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Titans 13, Ravens 10 (Final)

by Matt Vensel | October 5, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Posted in NFL, Ravens, Uncategorized, sports

And we’re live from today’s Ravens-Titans game at M&T Bank Stadium. Log on to bthesite.com throughout today’s game for live blog updates, commentary and rants and raves from fellow b readers. And feel free to let your voice be heard, too. Your in-game and post-game rants could be featured in our new “Water Cooler Rants” section in Monday’s newspaper.

——4th Quarter:
4:03: Game over. The Ravens are now 2-2. Your thoughts?

3:57: Flacco’s interception will probably seal the deal, folks, but there is still hope. A lot of fans have vacated the stadium, though. Don’t stop believing, Baltimore! What would Steve Perry say?

3:53: Touchdown, Tennessee. And now it’s up to Flacco to move the Ravens into field goal range to tie the score. Titans 13, Ravens 10.

3:50: Nice composure by Collins there to wait for Bo Scaife to get open. Bonus points for Collins, because Scaife is on one of my fantasy teams. I know, I know. You could care less about my fantasy team right this second. Two-minute warning. First and 10 from at the Ravens’ 11.

3:47: Another first down by the Titans, and they’re down to the Baltimore 30-yard line. Look for the Ravens to do what they always do when they’re in a tough spot: dial up the blitz.

3:45: Clutch third-down conversion there. This is getting interesting.

3:44: It really didn’t look like much of a penalty in retrospect.

3:42: Big hit by Bart Scott there. Jones got popped. A play later, it’s a costly penalty by the Ravens that will keep the Titans’ drive alive. Now the tables have been turned.

3:40: With just over six minutes to go, the Titans will start their drive at the 20-yard line. Their prospects for driving down the field and finding the end zone don’t look very good right now. Is this the best defense we’ve ever seen in Baltimore? It has to be close.

3:35: Dang, Flacco has completed 12 straight. I knew he was playing well, but I didn’t know it was THAT well. Of course, most of those throws have been less than 10 yards, if not all of them.

3:32: Flacco looks poised right now, making the simple throws and not taking any chances. He’s played solid against two of the top defenses in the NFL, Pittsburgh and Tennessee, but he’s not out of the woods yet.

3:24: Nice pass breakup by McAlister to force a Titans’ field goal. Outside of that little hiccup on Santonio Holmes’ TD on Monday night, McAlister is having a great season. Titans put up another three-spot. Ravens 10, Titans 6.

3:22: If I’m a Titans fan, I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop with Kerry Collins right now. He’s passing the ball well on this drive (outside of the interception that didn’t stand up) but I feel a bad pass coming up soon.

——3rd Quarter:
3:17: I know there was defensive holding on that play, which overturned what would be another Collins interception, but where was he throwing to? Even if there wasn’t holding on the play, it still was thrown right to Frank Walker. I wonder if Chris Johnson can throw the football. The Titans might want to explore that option.

3:15: Hey, the Titans can pass the ball without it getting intercepted. Nice grab by Brandon Jones there to move the chains, and now the Titans are back in Ravens territory for the first time in a while.

3:06: After grabbing another pass for a first down, Mason just said something to Tennesee coach Jeff Fisher. I’m guessing he didn’t ask him if he misses Pacman Jones. I’m sure he does, though. Ravens to punt.

3:01: And they don’t get one. Now the Ravens can put even more pressure on the Titans with a nice, clock-eating drive.

3:00: Jeff Fisher is losing control of his team right now, and he needs the offense to come up with a couple of first downs to allow his defense to gain its composure.

2:53: Touchdown by McClain. I like the play call. Keep it simple, and stick with what works. Look for a lot more of the running game now that the Ravens are up. Ravens 10, Titans 3.

2:50: Man, this is turning into a street fight. For whatever reason, Albert Haynesworth body-slammed Flacco on a dead play. He just put him in the Razor’s Edge I think. Yet, no one popped Haynesworth. You’ve got stick up for your QB.

2:48: Now the Titans are fighting with one another. Interesting.

2:44: I knew Finnegan and Mason were set for a clash, but not like this. That was a nice little scrum. I guess hockey season did start yesterday. Maybe it rubbed off on the boys. The penalties offset, so it didn’t really have an impact on anything. It was fun to watch, though.

2:43: Terry has a knee sprain, and is getting X-rays. And we’re underway in the second half.

——2nd Quarter:
2:25: Wow, that was a big false start penalty. It forced the Ravens near the edge of Stover’s range, and they were forced to take their last time out. Now they have to complete a short pass and get out of bounds to set up the field goal. Wait, what? Now the Ravens are kicking the field goal. I’m confused right now. And Stover missed it. Score is still tied. My head hurts after all that.

2:24: Heap apparently reads bthesite.com when he’s not on the field, because he’s playing with a chip on his shoulder right now. And a nice run by McGahee puts the Ravens near the red zone.

2:21: Ugh. First down. No urgency by the offense. But then Flacco hits Mark Clayton on a 20-yard pass. Now we can expect to see Flacco throw the ball the rest of the half. Right tackle Adam Terry is down right now. It looks like it’s a leg injury. If you remember, Terry struggled with an ankle injury in the preseason. I’ll keep you posted.

2:18: Sorry, the two-minute warning announcement just woke me up. What a snoozer. But then again, most games aren’t as exciting as Monday night’s game was. Can Flacco take the offense 82 yards in two minutes? I really wish the coaching staff would let him give it a try, but I doubt they will. They have to pick up this third down first, of course.

2:08: Another nice return by the Titans. Chris Carr is the Titans’ biggest offensive weapon right now. Next to Joe Flacco maybe. Once again, no one said this one was going to be pretty.

2:06: I think at halftime I’m going to walk up to Phelps’ luxury box and have a nice cold can of Corona with him. What could be better than that?

2:05: Factoid: I am the only person in the press box with a black eye. I think everyone is a little bit afraid of me. Except for Mike Preston.

2:02: Speaking of mediocre, that was almost pick No. 3 for Collins. Is Warren Moon still on their roster? Another big stand for the Ravens’ defense, but the Titans walk away with three points. Ravens 3, Titans 3.

2:00: Another terrible decision (and throw) by Flacco, and this one won’t be overturned. It was a bad idea for Flacco to try to fit the ball in there, and then he put no zip on the pass whatsoever. I could have picked that one off. Both QBs have looked pretty mediocre today. I mean, this game is ugly.

1:58: Wait… Todd Heap still plays for the Ravens?!? Who knew?

1:55: How was there not a flag after that punt return? Flags all day long, but when there’s a scrum that actually warrants a flag, there’s no yellow to be found. By the way, I feel bad calling all the Titans receivers trash. Justin McCareins is decent. Everyone is trash.

1:53: Those Titans love those tight ends. Maybe that’s because their receivers are trash. Maybe that’s why Vince Young is so terrible. Nah, he deserves all the credit for that. But still.

1:52: That was officially the 73rd penalty of this game. I think the official number might be a bit low though.

1:49: Correction: Phelps is wearing a white Lacoste hat, not a while Ravens hat. I need glasses. Nice screen play by the Titans to pick up the first down, there. If I were an offense coordinator, I would call in screens to counteract Rex Ryan’s blitzing. Even if the plays went for minimal gain, it would get the defenders to think twice before going after the QB.

1:47: So Kerry Collins is on pace to throw eight interceptions today. I wouldn’t be surprised if that actually happened.

——1st Quarter:
1:42: Coach Harbaugh smartly challenged the interception, as David Thorton, the interceptor, was bobbling the ball. Still Ravens’ ball. But still a bad decision by Flacco.

1:38: Bad decision by Flacco on that interception. Just throw it away, Joe. If nothing is there, throw it away. Your defense is playing great right now. There’s no need to put extra pressure on them. I’d call it a rookie mistake, but that’s cliche. Let’s call it a Boller mistake. How does that sound?

1:35: And really, is there a better stadium food option than nachos? Nope, and don’t try to tell me otherwise.

1:34: Once again, the nachos come through in the clutch in the press box. I almost forgot there was a game going on right now.

1:29: Collins is picked off again after he throws into triple coverage. McAlister got this one. Another drive thwarted by that nasty Ravens ‘D.’

1:27: This Chris Johnson kid is GOOD. Every time he touches the ball, he’s a threat to take it to the house. The press box gasps every time he touches the ball. He got drilled on that screen play, though.

1:25: So much for the Titans having mediocre special teams. Their two kickoff returns have garnered big yards, and they were both a block away from being a touchdown. The Titans have awesome field position right now, but they aren’t going to score if they keep taking all these penalties.

1:20: The Titans sent a big blitz on third down, and even though Flacco missed his target, you have to like the blitz pickup by the Ravens. Reliable Matt Stover bangs another one through the uprights. Ravens 3, Titans 0.

1:17: There have been a lot of yellow flags on the carpet already today. This has been painfully slow and ugly so far. C’mon guys, this isn’t high school football.

1:15: Wow, now that was a dumb penalty. A personal foul after the play by Chris Hope will keep the Ravens’ drive alive, when the punter was already trotting out on the field to boot it away. Look for the Ravens to take advantage with some points.

1:13: Do you think Michael Phelps and Joe Flacco ever hang out? I can see them heading out to the clubs in Federal Hill together, like a goofy version of the Night at the Roxbury guys, but with worse facial hair.

1:08: Just when I was going to type about how the Titans were driving down the field, Justin Bannan, who’s played great in Kelly Gregg’s absence, intercepted a Collins pass. It was tipped by Haloti Ngata. Now it’s the Ravens’ turn to go on offense. How many plays will Willis McGahee last? I say 17. Your guess?

Maybe if he committed himself to offseason workouts he wouldn’t be hurt all the time. Just a thought.

1:06: Collins will never be mistaken for Vince Young out of the pocket.

1:03: And here comes Kerry Collins. I know you Ravens fans remember him fondly. Isn’t he in the Ravens hall of fame after that Super Bowl win? He probably should be. I don’t think the Titans will ask him to do too much today, unless the Titans get behind by a couple scores. I don’t really see that happening, though. This should be a close one, down to the wire.

——Pregame
1:00: Phelps is rocking a white No. 08 Ravens jersey with a white Ravens hat, shades and jeans. I was way off. He’s an honorary captain, which means he’ll have a really good view of the coin toss. Awesome. Oh man, Phelps is instant unintentional comedy. He cockily nodded his head after the coin toss. Not sure why, but thanks for the confidence boost, Michael.

12:59: In a minute Michael Phelps will come out onto the field to throw the first pitch, or whatever it is the celebrities do at football games. I’ll let you know how it goes, and if he’s wearing a Speedo.

12:53: I’m really eager to see today’s game, a matchup of two very similar teams. The 4-0 Titans have the best scoring defense in the league, allowing 11.5 points a game. The Ravens are tied for second (with the Giants) with 14.3 points allowed per game. If the Tennessee defense wasn’t already impressive enough, they lead the NFL with 12 takeaways in four games, including four interceptions from Cortland Finnegan. Who?

Actually, Finnegan is no secret any longer after Cincinnati’s Chad Ocho Cinco let the NFL know how good Finnegan was. Look for Finnegan to blanket Derrick Mason all day, which will force Joe Flacco to look for someone other than No. 85 today.

Both teams feature top-10 running games, too, but the edge goes to Tennessee there, too. Rookie Chris Johnson has rushed for 337 yards and two scores. He’s a burner, folks. He might be the fastest back in the NFL. Then again, the Ravens have had success against another fast tailback, Pittsburgh’s Willie Parker. LenDale White, the thunder to Johnson’s lightning, has five TDs this year. They should give the Ravens quite a challenge today.

Any predictions for today’s game?

12:50: We’re about 15 minutes away from kickoff here at M&T, and it’s a beautiful day outside. It’s 70 degrees and sunny. Enjoy this while it lasts, because in a month it’s going to be cold, snowy and terrible. I guess that’s football weather, though, right?

Three Ravens defensive starters are out today: Samari Roll (replace by Fabian Washington), Kelly Gregg (Justin Bannan) and Dawan Landry (Jim Leonhard). WR Justin Gage and CB Reynaldo Hill are among those out for the Titans.


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4 responses.

  1. Nobody said it was gonna be pretty but when are people gonna start believing?I couldn't believe the line for the game yesterday- Titans by 3. In our house!?! Come on! Anyway, let's keep the elite, liberal media (LOL!) from talking about us as we continue to rack up Ws.

  2. btw- i am kicking myself in the ass for not selecting steve slaton at the end of my draft. always go with your first thought.

  3. I hope you're not including me in the "elite, liberal media." haha.

  4. DOH!