The Baltimore Ravens are clearly responding to first year defensive coordinator Greg Mattison. In Mattisons debut as an NFL coordinator the Ravens obliterated their regional rivals the Washington Redskins, completing a shutout by a final score of 23-0. The Baltimore offense played competent football but the Ravens stop unit looked to be in regular season form already.
There had been some concern about the Ravens lack of depth at wide receiver, but on this night at least that wasnt an issue. 15 different players caught passes and after the game backup QB Troy Smith said that Ravens signal callers had been instructed to get as many players involved in the offense as possible:
"It's been drilled into both our heads to spread the ball around, to not have tunnel vision. The sky's the limit for us."
Starting QB Joe Flacco was pleased with the effort:
"As an offense, everything felt really good. I was happy with the way our receivers and running backs were moving. Our line did a heck of a job for being their first time out. I didn't have to do anything but sit in the pocket and make throws."
The Ravens defense, meanwhile, was simply stifling. Washington never got closer than the Baltimore 30 yardline, and 9 of their 12 drives failed to reach midfield. Head coach John Harbaugh joked about awarding defensive coordinator Mattison the game ball:
"I don't know how he's going to do it, but he said he's going to divide it up for every one of the 80 guys on the team.
Redskins coach Jim Zorn sounded a positive note despite the decisive loss:
"This is a tremendous tool for us to use. We look for these things, these learning situations."
The Redskins will continue their NFL preseason play by hosting the Superbowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night. Baltimore, meanwhile, will welcome the New York Jets to Charm City on Monday night. The Redskins will open the NFL regular season with a big divisional tilt against the New York Giants at The Meadowlands on Sunday, September 13 while Baltimore will host the Kansas City Chiefs.
There had been some concern about the Ravens lack of depth at wide receiver, but on this night at least that wasnt an issue. 15 different players caught passes and after the game backup QB Troy Smith said that Ravens signal callers had been instructed to get as many players involved in the offense as possible:
"It's been drilled into both our heads to spread the ball around, to not have tunnel vision. The sky's the limit for us."
Starting QB Joe Flacco was pleased with the effort:
"As an offense, everything felt really good. I was happy with the way our receivers and running backs were moving. Our line did a heck of a job for being their first time out. I didn't have to do anything but sit in the pocket and make throws."
The Ravens defense, meanwhile, was simply stifling. Washington never got closer than the Baltimore 30 yardline, and 9 of their 12 drives failed to reach midfield. Head coach John Harbaugh joked about awarding defensive coordinator Mattison the game ball:
"I don't know how he's going to do it, but he said he's going to divide it up for every one of the 80 guys on the team.
Redskins coach Jim Zorn sounded a positive note despite the decisive loss:
"This is a tremendous tool for us to use. We look for these things, these learning situations."
The Redskins will continue their NFL preseason play by hosting the Superbowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night. Baltimore, meanwhile, will welcome the New York Jets to Charm City on Monday night. The Redskins will open the NFL regular season with a big divisional tilt against the New York Giants at The Meadowlands on Sunday, September 13 while Baltimore will host the Kansas City Chiefs.
About the Author:
Ross Everett is a consulting handicapper for Sports-1 and an authority on horse racing and NFL football betting . He's a published expert on handicapping theory, as well as financial investment strategy. He contributes to a number of websites providing insight on how to bet on NFL football, hockey and mixed martial arts.
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