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St. Louis Rams' running back Marshall Faulk, center, gets tripped up by Baltimore Ravens' Lional Dalton, bottom left, Kim Herring, left, and Ray Lewis (52) as he goes over teammate Fred Miller during the first half of their Sunday, Sept. 12, 1999, matchup in St. Louis, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

Just got my tape today of a wonderful Game One  win. Sure was great to see us celebrating on the sidelines afterward.

I wanted to analyze the tape and make some serious observations to back up my recent sunny  impressions of the team.

I'll start with our biggest weakness: Linebacker! Especially Middle Linebacker! I am not at all impressed. Our LB pursuit against the run is not only late, but is often non-existent.  I had heard that it got better in the second half. I didn't see that. I saw LBs getting caught out of position, over-pursuing, hesitating, under-pursuing. Fletcher was really not flying to the ball at all. I have read posts by Jim Fadler saying that Fletcher gets caught up in the flow of blockers and it is true.

One time Brent Jones made exactly the wrong point. The Ravens ran outside against Grant. Grant strung Ogden's block out very well and gave no ground. But the RB turned the corner anyway because there was NO scraping LB to be found. Jones blamed Grant--said he was "engulfed." WRONG!

I saw very few plays made by LBs. Collins made one GREAT play on a screen pass---he broke down the block AND made the tackle with no one else nearby. Other than that, though, not much.

We STILL have trouble with undisciplined upfield rushes. Frequently, we pursue out of position and leave holes. So that has not changed. The best way to see this is to look at the Raven D. Frequently, our OL managed to open up something of a hole. But the LBs, especially Lewis, pursued and filled so fast there was no room for more than a short gain.

HOWEVER, I think the reason for this has changed. I used to think that our DL had trouble getting pressure on its own. I no longer think that. (More on that in a minute). I just feel very clear that what this D is missing is a set of LBs that can fill and pursue. It's too bad we had so many offensive needs this year. I LOVE Holt. But Claiborne is EXACTLY what this Defense needs.

I'll tell you what--give me that BALT MLB with our DL and I'll stop any RB!  A DT would help, sure. But it would not solve the MLB question! I honestly believe a Claiborne type MLB would be the missing link to make our D truly elite! Put a stud MLB in the middle and Little on the outside, and we have a premier D!

Offensively, it is hard to find weak areas other than sloppy mistakes and all of you guys know about the penalties, the missed throws, the drops, etc. Actually, what struck me on the tape is that we made as many mistakes as BALT did! We must have had 8-10 plays that missed big gains by a hair! Some were runs, with Faulk being stopped by one guy or a trip. On one sweep Holc LEVELED the CB and Faulk slipped untouched into the secondary. The turf got him and he stumbled down after 7 yards when he should have had 15. We must have had 6 or more passes that were either complete well downfield and brought back with flags or were dropped, or were misthrown to wide open receivers. The missed throws, though, were usually not as bad as I had heard. A couple were off line by a few feet and the receiver juggled them and didn't quite make the catch.

Similar things bothered BALT. But I thought Mitchell was not as horrible as people said. He did make some plays, including the TD. He also had drops and near misses. This made our D look better than it might have. The famous stops that our D got after the 2 INTs were as much due to poor execution and play-calling as by our great plays.

In general, I DO NOT agree with those who say BALT sucked. I thought they were a solid team. Lewis is superb. Really superb. He single handedly made plays, often on runs where his scraping tripped Faulk up when other Ravens were blocked. Their DTs are very strong, their LBs tough, ands their secondary--well, OK. That's a good D. If we can make 10-15 mistakes and STILL score 27 on THAT D, we'll be alright!

Offensively, they have a big OL, average RBs and mediocre WRs. But as I say, Mitchell had some bad moments. When we attacked him in the 4th quarter, I thought he flinched. And he is so slow that if you get him distracted from his throw, the pass is OVER. He cannot slide a few steps while still looking upfield and make a play. He just can't. That's the difference with Warner, who CAN make plays under duress.

OK, the good stuff.

Bruce. I don't need to say any more!

Holt. Superb. Look, he had hard luck that game. He had catches called back, wide open routes where KW missed him, and a step out of bounds. Did you see his first completion in the 1st quarter? He runs a hook driving back to his QB the way you're supposed to. Then he jumps around to the outside and out of the CB's grasp with an incredible spin move. He had the 1st down, until they said he stepped out. Breathtaking move. The TD was as beautiful as you guys have described. He goes inside, then HOPS with both feet to the outside, tying Woodson in knots. Brett Jones was amazed: "rookies aren't supposed to know how to do that!"

Az looked good too, and Faulk had breathtaking moments as a receiver. KW threw behind him a couple of times but he adjusted and flashed past defenders. Young was talking about how the Rams were getting Faulk on LBs. Of course! The secondary was busy with those WRs! Faulk's going to see that all year. I guarantee you he will lead the league in receiving as a RB!

Nice throws, too, to TEs: Williams and Chad Lewis. Martz put the ball everywhere. The O is going to make us smile this year!

But Faulk was just off a bit fairly frequently. You can tell KW and he are not quite in synch yet. And in running the ball, he was just missing too. I read an interview with Pace who was frustrated. He said he felt they were getting good blocks but the plays weren't clicking. Backside pursuit and excellent LB play frustrated them. Not all Ds will play this well.

Let me take a stand, though, on a matter we have debated. Faulk CAN run inside. But he CANNOT run inside with power! He gained a 1st down on 3rd and one that was nifty, sliding running as he bounced out and around the penetration. Late in the game, they showed him slip around Siragusa. So, if there is some sort of seam, be can slide around and into it. But he does NOT run hard into a pile. When he slides and no seam appears, he will just go down.

All said, Faulk had a frustrating day. He made some BEAUTIFUL plays. He is an incredibly impressive receiver as a RB. He gets thru the LOS and zips into the secondary so FAST. He is an open receiver out of TB about as quickly as many WRs are! On the other hand, he also had several drops, besides the INT. A couple times he had a ball on his hands and juggled it up the wide open field. Running the ball, he was impressive at times. But he also got tackled by the turf once and did some stumbling. You could tell he was frustrrated at times. He knew he was on the verge of breaking it. As I said, he and KW are just getting to know each other. They are not fully in synch yet. In sum, MF had a good, partially impressive debut. But he will have much bigger days. He is not where he will soon be. Vermeil's faint praise of him is on the money. But notice the good news! He is not there yet--AND HE STILL LOOKED LETHAL! Th upside for this O as it settles in is astonishing!

Holc: I see a tremendously motivated player and blocks very hard and runs very hard. He had a devastating lead block in the 4th quarter, as I mentioned. When he laid wood, he did it hard. But he missed some blocks too. He simply has a fair amount to learn as a blocker.

As a runner, he has what he had last year. One play is important, and I haven't heard anyone mention it. In the 1st quarter, Holc ran a dive. The D.ve front was dispersed trying to cover receivers and so forth. He ran into that seam and EXPLODED into the Safety. Gained 7 yards. This is what he did last year. This is why I say that, with Faulk in the backfield and our WRs creating havoc, Holc will have some very nice runs.

As a TB, though, he doesn't show much. I should be careful, because when he spelled MF and got the ball, invariably, he ran into 3 guys. It is hard to know if you should blame a RB for not gaining yards when there is no hole. But the good ones slide a step, then attack. Holc doesn't do that. He just puts his head down. If we could combine MF's feet with Holc's power, we'd have something. Watson got one meaningless dive in garbage time, but I hope he can provide tough inside running at TB, because I don't think Holc can.

OL: well, pretty good, but not overwhelming. I noticed a couple of things. Pass blocking was good, but not great. Pace had his hands full with McCrary. At times, McCrary would start to get Pace off balance, but Pace is athletic enough to recover. I thought the middle held up against the rush pretty well, and so did Miller. Lewis' sack was from Miller's side, but Miller was busy. It was a great blitz and it was so fast we couldn't handle it. Sometimes great Dve players make great plays!

Here's my key, though, to the pass rush. We pass blocked pretty well, but KW made his line look great. I estimate maybe 5 plays where Banks would have been sacked. Not only did KW avoid the sack, but he sometimes completed the pass. He had one with guys draped all over him. Shades of Roman Gabriel! Other people have said it. The good QBs have those nifty feet to slide a step or two and open up a passing lane. This is what 316 always said Banks lacked, and he did. Banks was athletic and fairly fast, but he did not have that ability to slide and keep the play alive. Like Mitchell, if you got him moving the play was over. Warner was BEAUTIFUL at doing that. I think Pace would have given up a couple sacks if Warner weren't so slick.

The play calling on this was great too. On one play in Q 1, BALT blitzed the OLB and MLB. KW and MF both read it. MF slipped past them, KW fired him the ball, and Faulk was roaring upfield. I'll bet Faulk had the ball in under 2 seconds! No time for the blitz to do anything. When DCs see that, they will tear their hair out! People said, will Warner handle pressure? Oh, man, forget about it. The LAST thing we need to worry about is that. He handled pressure like an elite QB all day, and half the time made big plays out of it!

Run blocking was, well, spotty. It's hard to say with a good Dve front like BALT has. We frequently got a number of good blocks on a play only to have it break down with backside pursuit. We didn't move those DTs too well, but few people do. I saw Pace get some good run blocks upfield, but the play didn't get to him. I don't know--I'll withhold judgment until we play an average DVe front. But I still think we need to get some power running out of a TB. Watson?

As for KW, what can I say at this late date that hasn't already be said. I thought he looked superb. And he missed some throws. But the accurate ones were SO good! All 3 TDs were gorgeous throws. The replay of Bruce's TD was from a camera directly behind the goal post. It showed KW looking left and then the ball comes back out slightly right of center--perfectly on line to lead Bruce at the back of the end zone. So pretty. The pass to Williams was on the money, as was the fade route to Holt. 

But perhaps the most impressive pass was a long out pattern to, I think, Bruce. He threw that ball that only the good ones can throw. Remember how Everett used to throw it? When you show DCs that ball, it makes it hard for them to decide how to play WRs. It's also a key play to have in 2 minute drill.

What can I say? KW made plays. I read in the PD how key the 3rd down conversions were, and it's true. Remember the 3rd and 17 to, I think, Az late in the game?

Yet KW was inaccurate and behind the receiver a number of times. Looking at it on tape, though, I wonder if it isn't a matter of getting in synch with WRs he hasn't worked with for too long. Same with Faulk. Faulk is like LIGHTENING getting into the route, much faster than the average RB. It may take KW a while to adjust.

Hell, the kid done good!

The Secondary and DL.

The secondary is, in my view, excellent. Occasionally, the Ravens would get a guy open underneath. Well, an NFL O will do that now and then. Lyght and Lyle, though, were superb. And we didn't make big errors. Bly sometimes was left for dead and Allen did get, if not scorched, at least torched. He was beaten on that TD.

But here is my essential point: the secondary did 2 key things. It contained the other WRs---the Ravens' number 1 WR got NO catches! Most important is this: our secondary has excellent INITIAL coverage. That is, on maybe 70 % of  the pass plays, Mitchell is standing back there looking for a long enough period of time to give the DL a chance to get there. It is not easy to hit the quick pass against our secondary.

And for its part, the DL got a lot of pressure. The 2 units feed off each other. The secondary gives the DL an extra second or so to get there and the DL DOES get there to keep the secondary from having to defend too long. In my view our D has an excellent synergy between those 2 units. We had that a lot last year too, though it was offset by too many big plays. Yesterday, few big plays, and you just have to believe that with McCleon in, that TD doesn't make it.

As for the DL---I thought they played great! Carter is Carter--they can't run against him. The DTs got upfield well! I've already discussed the missing MLB, but I thought we played it well.

And here's the thing. In today's NFL, the key is to be able to stop passes. Sorry, it just is. In today's NFL, if I am going to have a weakness, it will be at MLB. Our secondary is excellent, and great at run support, too. Our DL is aggressive and will often make plays against the run. Did you notice--BOTH Wistrom and Carter ran down plays from behind. They will both do a lot of that.

So, yes, we will give up some runs. But how many? Unless we are playing the very best RBs, not that many. Not enough to beat us if the O is scoring 25+ points and the secondary is getting stops in the air. I think we will be generally sound enough elsewhere on D to tough it out this year, and then we will get Little back in NOV and try to get a MLB next year. I honestly believe a tough, active MLB is ALL this D really needs.

Which suggests that Wistrom looked good. And he did! I was impressed, more than I thought I would be.   About the 2nd play of the game, Wistrom attacks Ogden straight on and instantly gets Ogden moving backwards, fast. He got precisely the sort of penetration I have been writing about, the kind I didn't know if he could get. In a flash he has half a step driving around Ogden to the outside. But sweeping out in a wide ark---just half a step outside of a straight line upfield. That, friends,  is how you get to a QB QUICKLY! And he was on Mitchell in a flash, forcing an early throw. That rush against an All-Pro told me that Wistrom will be OK! Then, he got his sack a moment later. This time, he looped inside across Ogden's face and was into the guard so fast Ogden let him go. He loops INSIDE the guard then jumps back to the outside for the sack. That was really special! After those 2 plays, I relaxed about Grant Wistrom. He can play in this league! He hand fought run blocks well, too. I DID NOT see him get engulfed except for once when he looped in and Ogden drove him down and back.

Well, that's what I saw. I saw a darn good football team. I saw an O that was on the verge of being breathtaking against a top 10 D. And I saw that O just a bit out of synch on plays that were set to break wide open. Had KW been a bit more accurate, we could have scored 40+.

I saw a D, too, that will frustrate many passing Os with solid secondary play and excellent penetration from the OL. We did not blitz   nearly as much as last year---frankly, the LBs stank when they tried to blitz!---and still got good pressure. Great!

Special Teams.

We busted open both a kickoff return and a punt. I can't believe Az let the punter get him--the guy was pumped.

Our coverage was good except for the one long kickoff return.

Wilkens is superb!

Punting---it was weird. I guess they cared much more about this "directional" business than good punts. I think Gansz is going to destroy Tuten's head in time.

Gansz is a strange case. Unlike many, I actually believe he knows his stuff. His kick returns have gotten better and better. But he yells and screams until he is a joke. And I fear he is ruining Tuten!

In summary---

Brent Jones at the end of the game said, "Well, they have ATL, then Cincy, then the 49ers. I think they just may win 2 of those 3."

That sounds like a good prediction to me!