Halftime observations
There’s no shame in calling for a fair catch. B.J. Sams nearly lost his head when he hauled in a punt without signaling for a fair catch after the Falcons’ first offensive series of the game. Falcons fullback Corey McIntyre decked Sams at the Ravens’ 16-yard line to the oohs and aahs of the fans. Not sure if this has any meaning, but rookie Yamon Figurs handled the rest of the return duties for the first half. Other notes:
1. Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata got a rude welcome from Falcons right guard Darrell Shropshire, who pushed Ngata down to the turf during the Falcons’ second offensive series.
2. The Ravens’ defensive tackles have been knifing through the interior of the Falcons offensive line. On the Falcons’ third series, Dwan Edwards and Justin Bannan were in the backfield about a milli-second after running back Jerious Norwood took the handoff. Edwards collapsed the pocket on another play, but could not bring quarterback Chris Redman down for the sack.
3. The touchdown pass from Redman to Norwood reminded me of a similar play between Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young and tight end Bo Scaife on Nov. 12. Both featured the quarterbacks avoiding a collapsing pocket and buying time with their feet before dumping off passes to a blocker who ran into the end zone with little resistance.
4. Figurs is fast, but he may not have the bulk to be a gunner on the punt coverage unit. In the midst of the Ravens’ first punt of the second quarter, Figurs was literally pushed into the Falcons bench and taken entirely out of the play.
5. Cornerback Derrick Martin is listed at 5 feet, 10 inches and 202 pounds, but he plays like he’s much bigger. He made a nice open-field tackle of Falcons punt returner Otis Amey to prevent a 13-yard return from doing any more damage. Later in the second quarter, Martin blasted wide receiver Vincent Marshall with a hit along the left sidelines that drew howls of protest from the Falcons bench, which sought an unnecessary roughness call. One official waited a long time before appeasing Atlanta, but after a conference among the officiating crew, the flag was repealed and no penalty was assessed.
Mike Preston has been with The Sun since 1983. Prior to becoming a columnist in 2000, he covered the Baltimore Ravens for four years. Preston is a native of Essex and a graduate of Towson State University, where he played football.
Jamison Hensley covers the Ravens for The Sun. 
Edward Lee covers the Ravens for The Sun. 
Don Markus covers the Ravens for The Sun. 
Comments
nothing on the Boller to Demetrius TD?!?
Posted by: J | August 31, 2007 9:11 PM
Darryl Johnston and Dick Stockton made a great case for Rhys Lloyd making the roster over "Boy Troy" Smith. Lloyd always seems to put the ball in the back of the endzone on kickoffs which in turn forces the opposing offense to start at the 20 every time against a very talented Ravens Defense. He’s also proved he can make long range field goals; a crucial commodity in an era where we so many teams drive down to the opposing team’s 40 or 35 and then either punt or shank a long field goal. With Stover getting up there in age, Lloyd could be the future at this position. “Billick Ball” fails to put many ( if any) points on the board and the Ravens face a far tougher schedule this year. Rhys Lloyd just may be the X factor this team needs to get by.
Posted by: Patrick | September 1, 2007 12:08 AM
1. As J noted, incredible pass play from Boller to D-Will. (And just as incredible, no mention of it here, despite the fact that it accounted for our only TD.)
2. If we don't sign Lloyd, we're making a big mistake. That 55 yard field goal would have been good from 65 or more. And more importantly, he consistently kicks off into the endzone, something we've been lacking for quite a while now. Also, I've read that he can punt if necessary, providing a backup to Koch as well. If we need a roster spot for him, cut Green. Why do we need 2 FBs, especially when Mike Anderson -- who Billick rarely uses anyway -- is more than capable of filling in at FB, since he did that in Denver.
3. Chris Redman looked amazing, especially considering he hasn't played in 3 years!
Posted by: skaybaltimore | September 1, 2007 1:50 PM
Yea, J is right, come on Ed, that pass catch between Boller and Williams was outstanding. Patrick, your right too, LLoyd is a keeper, I love Stover, but he's not going to be around forever and just for the kickoff's alone the guys is a steal. They were the two top highlights. I thought Matt Willis looked good throughout pre-season, better than Darling and Moore.
Posted by: Ulmstead1 | September 1, 2007 3:06 PM
First off, congrats to Rhys Lloyd for making the roster. It's good to see a Kentishman in a Ravens uniform. Having a Brit on the team may just raise some interest in the NFL and put the Ravens on the map over here in the U.K.. Now the clubhouse staff needs to stock up on PG Tips, bangers ( sausages), chips and Sweetcorn Pizza.
So "Boy Troy" completed 48% of his passes with no TD passes, was the 93rd best QB this preseason and was consitently running backwards ( thus inventing the 21 step drop I predicted) all against third, fourth and fifth string defenses? And he still made the 53 man roster? Welcome to year nine of "Billick Ball" folks.
Posted by: Patrick | September 3, 2007 5:38 AM
Shame LLoyd wasn't on the roster Jan. 13th. Maybe he could have matched Vianateri. Of course if McNair hadn't played like he was in a trance we'da won. I'm still not over it. Let's ROLL over the Bengals.
Posted by: budc | September 4, 2007 2:11 PM