All in all it was a pretty scrappy first quarter-and-a-half before the Ravens withdrew their key starters and I gave up on the game. Donovan McNabb was erratic, making some nice throws on the move but also struggling at times with accuracy and touch in the pocket.

For Baltimore’s offense, it seemed like things still needed a lot of work as Ray Rice fumbled two of his three handoffs and Donte Stallworth lost another.

Both teams’ offensive and defensive units have another couple of preseason games to get it sorted out but let’s have a look at which has the biggest cause for concern:

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RAVENS OFFENSE

Without going into the whys of the tackle switch again, the debate was made somewhat moot (for this game at least) by the injury to likely RT Jared Gaither. Tony Moll took over and did a reasonable job but the real focus of my attention was on the left side. Last year when Michael Oher played RT, he was very impressive (overall PFF rating: +18.8) but when he filled in for Gaither on the left, he was poor (-7.2). Does Oher struggle more on the left, or was this just predicated on a bad couple of games? Well, once more Oher had his problems, particularly with Brian Orakpo, who got a couple of pressures through the LT and also forced a false start. His run blocking was more assured but other than moving well to the second level to seal off LaRon Landry, he was hardly devastating. This is definitely an area to watch as the season draws closer.

The packages deployed in this game had a very vanilla feel and it may be an indication that the Ravens intend to rely on superior personnel to move the ball. Tight end Todd Heap didn’t miss a snap and FB LeRon McClain rotated with WR Mark Clayton as they moved between a standard I formation and a three-WR look. When Clayton came in he took the outside with Anquan Boldin moving into the slot. The first two times Stallworth took the field it was purely to run an end around.

RAVENS DEFENSE

Losing quality players like Dwan Edwards and Justin Bannan in free agency was a blow to Baltimore, and with Trevor Pryce‘s form declining last year (PFF rating: -5.7), the defensive line needed some new faces. When the Ravens picked up Cory Redding as an unrestricted free agent from Seattle, our initial thought was of bench strength, but here he was starting. He played 12 of the first 22 snaps, usually in a base rotation with Pryce, and did nothing of any note. Whether the Ravens have a lucky “find” or this is more a testament to the decline of the Ravens D-line is open to debate at the moment.

Jameel McClain looks to have leapfrogged both Dannell Ellerbe and Tavares Gooden to be the third (or four, depending on how you view Terrell Suggs) linebacker in the base package. In nickel, McClain was replaced by Gooden. In four series it became fairly evident what the logic was behind this. McClain is far more sturdy playing the run than the others (pushing past Trent Williams on one tackle for no gain) but struggles in coverage. He lost Fred Davis in the end zone for what would have been a TD if the TE could have hung on, and he took a very circuitous route to his zone on a Santana Moss crossing route. As a result, it’s possible the Ravens will see a lot of first-down passing at him in the first few weeks of the season.

OTHER RAVENS NOTES

Chris Chester took over at center for Matt Birk on the fourth Baltimore series.

Davon Drew was the only TE other than Heap to get on the field with the first stringers: a single snap at the start of the third series.

The nickel package used Prince Miller as a slot CB with Haruki Nakamura close to the line in the dime.

REDSKINS OFFENSE

It was a sort of good-news, bad-news type of deal for the Redskins along the O-line. The good news was that generally the line looked a lot more stable than the group that finished the ’09 season. The bad news is it had a glaring weakness — and that was rookie first-rounder Trent Williams. Williams started at LT and was badly abused throughout, giving up a sack, a hit and 3 hurries in 17 dropbacks (mostly to Suggs). He was also called for a false start and got  bundled into the backfield on third and 1, disrupting any chance of a first down. While Suggs went around him on a few occasions, it was his inability to anchor that caused most concerns, as he was consistently pushed back into both the pocket and running lanes. Suggs is as good a run-playing DE as there is around, but his pass rush is not the most devastating — the thought of Williams playing six games against Osi Umenyiora, Trent Cole and DeMarcus Ware must really concern Washington fans.

Larry Johnson started but I have no idea why, unless it was to protect Clinton Portis. He looked as lumbering as usual, picking up only 4 yards on 8 rushes. He didn’t even get a chip his man on a screen and then bobbled a pass that was close to being intercepted.

REDSKINS DEFENSE

Surprisingly, of the four units mentioned, the Redskins’ new 3-4 defense looked the most battle-ready. And this was without Albert Haynesworth anywhere in sight (he showed up in the third quarter, long after the other superstars had removed their pads). This isn’t to say that it was without weaknesses: The passing off of receivers between cornerbacks (who appeared to be playing very deep) and safeties left obvious holes which a better-honed team would have exploited more. But they were pretty well-organized, considering their move.

Perhaps the player who will benefit most is LB Rocky McIntosh. He’s never played well in our eyes but on this viewing he impressed, showing good range in coverage, pushing through a block to get a hit on the QB and forcing a fumble Ray Rice.

The Redskins decided there wasn’t a place for Reed Doughty in the starting lineup when, as expected, they went for a combination of LaRon Landry and Kareem Moore at safety. Barring the caveat about the interplay with the CBs (mentioned earlier), this wasn’t looking too bad. Unfortunately for Washington, Moore got injured on a fake-punt run. It looks like Moore will have an MRI today and we obviously wish him well.

OTHER REDSKINS NOTES

Joey Galloway started at WR with Santana Moss but was replaced when Washington went to three WRs. There they used Devin Thomas and Anthony Armstrong on the outside with Moss in the slot.

After one series (although it was 13 plays long), RT Jammal Brown left the game and was replaced by Stephon Heyer.

In nickel, the Redskins removed a DL, left four linebackers on the field, moved Carlos Rogers to the
slot and brought on Phillip Buchanon at RCB.

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