Mike Preston's Report Card

Patriots 27, Ravens 21

October 05, 2009|By MIKE PRESTON

Quarterback

B-

Joe Flacco didn't bring his "A" game, and he struggled in the first half. Flacco took a beating in the first two quarters but showed a lot of resolve and almost pulled out the victory. He showed a lot of poise in tough times.

Running backs

This group was totally underused. How can these three running backs carry the ball only 17 times? The Ravens still had 116 rushing yards, and the backs could have controlled the pace of the game if they had been used more.

Receivers

Derrick Mason was unstoppable, and Kelley Washington and tight end Todd Heap scrambled off broken plays to make third-down catches. But Mark Clayton had a disappointing game, and that drop at the end might haunt this team for a long time. Offensive line

This group didn't get in sync until the second half. It was disappointing the linemen did not run block and take control. Before he left the game in the first half with an injury, left offensive tackle Jared Gaither struggled; so did right guard Ben Grubbs.

Defensive line

B+

Defensive coordinator Greg Mattison will be criticized for his three-man rush, but overall, that group did a nice job, led by Trevor Pryce and Terrell Suggs. The Patriots had no running game except for draw plays. Suggs had a huge sack in the third quarter.

Linebackers

Ray Lewis had 14 tackles, but he gave some ground on several running plays up the middle. Outside linebacker Jarret Johnson had eight tackles. Rookie Dannell Ellerbe played in his first NFL game and was a force in the middle.

Secondary

The Ravens did a decent job shutting down Randy Moss, but they had no answer for Wes Welker. Safety Dawan Landry whiffed on a couple of tackles, and safety Ed Reed was late on others. This group played as expected, maybe slightly better.

Special teams

C+

Punter Sam Koch was a top weapon. The Ravens averaged 25.5 yards on kickoff returns. Chris Carr fumbled the opening kickoff and was indecisive returning kicks out of the end zone. The Ravens coverage teams were pretty good.