Real Redskins live blog: Redskins at Ravens

Hello and welcome to the Real Redskins live bog for tonight's game between the Redskins and Ravens.

I'll be commenting on what is going on during the game. Hit refresh frequently to get the latest updates.

This also is about what you think. Either hit the comments section below or hit Twitter and ask or comment to @Rich_Tandler. We'll bring the best comments and tweets into the blog here and discuss them.

Question for comments or Twitter: Sonny Jurgensen said that the Redskins should start Grossman in Week 1. Agree? Disagree?

Fourth quarter

Summary—Certainly not the sharpest performance by the Redskins but they did manage to hang with a pretty good team with both squads had their starters in. Beck and Grossman were ragged and Beck threw an interception but they each throw for a touchdown and they averaged 8.8 yards per pass attempt.

Joe Flacco was very good at times, putting a touchdown passes to Anquan Boldin and Lee Evans right on the money. He did throw the pick six to DeAngelo Hall on their first possession and that was ultimately the difference in the game until the Ravens scored with 22 seconds left.

Ray Rice averaged 5.5 yards a pop, gaining 72 yards on 13 carries in a little over a half of work. That might have spelled problems if Rice had 25 carries over four quarters.

As noted, Sav Rocca was money with a 41-yard average on six punts. 

6:00—It is getting a little bit sloppy here in the late going. Tyrod Taylor juked out of the pocket for a nice run into the red zone. But a sack by Shannon prevented a tying touchdown and Billy Cundiff booted a field goal that cuts the Redskins lead to 31-27. And the danger of the game going into overtime just about disappears.

10:21—Graham Gano has fought off whatever notion the Redskins may have had of seriously challenging him for the kicking job. He just booted a 48-yard field goal that would have been good from 55 or more. That doesn’t mean that he might not stumble at some point during the year but the job is his.

14:00—The Ravens drove to a field goal behind Tyrod Taylor to make it 28-24. It is now officially garbage time as Kellen Clemens is in the game. 

Third quarter

5:15—After throwing a deep pick on his first pass of the second half, Beck got things rolling. Terrence Austin was his prime target as Beck hit him with a couple of passes in stride. Roy Helu kicks in with a few solid runs, Leonard “Hands” Hankerson plucks one off of the ground for a nine-yard gain and the Redskins are in the red zone.

Flanker screen to Austin gets the TD as he weaves through traffic to cap a 97-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown catch. Beck was 5 for 6 for 75 yards and the TD.

9:23—It was the definitive hot knife through butter drive as the Ravens first-team offense drives 80 yards on the Redskins’ second-team defense. Twelve plays, 85 yards with Flacco to Boldin for 21 yards for the score. Game tied at 21.

Second quarter

Summary—The Redskins were playing well until a couple of penalties kept a Ravens drive alive. That allowed Baltimore to turn a 14-0 game into a 14-14 tie.

Both Redskins quarterbacks were spotty. Beck fired a 33-yard completion to Anthony Armstrong on his first pass, setting up the Redskins touchdown. That was his only completion in three attempts.

Grossman started off slowly before going six for eight for 80 yards on a late touchdown drive that put the Redskins up 21-14. He finished the half 8 of 15 for 114 yards.

The defense got some pressure on Flacco but he proved to be slippery at times. Kevin Barnes, Brian Orakpo, and Ryan Kerrigan got sacks. 

5:41—And the Ravens make the Redskins pay for their errors with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Flacco to Lee Evans. Game is tied at 14.

7:07—The Redskins managed to stay penalty free for most of the first two games. Not only are they having laundry dropped on them tonight, the flags are coming at key times. After Rocca’s punt the Redskins had the Ravens backed up with third and six at the eight. Another neutral zone infraction and then a holding call got them out of the hole. A deep seam pass to the tight end has them in Redskins territory. 

10:19—Sav Rocca is a keeper. He just boomed a 63-yard punt that went out of bounds at the four. 

12:09—The Redskins make mistakes and the Ravens capitalize. On a third and 10, the Redskins are flagged for a neutral zone infraction and then they get a first down after a running into the kicker penalty. Flacco converts a third and long with a pass to Anquan Boldin down to the one and Rice punches it in two plays later. Hate to see dumb mistakes and third and long conversions but now is the time to see them.

First quarter

3:35—A lightning drive with Beck at the helm. After a 33-yard pass to Armstrong, the Redskins went with two tight ends on second and 10. Tim Hightower made a nice cutback and bolted 37 yards to the end zone.

Hightower 37 run (Gano kick)
Redskins 14, Ravens 0
3:35 left in first quarter

8:30—Some max protection on third and 14 from the Ravens 45. The only players out on a route were Moss, Gaffney, and Armstrong. Gaffney was the only one who was beyond the first down sticks. 

10:30—Press box announcement was that Jenkins has a sprained knee and his return is questionable. It is kind of early to predict how much time he might miss.  

11:10—Jarvis Jenkins down on the field. They helped him up and he is limping off with some assistance. Too early to speculate what the issue might be. 

12:40—Pick six by DeAngelo Hall. I have no idea what Joe Flacco was looking at, Hall was right there. There was a little chippiness after the PAT but no flags.

Hall 52 interception return (Gano kick)
Redskins 7, Ravens 0
12:40 left in first quarter

Pregame

8:00—It looks like we are going to get underway on time here. The Ravens were just introduced and once the finish the fireworks in the end zone we should get rolling here. 

7:40—Byron Westbrook will get a shot tonight. He, not Kevin Barnes or Phillip Buchanon, will start at cornerback in place of the sidelined Josh Wilson. Jarvis Jenkins will start at end in place of Adam Carriker and Keyaron Fox takes Fletcher’s linebacker spot.

7:35--Comment from Dale:

 Best Qb play tonight becomes the starter against the Giants in my opinion. 

That would seem to be the logical conclusion. But logic has not always prevailed in this matter, so we will see.

7:30—We are wondering if this game is going to kick off on time. They cleared the field of players about 15 minutes ago after some lightning was seen in the vicinity and they are just coming back on. I don’t know if they will start the game with an abbreviated warmup period.

7:00—Per ESPN 980, the following players are inactive: Malcolm Kelly, Brandon Banks, Josh Wilson, LaRon Landry, Kareem Moore, Ryan Torain, Chris Cooley, London Fletcher, and Adam Carriker. None is a surprise scratch. 

6:55--Comment from Philly Skins Fan: 

A wise man once said, "If you've got two QBs, you've got none." I suspect we have none, but I don't like this whole "every two series" thing. Let them get into a groove.

Whlle I generally agree, it only preseason. 

6:25—I’ve never been to the stadium before. It’s pretty nice, a cut above FedEx Field in terms of looks, feel, and the setup in the press box. Of course, M&T Bank Stadium was built primarily with taxpayer and other public funds while FedEx was primarily built with Jack Kent Cooke’s money. They didn’t have to cut corners here (like the brick façade) while FedEx is more Spartan. 

6:00—The quarterback news is, well, head-scratching. According to Bruce Allen, Rex Grossman will start the game and the John Beck will come in after two series. After that, they will alternate every two series.

Most figured that Beck would start since the Redskins know what they have in Grossman. Beck could use more time under live fire. Before last week, Beck had not faced another team’s starters since the 2008 preseason.

Alternating is no big deal because, well, it’s preseason. It seems that Mike Shanahan wants to be able to sub for a some starters as the game goes on and he doesn’t want to bring in the second “starter” after, say, Santana Moss and Tim Hightower have taken off their shoulder pads for the night. 

 

 

 

Comments

[Sdo1]

Beck should start. The Skins should already know what they have in Grossman.

Guess y'all have given up on the chat thing, huh?

[Rich Tandler]

@sdo1, just trying this out. The Cover it Live is a good interface, but, yeah, it had enough glitches to make some folks unhappy. We'll see how this works out.

[Philly Skins Fan]

I'll tell ya what....we may not have a whole heck of a lot of talent on this squad, but it's a real pleasure to go thru the NFL rumors section on ESPN and the Truth and Rumors on SI.com and not see one "rumor" pertaining to the Washington Redskins. A pleasure.

[Philly Skins Fan]

A wise man once said, "If you've got two QBs, you've got none." I suspect we have none, but I don't like this whole "every two series" thing. Let them get into a groove.

[dale]

Huge night for the quarterbacks. Mike is giving Rex a fair shake in the Qb duel. Any turnovers from Grossman would be Bad. Best Qb play tonight becomes the starter against the Giants in my opinion. Turnovers are #1 criteria, followed by Touchdowns and big plays. Beck's legs could win him the job. Should be a fun watch.

[Kyle B]

Beck SHOULD start just for the fact that he COULD be the face of our franchise for years to come. So let's see what he has going up against a tough D.

[Philly Skins Fan]

Looks like it's gonna be a little wet. What's the forecast?

[Philly Skins Fan]

Woooo!

[Philly Skins Fan]

Well, this is interesting......

[Philly Skins Fan]

Am I missing something? Is this a new rule where O-Linemen can point out to the refs that D-linemen moved? When did this start happening? We should have been doing that for years!

[Jason72]

I hope Jarvis Jenkins' injury is truly just a sprain.

[can i buy flagyl online]

Hello and welcome to the Real Redskins live bog for tonight's game between the Redskins and Ravens. I'll be commenting on what is going on during the game. Hit refresh frequently to get the latest updates. This also is about what you think. Either hit the comments section below or hit Twitter and ask or comment to @Rich_Tandler. We'll bring the best comments and tweets into the blog here and discuss them. Question for comments or Twitter: Sonny Jurgensen said...