Baltimore Defense Throttles Washington In NFL Preseason Action

The Baltimore Ravens are clearly responding to first year defensive coordinator Greg Mattison. In Mattison’s debut as an NFL coordinator the Ravens obliterated their regional rivals the Washington Redskins, completing a shutout by a final score of 23-0.

There had been some concern about the Ravens lack of depth at wide receiver, but on this night at least that wasn’t an issue. 15 different players caught passes and after the game backup QB Troy Smith said that Ravens signal callers had been instructed to get as many players involved in the offense as possible:

“It’s been drilled into both our heads to spread the ball around, to not have tunnel vision. The sky’s the limit for us.”

Starting QB Joe Flacco was happy with the effort. Flacco has been criticized during his brief career for his lack of downfield passing ability but based on his comments he felt good about playing within his skill set:

“As an offense, everything felt really good. I was happy with the way our receivers and running backs were moving. Our line did a heck of a job for being their first time out. I didn’t have to do anything but sit in the pocket and make throws.”

The Ravens defense, meanwhile, was simply stifling. For that reason, new coordinator Mattison was awarded the game ball in his first NFL assignment. Head coach John Harbaugh joked about that fact afterwards:

“I don’t know how he’s going to do it, but he said he’s going to divide it up for every one of the 80 guys on the team.

Redskins coach Jim Zorn remained upbeat:

“This is a tremendous tool for us to use. We look for these things, these learning situations.”

The Redskins will open the NFL regular season with a big divisional tilt against the New York Giants at The Meadowlands on Sunday, September 13 while Baltimore will host the Kansas City Chiefs.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.