Ravens take heartbreak history to Baltimore
When the Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996, a legal settlement kept the history, the colors, and the attribution of all Hall of Fame Members back in Cleveland so that a franchise could start again. However, there is one thing that the Old Browns took with them to Baltimore, and that's a history of heartbreak. They learned how to give up The Drive, and The Fumble in Cleveland, and here it comes, full circle, in the essence of the original Browns.
With over 3 minutes to go, the Patriots had to go nearly 80 yards for a touchdown that could win the game for them. They did that, with help from stupid play by the Ravens, and helpful handkerchiefs from the officials. Several fourth downs were converted with the help of defensive penalties, as well as ill-timed Ravens timeouts. In the end, the Ravens found an inventive way to lose a game they had been leading nearly the entire time. They bullied the Patriots for about 55 minutes of regulation, but it was the last 5 that they were pushed around. The game fittingly ended when Mark Clayton caught a Hail Mary pass from Kyle Boller two yards shy of the endzone. That's right, the general theme of the game is that the Ravens were always just shy of the prize.
The story of last night, however, doesn't end with the result of the game. The Ravens have gone on the offensive (an about face for them) against the officials, claiming bias toward the New England Patriots with ticky-tack fouls, and even a derogatory demeanor. I watched the game, and while the officiating was suspect, it was no worse than most other NFL games - that is to say atrocious; all the penalties called were indeed penalties. No matter the frustration, you can't put your team behind the eight-ball with 30 yards of personal penalties the way Bart Scott did. Who knows how things would have transpired if the Patriots had to kick from their own 30. We'll have to see what materializes from this Samari Rolle implication, but if true, this would surely put another black eye on this season along with Patriotgate.
Rolle says official called him 'Boy' [Fanhouse]
2 comments:
Is Rolle that big of a baby that he is telling the media he is upset the ref called him 'boy'? Shouldn't he be more upset that his team laid a total egg on the last drive of the game to assure his team their 6th loss in a row?
I know we should bring up these kinds of things, but the ref was also black so I doubt the comments were racial...just want to get that out there.
Great blog by the way, really enjoy it.
I understand their frustration when you lose a game like that. As a fan I've been there, and it's hard not to gripe about the officiating.
But they did much more than that to lose. They couldn't convert third-and-shorts, and they let opportunities slip out of their grasp.
I really think they should be looking at times when they could have put extra points on the board and the refs had nothing to do with it:
1. Ed Reed's ensuing fumble after the interception. Put them in field goal range if he didn't try to do too much.
2. Kyle Boller's throw down the deep middle. The return gave the Patriots excellent field position.
3. Third and short that they couldn't convert multiple times.
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