Ravens 34 Redskins 31-Game Analysis

Yes, the Redskins lost this game, but that I can take solace in the fact that the players responsible for giving this away in the last two minutes are either going to be on the inactive list, practice squad, or just cut outright all together.  The players that mattered actually did a pretty good job for the 2 quarters plus that they were in there.  However, sometimes I feel like Mike Shanahan does not know jack about the quarterback position.  Seriously, the more and more I observe how he is handling this GrossBeck thing (thanks to Josh for that one), combined with the side show that was the way he handled Donovan McNabb last year, I am getting more and more convinced that he is clueless.  Think about it.  What was Shanahan's biggest success as a coach?  That was back to back Super Bowl wins in the 90s.  Who was his quarterback?  Just the #1 quaterback on Caputo's Corner's top 10 quaterbacks of all time (John Elway for those of you who already forgot).  You take Elway out of the picture, he still has the outstanding running game (albeit with Alex Gibbs' chop blocking scheme as Dustin reminded me last night), but does he honestly win 2 straight Big Games?  The fact of the matter is, he hasn't even sniffed the Super Bowl since Elway.  Just saying...

Anyway, back to last night, Shanny's latest QB experiment was to have Grossman and Beck alternate possessions (2 at a time) for the duration that the 1st unit played.  The first unit played almost a full 3 quarters so each of them got a total of 4 possessions, and they were extended possessions too, each lasting several minutes.  So they both got some good reps out there.  Nevertheless, neither one of them truly separated themselves if you ask me.  That's what I know Shanny was looking for, but I hate to be honest, consider who your talent is.  Neither one of them I think is CAPABLE of separating himself from the other.  I know it seems it is just adding fuel to the fire that the Shanahans (Mike and Kyle) don't really care about the season are just salivating at the chance at Andrew Luck with the #1 overall pick next year, but that's an entirely different discussion.  I'm not saying that Grossman and Beck played exceptionally poorly, because they didn't.  I'm just saying that we will not see ELITE quarterback play, so it's really just a flip of the coin who starts if you ask me.  Grossman was the nominal starter last night, but that means nothing other than he got to take the first snap.  At the end of the day, I believe the Shanahans see more upside in Beck so he will get the job.  Grossman I feel played the better game last night, but both of them played well enough, remembering that the standards around here these days are extremely low. 

Aside from the quaterback position, the things I liked last night was finishing in the red zone for a change.  That drive at the end of the first half was a little hairy inside the 20, but Grossman was able to finish it with a nice lob pass to Moss in the back right corner.  Beck finished his drive in the 3rd quater (albeit against a 2nd string defense) with a flanker screen to Terrence Austin where Austin did some nice weaving through traffic to hit paydirt.  The defense was opportunistic, scoring two takeaways including a pick-six from D-Hall on the first defensive series of the game.  Lucky for him that quarterbacks are not exactly the best tacklers in the world.  We also got pressure from the front seven.  Orakpo and Kerrigan both got sacks...but so did Kevin Barnes (a cornerback).  I don't really like corner blitzes except in rare circumstances, and I think we called that blitz a few times too many last night.  I really like the way we are running the football right now.  Tim Hightower looks excellent, busting off a 39 yard scamper to the house which at the time put us up 14-0.  As long as he doesn't redevelop his old case of fumbleitis, he's going to keep Ryan Torain on the bench.  All around, I saw a complete, balanced offensive display. 

Of course, there are also the things that I didn't like, and there were quite a few.  The biggest thing that sticks out in my mind are the drive sustaining penalties in the 2nd quarter.  Twice we were able to stop the Ravens on third down, twice did we have defensive penalties that sustained those drives, and both times those drives ended in touchdowns.  The first was a roughing the punter penalty against Lorenzo Alexander.  There is never any excuse for that...and it was pretty blantant, I saw him plant the guy after the ball was kicked and I just knew the flag would fly.  The second was a hold against Reed Doughty on 3rd down when the Ravens were going to punt from their own end zone.  Those are always ticky tack it seems, but the league is cracking down on that sort of thing and has been for several years now.  He needs to know that.  We had chances to stop them again after the penalties, but we let them convert a few 3rd and longs (a long pass to Boldin on 3rd and 15 comes to mind), and D-Hall got flat out beat by Lee Evans on a bomb that tied the game.  So there was plenty for the coaches (and cynics like me) to complain about.  We won't see much out of the starters (if anything) in the preseason finale next Thursday against Tampa, but I always like to watch that last preseason game as the 3rd and 4th stringers battle desperately for a roster spot that will probably just be inactive on game day anyway.

Before I wrap this post up, I want to say a few things about the so-called "rivalry" between the Ravens and Redskins.  Quite simply, there is none.  I, like most Redskins fans, have no deep-seated hatred for the Ravens organization (in fact, I think their front office structure puts ours to shame).  However, when I hear John Harbaugh make comments during a press conference along the lines of saying he'd like to "convert" Redskins fans into Ravens fans, I shake my head and feel sorry for them.  That only gives fuel to the fire of Baltimore people screaming in the streets that they are exerting their "dominance" over the state of Maryland and Redskins' Nation in particular.  Here are some facts.  First, both the Redskins and the Ravens provide as much income to the state of Maryland (in terms of taxes) from their stadium contracts (Ravens slightly more, but not too significant).  Why is that you ask?  Quite simply, the Redskins play in Maryland, Prince Georges County to be exact.  Our stadium is located inside the DC beltway, but we are still in Maryland.  So in that respect we are just as much a contributor to Maryland as the Ravens are.  The decisions of cable companies to carry Ravens or Redskins pre and postgame shows is purely arbitrary.  Doc Walker said it best on WPL yesterday.  "This isn't O's and Nats.  If Harbaugh thinks he's gonna steal Redskins fans from the DC area and turn them into Ravens fans, he's gonna be swallowed up like a blowfish."  I am aware that Ravens players and coaches get more cheers when they show up at other sporting events (such as Maryland football games...inside the DC beltway), but the reason behind that is simple.  They've won a lot more recently so the Ravens fans are more willing to stick their chests out and identify themselves as such.  You watch, though.  There will come a time when the roles are reversed, and the Redskins are doing all the winning and the Ravens are in the cellar.  Then, you'll see Redskins fans be a little more boistrous and Ravens fans will hide under their blankets.  The bottom line is this, the only reason we're even having this discussion is because the Ravens and Redskins' stadia are only 36 miles apart (Exits 16 and 52 off of I-95), but smart Redskins fans don't even care about the Ravens.  They're not in our division, not even in our conference, and you can't start a rivalry if you play games that don't count against each other except once every 4 years.  This is the last you'll hear me mention the Ravens at least for this year on Caputo's Corner (at least in terms of a rivalry with the Redskins) because we're done with them until 2012.  Our schedules do not intersect.  My focus is turning ever more so toward the New York Football Giants on September 11th.