Watching the colts offense... was just pitiful. Overall the worst offense I watched in 6 of the 8 teams I watched this weekend. Even the vikings had a spark here and there, before it got doused.
I would agree except... It is Matt Ryan and the falcons. Choking experts in the postseason last few years.
Luck didn't play badly. He receivers and offensive line, however, certainly did. Even Reggie Wayne was dropping passes including one Luck dropped over coverage right into his hands. I am at a loss for words. No clue what happened. I expect that kind of stuff from Avery (and he certainly didn't disappoint), but from Wayne and Hilton on very important plays?
The teams the Falcons lost to won the superbowl in the last 2 years, no playoffs for them in 2009. If they lost to teams that got blown out in the next round maybe.
I counted 6 passes off target, by a margin bigger than just missing (aka bad receiver or hitting them/finger tip catch)
3 of them he was not under pressure, he just didn't hit his target, especially the deeper passes in which he would miss by almost 3-5 yards.
Plus I said the whole offense. Oline was bad, running was blah, receivers looked slow/couldn't catch some passes on target.
The whole enchalata. I assume Luck's issues were nerves and not ready for the "next" level in the NFL. He was a rookie, so shouldn't be expected to have gotten comfortable here just yet.
I don't recall him missing that many passes. I recall the receivers missing far more. The one bad pass I do remember him throwing was tipped and picked off.
Running was OK in that game as well -- Ballard did have 91 yards and I think that's pretty good considering the defense they were playing. The Colts line seems OK at run blocking but is horrendous at pass blocking. Too many wide open Ravens as well, but on the big TD to Boldin, Butler had damn good position but Boldin just made a great play.
Boldin made a number of Flacco passes look much better than they really were lol.
I wasn't impressed by Flacco, especially on deep balls. The Boldin TD pass was surprisingly on target though. Flacco is just weird like that, some passes are amazing and then others just seem to be Favre'd in there (i.e. throw it in the general direction and expect the receiver to make the catch).
Colts better do something about that O-line. It was the same with Peyton, he started off slow the first few years because he never had any time. Once he had a line, boom, off he went. All year Luck gets a pocket that collapses after his 3rd step back.
Hell, look at Brady. Fucker could be knitting a sweater in the pocket until he decides to throw.
I wasn't impressed by Flacco, especially on deep balls. The Boldin TD pass was surprisingly on target though. Flacco is just weird like that, some passes are amazing and then others just seem to be Favre'd in there (i.e. throw it in the general direction and expect the receiver to make the catch).
RE: Luck, don't be so hard on him. He was going to a place that is the toughest stadium in football to play in, for the franchise player's last home game. I don't think any rookie would have been ready for the ferocity of the defense he had to go against. B.More was getting constant pressure on him and the receivers were contained for the most part. It's hard for even receivers to focus in that loud of an environment.
Speaking of the Viks... From the TV I thought Ponder basically had a bruised elbow or something..? I remember Culter got eaten alive for not finishing a game for what people felt was a minor injury a year (or was it 2 now?).
How did these two injuries compare?
To be fair. Favre was only like that last few years, when his accuracy was not amazing and all he had left was slinging it in there like a rocket hoping to be on target.
Raven toughest place to play? I think not. It is hard, but I believe the seahawks stadium is on a whole other level.
And hard on luck? He did play bad this game, as did the entire offense. Facts show it. But I Never claimed he isn't good or has potential. Just that the rookie-ness in him caught up on a game where jitters are going to be there, against a defense who was ready for him at home. And early on I started counting bad passes of his because he was looking flustered and you could see it in his face he was not happy. Much like the seahawks packers game this season... after sack 4 on rodgers I counted every sack they performed on him. It even got hilariously high in which I even cheered for more sacks because it was getting ridiculous levels. And I am a packer fan...
Sadly the ravens are not even one of the better teams left in the playoffs.
ESPN Declares M&T Bank Stadium Toughest NFL Venue
Posted Oct 11, 2012
Here are the top six toughest places to play in the NFL, per ESPN:
1) M&T Bank Stadium
2) CenturyLink Field in Seattle
3) Lambeau Field in Green Bay
4) Heinz Field in Pittsburgh
5) Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver
6) Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City
M&T Bank Stadium is the toughest NFL venue, ESPN declared after polling more than two dozen NFL players, owners, general managers, scouts, analysts and writers. But it’s the numbers that hoisted Baltimore to the top.
A simple way of looking at home-field advantage is to look at the home record (the Ravens rank second behind New England over the last decade), but looking at the stat alone usually skews toward the best teams that also win on the road. So ESPN’s Greg Garber looked at the difference between teams’ home winning percentage versus that on the road.
“The numbers are, quite frankly, astonishing: In 14 seasons at the building now known as M&T Bank Stadium, the Ravens are a giddy 84-31 (.730),” Garber wrote. “The road record in that time is a less-than-stellar 50-64 (.439). No NFL team in recent years has had more dramatic Jekyll-and-Hyde mood swings.”
In his fifth season in Baltimore, coach John Harbaugh is 30-5 (.857) at M&T Bank Stadium -- the best home record in the league over that time. Harbaugh calls his home-field advantage "the wall of purple" and says it's difficult to speak to someone only a foot away at home games.
Under Harbaugh at home, the Ravens have:
• Allowed an average of only 13.9 points per game, the best figure in the league; Pittsburgh is second at 14.7.
• Produced league highs of 111 interceptions and 209 sacks.
• Averaged a victory margin of 14.3 points.
Ask longtime Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi about tough places to play...
"It was five years ago, and I can remember everything -- it made that much of an impression," Bruschi said. "Sometimes when you play in certain venues you feel the audience. The electricity they have, the energy they're giving the team. You feel that in Baltimore. "It's like the fans and the defense are in perfect sync together."
Kevin Byrne, the Ravens' senior vice president of public and community relations, will tell you this isn't an accident. The Ravens, he said, strive to make the in-stadium experience more compelling than watching from home.
"That's what we're competing against," Byrne explained. "We invite the fans to help. We're saying, 'You can help us win. You can be a factor.' Let's not guess what they want -- let's ask them.
"We spend a lot of time and effort on it. We're pretty good at it, I have to admit."
The Ravens have monthly offseason meetings -- attended by the team president and a number of vice presidents -- to discuss details. During the season, these sessions are held before every home game. ...
"Ray Lewis will tell you he'd almost rather play away from home, because at least on the road he can talk to his teammates on the field."
Cutler, sat out after getting injured (legg/foot injury) when the offense was failing against the packers after first 1.5 quarters.
On the sideline as the bears were still struggling he was smiling and laughing AND standing. And even jumped for joy when the 3rd string QB came in and scored a TD on the packers late in the 4th quarter.
Ponder, didn't play knowing his accuracy wasn't good with a hurt elbow. Bad enough the coachs agreed to start 2nd string. And on the sideline you could see ponder was not happy he was not in the game.
Thus most people see it as cutler was just failing miserably and wanted to stay out with an injury to save face and thus not be the reason the Bears were going to lose to the Packers in the NFC championship, when he was doing horribly.
http://www.thebiglead.com/index.php...the-packers-because-his-arm-looked-like-this/
What Ponder's injury looked like.
I don't recall him missing that many passes. I recall the receivers missing far more. The one bad pass I do remember him throwing was tipped and picked off.
Running was OK in that game as well -- Ballard did have 91 yards and I think that's pretty good considering the defense they were playing. The Colts line seems OK at run blocking but is horrendous at pass blocking. Too many wide open Ravens as well, but on the big TD to Boldin, Butler had damn good position but Boldin just made a great play.
I remember quite a few big dropped passes as well. I felt pretty bad for Luck knowing he'd probably get the brunt of the blame but there were a number of 2nd half passes that absolutely should have been caught.
Damn shame
Ballard had a couple passes that hit him square in the hands that would have been first downs that he dropped too.