What Next For The Ravens Defence?

by Dugald Skene

It has been a noticeable season already in the NFL for the number of high profile injuries, and it seems that the Baltimore Ravens defence has suffered more than it's fair share in recent months, dating back to when Terrell Suggs (last season's NFL Defensive Player of the Year) tore his Achilles.

More recently, it's the ageing but infinitely talismanic linebacker Ray Lewis (torn tricep) and starting cornerback Lardarius Webb (torn ACL) have been ruled out for the remainder of the season.

For Lewis, at 37 years old and in his 17th season in the NFL, his on field ability isn't quite what it was and as such, the Ravens will be able to replace him relatively easily. However, it's his unrivalled experience, leadership and influence on his whole team that will be most missed.  In his absence, the Ravens defence will be looking for a new leader, with big shoes to fill.

The obvious candidate is Ed Reed, veteran safety who has also excelled in the twilight of his career, much like Lewis.  But to add insult to the literal injury, it was announced yesterday that Reed has sustained a shoulder injury that should see him out.  The twist is that the Ravens have failed to place him on the injury roster, which if injured, is against NFL rules.

Cornerback Lardarius Webb has been ruled out for the season

The replacement of Webb is an altogether harder prospect.  One of the outstanding players in any position in the NFL, particularly playing in a nickel defence. The cornerback's aggression and tackling will be hugely missed by the Ravens in their defensive lineup which has bucked the trend in the NFL which has seen teams successfully expose the nickel defence.

Corner Jimmy Smith is the obvious like-for-like replacement for Webb though his effectiveness in the nickel defence is far less than that of the starter.

So what does this all mean for the Ravens?

There are two things.  Firstly, head coach John Harbaugh has to resist rushing any injured players back before their time.  Terrell Suggs returned to practice yesterday after being taken off the 'physically unable to perform' list, and although unlikely to be playing for another few weeks yet, there has to be caution coming back from such a serious injury.  For such an explosive game, where big men move very fast for short periods of time, a tear to the Achilles tendon is not something you want to rush back from.

The Ravens have also sprinkled seeds of hope over Lewis' injury this week, placing him on the injured reserve list and tagging him 'designated to return'.  Whether or not he will be in a position to come back during the course of this season is yet to be seen, but all realisitc signs indicate bad news.  In the meantime, the Ravens need to rest Ed Reed or risk having another of their key defensive players out for the season.

Let's not forget, the Ravens are sitting atop the AFC East with a 5-1 record and although games can never be sacrificed, players can and they shouldn't be risked for short term benefits.

The second thing for the Ravens is that the offence needs to step up.  Quarterback Joe Flacco has probably had his best start to an NFL season in his career, but will have to carry on that momentum and the burden of the franchise a little more in the absence of fellow captains and players.  The key to that is establishing early leads in games, giving an underpowered defence the chance to defend a lead, far easier than preventing a game get away from them.

The Ravens are ranked 7th for first half score differential, but most of that advantage has come in the second quarter and they are average at best at putting points on the board in the first quarter. This is what needs to change and the likes of Flacco, running back Ray Rice and outstanding wide receiver Torey Smith will be the key men tasked with achieving that goal.

The season is far from over for the Ravens, but it has got a little harder.  It'll be interesting to see in the coming weeks how a patched up defence and a far more relied upon offence cope with the injuries.

Craig Levein To Face His Fate

by Dugald Skene

The SFA announced today that they are set to discuss the future of Scotland manager Craig Levein in the coming days following Scotland's 2-0 defeat to Belgium in Brussels on Tuesday night, the latest in a string of disappointing results for the national team. Keen not to make any knee jerk reactions, they released a statement including the following:

"It's important that we just reflect on the start to the campaign, sit down with the manager and with the board and actually look at what's happened over the last few matches and, in particular, what's happened in the last two games and then decide on our course of action.

"It's important that we actually sit down, look at the facts and then decide on the next steps."

Craig Levein's days as Scotland coach may be numbered

So what are the facts? 

Levein's record in competitive games is shocking, achieving only a 36.1% win rate (43.5% for all games), far poorer than the much maligned Berti Vogts (48.8%) and the short lived term of George Burley (42%). 

Whether the causes of this poor form can be blamed entirely on Levein is the subject of much debate, but he certainly has to accept that a lot of that blame does fall at his feet.  With a similar, if not more talented group of players available to him than in recent years, he has failed to find a preferred, consistent and successful starting XI. 

In this most recent campaign, his decision to play with one man (Kenny Miller) up front in the opening two games, both at Hampden, was an immediate sign of painful pragmatism that quickly backfired on Levein, achieving a disappointing 2 points from 2 games. 

Although an improvement on the crippling 4-6-0 formation fielded against the Czech Republic in the previous campaign for Euro 2012 qualification, this immediately forced him and the Scotland team on to the back foot in the group, in turn making the manager swallow his pride and invite the outcast and in form Sunderland striker Stephen Fletcher back into the squad. Other players who have been in form for their clubs but not recognised by Levein made it back into the fray, including Celtic playmaker Kris Commons. 

His decision to drop Paul Dixon at left back, one of Scotland's better players in the first 2 games for Southampton's Danny Fox only added to the growing list of odd decisions made throughout his tenure.

Levein also used the long awaited return from illness of midfielder and captain Darren Fletcher to mask over the inconsistencies of selection and strategy.

For me, Levein has had his chance. 3 years and 23 games has provided ample opportunity to cement an ethos, an ethic and a successful record. Never fully embraced by the tartan faithful, he has arguably always been facing an uphill struggle, but that shouldn't deter from the fact that he has not fulfilled his own ambition and the nations expectation to win football games when it matters.

Levein must go, and the SFA need to see this as a black and white issue. Whatever their deliberation, it needs to be quick and decisive. Should he go, the challenge of recruiting a new manager must be made quickly, but not rashly - the next round of qualifying matches doesn't come around until March. I highly doubt that Craig Levein will be at the helm come the spring.

Packers Back In Business

by Dugald Skene

Green Bay Packers   42-24   Houston Texans

It's taken 6 weeks of the 2012 NFL season, but the Green Bay Packers finally seem to have found the kind of form that took them to a 15-1 record last season. In what was a must win game, the odds were stacked against them as they travelled to Houston to take on a Texans side unbeaten all season and owners of a prolific offence and devastating defence.

In the past 9 games with quarterback Matt Schaub starting fit, the Texans have won by an average of 20 points. On the flip side, the Packers have one of the poorer defences in the league, ranked 31st out of 32 teams last year.  Their success last term was predicated on the idea that how ever much the opposition would score, the Packers would just score more.

That sort of offensive form has not been on show this season, and most predicted the Packers slipping to a 2-4 record.  But Green Bay, led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, had other ideas.

By the end of the contest, Green Bay had amassed 42 points against one of the toughest defences around, and in their own back yard. Rodgers threw for a Packers record equalling 6 touchdowns (matching Matt Flynn's effort at the tail end of last season in a game Rodgers sat out in the run up to the playoffs), notching up 330 yards with no interceptions in the process.

Aaron Rodgers led the offensive rout on the Texans

Despite all 6 TD's coming from passes, the Packers did not disown their running game, with tailback Alex Green carrying 22 times. Like in previous weeks, the emergence of a running game in the Packers offensive arsenal has provided the added dimension that has allowed Rodgers to exploit defences more with the pass.

The Packers dominated this game and led from the front. The Texans got 3 TD's of their own. their defence had limited success but linebacker JJ Watt did have another fine outing, notching up two sacks on Rodgers.  Quarterback Matt Schaub was less on form, particularly after being picked off twice.

The Packers now go to 3-3 and back to a .500 record.  They will certainly see this as a major turning point in their season and will look to extend this win into a series over the coming weeks.  The Texans, on the other hand, will not be dwelling too much on last night's defeat. They are still going to be one of the toughest teams alone will face and I still see them making it to the AFC Championship game come January. Their defeat leaves the Atlanta Falcons as the only undefeated team in the NFL, but they will be back. Nobody will want to be at the receiving end of their backlash.