NFL News: Preseason starts off well for the Baltimore Ravens
It will take a lot more than just a little rain to dampen the spirits of the Baltimore fans. Rain poured over the 70,000 Baltimore fans in attendance as they cheered on their team to victory on the opening day of the 2010 preseason.
The Ravens won their first game against the Carolina Panthers 17 to 12 as they held the panthers down on Thursday.
For the Ravens, quarterback Joe Flacco was the hero of the day. By the end of the night, Flacco had completed 8 of 12 passes for a total of 120 yards and a touchdown. On the Panthers side, rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen completed 8 passes with 80 yards and an interception. He was sacked twice. Starter Matt Moore finished the game 4 for 7 with 30 yards.
Raven’s coach John Harbaugh was satisfied with the overall performance of the team. “We did some things well and some not, and that's good for the first preseason game,” he said, adding further that they have learned some lessons from the game and know what improvements they need to make.
In the first quarter, Panthers Jimmy Clausen completed a 25 yard pass to wide receiver Kenneth Moore. The play culminated in a field goal for the Panthers as the score stood at 0-3.
It got interesting just minutes into the second quarter when quarterback Flacco completed a 96-yard drive ending with a 30 yard touchdown pass to Mark Clayton. In a bid to block the pass, Cornerback Captain Munnerlyn ended in a one-on-one position with Flacco who was precise and accurate in his pass.
Mark is coming off an excellent run through training camps. Coach Harbaugh said that Mark was in excellent shape and looked ‘explosive’ against the Panthers who had really stepped up his game. Ravens now led 7 to 3.
Willis McGahee scored the second touchdown for the ravens in the second quarter, bringing the score up to 14 for the Ravens.
The only touchdown from the Panthers side came when C.J Wilson achieved it in the third quarter. He caught a fumble and carried it over a distance of 31 yards to the end zone. Running back Jalen Parmele was rushed by defensive end Eric Moore which forced a fumble on which C.J Wilson capitalised. Moore pushed back the charge at Wilson by the Raven’s Davon Drew clearing the path for the Panthers only touchdown. Following the touchdown John Kasay missed the extra point and the Panthers were left trailing 17-9.
The Ravens didn’t score in the fourth quarter and the Panthers managed a field goal to finish at 17-12.
In a press conference after the game, Coach Harbaugh said that in his opinion, it was an exciting game and his team had played competitive football. On the Raven’s side, Terrance Cody was almost unstoppable. Carolina had to put 3 defensive linemen on the rookie nose tackle. The 6’4 giant was a wrecking ball who was even putting pressure on the Panther’s quarterbacks. “It felt good out there, running downhill, making plays and holding the line of scrimmage,” Cody said.
Mark Clayton delivered a good performance too. Clayton has seen career low reception but when it came to Flacco’s touchdown pass, Clayton was flawless. The players improved performances mirrored the improvements in the Ravens roster. He finished with a team high of 48 yards received.
The improvements that the Ravens made were immediately obvious in their passing. "We need to clean some things up, but overall it was a good start," Flacco said after the game. The Ravens leaned uncharacteristically heavily on the passing. By the second quarter, the ravens had completed 196 yards with just 22 yards on the ground.
Anquan Boldin said that the receivers were on the same page as Flacco, adding that although he believed they were getting to the point where the receivers and the quarterback are in concert, they were not there yet. “We’re going to continue to work and strive to get better.”
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