back to see the highlites and was impressed by how clean the plays were. That Flacco to Maclin TD was a thing of beauty, but where has that been since week 1? Obviously I wish we could see at least one of those each week.

Alex Collins certainly adds another dimension to the offense we've lacked since Priest Holmes. Even Ray Rice didn't run like he does. Credit has to be given to the OL as well for creating the holes, but Collins is hitting them at speed. His 40 time is listed as 4.59 but he looks like he runs in the 4.4's. Best that I can see is that he takes a bit of time to get to full speed and they look like they're starting him back a few paces further to do so. He is also not a big cut runner and makes little direction shifts along the way. He just as a sweeping path rather than a quick burst. He shows good vision too, but he needs a good OL to make that space. Still its something that we haven't had for a very long while and am excited to see how they use him going forward. While Collins was looking a bit like Holmes (imp) Buck was looking like old-ass Eddie George runnign straight ahead and fallen for 2 yards. His fumble turned fumblerooskie could've been bad and thanks to Moore turned out for the best.

That defense came alive. Yeah, the Dolphins offense looks as bad ours (actually looked worse today) but a shut out is difficult in any game and we kept them under 200yds. The 2 pick 6's were gravy (34 fantasy points - cha-ching!) and the Ravens offense looked to be back to a full head of steam.

That hit on Joe was ugly but it looked close. Joe was still upright when Kiko launched himself. Hard to stop after that. I was impressed with Jensen who immediately threw Kiko down and knocked his own helmet off. He looks pretty damn nasty out there. Also, if you'd have said that the beginning of the season that I would be missing Matt Skura on the OL I'd have thought you daft. He's now proven to be a

There have been a few who've been critical of Mosley this year saying he doesn't look like he was worth a first rd draft pick. That pick-6 was impressive and broke Miami's back. He's been solid, but he was working overtime when Williams was out. I've been critical of Jimmy and I'll take the hit because he also looked like a pro bowler out there with his own as well.

 

So I'm just realizing that's 3 straight games where the opposing team has taken out a Ravens player with headshot to cause a concussion. Perriman, then Wallace, now Flacco. The first two each missed the following game, so Joe might also unless the extra days are enough to recover.

 

There is ZERO chance Joe misses the next game, doesn't matter if its a bye week, normal week, or 10 day's rest. The coaches and doctors know there is zero chance of the Ravens winning against any decent opponent, especially on the road, if Ryan Mallet is QB (unless its against Pitt in BMore-ouch). I didn't see the hit on Perriman so I can't comment, but the ones on Wallace and Flacco........while they deserve a flag as the rules are written today.......I don't think either was "dirty".

The one on Wallace was unfortunate in that he was in the process of being tackled and had both arms pinned to his side, so he was defenseless and a sitting duck, whether he was hit in the head, chest, ribs, stomach, or legs. However he was hit on that play he was going to be hurt. But I don't think the hit was dirty, defender didn't lead with his helmet and hit him with his arm/shoulder. Defenders are still taught to dislodge ball from the players body. What I didn't get was how they called it an incomplete pass..........then a "dead" ball because he helmet flew off, even though by the time the helmet hit the turf the ball was in a Vikings player's hands and going the other way......and THEN finally a flag was thrown. What kind of shenanigans is that? None of which was reviewed.

Flacco.....same thing. Looking at the replay.....we all KNOW what he was thinking.......he thought he could get the first down on his own, but when it became apparent he couldn't (or would pay a big price and get sandwiched if he did), he decided to do an awkward half-slide at the last possible second. If he would have bailed and slid in time to avoid any possible contact, he would have been 3-4 yards short of the first down. Unfortunately by the time he did Alonso had already lined him up at full speed and was in the process of lowering the boom. Could he have let up and should have?.......maybe. Should it have gotten a flag as contact to the head........yeah, that's what the rule says. But it wasn't dirty. What I don't understand is why Jensen didn't get a flag afterwards for not one......but TWO cheap shots after the play was over, the second in which Alonso was on the ground and he simply speared him. Then Suh comes in and hits Jensen. Now I'm NOT saying Alonso didn't deserve it, and I'll never bemoan a lineman for sticking up for his QB, but how is THAT not a penalty? Should have been offsetting penalties on Alonso, Jensen, and Suh. Replay the down or 4th and short if they're all considered "dead ball" penalties.

Its a shame, and I'd still feel the same way if a couple of Pitt players were taken out in consecutive weeks. Hitting is a fundamental part of the game, and one in which teams/players used to separate themselves from one another. Intimidation doesn't mean much today, and it should mean A LOT in the game of football. It USED TO BE how certain teams like the Ravens and Steelers that pride themselves on physical play, achieved an edge against certain teams/players. You can't eliminate something that is fundamental to any game, no matter how you try to legislate it. The BEST part of NFL Sundays USED TO BE.........going to a sports bar knowing you were going to have 3-4 instances during the day in which the entire bar yelled, "OOOhhhhhhhh", and everyone cringed as some player lay on the field with an arm or leg twitching.......either knocked out cold, or staring into the sky with a giant blank stare on their face, unable to comprehend what just happened or where they were. Its so awesome to see, especially now that its occurs far less. The NFL needs MORE OF THIS, not less of it. Now we as fans just assume a flag is coming shortly after almost every single hard hit in every game, which is ridiculous. When you look at film clips just 10-20 years ago, as you watch you're like..........."that's a penalty, and that's a penalty.....and that's now illegal". WTF?

 

The throw Joe made to Maclin is the reason the Ravens need to do everything they can to protect him next season. Draft, free agency, whatever it takes. They need to give him time and allow him to gain some confidence. There are simply very few human beings on the planet Earth that can make that throw.

 

I'm going to disagree to an extent. I don't think it's really much of a "maybe" as to whether Alonzo could have let up. Considering how low Joe's head was, either he was targeting that hit or he was basically throwing his entire body at the man's knees.

There was a set of stills that shows the distance between them when Joe started his slide. He may not have been able to avoid a hit, but he had time to pull up as opposed to throwing his whole body into it shoulder first

 

As far as the game goes, I will say that I liked the Alex Collins running. He runs with reckless abandon. He has not regard for his own body and I think I figured out his style. He makes unexpected juts and cuts to throw the defenders off. He zigs and zags when I am not expecting it which is why I think he slips through cracks. I don't know, but I love the result.

As far as commenting on the Alonzo hit, I think Alonzo saw Flacco start the slide, made the split second decision to lay a hit and it turned out the worst possible spot for them to collide. I do think Alonzo consciously decided to lay a hit after Flacco started to slide and it was the bad luck it caught him square on the earhole. I think the excuse that he could not pull up and it was not a dirty play is a little off. Clearly Alonzo knew he was taking a risk by going for the hit, but you can clearly see he turns his own head to avoid the collision and purposely leads with his shoulder. That is not the action of someone who is not intending to lay a big hit. He made a choice and it went bad. Had he caught Joe shoulder to shoulder or shoulder to back, it would have been a totally different outcome. I don't care what anyone says, you can see in the replay that Alonzo leads with the forearm and shoulder and clearly launches himself like a missile (and if he did not know Joe was going to slide, like he claimed, then why was he launching himself at knee level then???). Whatever, it is over and we likely lose Flacco for the next game.

Our O-line is really gelling now and I also love Jensen and his fire. I am liking Austin Howard more each week as well.

 

^^^ That. Joe is not an elite QB who wins no matter what. He has an elite arm but is slower of the draw and needs time for receivers to get separated down field. I personally would liek to see all the high draft picks go toward the OL unless there's some blue chip that has fallen like Saquon Barkely. It's imperative to prepare the OL for the future for Joe and beyond. Otherwise he'll just keep getting killed and there won't be a future with Joe.

I've re-watched it a bunch of times. Pursuant to the above, in a collapsing pocket, Joe was flushed and had no open receiver. That is problems #1 & #2. On the run (which I commend him for since he can run, has the slide) and 1st down presence, he like most other QBs waits to the last second. He needed to because he wasn't getting the 1st down otherwise. This all but forces the defender try and stop the QB no matter what. Joe was still somewhat vertical in his knee in the slide. Alonso could have eased up, but why should he if the QB won't. That said, Joe did have a knee down and all Kiko had to do was touch him, not clobber him. The shoulder and knees to the head were brutal and Joe was clearly dazed. It almost looked like he had a crease or cut on his forehead too (not sure). I'm still going to say its a boarder line call. As to whether it's dirty, he could be accused of that since Joe was already in slide mode and he has the reactions to adjust, but again, Joe forced the issue.

I had seen somewhere that Collins is an Irish line dance. Guess it's a "heritage thing." Seriously tho, his foot work has a hint of that Irish jig in his step. Also, check out his HS lacross footage. Has the same running style. He might as well be carrying a lacross stick out there. Might be why he's had ball security issues too.

 

Just wanted to pop in and say Kiko Alonso's hit was as flagrant as they come. If it wasn't dirty (which I think it was, but I hate seeing anyone get an unnecessary injury) it was at least unnecessary. He's getting a hefty fine for sure.

 

You guys look a lot meaner, more like Ravens, Steelers football. It was hard to see the Ravens playing like wimps.

 

So Flacco is going through the 5 step protocol. They said he seemed fine, but we know how concussion symptoms can be. Hopefully it's not serious and after a 10-day rest he'll be healthy for the Titans next week. If not, I feel pretty confident in the rushing attack's ability to handle that middling Tennessee defense allowing 100 yards per game.

 

They may be allowing 100 yards per game, but if any defense has the ability to completely key in on one phase, they will usually do well.

If Mallett's in there, I pray they go play action deep pass on the first play just to show Tennessee they can't load the box all game

 

That's true. I think that whether it's Mallet of Joe under center that going deep early important for that very reason. But establishing the run then becomes a battle of wills to see if the runners can do better or defenders. Based on what I've seen of Tennessee I give the edge to our run game.

 

Looks like Kiko Alonso avoided suspension. Some will hate this...I'm strangely fine with it.

 

Ehh, I honestly don't care at this point. It'd do nothing for the Ravens going forward. And the league has long since established that it treats hits QBs with less importance overall if they aren't named Brady or Peyton. Most QBs that are considered scramblers, "big tough QBs", or both simply don't get the same love from the NFL. Nothing surprising with Alonso

 

Tell me about it one more time rr.