Ravens report card: The defense and special teams 11/2/2014
The Baltimore Ravens fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers 43 to 23 in a game decided by bad calls and turnovers. The Ravens secondary crumbled after the officials gave the Steelers extra yards on made up penalties and bad spots. This is the report card on the offense.
Defensive Line: The defensive line played lights out for the Ravens like usual. The defense at one point had three sacks in a row and only allowed 55 rushing yards. This unit was not the problem. Grade B+
Linebackers: Daryl Smith and C.J. Mosley both lead the Ravens with nine tackles each. Both Smith and Mosley played well. Elvis Dumervil had a sack and played well. Grade B
Secondary: The secondary without Jimmy Smith is a secondary that is not good. Dominique Franks was released by the Ravens after another awful game. The Ravens allowed six passing touchdowns… there is a catch, a few of those Steeler drives were added by bad calls and bad spots. This unit still could not cover the dark side of the moon and Chykie Brown and Franks got their walking papers for it. Grade F
Overall: The front side of the defense played lights out the back end… not so much. The Ravens reshaped their secondary after this game. Grade C
Special Teams: Jacoby Jones finally broke out with a big touchdown return off a kickoff and Justin Tucker was solid again. The Ravens continue to play good on special teams. Grade B+
Coaching Staff: The Ravens lost control a little bit in this game but it was the officials that were really out of line. The personal foul calls could have come against either team but all of them went against the Ravens. Some of the calls made were made up and it attributed to how horrible the officials were. The coaching staff had their hands full with the Steelers and the officials made it an impossible task. Grade C
