Another play worth noting was the blatant (and uncalled) facemask the Ravens used to stuff Foster on a 4th-and-1 at the Baltimore 20. It was largely forgotten about because the Texans forced a Flacco fumble two plays later and ended up getting a touchdown. But many of the folks characterizing it as a whipping (cough, Bill Barnwell) misrepresent the Texans as "lucky" in that game, citing their 2-0 turnover advantage. In reality, one of those turnovers simply negated a horrendous no-call and was a case of luck evening out. (The other was a largely inconsequential interception in the final minute of the first half, when neither team was likely to score. Flacco was just taking a deep shot.)
Yeah, that's the play I was referring to. Definitely grounding and should have killed that drive. On the Smith catch, I thought the same thing. When you look at it again, it looks like he took two steps with the ball, and then was tackled, thus signifying a catch. When he goes to the ground, it's nothing more than a ground caused fumble (which he held onto anyways). Good no call, imo.
I think these were two different halves, but I could be wrong. Texans got jobbed on that call, though.
They were all in the second quarter. From the play-by-play: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/boxscore?gid=20111016033&page=plays The Flacco interception was with 21 seconds left in Q2, when both teams were unlikely to score no matter what.
My bad. I think people overlook these small things. Had the Texans scored on the facemask drive, and then scored again after a kickoff (and the sack and fumble), momentum could have swung the game big time. Hindsight is 20/20, and who knows what would have happened if the facemask drive continued.
Exactly, that's a possibility too. It just grates on me when analysis from paid sportswriters is so shallow, with Barnwell simply looking at the box score, seeing the Texans with a +2 turnover advantage, and concluding that they were the "lucky" team. Not all turnovers are created equal, in terms of their impact on a game. Likewise, in terms of predictive value, horrendous officiating calls are every bit as noteworthy as turnovers. But you actually have to watch the game film (and with an open mind, at that) to see these things, and that's too much to ask from some.
I remember those two costly penalties from the Ninja in the end zone during the last game . Who was the Ravens player that got him so riled up? Hopefully cooler heads prevail on Sunday.
yeah i was thinking the same thing... since when do commentators (read: professional commentators) bash one of the teams they are announcing for? that's pretty bush league.
Very good observations. The bolded part also got me wondering if TJ can make those similar type completions.
Bill Simmons, after picking the Titans to win the division before the season, is picking the Ravens to win, 30-3. I love the concept of Grantland, but its writers are becoming hard to take seriously.
It all stems from the fact that we've had basically zero national exposure this year. All of our Sunday games were mostly regional broadcasts, our one Thursday night game was against the Colts who have zero appeal (and we lost, giving us no cred to the people that did watch), and our playoff win was against a rookie QB at home. I'd expect nothing less from Bill Simmons or any of these other writers, because outside of last week they haven't seen us play for more than tiny segments of games and watching the highlights. They know we beat up on some bad teams, lost to the Ravens by 2 TDs (even though it was close going into the 4th), and lost our last three games. But they haven't really seen us play. They haven't seen the playmaking capability of this defense and they're underestimating the impact of Andre Johnson. Everybody here knows that we can compete with anyone, even though on paper it might not look like it.
Honestly all these writers abjectly bashing us and calling for blowout wins is the best favor we could ask for. The underdog mentality is a huge weapon in the NFL, and come Sunday it won't just be Charles Barkley who has to eat his words.
NickScurfield Ravens rank 3rd in rushing D, but Foster ran for 100 yds on 20 att (5.0 avg) on them when they ranked 5th in '10 #Texans 41 minutes ago NickScurfield In 3 previous games vs teams who held him to <60 yds in previous mtg, @ArianFoster has responded w/ an avg of 149.3 rushing yds #Texans 44 minutes ago ยท NickScurfield #Texans @ArianFoster had 49 yds on 15 carries (3.3 avg) 10/16 at BAL. Has never been held to less than 60 yds by same opp twice
who the hell does this scurfield think he is? actually researching and looking at film? psssh please. Ravens got this because they won a superbowl and the texans have never been to a superbowl. Aspiring Espn analyst, V.A.
Daam i got anxiety for this freakn game...........jus dont make it a blow out...football gods u took foster for a few games....andre for most of season....the two Matts, Mario and punter dude for season.....u even screwed us takn our D coordinator a few games...plz let us win...no one believes in us.
