Dannell Ellerbe's Game Saving Tackle

While watching NFL Network's Total Access show this past week, I ran across a key play made by Ravens Inside Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe. Host Amber Theoharris and analyst Brian Baldinger discussed Ellerbe's paly in depth, leading Baldinger to claim that it might have been a game saving play for the Ravens. The analysis was very interesting being that it was my first time hearing or reading about how well of a job Ellerbe had done in tackling Gore before a potential score to take the lead.

The situation was a 49ers 1st and 10 with 2:47 left in the 4th quarter and two timeouts available. The Baltimore Ravens still had their three timeouts left. Beginning at the 2:52 mark, you can see the 49ers handoff the ball to Gore from their Pistol formation. He is able to race down the left sideline until about the 8 yard line where Ellerbe shoves him out of bounds after escaping a tackle attempt by Ed Reed. The play ends at the 3:00 mark and if  you take a closer look your able to notice that before making his great play, Ellerbe was held by Left Tackle Joe Staley near the line of scrimmage. After being bullied around for sometime, he was finally able to free himself and make it in time to prevent a touchdown. This play certainly made me gain a higher level of respect for Ellerbe's value to the team.

Some might say that the Ravens timeouts combined with the 2 minute warning, would have easily gave them back the lead but when considering the momentum built by the 49ers since the third quarter they should think otherwise. I myself didn't realize how important of a play Ellerbe had made until Brian's analysis. Stopping Gore led to the Ravens goal line stand which left 1:46 on the clock and became the signature moment of their victory. The series essentially took more time off the clock and gave momentum back to the Ravens after squandering a 28-6 lead. Even though they weren't able to score again on their next possession, Sam Koch took a safety in the endzone before punting to the 49ers with 4 seconds left on the clock. It had to be one of the more intelligent coaching decisions I have seen in a while.

As controversial as the non-call for the contact between Jimmy Smith and Michael Crabtree on the last play of the 49ers series has become, it will now forever be remembered in Super Bowl folklore as "4th and goal". After taking a closer look, denying Gore a touchdown wasn't just an obvious contribution by Ellerbe since his effort to make the tackle and it's role in the bigger picture will always make him an unsung MVP.

Meet Rookie Kicker Justin Tucker

Rookie undrafted free agent Justin Tucker was signed by the Baltimore Ravens today and now will have the duty of competing against veteran Billy Cundiff for the starting kicking position.

Billy Cundiff also came into the league as an undrafted free agent. As we all know he was much maligned at the end of the Ravens season for missing a potential game-tying field goal against the Patriots in the AFC Championship game which sailed wide left from 32 yards away.

The missed field goal was certainly puzzling seeing as Cundiff had made 10 of them between 30-39 yards during the regular season but on the road he went 11/20 comparing to his 17/17 record at home. Also he was only 1 for 6 from 50 plus yards which certainly explained coach John Harbaugh's reason to avoid taking what would have possibly been a tying field goal from that distance earlier in the game.

Bill Cundiff's Regular Season Stats/Splits: http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/splits/_/id/4245/billy-cundiff

Justin Tucker's Texas profile page: http://www.texassports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/tucker_justin00.html

Jamison Hensley Needs a Better Clue

I have enjoyed reading writer Jamison Hensley's work since he was a key contributor of Ravens news for the Baltimore Sun and felt happy for him when ESPN brought his talents to their website to cover the AFC North Division.

Following John Harbaugh's controversial comments regarding the punishments that the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots have undergone, a media storm of negativity has unfortunately blown his comments way out of proportion. Among the media, I am specifically targeting Jamison Hensley for his somewhat surprisingly one-sided thoughts on the matter.

The controversy stems from a statement John made about the Patriots being punished for the "Spy-Gate" incident in 2007 that found the team recording defensive signals from the Jets' sideline. When asked about the Saints bounty hit's scandal on Baltimore's 97.9 FM, John directed the attention towards the Patriots first and then stopped himself from mentioning the Saints.

"In the end, everything is brought before the light of day, when it’s all said and done," "What happens, even the thing in New England, no matter whether those things had any impact on whether they won their championships or not, they got asterisks now. It’s been stained."

Listen to the radio interview here: http://thejoint.98online.com/_Coach-Harbaugh/audio/935921/13306.html


When Hensley goes on to make an argument that Harbaugh should have kept his mouth closed because Bill Belichick was the one to give Ravens' owner Steve Bisciotti a good referral for their head coaching vacancy, it wreaked of a mafia like mentality.

"Harbaugh was right in saying that the Patriots' championships will always be questioned because of Spygate. He was the wrong person to say it, though." "This shows a lack of loyalty on Harbaugh's part."

Ravens must beware of J.J. Watt

J.J. Watt 2011 Stats: TACK   SOLO   AST    SACK    FF   FR    INT    PD    TD

                                    56          48          8         5.5          0      2        0        4       0 




Postseason Stats:   TACK   SOLO   AST    SACK    FF    FR    INT    PD    TD
                                   2            2           0          1.0         0      0       1          1       1


The Houston Texans drafted defensive end J.J. Watt 11th overall in April's draft. Before attending Wisconsin University in 2008 he played tight end for one year at Central Michigan. After being redshirted the previous season, Watt would play his 2009 and 2010 campaign as a defensive end.


At 6'5 288 pounds, J.J. Watt can become a very destructive force apart of a 2nd ranked Houston defense who finished 6th in total sacks with 44 for the season. The capability of this destruction was most noticed against the Bengals last Saturday when Watt leaped over an offensive lineman to snatch a pass out of the air and rumble 29 yards towards the end zone. The Texans went on to defeat the Bengals 31-10. The former 2010 All-American was recorded at the NFL Combine with a 34 inch arm length and a 37 inch vertical. Those tools are certainly being put to good use now.

J.J. Watt 2011 Draft Scouting Report from FFToolbox: http://www.fftoolbox.com/nfl_draft/profile_display.cfm?prospect_id=2727

How far have the Bengals come since their 1990 Playoff win?

41-14 was the score of the Bengals last playoff victory as they routed the Houston Oilers at home. Ironically the Bengals were then the 3rd seed while the Oilers were the 6th seed. 21 years later, the two teams face off again in a wild-card matchup in Houston this weekend with the Bengals now being the 6th seed and the Texans having the 3rd seed.

In the Bengals 44 years of existence they have given their fans 10 playoff appearances and 2 Super Bowl losses. Since their 1990 playoff victory they have only returned there twice in 2005 and 2009, losing both contests in embarrassing fashion. 2005 marked the team's first playoff game in 15 years which was also the longest playoff drought experienced by the Bengals in team history.

Their downward spiral into futility began in 1991 by finishing with a 3-13 record and continued to get worst over the years as the team became hindered by mediocre quarterback play to put it kindly. Does Jeff Blake or Akili Smith ring a bell? Before 2005 the team failed to finish a season with an above .500 record. Former 2003 1st round pick Carson Palmer's career completion percentage of 62.9, still stands as the best among Bengal starting QB's during their 15 year span of losing. One would assume that retiring after the 2010 season was an easy choice for Palmer after being made aware that team President Mike Brown refused to let him go elsewhere.

Now Carson is suiting up for Oakland after the Raiders gave up a 2012 first-round pick and a conditional second-rounder in 2013 that can become another first-round pick if the Raiders are able to play in the AFC championship game within the next two years.

2011's version of the Bengals is one that experienced promise under the franchise's all-time winning leader in head coach Marvin Lewis and a rookie tandem that took the NFL by storm this season. Lewis was on the hot seat last season but a revived Bengals team has saved his job for now. The rookie tandem was made up of quarterback Andy Dalton and wide receiver A.J. Green. Other key components were a powerful running back in Cedric Benson, a stellar tight end in Jermaine Gresham, and a 7th ranked defense that made these guys jobs a lot easier. The improvement of the defense began with Marvin Lewis but was hurried along by the hiring of defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer in 2008. Under his guidance, they finished in the top 5 in 2009 for the first time since 1983.

Here is a statistical look at the Bengals 2009 playoff team and their current team:

2009 Offense                                                   2009 Defense


O-Line: 9th Passing: 26th  Rushing: 9th        Passing: 6th   Rushing: 7th  


Interceptions & Forced Fumbles: 9th


2011 Offense                                                   2011 Defense


O-Line: 4th Passing: 20th  Rushing: 19th       Passing: 9th   Rushing: 10th 


Interceptions & Forced Fumbles: 26th

Jerome Simpson sticks an Olympic landing TD

After a short reception near the left sideline from Andy Dalton, Jerome Simpson does his best audition for the London 2012 Olympics by racing down the field and performing an acrobatic somersault flip from the Cardinals 5-yard line into the end zone. You have to obviously respect Simpson's competitive desire but even more amazing is the audacity in which he expressed that desire. What if he wasn't successful? I shudder at the thought of the outcome.

Thankfully he was successful and it's a play that will surely be remembered as one of the best of 2011. It was also featured on Deon Sanders' "Let's Go Primetime" top 10 countdown on NFL Network's Gameday show tonight. I'm curious to see where he ranks it and on a side note, the Gameday show has been a weekly addiction for sometime now.

Big Ben Might as well have been cheerleading on Monday Night

The Steelers seemed outmatched by the 49ers on a Monday Night game which included two power outages at Candlestick Park. The story of the game was the 49ers defense which sacked Ben as well as intercepted him 3 times, hit him 8 times, recovered 1 fumble, accounted for 9 pass deflections and totaled 6 tackles for a loss. The comparison's with the 49ers defensive efforts shows a very lack luster performance from the Steelers. Missing suspended linebacker James Harrison surely hurt but given Ben's injury, one would think that the black and gold defense should have found a way to be the story of the game instead.

The Steelers defense left Alex Smith untouched and only attained 3 tackles for losses and four pass deflections. Even more telling were the 6 more total tackles that San Fran gained over Pittsburgh's defense. So far the Steelers are ranked 24th in defensive turnovers compared to finishing 5th in that category last year. Seemingly, their opportunistic nature of the past has faded away leaving an older and less efficient defense. On the other side, the 49ers are currently ranked 17th in that category and more impressively their 15 game streak of not allowing a rushing touchdown matches the 1985-86 Bears for the longest since the 1970 season.

Ben Roethlisberger finished the game with 25 completions for 44 attempts and 330 yards. Alex Smith threw for 187 yards with 1 TD and completed 18 for 31 passes. Along with not throwing any interceptions, Smith was clearly the more efficient quarterback last night. The 6 more passing first downs that the Steelers gained over the 49ers could be more deceiving than Ben's numbers but if you watched the game you would have realized how little that stat means. Most of those throws were in an effort to come back in the game while Ben's deep passes sailed over receivers and didn't look nearly as accurate as they usually do. To his credit, a lot of the intermediate throws he made hit his wide outs in a timely manner but there were several chances for key plays that could have made a difference in the game's outcome. The ability to step into his throw on deep passes just wasn't there.

As defenses in the NFL know all too well, a healthy Ben would have been able to avoid rushers and make big plays with his arm as well as his feet. His 6'5 241 lb. frame is usually a nightmare for defenders to take down but as we saw last night, a hobbled ankle provided a sort of kryptonite for the 49ers. For a moment, the frustration on Ben's face as well as his words of disgust were clear for everyone to see. Even more evident of his lack of abilities was the anguish he showed when trying to complete passes during pre-game warm ups. Monday Night football analyst and former 49er Steve Young, questioned the Steelers decision to start Roethlisberger on numerous occasions, before and after the game.