Ravens report card week 1: the defense and special teams
This is the second report card for the Baltimore Ravens week 1 game against the Denver Broncos. They lost 27-49 for the report card on the offense go here. Lets get back to the report card.
Defensive Line: The defensive line only allowed 65 yards rushing, which is good. The line was not the biggest problem in this game. They could have added more pressure, Peyton Manning had way too much time to throw. They had three sacks and hit Manning a bunch of times, not the worst part of the defense. Grade B
Linebackers: Josh Bynes led the team in tackles with eight and had a pass defense. Bynes and Daryl Smith really played well and kept the run game in check. This was not the fatal flaw of the Ravens. Grade B
Defensive Backs: This was the unit that really really struggled, Jimmy Smith got absolutely scorched. This unit gave up seven passing touchdowns and every player in this unit seemed to miss tackles, even Michael Huff. Matt Elam needed to be on the field more because James Ihedigbo did not look good. Lardarius Webb was the only Raven that seemed to play well in this unit and Manning simply stayed away from passing in his area. This should get better because Smith and Huff are good players. For now this unit can not be graded well. Grade F
Special Teams: The Ravens played well on special teams except for a huge mishap that led to Jacoby Jones getting injured. Rookie free agent Brynden Trawick ran into Jones on a punt that hurt him. Not much happened in the return game. Justin Tucker was perfect and Sam Koch was good. Grade C
Coaching staff: They needed to challenge the Wes Welker catch that was not a catch, but they really did not have time to see it. If that play was reviewed this game might have gone differently. They need to work on the defensive backs. Grade C
